EIGHTEEN

 

The garden is all the shades of green to welcome in May.

2025 week eighteen

What? You're telling me the first thing you do after a long day of work and school isn't to immediately flop on the ground and roll around with a dog? 

On Saturday night we got to go see Veronica perform in the school play of Sherlock Holmes. 

She was a pickpocket masquerading as a suffragette to do Moriarty's dirty work. 

She was stunning! 

Sunday afternoon at the ballpark. 

The Rangers won, we shared a baseball helmet full of brisket nachos, and the kids got to run the bases after the show. It was a great afternoon!

SEVENTEEN

 

My friend's beautiful yard. V kept trying to get in every photo. We were there to dig up some wildflowers for transplanting to our yard (with permission of course!).

2025 week seventeen

For the weekend we drove to Oklahoma. Matt and the other gentlemen went on a kayaking trip.

They woke up in the middle of the night to the tent leaking in a thunderstorm.

They flipped the kayaks a few times, had a few near-death experiences, and had a blast. 

They're already planning the next trip. 

Meanwhile V was as happy as can be playing with her cousins, catching turtles and tadpoles, riding horses, and playing vet -where apparently the number one sign you need at your vet's office is "No Firearms." Happy Birthday to V. You are now 12. I'm sorry the turtle ran away and you couldn't keep him. 

Quotes:

Me- "Why are you crying?"
V- "I don't even know!"
Me- "Is this about the turtle still?"
V- "NO! I DON'T KNOW!" sobs harder. 

Me- "You're allowed to feel sad, but you need to stop crying about a turtle you had for less than a day."

SIXTEEN

My mom and John came to visit for Easter. First stop is always Babes Chicken. 

2025 week sixteen 

Friday morning breakfast at Eataly. 

Saturday morning visit to Grapevine. 

Looking like an absolute preteen. 

Ice cream at Handels. 

“Mama is going to be so mad when she sees how big my ice cream is!”

Easter baskets with clues to find part 2. 

 After early morning Easter Mass. 

Part 2 was a croquet set. The kids spent all afternoon and evening playing countless games of croquet. 

One of the Alice in Wonderland themed riddles to find the croquet set. 

V got a book from Grandma as an early birthday present and she and Theo couldn’t put it down. 

Prepared for the egg hunt and subsequent confetti egg battle. 

Making my annual Easter egg pie. Torta pasqualina. 

Theo caught to beefy spiny lizards in our ivy. 

This bulb blooms a few random times a year. It was in full bloom for Easter.

 

Easter dinner. We had cold ham, roasted chicken, grilled lamb chops, Easter Egg pie, salad from the garden, collard green "beans" (the matured seed pods of a collard plant gone to seed, tastes like broccoli mixed with green beans), deviled eggs, sourdough challah, roasted potatoes, and pickles and sauerkraut. For dessert we had an Angel Food Cake with berries and cream. 

Close up on all the garden veggies. 

Quotes:

V was trying to quietly tell me about a note she received from a boy. Theo- "You got a love note?!"

V- "Not really..."

Me trying to change the subject and help her out- "I got a love note from Papa today."

Theo- "What!? I'm the ONLY one who's not getting love notes!"

Me- "Theo, tell me something you love about me." Fully expecting to get some toilet humor fake compliment, like I have the best toots or I'm really "Stazzy."

Theo- "I love your brown hair."

Me- "What? Really?"

Theo- "It's so pretty and dark brown. In the sun it looks like hazelnuts."

A second grader at school while I'm helping him into his car- "Can I eat you alive?"

Me- "I don't think so. You don't even have any salt."

Boy- "Yes I do in my backpack. But I did forget my knife."

Me- "Some other time then..." 

FIFTEEN

 

Theo likes to vandalize my board for my students the next day. 

2025 week fifteen

V didn’t want a birthday party so we let her take some friends out to dinner a few weeks early. We’ll be in Oklahoma for her actual birthday. They just chatted and goofed off for two hours and had the best time. 

Salem, who do you serve? Sarumeown. We’ve been watching LOTR and the kids are obsessed with all things middle earth. I got a good laugh from them with this one. 

V looking like a pirate at Theos baseball game. Complete with tourniquet after a tree climbing accident. 

Theo finally pinned out his Christmas rainbow locust. 

Wearing upside down goggles. 

Theo got to pitch at his last game! He really loves baseball and it makes my heart happy. 

I made some absolutely beautiful sourdough this week. My starter is finally strong enough to make a decent crumb. 

The 4th grade took a field trip to the Ft. Worth Stockyards for some Texas history. 

In another lifetime I have a house with a porch like this. 

Quotes-

Tour guide, “This goat would be the one to lead all the sheep to slaughter. Because of this he was called a Judas goat. When he retuned he would get a reward. Can anyone guess what his reward would be?” 

Me, “Thirty pieces of silver.”

*big laughs* I rode that high for the rest of the field trip. But the answer was actually cigarettes if you wanted to know. 

*Reading the Moses story to Theo* Theo, “Is this when they start singing ‘You’re playing with the big boys now’?”

Theo, “It’s not fair! Vera is finally at the age when she gets treats from crushes!”

V, “Yep, this is the life.”

*Opening music to The Prince of Egypt starts playing*

Theo, “Are you going to cry in this movie again this year?!”

*Sniff* “I already am.”

Theo, “Tomatoes are one of the seven natural wonders of the world!”

FOURTEEN

Bikers vs Surfers Day. I'm not sure that Matt's old letterman jacket is really "biker" but it was what she wanted.

2025 week fourteen: Spring Spirit Week

Synonyms and Antonyms Day. What's the opposite of a 4th grade teacher? A fourth grade student!

On Friday Theo had an Alice in Wonderland Tea Party. I was invited to be the special guest etiquette lecturer- much to Theo's horror. 

The boys escorting in the girls. This was the source of so much grief. He talked about it for weeks leading up to it. 

The horror of your mom lecturing in front of all of third grade -in a British accent! 

"No offense but your accent wasn't really that good." False. It was amazing. 

V and her classmates dressed up as characters from The Scarlet Pimpernel on Iconic Rivalry Day. 

V was busy with crafts and creations this weekend. She took this old thrift store painting and added scenes from The Fellowship of the Ring. Zoom in to find the fellowship.

She made us banana bread muffins for breakfast and blueberry lemonade for a treat. 

Matt attended a conference for a few days last week in Dallas. He was featured in a lot of the official photos for the event.

Quotes:

Theo- "That's the definition of a nerd: When you know a lot of things and you user that information for bad. It's someone who is always saying 'Well aaaaaaaaactually,' and corrects people all the time."

Theo- "I'm just a dirty boy. I do dirty things until Wednesday and Sunday and then I'm clean."

Me- "I'm going to wear one of Theo's uniform shirts but it is a little tight."

Theo- "I'm that fat!?"