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

191 months old

One month until Britton turns sixteen!  I can't believe how fast these years have flown by, even when the days felt like they would never end.  In anticipation of Britton's birthday, the hubs got to investigating what deals he could get on a car, and we got the Subaru Crosstrek that Britton really wanted.  If she gets a parking pass, she will be able to drive to school and stop having to haul all of her softball gear on the bus - win!  

Likes:  her new car!

Dislikes: being hot and sweaty - which this summer is turning out to be - and humid!

 

barrett: 145 months old

Barrett has been a super helper when it comes to the new puppy Poppy!  He gets on the floor with her, lets her chew on him and climb all over him, and will rub her belly as much as she wants (which is a lot).  He's getting her used to walks and her harness too.  He really was made to have a dog in his life, and he's taken to Poppy so easily.

Barrett is also doing conditioning camp this summer for football!  He goes 4 days per week for weight training and football drills, and will be ready once the new school year starts up and football tryouts are scheduled.  He's enjoying the weight training more than he thought he would.  He'll miss next week because he's headed to Sea Camp!

Likes:  Poppy, conditioning camp

Dislikes:  grape-flavored things 

190 months old

Despite Britton's need to wear hoodies every day, we are officially in summer! School is out, but not completely - she's taking a health class online, so she doesn't have to waste a semester in the next school year taking the class.  And it seems like her Italy trip with school was so far away when we signed her up - she's now about a month out from leaving!  It'll be a fantastic time for her to go, though very crowded with Jubilee, but they've got tickets to all the amazing sights.  I've never been to Italy, so I want a very thorough review when she gets home!

We are also taking advantage of the slower summer schedules with campus visits!  We are checking out University of Texas and Texas State University this week, and then at the end of June it's Arkansas and University of Oklahoma.  I'm a firm believer in the campus tour - you'll know what feels right when you step on campus (and which schools you want to take off of the list!).  And, at some point but probably not this summer, we'll go to Virginia Tech too!

Likes:  dyeing her hair (she's currently doing purple)

Dislikes:  that OU lost in softball and is out of the college world series

 

barrett: 12 years old!

Barrett turned 12!  He's now officially in his last year of the "pre-teens" and growing like a weed. Barrett had a video game truck birthday party last year, so this year I asked him if he wanted to do Popstrokes, or bowling, or a pool party, or something new and totally different.  His answer - nope, he wanted the video game truck again!  So we made that happen, and he and his friends had a blast.  

                                          

On his actual birthday, which fell in the middle of the week, Memaw and PawPaw joined us for a birthday dinner at Barrett's choice, our favorite Italian restaurant.  Then we came home for some cake - Barrett picked a Nothing Bundt Cakes lemon cake for his real birthday cake!  For his party, we went with our family favorite HEB vanilla.

Likes:  playing football (in real life and in Madden), playing basketball with me at the playground, science class and art class, plane spotting with the hubs

Dislikes:  having to wait out the next two weeks to get to summer vacation

189 months old

It's May!  Britton is ecstatic because May means the end of school, but also is dreading final exams, including her first ever AP exam for World History.  Soon enough, in a few short weeks, she will be halfway through high school, and while I plan out her college visits this summer, I'll cry into her baby blankets and refuse to believe that my firstborn will soon be driving.  It's all too fast!  But enough about my mental breakdown.  

Britton had her softball banquet, marking the official end of this softball season!  The head coach is retiring (he's the best, we will miss him!) so Britton is gearing up for a new coaching staff in the fall.  Her team also has the option to play summer ball with the local rec league, but so far she's been unable to drum up enough interest to get a full team.  We're celebrating her team's hard work with an end-of-season pool party at Chez Britton!

Likes:  coming up with designs for her fake nails - very artistic!

Dislikes:  studying for finals

barrett: 143 months old

Barrett came home very excited about a new English project - researching a country!  He picked Bosnia, then proceeded to tell me about a ton of other countries. He's always loved geography and flags, and any interesting tidbits he picks up about other countries.  We think he has a future as a cartographer - if that's even a profession when he grows up!  He's doing so well in school, and I attribute that not only to his driving work ethic, but also his natural curiosity about the world around him.

We went to the opening game of the Space Cowboys!  The Space Cowboys are our minor league team, and the games are a blast (plus, the soft pretzels and brisket nachos are not to be missed!).  In other sports news, Barrett and I have recently started taking walks together in the neighborhood, and bringing his basketball so we can play on the neighborhood court.  We're usually the only people there, so we can be silly and try some fun shots!

Likes:  the new Minecraft movie

Dislikes:  waking up early during the school week (even though he's up voluntarily even earlier on the weekends!)

188 months old

Softball season is coming to an end!  It feels like they just played their first game - every season feels faster than the one before.  Britton has been playing first base this season, and really enjoys it.  She's got a great core group of friends on the team, and I think the hubs and I, along with their parents, may be enjoying the games more than them!  Ha!

Exams will be creeping up next month, and then summer vacation - already?!  Britton isn't going to camp this year, but is going on a school trip to Italy in July.  I've never been to Italy, so I want her to report back on the must-dos and best activities and sites to visit!  But the summer won't be all play and no work - Britton was recently elected president of her NCL class, so she'll hit the ground running this summer getting her new board squared away and ready to work the Seniors' fashion show in September.

Likes:  her new headphones, gigantic soft hoodies

Dislikes:  Algebra 2 - she's ready for it to be over!

 

barrett: 142 months old

                                         

Barrett is enjoying March no doubt, as we jumped into Spring Break and went on a cruise on the Disney Dream!  Barrett absolutely loves ships, especially historic shipwrecks and marine tragedies, and was finally old enough on this trip to get to explore the ship on his own.  We walked around the 4th deck, and explored the engine room.  Barrett loved the broadway-type shows every night, and never left the water willingly while we were on the beaches.  

It's hard being back in "the real world" but Barrett jumped right back into school.  He's been reading a new book in English - "City of Ember" - which he's really enjoying, and doing well in all of his classes.  He went to the "March Madness" school party, and luckily we have a nearby school - University of Houston - in the mix, so when he said he needed a shirt the day before the party I was able to track one down!

Likes:  drawing Super Bowl logos and starting Lego projects and not finishing them

Dislikes: that the hubs will gladly finish those Lego projects ;)

187 months

The photo was taken on time, the post was not!  March has been a whirlwind of activity.  Let's jump right in!  Britton is still enjoying debate, and earned 25 points this year in the NSDA (National Speech and Debate Association), which got her a certificate taped proudly to her classroom wall!  Her goal next year is 250 points, so she can earn a letter in debate.  She's finished with tournaments for this school year because softball season is in full swing.

Britton has been playing both the designated hitter position and first base.  She's gotten a few balls hit all the way to the outfield, and she's still doing weekly batting lessons with HTL.  Her team has quite a few returners from last year's team, and overall it's a great group of girls!

We took a break from school over Spring Break with a Disney cruise on the Disney Dream!  We stopped in Nassau, and both Disney islands - Castaway Cay and Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point (our first time here!).  It was an incredible week of relaxation, trivia, beautiful beaches, and Shirley Temples at dinner.

Likes:  going to concerts - she saw both AJR and Tyler the Creator in March!

Dislikes:  long softball practices and English class

barrett: 141 months old

I can't believe that Barrett is more than halfway through sixth grade now!  He's in all KAP classes and doing really well, keeping up on his homework on his own.  One of his favorite classes has turned out to be Art, and he's hoping to get into Art 2 next year for his elective.  He's also looking at doing football next year, which means he has do Athletics instead of regular PE.  So, we're in the thick of class selection right now, and trying to get everything entered where it's supposed to be, and sign whatever forms need to be signed, and in general making sure it all gets finished so Barrett can get the classes he wants.

Barrett had the best time watching the Super Bowl!  He wasn't much invested in the two teams playing, but he loves watching football, and getting to wear his Super Bowl jacket (even though it's 80 degrees here!).  

Likes:  football

Dislikes:  having to remember his rubber bands for his braces

186 months old

We're in February now, which means we're fully into softball season!   Britton made the JV team again this year, and is bringing the heat in her batting skills.   She's had two scrimmages, and next week starts up games.  First game is away, but we'll go and cheer her on!  Britton has also been busy with debate, competing in the novice tournament last week, and the final tournament next weekend.  She should have enough points at the end of the school year to get membership in the National Speech and Debate Association.  And if she earns enough points she can even get a letter.  

She's still killing it at all of her classes, and really likes chemistry right now.  She's also studying Greek mythology in English, and explains all the stories to me - I never quite grasped Greek mythology in school!

                                 

Likes:  softball season

Dislikes: getting up early

barrett: 140 months old

 

Barrett is embracing his winter clothes, voluntarily wearing long sleeve shirts and pants!  Last year it was nearly impossible to get him out of shorts, even when the temperatures dipped below 40 degrees, so I'm taking this as a win.  Barrett has been steadily working on all of the Lego sets he got for Christmas - finished the Concorde, working on Minecraft, and the chess set is up next.  He's also been working on a 1:400 scale airport replica with the hubs, and they're currently tackling the terminal buildings.  I'm a huge fan of miniatures, so I love seeing him get excited about working on his model!

Barrett is loving all things science right now (they are learning about biospheres in class) and playing his flight simulator game.  He's also been cheering on football teams as we inch closer to the national championship for college and of course, the Super Bowl.  

Likes: bagel bite minis, playing Pickleball

Dislikes: the long walk from the bus stop when it's raining

185 months old

 

Of course my first post of 2025 would be late!  Britton and I went to Virginia over Christmas break, and she and I weren't home on January 2nd for me to do this post on time.  Britton had a fantastic time visiting her friend in Richmond and I went to Virginia Beach to see my family.  January is promising to not give quarter to the weary!   School is back in session, and the trials and tribulations of final exams is behind, with new assignments, tests, and homework back on the schedule.  

Especially exciting this month will be softball team tryouts this week!  Britton has been working hard on her batting all year, and is ready to return to the team.  Tryouts were supposed to be last week, but Texas got a ton of rain and the field was swamped.  

Likes:  sleeping in, planning which concerts to attend this year

Dislikes: her plane getting delayed and landing in Richmond at 2:00 am