Welcome, Spring!

Spring was upon us which meant warmer temperatures, more daylight, more time outside and lots of fun activities!

A few months back I decided out of the blue that I wanted to get my concealed handgun license. I've been around guns my entire life and never cared for them but something in my mama-bear instinct has changed and I now feel like I'd like to carry one with me. So, Matthew took me to the shooting range one Saturday for some practice. This was my very first time ever shooting a handgun and I was pretty nervous.

Matthew ended up ordering this pink PK380 for me just a few weeks later. I still don't have my license to carry it with me but as soon as life slows down a bit I plan to take the class and get my permit.

Sam's pretzels and Icees--A favorite treat since she was a toddler

Jenga is so stressful....Ha!

One of Kyndall's drawings that I found in her backpack

This view from our neighborhood never gets old!

One morning when Huckabee wasn't feeling too well I looked over to see Cam snuggled up beside him on the bathroom floor. They really love each other!

Spring weather meant cute new clothes!

School was officially out for spring break so we headed up to the neighborhood playground as soon as school was dismissed and found several of Kyndall's friends up there as well and they enjoyed a game of mini jenga together.

First morning of spring break and she slept until 11:30 and woke up to donuts and chocolate milk. What a life!

Our first spring break activity was a trip to Painting with a Twist with friends Bailee and Bree

Bree, Kyndall and Bailee

Dinner at Panera after painting

More spring break painting and crafting

Grammy, Aunt Kelly, Wyatt and Easton flew in to spend a few days with us since it was Wyatt's spring break also.

Aunt Kelly and Grammy came bearing gifts

We met up with our friend Bree at the indoor trampoline park

Adults love to jump too!

Kyndall was pretty good at basketball that day

If you come to Texas, chances are we're going to take you to the infamous Buc-ee's gas station

On Saturday we took the whole crew to Six Flags 

That day also happened to be St. Patrick's Day so Wyatt and Kyndall were sure to wear their green

Aunt Kelly and Kyndall love all the crazy rides and they rode several of them together while the rest of us watched!

Kyndall and Wyatt are both obsessed with the movie and the soundtrack of the Greatest Showman. They entertained us with their dramatic reenactment.

Sweet baby giggles!

Movie night

We had a great time with my family while they were here and I'm thankful that they made the trip so that we didn't have to go so long between visits.

An after school Dairy Queen treat

Every night Matthew reads a daily kids devotional to Kyndall and we have our family prayer time. I'm so thankful that he takes on the role of the spiritual leader of our household and sets such a great example for Kyndall.

Her reading gets better and better each month!

Spring school picture day meant no uniforms!

A lot can change in a year!

After school treat with our friend Trey

I love watching Matthew and Kyndall play together in the park in front of our house in the evenings. He doesn't get to spend nearly as much time with her as I do but he makes sure to take advantage of every minute he gets, despite being weary after a very long workday. 

My friend Jennifer drove up from Houston to have lunch with me!

We love to go on family walks around the neighborhood in the evenings and Kyndall loves visiting with all the neighborhood pets, including Canterbury the outdoor cat who lives on Canterbury Lane.

Our friend Mr. Steve recently had a birthday so Kyndall painted him this canvas of all his cats. She even included Chase (with the halo) who had just gone to kitty Heaven. He loved it!

Easter festivities were in full force by the end of March! We met up with our friends the McDermotts at Hilltop Cottage for crafts, an egg hunt, games and food trucks.

Kyndall and Bree

Later that afternoon our neighborhood hosted their annual egg hunt so it was a busy day!

Kyndall's favorite part is always the petting zoo. If this child doesn't grow up to be a veterinarian I will be shocked! She loves all animals!

Kyndall and Malani won sweet treats on the cake walk

Waiting patiently for their age group's turn to hunt eggs

It was a busy but FUN day, and this gorgeous sunset made it even better!

Another piece of art by Kyndall....this one was a portrait sketch

The first graders had a unit on fairytales and at the end of the unit each of them was to choose a fairytale character to dress up as for the character parade. Kyndall chose Peter Rabbit.

Mrs. Tarrant's class

The first grade teachers dressed up as the three little pigs and the big bad wolf

I was able to be there to watch the parade and it was SO cute!

I finally had some of our family pictures printed and framed....after having them for four months!

Field day is always a fun day and I loved being there for it again this year. Poor Kyndall is not athletic in the least but she still makes the best of it and tries her best!

Kyndall's teacher, Mrs. Tarrant, was a good sport!

When it was over I checked her out early for the day and we headed straight to the Pizza Hut buffet where she filled her belly full after all that hard work!

Back to the dentist to have her space maintainer placed. High on nitrous oxide again and at one point during the procedure she drew up her legs and placed her bare FOOT on the side of the dentist's FACE! I truly do not recognize this kid when she's on the gas! She turns into a wild woman!

Sonic slushie as a reward

Since the next day was Good Friday and we'd be flying home for Easter, we let her open her Easter basket a little early in order to save space in the suitcases.

Homeward bound for a VERY quick Easter weekend!

It's a good day when your parents let you have french fries and a chocolate covered donut for breakfast

Found this on my phone

This was also the anniversary of the day (March 31st) when Matthew proposed to me back in 2007. It's hard for me to believe that was ELEVEN years ago!

We arrived in Atlanta, rented a car and then drove four hours south to Thomasville where we finally crashed at Nonie and Poppie's house. Of course, there were more Easter goodies awaiting us.

You're never too old for an Easter basket and I'm thankful that my sweet mother-in-law agrees!

The next day we met up with one of my mother-in-law's friends and her grandkids for an Easter festival and egg hunt in the local city park.

Kyndall and Hannah are sweet friends but they don't get to see each other very often

All the kids won a goldfish but sadly "Orange-y" did not even live 24 hours

Hannah, Caleb and Kyndall were ready to hunt

Their loot

Hannah came back to Nonie's house for some extra play time and a special Easter craft that Nonie came up with

One of our Easter "gifts" to Kyndall was this really cool egg decorating machine. I wasn't sure how well it would actually work but to my surprise it was really neat!

Easter morning!

This year we spent Easter morning in Tallahassee at my parents' church where they had a hot air balloon egg drop following the service.

Kyndall and Wyatt

My family

After church we scurried an hour west to Two Egg where we had our annual family cookout and egg hunt with my Grandma and all of my cousins and their kiddos.

Cousin Jackson got a pet rabbit for Easter and as you can imagine, Kyndall was glued to the thing the entire day.

I love seeing her play on this OLD swing set that Santa brought me when I was less than her age

More Easter goodies from Grammy, G-Daddy and Aunt Kelly

Right now her favorite thing is "JoJo bows" and Grammy and G-Daddy gave her THREE of them in her basket!

My cousins and I have been gathering around this table to dye eggs on Easter Sunday since I was a pre-schooler. I love that the tradition lives on with our own kids, even now.

My Dad and Easton...buddies

Vera Mae...the matriarch of the family

My amazing sister and her adorable boys

Wyatt found the prize egg!

Indulgence at its finest

All the girl cousins

Grandma and her grands. I'm the oldest and yet the shortest.

Grandma with her grands and great-grands

Grandma and her originals

Golf cart cruising....a favorite at Grandma's house

After a PACKED two days, it was time to head back to Dallas. Kyndall always picks out one of these stuffed animals in the gift shop when we're in an airport.

The next week it was back to school and work as usual. Kyndall had an exciting day when her art teacher allowed her to teach the class how to make one of her puppets that she came up with. She was SO proud and so excited! Her art teacher sent me these pictures and this video....

Kyndall and Ashlyn play together nearly every afternoon after school

Wanting to look just like "JoJo", she decided she needed to start wearing side ponytails and a denim jacket to school each day.

This is what I do every Friday at 4:00...

I don't treat myself to pedicures or massages, expensive meals or even name brand clothes and shoes but I DO love to treat myself to fresh flowers from the grocery store each week because they just make me so happy!

We found a new favorite burger place called Freddy's and they have great dessert too! Kyndall's favorite is "dirt and worms".

Another nightly walk...another encounter with neighborhood pets

Canterbury followed us all the way home this night

We've been encouraging Kyndall to learn to ride her bike for over a year now but she just has not shown any interest at all in learning. A few weeks ago she declared that she was ready and within a day and a half she had it mastered! It just proves that kids often do things in their own time and when they feel ready. We are SO proud of her and we can't wait for family bike rides around the neighborhood!

I was able to capture the exact moment she learned to keep her own balance and you can hear the excitement in my voice!

These mini carts are hard to come by at Kroger but on this day she scored one and for once actually enjoyed grocery shopping with me!

Spring pictures arrived!

Again, a LOT can change in a year!

These are random, but some of our old family pictures from spring of 2012 popped up in my memories and I couldn't help but notice that we've kept several of the same poses all these years! Ha!

The school's PTO hosted "Muffins with Mom" one morning before school

Our sweet friend Lisa heard of Kyndall's love for JoJo bows and sent her these in the mail as a surprise

Friday night movie night at the school

I've heard you're not a true Texan until you've experienced the infamous Bluebonnet season and on this day we finally did! Pictures don't do justice to how gorgeous these massive fields of wildflowers really are.

Now that Kyndall can ride her bike, her favorite thing to do is cruise the neighborhood with her best friend Ashlyn

The return of Spring meant it was time to make a trip to Lowe's for some new mulch and fresh flowers

April is always an exciting month for me because it's National Donate Life month. This year I was asked to share my story via a blog that a couple of my friends back in Tennessee write. I was very honored to be featured on their site and I always jump at the opportunity to promote organ donation.

Another week, another vase of pretty flowers to cheer up my kitchen

My best friend Julie flew in from Jackson to visit for a long weekend and we decided to make a trip to Waco to see what all the fuss is about.

10 years ago on our honeymoon Matthew and I met a sweet couple who had gotten married the very same day we did and they too were on their honeymoon. You can see them in the front right of this group picture. (We're in the back) They lived in San Antonio and we were living in Fort Myers at the time. We enjoyed getting to know them over the course of our week long cruise and once it was over we kept up with them via Facebook and social media. Fast forward ten years and we are now living just four hours away from them in the same state, and they too have a daughter who is Kyndall's age and enjoys all the same things she does. A few weeks ago Kara asked me if Kyndall would be interested in becoming a pen pal with her daughter Camryn. Of course I said yes and the girls have been sending each other old fashioned mail ever since! I just think it's amazing that things have come full circle and our own kids are now getting to know one another. Hopefully this summer we can make a trip to San Antonio so that the girls can meet and so that we can see them again after 10 years apart!

Kyndall was very excited to receive her first letter from Camryn

This might be my favorite piece of artwork that Kyndall has ever done. It's definitely going in a frame!

My sweet friend Lisa once again sent a surprise in the mail, this time it was for me! How perfect is this shirt since Grace is what we call my new liver??

On April 26th Matthew and I celebrated our ten year wedding anniversary. It's hard for me to believe we've been married an entire DECADE. In some ways it feels like just yesterday and in other ways it feels like a lifetime ago. Either way, I am so thankful for the wonderful husband and father that Matthew is to me and Kyndall. Truly, he has lived out and upheld his vows of "richer or poorer, sickness and health, better or worse". 

We didn't do much to celebrate but we did go to dinner and enjoy a cookie cake for dessert. We decided not to do gifts because we're planning on doing some major backyard patio updates but coincidentally we did both have the same idea to buy the other person's favorite candy, which I thought was funny.

It's been a good 10 years!

I'm a Reese's pieces girl and hes a Swedish Fish man

My mother-in-law's birthday was coming up so I had the idea to order her something special that would be a keepsake for many years to come. This is a bracelet and that's Kyndall's handwriting engraved on the charm.

Matthew talked us into spending an afternoon at Top Golf and to my surprise we all had a really good time!

Kyndall actually has a pretty good swing

She's always enjoyed a good game of golf....

During the month of April my Aunt Libby was featured on the news back home in Tallahassee one morning where she shared her story of receiving a heart transplant eight months prior. I had no idea she was going to share this picture of the two of us and I was surprised when I started receiving text messages from friends back home saying they'd seen my picture on TV! I never imagined that two of us within the same family would need life saving transplants but I am so thankful that we both received exactly what we needed and that we're both still here enjoying life, all thanks to our donors!

With the close of spring, we can almost taste summertime and boy are we ready!