barrett: 149 months old

 

Barrett's schedule is still dominated by football!  He made a tackle in one game that prevented the other team from scoring a safety, which led to their victory!  And he's now moved up a team, and is excited to play on the same as his best friend.  He's almost as equally excited about his Airplane Encyclopedia, which he tracked down on Ebay (it's from the 1980s) and has been reading ever since it arrived.  It has all the liveries and plane models, and honestly, I don't think I'd be all that surprised if he wanted to become a pilot one day.  He just loves planes!

Likes:  playing with Poppy

Dislikes:  early morning wake up calls for football practice

194 months old

Oh, I love fall, though fall in Texas is basically summer.  If only we could get some cooler weather!  Britton and the hubs are seeking out cooler temps in Colorado this month by visiting another college campus - Colorado State.  Britton is still in the wide-open options, and hasn't narrowed down a "perfect fit" yet.  Britton is still doing Fall Ball for softball, and has games until November.  Then, tryouts in January!

We went to a Marina concert together, which was special because I took Britton to see Marina in 2022 for her first concert experience - same venue too!

Likes:  concerts, cold weather

Dislikes: running in softball practice, having 4 tests and the PSAT in one week

 

barrett: 148 months old

 

Barrett is back in school as a 7th grader this year, and is on the 7th grade football team!  So, it's a different school year start than most, in that Barrett has to be at school super early for football practice (we leave the house at 6:10 am) every day of the week.  He'll have to keep this schedule up until the end of October!  Barrett likes all of the classes he's taking, and is back for Art II this year.  

Likes:  Poppy (he's her favorite too)

Dislikes: getting up early for practice

193 months old

We're back in the school swing, with Britton starting 11th grade this year!  She's already busy with softball Fall Ball, debate tournaments, and academic decathlon. Plus, she's president of her NCL class this year, and just had to lead her first meeting!  September is a busy time, not just starting up school and extra curricular activities, but also Homecoming is at the end of September this year.  For the first time, Britton wanted a mum, and if you're not familiar with the huge mums that Texans do for Homecoming, go treat yourself to some googling!  It was beyond my crafting skills, so I had one made, and it's 3 feet of glorious ribbon fun!

                                                 

Likes: coffee, softball Fall Ball, hanging with friends, driving to school this year - no more bus!

Dislikes: waking up early for school

barrett: 147 months old

Barrett has started the 7th grade!  Unfortunately, he's also started morning football practices, so while school doesn't start until almost 9:00 am, he's leaving the house at 6:10 am in order to get changed into practice gear and be on the field ready to go by 6:45 am.  Football season lasts about two months, so he should be finished sometime in October.  Then it's back to sleeping in to almost 8:00 am and catching the bus in the mornings!

He's continued to be Poppy's favorite person in the house, because he'll get on the floor with her and play with her.  She loves the attention and getting into his lap to snuggle.  

Notice anything different?  Barrett just got contacts!  He needs them because his glasses don't work with his football helmet.  

Likes:  Chick-Fil-A peach shakes

Dislikes:  putting his contacts in

16 years old

                                                  

Britton is 16 years old!!  This milestone birthday is more than a driver's license (test is next week!) and a countdown to official adulthood - it's really hit me how I'm supposed to be making her a self-sufficient person while desperately wanting to hold on.  So, rather than wallow in my self-pity and cry over baby pictures, the hubs and I took Britton and her best friend Jody to Dallas to see My Chemical Romance!  But first, In N Out burgers.

Britton loves live music, and teen me and teen Britton have an amazing amount of overlap in what music we like.  So when we found out that My Chemical Romance were touring and coming to Dallas (but not Houston, boooo) on Britton's birthday, Britton decided her birthday plans had to include a road trip and concert!  We did have a little get-together with her friends and Memaw and PawPaw before we left, to have cake and presents.  

Likes:  her new car!

Dislikes:  waiting until 2 days before school starts to do her driver's test - hope she can still get a parking pass!

barrett: 146 months old

Barrett has been having a great summer!  He went to "Sharks and More Camp" at Sea Camp at A&M Galveston in June, and had a fantastic time.  This was his second time going to that camp, and the first time he went without Britton.  We went down for his celebration ceremony, closing out the week of camp, and got to take him home that night.  

He's also still doing his conditioning camp every day for two hours, and really enjoys lifting weights. He does not like the box jumps, but then again, I never have either, so he comes by it honestly.  Afternoons are spent riding bikes with friends around the neighborhood, playing in the pool, or relaxing his his iPad.  He's currently reading "Salt to the Sea," and historical fiction book about the sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff in 1945.  He was telling me about a shipwreck he had found online, and when he mentioned the ship's name it sounded awfully familiar - because I had read "Salt to the Sea" a few months ago!

Likes:  Chama Guacha (steakhouse)

Dislikes:  when Poppy bites his hair, and when he has to clean up Poppy's pee accidents indoors