barrett: 127 months old

 

Barrett competed in his school's spelling bee last week!  He got 21 of 25 words correct, and while he didn't win, he studied hard and exceeded the performance he thought he'd do.  He also had his winter choir concert last week, and then the entire choir got to go on a field trip to two nursing homes to perform for their residents.  Bonus - they got to stop by CiCi's Pizza for lunch.  Barrett doesn't have choir practice until they go back to school in January, so that's an extra bonus to me - I don't have to get him to school by 7:00 am!  He's ready for Friday's festivities, which is the annual pajama holiday singalong!

Likes: learning to clean his Betta fish Keono's tank - we learned how to use a gravel vacuum today (thank you YouTube!), his new holiday pjs, which have fleece shorts instead of pants (this kid is always hot)

Dislikes:  putting away laundry

172 months old

We're in December, and have no idea how we got here this quickly!  How is Britton's first year of high school almost halfway over already?  Britton is gearing up for finals starting this week, and is firmly in the A range for most of her classes.  She was able to exempt two exams, so this week shouldn't be too overwhelming for her.  

Softball tryouts are in January, and Britton has been working with a softball coaching group on batting.  They do some high-tech computer analysis stuff I don't understand, and then give her homework on her swing.  She's improving so much - getting a good technique instead of being lucky when she hits the ball.

Likes:  Vietnamese coffee, getting tickets to live music - she's got two concerts in February alone!

Dislikes:  studying for exams

barrett: 126 monts old

 

Barrett had a fun and exciting October!  He is on Safety Patrol at school, so three times a week he stays after school to help car riders get into their cars, and gets to take down the American flag from the pole.  He claims the flag weighs a ton!  We went to the STEAM Night at the local high school, and Barrett and his best friend Walker got to make a lava lamp, dirt pudding, slime, an airplane, and a biomechanics hand. Such a cool night! And for Halloween, Barrett was Brock from Pokemon.  We walked miles around the neighborhood trick-or-treating!  Barrett has also had two choir concerts, one for multiple elementary schools, and the other was a performance for a school assembly for Veteran's Day.  Very cool!

Likes:  choir, Pokemon

Dislikes: math homework (though he does like division now)

171 months old

How is October over just like that?? This month has been a whirlwind - softball season, a rush to get quizzes and tests completed before the new grading period, our first high school football game, birthdays, and of course Halloween!  Britton dressed up as the Lego Batman Ballerina Fairy, a very specific "Lego Batman" character costume, which we constructed from Amazon finds.  This was the first year that Britton didn't want to go trick-or-treating. Instead, she volunteered to stay home and hand out candy, and was so great with the little kids, complimenting their costumes and letting them grab extra candy!

Softball season is officially over!  Her team went into the end of season tournament as #1, but had an upset loss in the first round.  That's ok!  They played a great season, and Britton really developed her skills on first base and in batting.  And she had a phenomenal team of girls this year.

Likes:  playing softball, dying her hair

Dislikes: our cold front warming up - she misses cold weather

barrett: 125 months old

 

How are we already in October, blasting our way to Halloween?  Then Thanksgiving, Christmas, and then before we even know it, it's already 2024.  Ugh.  Let's go back to Halloween!  Barrett was going to be Michael Jackson from Smooth Criminals, but has decided to be Brock from Pokemon instead. But the Michael Jackson love hasn't stopped!  We're going to go see MJ: The Musical in November!  He can wear his costume then.

Barrett is participating in school chorus this year, and already has a performance at the end of the month!  He enjoys singing, but not having to get up early twice a week to go to practice before school starts. Totally dude, I get it.

Likes:  Pokemon, the periodic table

Dislikes:  doing homework

170 months old

Happy October!  Oh, we love the witching month of October around here.  Britton especially loves all things pumpkin spice, and has happily sampled her way through all of the pumpkin-y options I've found.  Her favorite so far is an iced pumpkin spice latte with pumpkin cold foam and a caramel drizzle.  Not so good have been Dunkin Donuts's PSL, and their graham cracker PSL goldfish, yuck!  She's the only other person in our family besides me to unabashedly throw herself into the pumpkin spice goodness of this time of year.  For her costume this year, Britton is going as the Lego Batman fairy - we made her costume entirely out of things from Amazon.  Now I just need to spray paint that Batman mask pink!

Please allow me a moment to share an awesome softball game from last weekend.  Britton's team and another team were both the only undefeated teams in her league.  We didn't tell her, but as her team was playing their first game, the other undefeated team lost their game, so now Britton's team was playing to hold onto the undefeated title.  In the second game of her doubleheader, she hit a line drive between first and second bases while the bases were loaded, and managed to bring in all 3 for runs!  They won the game, and are all still so excited that they remain undefeated!  I'm so proud of the work she's put into softball.

Hitting well, getting on base

Likes:  softball, the cat, hoodies all the time

Dislikes: the constant Texas heat (even though she wears hoodies every day)                                           

barrett: 124 months old

 

Well, this kid unfortunately got taken down by Covid right at the beginning of the school year!  It was the first time either one of us had it, and luckily Barrett had really mild symptoms, more like allergies.  In fact, I only tested him because I was positive, and it was the Sunday night, and I wanted to make sure we didn't accidentally send any infected kids into school the next day.  He handled his quarantine like a champ, and while excited the first day (home from school!  doesn't actually feel sick!), but the second day the novelty had worn off and he was BORED.  The hubs and I were working from home that week (me still in quarantine as well) so we couldn't take him anywhere or do anything fun.  But we caught up on some Pokemon movies, he played way too much iPad, and we finally got our negative tests!

Barrett got to spend a night this weekend at a ranch for his friend's birthday party and he loved it!  They had goats and a horse, and Barrett even got to do archery, ride around on the 4-wheeler, and have a bonfire.  He came home dirty, tired, and full of fun stories.  

Likes:  Pokemon cards, goats, Taco Bell Doritos Locos tacos

Dislikes:  not seeing his friends for a week

169 months old

 

Britton's first week of high school flew by in a swirl and learning a new school and meeting a ton of new people!  Now, she's 3 weeks in and knows her way around, and is used to getting up at 5:30 am.  Me, I'm still adjusting to the new wake up time!  Britton is trying out for softball this year, so she's in the softball gym class, and is staying after twice a week for running and weights.  She's also started the new season of her rec league softball team, and has practice 3 times per week.  Add to that homework and National Charity League commitments, and this girl is BUSY!  She's on top of it, and keeps track of all her goings on on her own - I am constantly amazed at how organized she is.  

Likes:  playing Roblox Fairy Tycoon, leggings, finally getting to read assigned books in English

Dislikes:  running in the morning - she'd much rather run in the evening

barrett: 123 months old

 

Barrett, still in his pajamas even at mid-morning, because we're riding out the last days of summer vacation.  Barrett starts 5th grade next week, his last year of elementary school, and it is making me feel somewhat stressed that after this year, it gets real.  His elementary school is so welcoming to parents, and we've been sure to be up there often.  In junior high, the kids would much rather we parents stay away!  So, it's the last year of many things - me coming up to eat lunch with him, walking him to school, knowing how to help with homework, and so much more.

Likes:  yogurt with fruit chunks (unlike his sister), Chick-fil-A peach shakes

Dislikes:  cutting his nails, this incessant Texas heat

14 years old

The birthday girl is 14 years old!!  We're on the cusp of the last few years of childhood, and it does make me horribly nostalgic and sad.  Britton starts high school is less than two weeks, so we've got her for four more years before she flies the nest, and it doesn't feel like nearly enough time.   Ok, enough of my emotional whining, it's time to party!

Britton wanted her birthday party to be bowling AND to be on her actual birthday, so we had a bowling and arcade party in the middle of the week. The girls had a blast, and Barrett brought a friend to bowl with him.  We had pizza, fries, pretzels, and cupcakes!

After the party, we met Memaw and PawPaw at the house to open presents and have more cake.  We couldn't do candles at the bowling place, and I am a firm believer that you need to make a wish on your birthday.

Likes:  cats, pop music, watercolor painting

Dislikes:  math, the ridiculous heat, having to wake up super early for high school

 

barrett: 122 months old

We're firmly in the middle of our summer fun!  Barrett has had a great time in art camp - the first week he did animals (drawing, painting, etc.) and this week has been clay.  He's also got a week of robotics camp coming up in a few weeks.  While I'm sure Barrett would be fine to play on his iPad all day, he does appreciate having something new and fun to keep him entertained over the summer.  Plus, it's been so hot this summer that he loves his camps being in air-conditioned buildings.  I've also signed him up for tennis lessons once per week, which he likes much better than the tennis camps I used to sign him up for!  

Likes: not having any cavities -we went to the dentist today

Dislikes:  losing his teeth - he misses them (just lost a molar today!)

167 months old

How are we already in JULY?  Seriously, this summer is going way too fast, no doubt due to our recent vacations.  While the hubs and I went to Iceland for a week, Memaw and PawPaw treated Barrett and Britton to a Disney World vacation!  They of course had a blast, even though it was blazing hot and humid every day.  I'm not sure who was more tired at the end of every day, the kids or the grandparents!  We got to hear all about their adventures when we got back, and they even got us some souvenirs, which was such a sweet surprise!

July promises to be fun too, with art camp next week!  Britton and Barrett will both be doing ceramics/clay, and they enjoyed their previous art camps, so I have high hopes for this one as well.  It's a good option to get them out of the heat while still having something new to do over the summer.  We've also started running this summer - took a break while we were all out of town, but now we're getting back into the schedule.  

Likes:  Biscuit - a neighborhood cat we found on our walks

Dislikes:  this never-ending summer heat

 

barrett: 121 months old

Barrett is firmly into his summer mode, and has already had a week of art camp!  This week focused on animals, and the camp brought in animals every day for the kids to meet, then their art projects were of the animals they met and talked about.  He's had a blast, which makes me happy, because he's going back in July for clay!  

The soccer season ended right after school let out, and his team played so well this season!  Barrett's favorite position is defense, and he does not like goalie, as the pressure gets to him.  Mostly, I think he really enjoys being on a team, and working with his teammates.  

Likes: art, swimming in the pool

Dislikes: running!

166 months old

We are in the throes of summer, which is why I'm a week late with Britton's monthly picture!  Even though the hubs and I work every day and are well aware of the date, summer has a way of making every day feel like the weekend, and "to dos" tend to get forgotten.  Britton is officially a 9th grader and headed to high school in August!  I know, I KNOW everyone says it goes by fast, and dang it, I should have listened, because it really does.  I have a hard time wrapping my head around the next 4 years, when Britton will learn to drive, apply to college, and fly the nest.  

Britton is going to play softball in the fall for KGSA - her last season with the rec league, and then try out for the softball team at high school in the spring.  She set a goal this summer to run the entire mile, and since I haven't done that since high school, I have joined her in that quest!  The hubs is too, and Barrett says he will too, so we've started alternating jogging and walking in the hopes that by the end of the summer, we're running the entire mile.  The heat isn't making me motivated!

Likes:  swimming in the pool, her new mermaid tail, making her own fruit sorbet

Dislikes: putting away laundry

 

barrett: 10 years old!

 

This dapper dude is 10 years old today!  He's not usually wearing a suit and fedora, but this is a "Smooth Criminal" costume he got as a birthday present, and he didn't take it off all day.  Barrett loves all things Michael Jackson - I'm not sure if I've told you the origin story yet.  His art teacher plays Michael Jackson music during art class, and Barrett latched onto the music quickly.  He's a huge fan now, and badly wanted a "Smooth Criminal" costume.  I also got him some Michael Jackson miniature figurines - 5 of them in various poses, and he was so excited to see them!

For his party birthday yesterday, the weather cooperated and we had a fantastic pool party!  The theme was "Harry Potter" and I totally ran with it.  Barrett and I are halfway through the 4th book, so I focused on vignettes of Snape's potions laboratory, the owl post, the goblet of fire, envelopes coming out of the fireplace, and finally, Honeydukes, which was set up with tons of Harry Potter-named candy for self-help goody bags.  The kids were sugared up and crazy, and all must have fallen asleep hard last night because they never stopped swimming and jumping for the entire party.  

Likes:  Michael Jackson, Prime lights, the World Geography board game Cammy sent him, the Harry Potter themed Legos (TWO faves!) Aunt Jessica sent him, the telescope Memaw and PawPaw gave him - we need a clear night because even us adults are vying for our turn to use it!

Dislikes:  homework - he's so ready for summer!

165 months old

Look who is almost out of junior high!  Britton has a few weeks left, and then she's on to high school.  I am in disbelief just writing that - it feels like a cruel joke that junior high just flew by.  She started junior high in virtual school, shut down and kept out by Covid, and now, three years later, she's ready to leave the quiet and safe hamlet of junior high for the big bad world of high school!  Her mother, however, is not ready, and sources say she most likely will never be ready for the big life changes of either child.  Ahhh, such is life!

Britton just got her report card - all As and 1 B, so she's doing a phenomenal job with her schoolwork.  She just had 4 STAAR tests in the past few weeks (the standardized state testing) and is not happy that her teachers have now switched focus to projects and finals, so quickly after STAAR.  

For a first, I asked Britton for her "likes" and "dislikes" this month, and here is what she said:

Likes: coffee, her friends

Dislikes: STAAR testing, the classmates that get on her nerves

barrett: 119 months old

I know I'm days overdue, and here's the story.  We had our entire first floor flooring replaced last week, and Barrett was none too keen on the inconvenience of it all - having to live in the destruction and chaos, not being able to lounge around downstairs, etc.  I get it, and so do Memaw and PawPaw, who let Barrett and Britton basically move in with them for a couple of days (and nights!) last week while we were in the thick of it all.  Then they took him and Britton camping (the kids got Monday off of school but the hubs and I had work), so Barrett has had a lot of bonding time with Memaw and PawPaw, but hasn't been around for me to grab his monthly photo.

Barrett started soccer!  Well.......kind of.  First practice was last week and we had downpours and hail, so that didn't happen.  Then the first game was rained out too.  So, technically, the season started but we haven't practiced or had a game yet, and we have a uniform, but haven't met anyone else on the team.

The hubs and I got to go up to school to see Field Day and cheer on the yellow team!  Barrett competed in soccer dribbling and golf, and his class came in first place!

Likes:  still a huge fan of Michael Jackson, and now also prairie dogs and capybaras (which he tells me we can keep legally as a pet, but I'm calling shenanigans)

Dislikes:  that I won't agree to getting a capybara 

164 months old

Now that spring break is over, Britton is counting down to summer vacation!  But before she can get to the luxuriously lazy days of sleeping in and riding her bike to Starbucks, she first has to tackle STAAR (standardized) testing and finals.  It's a lot of testing right at the end of school, and she's none too happy about it!  I told her that her teachers probably weren't overly excited about standardized testing either, since it takes up so much time to prep and administer.  She's probably just feeling the time crunch we're getting to end of softball season (already?!) with her last 2 games this week.  End-of-season tournament is in a couple of weeks, and she's ready to go because her team has been doing really well this season.  Last game Britton had a great hit and made it to second base!

                                                   

She also had her art show last week, and displayed her clay storefront - a pet store!  She made individual window items in her shop, including a really detailed cat in the upper lefthand window.  I love how it turned out!

Likes: my mediocre attempts at copying the Starbucks turkey and provolone panini, getting NJHS hours for volunteering at the upcoming school carnival - we're doing Plinko!

Dislikes: social studies and algebra 

 

barrett: 118 months old

 

Barrett is slowly but surely pulling up his grade in math!  Geometry has thrown him for a loop, and we're trudging our way through angles, leaf and stem plots (I had to Google this), graphs, and other fun things I can't remember/never learned how they teach it these days.  He loves geography though, especially civilizations and the history of countries, which honestly, he didn't get from me.  

Barrett starts soccer soon!  He's excited and loves soccer, and has absolutely no interest in ever playing baseball again.  Fine by me!  The soccer fields are 5 minutes away, the baseball fields are 30+ minutes away - I consider this a win.  

Likes:  looking up country flags, Harry Potter (still on book 4!)

Dislikes:  doing extra math homework

163 months old

 

Britton had here yearly haircut today!  Ok, maybe she gets haircuts more often than that (I don't), but she's just like me in that regard - she grows it long, then gets a decent cut, then grows it again until she can't stand it, usually when it starts warming up around here.  Speaking of which, you know when the weather starts getting warmer that softball season is right around the corner!  Britton had her first games on Wednesday night, and has another doubleheader tomorrow.  She's playing third base this season, which makes her nervous because infield is certainly more pressure than outfield!  

She finished up volleyball last weekend, so luckily we're no longer juggling two sports at the same time.  Britton really enjoyed playing volleyball, and I'm so proud that she would put herself out there to learn a new sport, on a team where she didn't really know anyone.  She's a great server, and an especially supportive teammate - cheering on the others and giving words of encouragement all the time.

Likes:  her new jacket - in her signature maroon color, Nella

Dislikes:  when Nella refuses to snuggle (as evidenced above) and tart oranges

barrett: 117 months old

 

We've had quite the creative weekend! Barrett is working on his annual school book shoebox float.  Last year he did "I Survived the Hindenburg Disaster" and this year he chose "I Survived the Bombing of Pearl Harbor."  A lot of disaster re-creation going on around here!  I ordered some model battleships, and Barrett and PawPaw put them together last night.  Today, we're elbow deep in tissue paper and glue!  We also made Barrett's class Valentine's Day cards and his Valentine's box.  It's fun doing crafty things with him, because he dives right in and likes to do the painting, gluing, and designing.

Likes:  Harry Potter (we're almost finished with book #3!)

Dislikes:  wearing a jacket in cold weather (and so it begins....)