Monday, March 18, 2024

Ivy's Soccer Season

Ivy's soccer season was so fun to watch. Her team was quite good and I loved seeing her improve each game. She took all the throw-ins (that girl can throw the ball!) and they made it all the way to the championship game!! They lost in the championship game but they played their hearts out and it was such a good game to watch! Love this little athlete of mine! (#18)
 

Wednesday, March 13, 2024

Football Season

Jackson overall had a pretty good experience for his first high school football season. He enjoyed practices, games, team meals, and all his friends. He was able to get some playing time towards the end of the season. We had 3 games called due to weather that we weren't able to make up which was about half our season so it could have been better in that regard. Looking forward to next year though!




Friday, March 8, 2024

Homecoming

As I posted earlier, Jackson had asked a girl to Homecoming but as the dance got closer, she wasn't actually able to attend with him. Instead he jumped in with some of his friends from church. They met beforehand at the Holl's for pizza and they piled into a limo that took them to and from the event. Afterwards they had nachos and ice cream sundaes and swimming at the Haughts. He had a great time!












Wednesday, March 6, 2024

Alligator Hunting

I was the "lucky" one to draw gator tags this year. I say lucky in quotes because if it's your tag then you've got to be on the boat. Luckily it was only a county tag and we used it right here on Alligator Lake! So we weren't out until the wee hours of the morning, we just circled around the lake from our backyard and were home before 11:00. We actually didn't see anything sizely (even though they are out there!) and Jackson caught this little cutie. 




Monday, March 4, 2024

20th Anniversary!

Wow! We hit a big milestone this year! Our 20th anniversary! I wish I could say that we celebrated big but what we've come to find out that the older the kids get, the harder it is to get away in October. Too many games, events, activities going on for us to miss! So we decided we'd just celebrate in the summer time. But for the day this is what we did...

Yard work! Piles of debris from a recent storm all of over our yard that we raked and loaded up so our lawn guys could mow the next day. True love. 
We showered up and went to breakfast at one of our favorite places. A savory each and sweet to share. We also stopped in at Marshalls or TJMaxx or one of those stores for a piece of furniture. Yay!
Kids had practice and other stuff that afternoon so we just did dinner like a regular school night but invited PJ and Lauren over for some good competitive pickleball! It was a super fun night and we are looking forward to that trip in the summer!

Saturday, March 2, 2024

Student Led Conference

We got to be with Benny in his classroom and he showed us his leadership binder and told us all about all the really cool, fun things he's been doing in class this year. We had delicious treats and enjoyed visiting with his teacher as well. After the conferences, Benny and Brynlee busted out of school and spent the remainder of the day at work with the dads at Wild Florida. 



 

Wednesday, February 28, 2024

HHN (Halloween Horror Nights)

For Sophie's birthday she invited Ivy to go to Halloween Horror Nights with her at Universal. They went with Shanda's cousin-in-law whose mom works for Universal and she hooked them up with a VIP pass that allowed them to bypass every single line. So they went to every haunted house and rode any ride they wanted. Ivy said it was the best (and scariest) night! 


Jackson also went to HHN this year but he went with a bunch of friends so of course I didn't get any pictures of them. 

 

Sunday, February 25, 2024

Backyard (or Frontyard) Basketball

One of my favorite nights ever. Watching the kids and Daniel play basketball on our amazing court, in our beautiful yard during the perfect evening. I am sure there was plenty fighting/arguing/bickering but all I remember is what I can see in the pictures. 




Thursday, February 22, 2024

GoDad's Surgery

GoDad had a hip replacement surgery the beginning of October. The surgery itself went really well. Vanessa flew out to help with his initial recovery. He was released home immediately following his surgery but we soon learned that he could not rehab at home. After a few scary incidents and an emergency call later, he was safely tucked into a wonderful rehab facility in Kissimmee at Osceola Regional Hospital and the therapy and care he received there was great. After a few more weeks he was in good shape and able to come home. We all took turns spending the day with him at the hospital so he wouldn't have to be by himself and I think our visits will always be memorable of some quality time we all were able to spend with him. I don't think the hip replacement did all Ranier hoped it would. He is still in pain and managing to get around slowly but surely but we are glad he is still here with us!