When the kids woke up on Friday they found signs in their room where their clothes for school usually hang - each kiddo had a sign with this header and a picture of them and in the bathroom was one with the whole family. I also made a brief little itinerary of the day which Radley quickly spotted and brought into our room to read to everyone...
One quick sleepy-eyed selfie and we were ready to start the day!
Per usual, our plans had to be a bit flexible... Landry had school pictures on Friday and since this will be her last time taking pics at WDS, missing wasn't an option.
This is how she felt about that.
Luckily Kim, the Director, was sweetly accommodating and let Landry hop in line to go first!
We were home and changed in no time and back in the car for our first little outing...
Ryan suggested that we head to the driving range and the kids were so excited - especially Emersyn. And you know what? She's really good, y'all! She connected so well with the ball and had a pretty consistent and straight shot!
Landry had lots of fun and hit about 30 balls 3 feet directly in front of her.
You know who else was pretty good?
Yours truly.
I really think that I have hit my athletic prime. Seriously - I may not be as fast as I once was, a little heavier around all the parts and unable to pick up things that weigh more than 60 pounds - but y'all... I am so good at sports.
#humblebrag
And by good - I hit the ball straight every time. But I do think I'd really enjoy golf... maybe I'll go more often. And by that I mean... maybe I'll go.
Saturday morning tradition? I think it would be hit!
I did have to laugh at a few things -
1. Ryan told Radley what to do but showed the girls what to do
2. Radley told everyone what to do
3. I kept making sure no one's head was going to get bashed
4. Quiet is not our love language
5. We went through a $10 bag of balls in under 30 minutes
5. People are eager to take your picture if it means that the noise level will drop when you leave
After we left the golf course we headed to Sonic for some thirst quenching and then straight to our next destination. We bid on a combo prize at the silent auction during the CHE school festival that was a gift card to Pei Wei and a "tile party" for four at U Paint It, our local pottery painting shop so we decided to incorporate that into our day which ended up being so much fun.
We had the place all to ourselves so we got to spread out and take our time on our family tile project.
We decided that we would make a picture of our garden/flower beds to hang the tiles outside. Each kiddo got to pick their own design abut we used a theme so they could all be displayed together.
These kinds of things stress me out - I am just so afraid to "mess up" (I totally blame that "B" in art from my 5th grade art teacher) but they just went straight ahead with confidence and creativity.
Even this kid who gets that perfectionist nature from me. He wants so badly to do things "right" and I can just see myself in the way he pauses and overthinks things. I want so badly for him to realize that being "right" pales in comparison to being confident and self-assured. I pray that he discovers this as he continues to mature and need to make a note to do small things like this more often to boost that confidence.
Ryan's actually pretty great at these activities and I love watching him join in the fun and encourage the kiddos.
Penny is the greatest shop owner in all of creation. She is so patient and helpful and totally gets that I am just not good at this stuff. Ha!
The girls didn't need me at all though...
Emersyn was a pro - I mean check out her frog in that corner and that darling caterpillar she was making. She is SO confident. And SO sure. And SO creative. I can't wait to sign her up for art lessons this summer - I just know that she is going to bloom!
Landry knew exactly what she wanted on her tile, too, but she needed a teensy bit more help.
She made a yard of bees and butterflies and pink and purple flowers.
In no time at all, two hours had passed by and we were finally done.
Left to right:
Landry, Emmy, Rad, Mom&Dad... the blank space on the last two tiles will say "Our Big Back Yard"...
We will definitely not win any awards but we had a blast hanging out together!
We headed straight to lunch to use our second half of our silent auction prize. We had $5 to spare from our gift card (dang Radley eating adult meals these days) so when the cashier didn't hand me back my card I was a bit confused - apparently they were one time use only cards, so I told her to throw in a beer. Ha!
These girls wouldn't stop for a picture they were so hungry!
We had some time to spare between lunch and our next adventure so we headed to park we hadn't visited before to let the kiddos play.
Landry fell asleep in the car so it was just the bigs that got out and they were alone until this sweet boy joined them. I love just watching my kids interact with new kids. This little boy was about three years old and didn't seem able to speak. He made lots of noises and gestures and was definitely communicating but not in the traditional way we were used to. This didn't stop Rad and Emmy from trying to play and engage with him - they helped him up the ladder and down the slide and on the swings all while I sat on the sidelines. Maybe we're doing something right after all.
This kid flew on these monkey bars - 14 rings in 14 seconds. I was super impressed!
We made a quick detour in our day to drop me on campus to hand this kid his Aggie Ring! The ring is probably my favorite tradition at A&M, mostly because it's a visible sign of the connection that Aggies share and a representation of what each student works to accomplish during their time in Aggieland. When I was a student, we just walked up and got our ring but now the day has become a huge celebration and students ask people to give them their ring. Drew asked me to give him his and I just couldn't have been more honored. We took lots of real pictures but this one was much more us.
While all that was going on, Ryan and the kids picked up Emmy's bestie, Macy and her brother, Cade, from school. The girls had dance pictures that night so we all got ready at our house. We snapped pics, changed into our pjs and headed out for our final outing of the day.
Ryan finally got to see why we have listened to NOTHING but Beauty and the Beast in the car for the past three weeks. We got our popcorn and contraband (M&Ms and CRAZY BREAD) (yes, we snuck in Little Caesar's Crazy Bread) (My purse will never smell the same) and settled into our seats. The movie was even more magical the second time around. I loved that the girls sang each and every word, I love that they crawl in our laps, I love that they requested crazy bread.
Mostly I love the precious time We5Kings get to spend together. These moments are few and far between these days so I cherish them even more. And I pray for the day when we are together every day and not just special days, but I'll take what I can and I'll be thankful no matter what.
What are you waiting for? Go plan your family skip day - I'm already plotting the next one!
No comments:
Post a Comment