Kudos

Just had to brag on my kids for their accomplishments this week. Aidan got A's on all seven tests from last week, including his first-ever S+ in handwriting (not his strongest subject). Super proud of him!

And Avery has been working hard at the K4 homeschooling. She doesn't have the steadiest hand so handwriting is a struggle for her as well. But when she stops and concentrates, she does great! I helped her with the "s" in this picture but the "h" and "i" are all her!

In Other News

The kids kicked their sicknesses (and Daniel and I stayed healthy, knock on wood!) and we're back in the swing of things. Here's what's been going on:

This is from January 2nd, when we had our friends Kaelyn, Marina, Ambrielle, Genicey, Cade, and Hailey (and their moms) over to play!

This was taken in Crawford, while Aidan was sick at home with me (obviously before Avery caught the bug a few days later). She has ridden Rusty the horse before, but this was her first time on Toby. Toby is a little wilder than Rusty, so Aunt Kathleen was her co-rider. Avery had so much fun!

Avery and Cousin Sage started a ballet class through the city. Avery is loving it. I think I may have to put her back in dance next fall :)

It's the second year for Aidan to do Upward Basketball! He's on a team with two of his buddies, Ryan and Cade. He had to miss his first game because he was sick, but he got to play in the second game yesterday and scored two baskets!

The Plague

Here's what 2013 has looked like so far:

Aidan caught a stomach bug Friday morning. Daniel had a hunting trip lined up for the weekend (and was going to drop Avery off in Crawford with Grandpa and Nanna), so they went as planned because I figured Aidan would be fine and would bounce back in time for his first basketball game on Saturday afternoon. Wrong! Our mommy/son weekend turned into a sickfest. It was rough not having Daniel around, but really great to have Avery at her grandparents' (she stayed healthy and had a great time!). After several hospital/doctor visits and three missed days of school, Aidan is still too weak to eat, and he got so dehydrated I finally had to take him to Children's Hospital to get an IV of fluids, per his pediatrician's suggestion. I'm sending him to school tomorrow and just having him sit out from recess and P.E. As a bonus, Avery decided to get sick last night so she didn't get to go to school today either. 2013 can only get better from here, right?

2012 in Review

Happy 2013! Here's a look at what all we did last year :)
We celebrated Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, Easter, 4th of July, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas:

Aidan turned SIX and had a bowling sleepover with five of his friends:

He graduated from kindergarten, and started first grade!

He did Upward Basketball, gymnastics, Cub Scouts, lost two teeth, and learned to ride his bike with no training wheels!

Avery turned FIVE and had a mini-party at Sweet and Sassy:

She started Pre-K at Mother's Day Out, and also started doing some homeschooling with Mommy!

She did ballet (with Cousin Sage, of course!), gymmnastics, soccer, and learned to ride her new bike with training wheels:

I did a 5K and a Mud Run:

But had to sit out of another Mud Run because I broke my wrist ice-skating and had to have surgery :(

I made plenty of "me" time with my mom friends and my old college buddies:

My mom and I took the kids on a West Texas trip to see Great-Pa, Gamma, Mema, Aunt Jeri, Uncle Reggie, and Cousin Jessica:

Papi, Grammy, Uncle Jason, and his girlfriend Kelly came for a visit:

We saw plenty of Grandpa, Nanna, Kathleen, Jacob, and their horses:

We took a trip to Granbury with Cookie, Jeff, Gigi, Cody, Amy, Lindsay, Jason, Sage, and Logan (and went to Fossil Rim!):

Cousin Ellie was born!!

My high school friend Mollie got married:

The kids stayed busy over the summer doing VBS and swim lessons:

We took a really fun family trip to San Antonio, where we stayed at a resort and went to Sea World:

We went to plenty of Baylor games. Sic 'Em Bears!!

My brother and all of our Jolly cousins came over for Jollypalooza!

Aidan and I competed in a family obstacle course along with our friends Tracey and Kaelyn:

We went to the State Fair, on the sad day that Big Tex burned down :(

Last but certainly not least, Daniel worked very hard and traveled a lot. He used his traveling rewards to take me to London and Paris!

What a year full of fun and blessings!! We can't wait to see what 2013 has in store for us. Hope you all have a Happy New Year!