July 2015

Posted on February 29, 2016 by sarah

July was fun! Hank spent the first few days at the cabin with Grandad and GG and his cousins, Ainsley and Dalton. We took a daytrip together to Llano for some barbeque and had a low-key Fourth of July followed by some World Cup fun. The next weekend we celebrated Sarah and Tyler’s birthdays with friends.

We saw lots of friends and family this month, enjoying playdates, splash pad fun, library visits, special lunches, bowling, swimming, bike riding and lots of summer fun. Hank went on a really fun day trip with his cousins, Michael and David. They enjoyed going to the zoo and the Mayborn Museum and eating tasty burgers together. Sarah had Lasik in July and after nearly a lifetime of wearing glasses or corrective lenses (she got her first pair of glasses at 18 months old), she no longer needs them to see. Just after her surgery, we took a trip to visit Hank’s Aunt Traci, Uncle Geoff and cousins, Ainsley and Dalton. Ainsley, Hank and Dalton had a blast playing and going swimming togehter. Hank loved getting to sleep over at thier house! Ainsley proclaimed that she and Uncle Tyler are “Dr Pepper Buddies” as they both like to drink Dr Pepper. We all enjoyed our visit very much.

Hank continued his violin lessons through the summer and wrapped up the month of July with a week at Fiddle Camp. The camp was led by one of his old instructors, Ms Allison, his current instructor, Ms D, and another instructor named Mr Eddie who is also lots of fun. He really enjoyed himself and learned lots of fiddle tunes. The very last day of the month, Hank and Sarah had tea with our friends, Lisa and Colin and Lisa introduced Hank to a game called “Ingress”. He has been playing it quite often ever since looking for portals to hack and claim. Its made running errands or waiting at restuarants with Mom and Dad a bit more interesting for sure. We had a great month!

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June 2015

Posted on February 29, 2016 by sarah

Hank had his Kindergarten graduation at the beginning of June and we kicked off our summer fun with a family trip to the beach. Hank had a blast playing in the water, building sand castles, looking for shells and drawing in the sand. We visited Moody Gardens while we were in the area and really enjoyed the variety there. Hank especially enjoyed the rainforest biome with the brightly colored birds and plants, free-roaming monkeys, iguanas and butterflies. We saw a diner called Big Amos and decided to have lunch there in honor of Hank’s uncle, Amos. We found the food delicious and the chef very fun.

Hank’s cousin, Alyssa, graduated from High School and we went to her graduation party on our way home from the beach. It was great seeing so much family in one place! As always, Hank enjoyed playing with his cousins. The very next week, Hank had a daycamp for the advanced academics program he is in at school. At the camp, he and his peers got to make old-school style arcade games out of recycled objects. Hank made a sort of marble run with a point system depending on where the marble ended up in the game. At the end of the week, the campers had an arcade day and families and friends got to come play all the games and win prizes (that the students made). It was lots of fun and really neat to see what each child came up with.

At the very end of the month, Hank went on a special trip to with GG, Grandad, and his cousins, Ainsley and Dalton. They got to go to the cabin without parents and enjoy “Camp GG and Grandad”. Hank had fun but got a bit homesick – we hear that’s normal for overnight camping. June was a great month and we enjoyed lots of fun hanging out with family and friends, playing at splash pads, going swimming, enjoying some downtime in the air conditioning, reading lots of books, having picnics and just enjoying our little family. Here are some photos in no particular order.

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Spring 2015

Posted on February 10, 2016 by sarah

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March 2015

Posted on February 10, 2016 by sarah

March was a super fun month in 2015! We had the typical Texas wonky-winter-weather (say that 3 times fast) which meant we had everything from 80 degree days with lots of sun to 29 degree days with ice on the roads. Hank was so thrilled to have an ice day – which meant school was cancelled and resulted in him sleeping in, wearing pajamas most of the day and playing video games on a week day – fun times! It also meant that Daddy got to stay home from work (safety first) and that is always lovely!

We had fun this month playing with friends and family. We helped Uncle Josh celebrate his 40th birthday with a fun, super-hero themed surprise birthday party. It was so fun hanging out with aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents and some of Josh’s friends. Hank also helped his good friend, Emma, celebrate her birthday by going rollerskating with her – it was both of thier first time on rollerskates and they had so much fun! He enjoyed some playdates with friends this month both at our house (or thiers) and at parks when the weather was good. Our family went to the cabin over spring break and spent some time with more cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents (there is a separate post about that trip).

Hank continues to love school and is having lots of fun in Kindergarten. We went to his school’s Spring Carnival and had a great time (even when it was our turn to man his class’ “booth” which was a large bounce house. Tyler and Sarah took it in turns playing referee for an hour to help Hank’s class/school – we are learning lots about what volunteering in your child’s school really looks like). Hank has also been enjoying playing violin. He wrapped up his time in Ms. Allison’s studio by playing “Allegro” for his spring recital. He begins lessons with a new teacher in April (Ms. Allison is going on maternity leave). Hank began baseball at the end of this month and we got to experience what was a norm for Tyler’s parents when he was growing up, going from one activity to another in the same day in support of both sports and the fine arts. Hank had baseball practice and a game, then he changed clothes from his baseball uniform into his suit and ate a snack in the car on the way to his violin recital. It was a full and busy day, but incredibly fun and Hank did well in both events.

We realize we didn’t take many photos this month. Here are a few photos, in no particular order, from our various adventures in March.

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Spring Break 2015 – Cabin Trip

Posted on February 10, 2016 by sarah

Hank and Sarah had the week off for Spring Break so we went to the cabin to relax in nature with GG and Grandad. As always, we had an amazing time! Our first night there, we got to hang out with Uncle Geoff, Aunt Traci, Ainsley, and Dalton, who were wrapping up thier own spring break trip. Hank had a blast playing in the snow with Ainsley and Dalton. They found that soup ladles worked well as scoops to prep snowballs and they learned that the shovel makes an excellent catapult for snow. They had a great time showering the grandparents and each other with snow and snowballs. They also had a great time sledding and warming up by the fire. At the end of the day, GG and Grandad transformed the upstairs living room into a sleepover extravaganza and the kids had fun (not) sleeping in the same space. As always, we enjoyed delicious food, tasty wine and great conversation with Traci and Geoff before they headed home.

While he was the only child present for the rest of the trip, Hank had so much fun building snow castles with Dad, riding 4-wheelers with Grandad and GG, stargazing with Mom, Dad and Grandad (the nights were coooold!), building a snowman with GG, taking lots of photographs with Mommy’s camera, feeding the deer, visiting Pagosa Springs, a muddy trek to a half-frozen waterfall, spotting wildlife, drawing, eating at 3 Ravens, sledding, s’mores, reading by the fire, staying up late, Grandad’s delicious breakfasts, doing art with GG, snowball fights, nature walks, more sledding, delicious food, feeding the deer, playing on the playscape and more playing in the snow. Hank practically lived in his snowpants and boots the entire week.

For our part, we did all those things too as well as sleeping in (thanks GG and Grandad), watching movies on Netflix by the fire with Grandad and GG, frosty jeep rides to Lake Heron, eagle sightings, reading and relaxing. It was a lovely break from our norm all around and nice to hang out with loved ones and get a bit of snow in the middle of March. Here are some photos from our trip in no particular order:

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February 2015

Posted on October 30, 2015 by sarah

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January 2015

Posted on August 29, 2015 by sarah

We rang in the new year with a party at Uncle Josh and Aunt Dayna’s house. Hank had a blast playing with his cousins and he absolutely loved getting to stay up WAY past his usual bedtime.

Although January was full adventures, we really didn’t take many photos this month. Hank continues to enjoy school and playing violin. Shortly after returning to school from Christmas Break, Hank auditioned for the school variety show. He was a bit nervous to stand all by himself and play in front of a judge and his waiting peers, but he walked to his mark, introduced himself and his pieces and played beautifully. He was thrilled to learn he had a spot in the show and we were thrilled to see him have real-world experience with having practice pay off. The show was fabulous. The kids performed to a packed house. Hank’s GG, Grandad, Grandpa and Grandma were all there (with Mom and Dad and several of Hank’s friends) to cheer Hank and the other performers on. Hank played, “Go Tell Aunt Rhodie” and “Oh Come Little Children”. It was neat to see him on a stage and to hear older elementary students, moments before Hank began playing, telling their friends to be quiet so they could hear him. He got a great ovation and is already talking about what he might play next year…

The weather this month was inconsistent so while we did visit with friends, most of our visits were indoors. Fortunately, when Sarah’s cousin, Doug, was in town for work (he and his family live in New Jersey), the weather was actually lovely and she and Hank got to spend time together with him at a park. This month, our family enjoyed Pho and went to library much more than usual and Hank and Tyler had some quality video game time together enjoying the new Lego Batman game Hank got for Christmas (Hank likes the Lego video games quite a bit). Hank participated in the science fair at his school. He explored conductivity (photos are in December as that’s when he did the work). He had fun experimenting and telling Mom and Dad where things should go on his presentation board (we did the assembly under his direction). It was a good month!

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December 2014

Posted on August 29, 2015 by sarah

December was very fun, but also very busy! Hank enjoyed playing his violin in two Christmas concerts this year. One concert was at a party for an elderly community and the other was on the big stage at the Armadillo Christmas Bazaar. He had SO much fun and enjoyed learning all the Christmas music for the shows. He also liked getting to go back stage and using a green room for the first time.

We went to church with Grandpa and Grandma (Sarah’s parents) on Christmas Eve and this year, Hank held his own candle during the candelit hymn singing. We celebrated Christmas with Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Laura, Uncle Jon, Alyssa, Megan, Christopher, Uncle Josh, Aunt Dayna, Tori, Michael, David, Uncle Ben, Aunt Nancy, James, Paul, Uncle Amos, Aunt Shannon, Kai, Connor, Mia, Riley, Uncle Dick, Becky and Aunt Donna at Grandpa and Grandma’s house. A full house, lots of family and fun! We celebrated Christmas with GG and Grandad (Tyler’s parents) at our house the weekend after Christmas. We were so glad they were able to come visit during the holidays!

We had so much fun with family and friends this month – it seemed to simply fly by! Here are some photos from the month in no particular order.

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November 2014

Posted on June 30, 2015 by sarah

November was a great month. The fall weather finally arrived and with it, slightly cooler temperatures which made playing outdoors all the more enjoyable. We spent as much time as we could at parks and zoos, spending time with family and friends.

At the beginning of the month, Jodie Ayi came for a brief visit. She is Hank’s surrogate Aunt in China and is always so kind and vibrant and full of enthusiasm and encouragement for Hank. He calls her Jodie Ayi (or Ayi Jodie depending on the day) which basically means “Auntie Jodie”. While she was in town for only a short time and her schedule was packed with business meetings and such, she made some time to see us and loved giving Hank a big hug. She says she can’t wait for him to visit her in China and we look forward to that as well!

Hank continued to enjoy basketball (he began that last month) and his coach is amazing! Hank was very excited to earn MVP and sportsman and leadership awards playing a game he really enjoys. He continued to enjoy violin and had his first recital with Ms Allison’s studio this month. After his recital, we all (Grandpa, Grandma, Patrick, Grandad, GG, Mom, Dad and Hank) went for ice cream – Hank’s favorite. Now that he’s past the recital, he is focusing on learning some Christmas music for a few concerts in December. He loves school and has been sharing all sorts of stories about the things he and his friends there get up to. We love his teacher – she is wonderful!

We enjoyed getting to see Ainsley, Dalton, GG and Grandad again this month. We met at the zoo and had a lovely day together. Its so fun watching those cousins play together. We celebrated Thanksgiving with Sarah’s side of the family this year at Grandma’s house. As always, it was a great time with lots of delicious food and our enormous family. We are truly blessed!

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Hank is 6!

Posted on June 30, 2015 by sarah

Hank celebrated his 6th birthday with friends, family, sweets and science. He ended up having 2 parties in the same day. First he had a party with a few pals in the morning – they did lots of fun science experiments and had a blast playing with “snow” and watching diet soda explode in our back yard. The pinata was a big hit as well. Hank had a great time!

Later in the day, after his guests had gone home, Hank’s GG and Grandad arrived with Hank’s cousins, Dalton and Ainsely. Grandpa, Grandma and Aunt Donna came over as well for Hank’s birthday dinner – he chose pancakes. So we had pancakes and more sweets and Hank, Ainsley and Dalton had science fun together with grandparents and a special aunt checking out their progress. Ainsley, Dalton, GG and Grandad stayed for a sleepover and while not much sleep ended up happening, Hank really enjoyed their visit.

He had a great day and is excited that he is 6 years old now. Here are some photos from the day in no particular order. We are so happy Hank is 6 years old and had a wonderful time celebrating with him!

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