Well 2019 Flew By.....

I'm finally getting around to posting on our blog for 2019, and it's January 7th, 2020. That speaks volumes to the kind of year we've had. It's been one of transitions and change.


The first being we have moved to my hometown of Manvel, Texas. We sold our home in Austin, and bought a house in Quail Valley Ranches. Leaving behind the suburb lifestyle and moving to the country made us feel like we were moving to the other side of the world. Our first big challenge was finding internet at a speed that resembled what we were used to. It took about 6 months, but AT&T finally came to the rescue! I was on the verge of losing it, because we only had the basic channels (no cable) and anytime I needed to use the internet for work, I would have to drive to the library, which luckily wasn't too far away, or use my cellphone. After getting over that tiny hurdle, we have discovered how much fun it is to be in the country. We also love being closer to family and getting to spend much more time with them without having to make a 4 hour commute!




The first half of the year we focused on some house improvement projects- painting, replacing formica counters, and removing lots of trees and tree stumps that had poison ivy growing out of them. Dirk and I both had poison ivy that ended up spreading! We were both miserable in February. 
    

      

We have made the house feel like our home, but still have lots of projects to go. We want to work on the landscaping, the patio, and perhaps some new carpets in 2020.






Being in the country has created some new favorite activities. These include fishing in the bayou that runs behind our house, turtle-hunting, and finding all kinds of new insects. Kota loves riding her bike without training wheels in the driveway; she learned this year! Dirk loves getting to have a burn pile. Dirky loves getting to water the lawn, with his weiner. When we have lots of rain, the ditches fill up and create the perfect tubing spot! One activity that we have learned to love is mowing. There is something very satisfying about having a lawn that does not sport the tallest grass in the neighborhood.

         

                                       

                                      

I'm also so thankful for the time we've had to spend with cousins. Dakota calls Devin her best-friend-cousin. Devin has helped make Kota's Kindergarten year much easier. They are both in Mrs. Dare's class at E.C. Mason. They also were both in the same dance class at Studio G. We've had fun going to pick strawberries at Froberg's in Alvin, going to family dinner nights at Nana and Nono's, and church on Sundays at Redeemer. Demi and Dirky are often the instigators of mayhem, but even they have loved playing while the big sisters get together. Dawson is the sweetest little baby, and I feel like I get to experience the joy of a younger one again. 

          

 

 

One reason it has been hard for me to create a new post is because of another change in our lives, and this one was not for the best. We lost our Gaga Shelli in December 2018. I know she always read our blog posts, and it was hard to write a new one knowing she wouldn't talk to me about it afterwards. This has been a tough year without her because her support and love were always so evident in our lives. In January, Dirk and I were able to attend a memorial for her in California. Losing her has been a reminder that life is short, and it has helped me see why we moved to be closer to family. It has also made us appreciate our visits with Papa Dirk, The OG. He came to visit us this summer and we loved getting to show him our new place. We had a fun day in Galveston at Moody Gardens and on the Strand. And then in December we were able to meet in Nashville with Papa Dirk, Auntie Nay Nay, and Shelli's brother Drew and his hubby Michael. Even Shelli's dad Papa Andy was there. I know she'd be so happy to see all of us together still. I feel like she was there in spirit! Nashville was a perfect spot too because there was so much to do. We went to the Zoo, took a stroll down Broadway to Ole Red (Blake Shelton's bar), let Dirk eat his heart out at Prince's Hot Chicken, and even took the kids to The Parthenon. Of course, Dirk had to sport his Texans gear in front of the Titans stadium.

Some of the other trips we took in 2019; Dirk and I kicked off the year on a sailing trip with our friends Joe and Amber, Brooke, and Keith and Kendall to Sint Maartin, Anguilla, Saba, and St. Bart's. It was an epic vacation, but on days with choppy waves, I wished we could have ditched the sailboat! We had our annual April camping trip and went to Huntsville State Park. I love how excited the kids get about camping, but it stormed pretty hard at night and what I remember the most were the tall pine trees and how much they swayed in the wind. In the summer, I got to get away with our Austin friends Leah and Shanda to Cancun! Beach Book Club was started, and we were the nerdiest hot girls (self-titled) at the pool. Afterwards, the family visited Joe and Amber in Del Rio. We had so much fun setting Jonah and Dakota up on their 1st official date. Jonah picked Kota up in his Jeep power wheel, that was pulling a kayak. Dakota and Dirky loved tubing and the Joplin's ring tailed cat! Dirk had some quail hunting weekends sometime in the fall. My Manvel BFFs met up in Denver for the FIRST time ever at Hillary's place. Girls' weekend was such a success we are hoping to go world wide with this years. Once school started, we went to Splashway with Mimi and T-Paw to celebrate T-Paw's birthday with Grandma Katie and Cheyenne and Addison and our friends Colby and Elizabeth and Charlie, Chase, and CJ! It was a Halloween weekend so even more fun! At Christmas time, we went to Palestine with Nana and Nono and Aunt Cocoa and Aunt Jess and Uncle Derek (and Demi, Devin, and Dawson) to ride the Polar Express! It was a memorable train ride, and we loved poking around the city. The Redlands Hotel was also a highlight!

                                    

Some other milestones for 2019 include our first family soccer team. Mom and Dad were coaches, and Dakota and Dirky played on the same team, The Tigers. They only lost 2 games all season. Dirky also finished potty training - whohoo!!! Dakota and Devin starting kindergarten has been such a change. Being on a school schedule makes time fly by! They also got their ears pierced right before Christmas and instantly transformed into little ladies. Dirky has become quite our little comedian, cracking us up with his impressions and silly faces. I have no idea where he gets it from!! 

 

 We finished the year off celebrating Christmas at home. It was so nice to get to rest on Christmas Day and watch the kids enjoy all their presents. Mimi and T-Paw came over and we had so many presents! We have had so much to be thankful for this year, and I'd say the the thing we're most appreciative of is the family being close. To be able to share life with all of them is so special to me.

That's a wrap on 2019! I hope to get a few more blog posts in for 2020!

Birthdays, Vacays, and The Long Days of Summer

Summer time is our party time! Within a span of 2 short months, we celebrate Dirk turning 2, Mom turning (ahem- cough 31), Daddy turning 36, and Kota turning 4 - oh and Mothers and Fathers' Days! We had a fun Cinco de Mayo party at Da's, a Paw Patrol party with friends from school, a birthday BINGO outing, a Florida celebration with Gaga and Papa, and a cousins swim party with Devin and Demi, whew.

If that were not enough, Dakota had her first dance recital with Dance Unlimited, which fell on Father's Day. She did a tap dance to "Happy Feet", and a sweet ballet number to "I want to write you a song." Everyone danced in the finale to "The Greatest Show," one of our favorite songs right now.

She did so well on stage, smiling and dancing, looking over to the side of the stage for the next moves. She heard Mimi's whistle when she walked on stage, and you could just see her scanning the crowd for us. I teared up a little, remembering how I loved to perform on stage, and seeing my daughter perform her ballet and tap routine. On our way to the recital, I couldn't put into words how proud I was of her. She listened as I told her I knew how hard she had worked on learning her dances, but there was no way she could comprehend how brave she was for wanting to get on stage and dance her heart out! Her family and friends cheering her on emphasized the support and love she has in her life; it's a beautiful reminder!

    

A snippet from rehearsal- so funny!!!

To celebrate Papa's birthday, we flew to see Cali Gaga and Papa in Florida. And it was gorgeous there, as always. Even though our time is short, we got to see lots of family and have plenty of pool and beach relaxation time and eat amazing food. Uncle Drew made some BBQ ribs that were so delicious, and even brought a dessert they called Crack cake - it was addictive!!! The kids were spoiled with birthday presents galore and loved spying on Meeko and Missy, who unsuccessfully tried to hide all weekend. They were good sports.

       

   

        

Kota was battling an ear infection, which cut into some of our planned swimming time, and Mom battled some stomach issues, and then Dirk caught something on the tail end of our trip, so we were not our usual healthy happy selves for the entire trip. We powered through and had a fun bounce house outing instead of swimming. 

We had the luxury of flying this trip, and the kids loved being in the airport. We bought them their own luggage with wheels, and they looked like such big kids wheeling it around. Kota loved her pink Shopkins luggage, and Dirky was team Paw Patrol. It was a huge help to not have to carry their things this year like pack mules. They did incredibly well on the flights, but the patience in waiting at the gates could use a little work. Because we were delayed for almost 2 hours, no amount of iPad bribing could have kept them from running up and down the length of our waiting area. Most of the other passengers were pretty lax, but I blame Southwest mostly for canceling that red eye flight home. Anyhow, aren't these just the two cutest travelers you have seen? 

Over Memorial Day weekend, we had a fabulous time with our Manvel crew. The bond I have with these girls is unbreakable! We rarely are able to get all of our families together, so it was a special weekend we spent at Donnie and Sara's with Hillary and Chaz in town!! Jolene was pretty preggers, and on bed rest, but still came out to chill in the sun with us. Katy brought the boys and Miss Parker by for everyone to meet and love on! We also met Elijah, Amber and Aaron's foster son, for the first time, and he was such a cute little boy. Amber and Joe came in from Del Rio with Jonah and Journey too. We had plenty of pool time and Donnie let the kids play some front yard baseball, where the Marek boys clearly dominated. I felt so recharged getting that time with my some of favorite people on Earth. Looking back at these pictures, I feel like they just scream summer! 

 

We also came in for "Hero Fest" in Manvel and a Dalmolin cousin birthday party. I was amazed at how many heros and hero vehicles there were. Uncle Derek had helped put the event together! The Cajun army was there with one of their boats, the US Coast Guards brought a helicopter, and any kind city service vehicle you could imagine- police car, fire truck, ambulance, you name it. It was a toasty June day, but we were lucky to have snow cones to help cool off!    

    

As I mentioned, we spent lots of time eating cupcakes, and singing Happy Birthday this month. Here are some highlights from our parties.

We played Bingo for Dirk's birthday at our favorite place- Ben White Bingo Hall, and almost got asked to leave for being so fun. Jeff came out too, and I thought for sure someone in our group would win... no such luck. But we always have fun regardless. Dirk made me laugh so hard at our last Bingo date night I had tears streaming down my cheeks! I won a $50 pot, but ended up getting $20 in pull tabs and an entry into another drawing in August. So I brought home $1 and a piece of paper. It made us laugh so hard.

Gigi and Katy hid 4th of July necklaces and flags for the kiddos at the cousin's birthday party. 

The Paw Patrol Party at our house! Even Miss Celi from school came to wish the kids a Happy Birthday. I'm so glad Mimi got the video of us singing Happy Birthday to Kota and Dirky.

It's crazy how quickly Dirky is becoming more of a boy, and less of my baby boy. I also marvel at how sweet he can be in one instant, and how challenging he is in the next. At night, he will pull his little hands around my neck and try to have me snuggle up to him. He'll hold my hands as he falls asleep to make sure I don't leave him. If I'm wearing my hair in a ponytail or under a cap, he'll say "Hair off," meaning pull my hair out of the ponytail or take my hat off. Once I do, he'll say, "Hi Momma!" with a big smile, as if I hadn't been there before - ha!! He usually wants Momma to "carry you" from the car. In the morning when I say "Love you" he'll scream back, "Love you!" even louder. If I ask him who has a dirty diaper, he loves to blame Kota, who no longer wears diapers.

Some funny things Dirky says, "More milkt" with a t sound on the end or at bedtime, "More bookt."  He will also roar like a dinosaur, and put his hands up like he's about to pounce. We pretend that we are scared of him. If he gets upset with us, for trying to put his shoes on, or change his diaper when he doesn't want to, he'll be in mid-fit and then roar at us and it takes everything we have to not laugh directly at him. He's in the limits-testing stage, and has tried to hit both Dirk and I or kick. I am starting to see the challenge of physically forcing him to do something. He can put up quite the fight. Sometimes, I have to take a break and try to coax him to put on his clothes another way, because the struggle to get him to wear a shirt is real. If you see him wearing a pajama shirt, it's on a day I didn't have the energy to battle. 

I took this picture of my hand on his shoulder to remind me years from now, that he was once small enough for my entire palm to cover his shoulder. Even though I no longer see him as my baby boy, he is still only 2 years old and needs my love, attention, and patience as much now as he did as a baby. My friend Sara once told us she was grieving the loss of her children, while they were still children. I totally understand, because you feel like you and their Dad are the center of their world. When I see this picture in the future, I know it will remind me of my role at this stage in his life and how much I treasured these moments!

Kota has been my older role model when it comes to all things, except eating. She is still my sensitive sweet girl, but has been helping out so much more. Some of the funny things she says right now.... she puts her milk in the "Refrigerate" and her concept of time is not there yet. She said, "Noodles been kissing me all day night." We have been letting her have more time on the iPad and she loves a Youtube channel were Ryan, a blogger, plays with toys. The other day we heard her say, "two thumbs up if you like this video!" as we were recording her coming home from the YMCA. My favorite thing has got to be at night, when we're done reading books. She will ask me, "Can you read a story inside your mouth?" She wants me to tell her a story basically, but the way she puts it just cracks me up!

Mom and Dad have had fun playing sand volleyball at Moontower every Monday! Our team did so much better this season and Dirk made us the best "Krispy Pop" trophies.

A few more pics to close out our summer blog- It's been a fabulous past few months. I try to pinch myself and soak up every memory. I know Mom and Dad will not be the center of their world forever!