A Day With Delaney: Birthday Party & Zoo

Henry Vine, a friend in Delaney's class, was turning 5 and had a super fun birthday party at the Zoo. Delaney hadn't been in over a year so I made it priority that we were going to miss a couple of her siblings games and spend a whole day with her. We got there early and explored Breckenridge Park and watched all the ducks. Then we met up with her friends for a really cool Zoo party and spent the whole rest of the day exploring the zoo. 3  1/2-4 really is the most perfect age for the Zoo so we tried to see every single part we could on that exceptionally warm February Saturday!

Carter's First Basketball Season with the Tigers and "Coach Bruce" (Champions!!)

Through one of Carter's close friends, he was able to try out in the Fall, to join a very established basketball team. This team has been playing together for years and years and majority of the boys attend The San Antonio Academy.

This was a huge step for Carter, not just in the level of completion (vs. Upwards) but also in the fundamentals, intensity & number of practices. We truly saw one of the biggest evolutions of Carter over the last 3 months. All of his confidence on the basketball court was gone as he was so focused on "not messing up." Since Carter didn't really know the other kids, you could tell he felt uncomfortable in the first 2-3 games and practices. However, slowly and very consistently (each game,) Carter got more and more confident and the "Carter Brown" that we know on the basketball court started to coming out more and more.

One of the most impactful things about this experience is the coach - a previous Spurs player, Bruce Bowen. The level of coaching the fundamentals, the emphasis on "Team-work," and the extremely high expectations he had for the boys was undeniable. On top of that, he is so animated coaching on the side lines and can't stop himself from getting upset with referees, at times. It's pure entertainment.

Valentine's Day 2017

One day I will miss all this fun and commotion trying to finish up 24 handmade Valentine's Day cards at 6AM on a Tuesday morning when Valentine's Day comes around!

Addison's Soccer Tournament - Champions

Meme came in town for the BIG weekend, filled with 9 games of both Carter and Addison's  respective soccer and basketball games. Addison had 4 soccer games in the United Soccer Winter Tournament. These girls played their hearts out and ultimately won their age bracket! Delaney got "Little Sister of The Year," by attending all 9 games Friday night, all day Saturday and all day Sunday!

Student Led Conferences & Reflections Art

This semester's conferences were led by the students, which Carter and Addison had participated in since Kindergarten from their previous school. 

I remember this day vividly as it was one of the absolute busiest days with work and Delaney had been sick ALL week, which ended up being the flu. I thought I was going to have to miss these conferences and let Blake take them on his own, but as the crazy events of the day had it, I was able to sneak a break in my 17 hour day to be there. 

I remember walking away with my heart practically bursting with proudness, as I realized how amazing these 2 children are doing, all around in all areas. When I take minute to reflect at how much the two of them not only "balance" but "excel" in, it really does blow my mind. 

As their mom, I want them to know how amazing I think they are and for them to recognize how awesome of human beings they are. At home, we don't ever even mention the topic of standardized testing, benchmarks or any other stressful terms regarding school and yet both are excelling at each test, repetitively obtaining the highest grades in their respective classes. Their drive, independence, work ethic, motivation, and responsibility is something that I have never seen in little people of their age and I can't wait to see what their future's continue to hold. I love that they adore school and whole heartedly want to try everything. I love how their confidence allows them to be open to trying new things and see what new passions enter their lives on a daily and weekly basis. Our goal has always been to raise self-sufficient, responsible and well-behaved children that develop into productive and loving adults that do and bring goodness into the world. 

The Most Amazing Brother!

We have all been working hard to get Delaney to sleep in her own bed and not come into Mommy and Daddy's bed every single night, like she had for nearly 18 months now. This particular night, Carter had offered to stay with her in her bed and when I went to wake him up for school, this is what I found. Carter just turned 10 years old and Delaney is 2 months shy of turning 4 years old.

Girls' Weekend Trip To Austin

The girls were scheduled to have a soccer tournament in Houston this specific weekend but with the recent heavy rains it was canceled the day before. Megan and I had planned for it to already be a weekend just with us girls so when we received the message it was canceled, we knew we still wanted to get away with our precious girls for a special weekend. 

We decided on a fun weekend to explore Austin and saw so much in our 2 days there. Early Saturday morning, we started exploring all the famous spots off Guadalupe and took in the "Austin culture," walking and driving up and down the packed streets. We stopped at a yummy and hip burger and milkshake spot and explored some cool stores, before taking off for what we hoped would be a quick tour of the State Capital in the early afternoon. Little did we know, that it was the busiest day all year with the National Women's March on the front Capital lawn. Still not knowing what was really going on and not being able to find a parking spot, I dropped Megan and the girls off to at least look around and snap a picture. Looking back, what they witnessed that day - from the signs to what people were wearing, probably left a strong memory in their little 8 year old minds.

We checked into the Embassy Suites hotel, right off Town Lake and went and explored the lake and enjoyed the absolute most beautiful and sunny weather possible in mid January. Then, we were off to take in the very cool Graffiti Park and had a fun dinner at Hula Hut. We capped off the big day with a late evening swim in the indoor hotel pool and had the super special experience of watching a movie in the hotel!

Sunday morning, we woke up for breakfast and explored the University of Texas campus. It was the perfect getaway for the 4 of us and Addison already declared next year's girls' trip is to College Station!