Rounding up March

Hold on tight!  This is a long one.

March is a big deal around these parts.  It means Houston Rodeo and Livestock Show (HRLS) and baseball opening season.  The first day of rodeo is kicked off with Go Texan Day and all the kids dress either in country or spirit attire.  Boston blended in nicely with the natives and wore this get up with pride.

Eric and I were invited to a VIP event the beginning week of rodeo.  It was freezing!  I wore a cute country dress and denim jacket and boots and we were in a tent with no heat.  For most that attended, this wasn't their first rodeo (pun intended) and they were dressed for the evening.  We ate yummy barbecue and yelled to people we didn't really know (outside of the awesome friends that invited us) trying to talk over the live band.  I gave it my all for 2 hours and gave Eric "the look" that it was time to go. He obliged.  These little network/social events aren't for the faint of heart.

Eric's company definitely had name recognition at this event and I was the model Eric chose to represent:)

One of the sweetest friends that I've made since moving to Texas was diagnosed with lung and brain cancer this past December.  Her name is Melissa and she has two children (Maddie age 13 and Matthew age 9) and a wonderful husband named Eric.  A group of us formed "Melissa's Village" and participated in a charity event called "Fight for Air Climb."  It's to raise awareness and funds for Lung issues of all kinds.  We climbed 48 flights of stairs which really doesn't seem too hard on the onset but believe me, the first 10 flights were the toughest.  Melissa is pictured front and center with her daughter doing the splits out front.  She has the most positive outlook along with her family and we were happy to support her in this unfortunate journey.  Our team raised the most for this event and even asked Melissa if she'd be an ambassador for the walk in May.  She gladly accepted and we all plan to be there for her then.

The same day I was doing the climb, Kennedy was doing the Conoco Rodeo Run with a bunch of friends from our ward.  They made t-shirts that said, "Hot & Dangerous! If you're one of us then run with us."  She had so much fun and looks forward to many more runs.  She's come so far from the days when a jog around the block did her in.  I think she's got the runners bug.

Eric and our friend, Jared Davis, took the twins and their friend Landon to Battleship Texas for a World War II memorial service.  They toured the battleship and got to meet an amazing assortment of veterans and even a General.  They felt privileged to be there and shake hands with these men.

Jared is wearing the blue shirt.  He is in our bishopric and when I look up at him on the stand, I can't help but think of Tommy Boy and laugh inside every time.  He had a goatee and reduced it to this and said he secretly keeps it just to bug his wife:)  (side note:  as this post goes to press he has shaved it off).

The smoker Eric received for Christmas just keeps on giving.  Right before your eyes is $100+ worth of brisket and ribs that he and the boys spent countless hours massaging and smoking.  He made them specially for Jodi and Shannon (little did he know they don't eat much meat).

Which brings me to these two awesome visitors that came early March.  Jodi is an ER nurse (mostly night shifts) and Shannon a full time mom of 4 so by the time they got here, guess what they wanted to do?  SLEEP!  Traveling and a 1-2 hour time change is exhausting.  I managed to haul them around and see some sights and do some shopping and eating, but mostly they were content to just hang out.  Pretty low key and maintenance.

The guy on the plane that Shannon sat next to told her all about Bucee's (every detail) and she was not disappointed.  Lots of Beaver paraphernalia that she had to take pictures of and send to her friends  and of course the 44 ouncer.  These two are light weights in the soda department though.  They try to drink in moderation.  Imagine that.

We checked out Galveston and ate lunch at the Spot.  I asked them if they wanted to put their feet in the ocean and they seemed content to view it all from the car or sidewalk.

We (meaning us 3 together) aren't much for selfies but managed at least one.  I hate being in the front because you have the biggest head but I took one for the team.  That's the kind of gal I am.

My alter ego came out when we were playing Spinners (like Mexican Train) and livened things up for a bit.  The kids hate when I wear this thing but it makes me laugh the whole time.  It's quite stinky inside there but worth it.

Shannon is a pretty little person and I had to capture this moment of her cute red shoes not touching the ground.  She looks just like her 6 year old Sara right here.  So sweet...and innocent.

After my sisters left, which by the way we had a great time, my parents arrived.  They drove their 2008 Toyota Avalon with almost 200,000 miles on it, all the way from Washington so we could buy it from them  and have a car for Kennedy to drive.  They are dedicated grandparents and parents.  They also accessed our measly basketball hoop and decided if the boys were really going to be great basketball players they needed a proper basketball hoop and basketball.  Off to Academy (the local sports store) we went.  My dad spent the better part of the day putting that thing together and I didn't hear one swear word!  That's monumental.  Our teenage neighbor boy saw him out there struggling and came to help.  My dad said he was very grateful as Jessie takes charge and is a MacGyver of sorts.  Neither my mom or dad felt very good while they here.  I felt bad for them. Lots of coughing, soreness, probably fever (they tried not to complain) and all they really wanted to do was SLEEP!  I think my house has that effect on people.  Plus it was pretty rainy weather which makes you just want to cuddle up and watch Fox News (at least my dad).  They were serious troopers and endured a couple outings with me and dinner with family.  I also forgot to mention that they had been on the road for a couple weeks because they went to visit family in Utah, Arizona, Spring Training in Arizona and then onto Texas.  The day they left they flew out at 5:30 in the morning and were home by 1 pm their time and I am sure crawled right into their bed.  My mom said it took almost a week before they felt better.  If there is a grandparent of the year award, they deserve it.

Eric surprised Boston one Friday and brought him What a Burger for lunch.  That ketchup covered face says it all.  Boston's friends even got in on the action.

Our spring break was in the middle of March and we opted to stick around here.  Everywhere we thought about going was going to have bad weather or be packed with spring breakers.  Kennedy painted this lovely art piece over a couple days and did an excellent job if I do say so myself.  It's a portrait after her own image.

We also took the whole family and our friends, the Hewett's, to the rodeo one evening.  The rodeo was lots of fun then they cleared the arena and brought in the stage for Dierks Bentley and we were entertained by him.  I've always liked his low voice and enjoyed the whole environment.  The entertainment at the rodeo most of the latest country greats - Miranda Lambert, Florida Georgia Line, Luke Bryan, Blake Shelton, Eric Church, Tim McGraw, Zac Brown band (Kennedy saw them with a friend) and a little pop singers like Pitbull and Arianna Grande.  

A little redneck, a little country and a whole lot of who knows what?  Boston didn't want to  wear his country garb again.  He opted for Friendswood attire.

The twins officially became teenagers on March 21. 13 years old and their dad decided it was time for a serious hog hunt.  He set it all up with a farmer near San Antonio and they left around 2 pm the day before their birthday to drive to the site.  They set up camp around 6 pm in this little shack with their AR-15s!  I don't think most people shoot hogs with AR-15s but it's all we had.  (Can you sense the sarcasm?)  Any who...after sitting in this perch for a couple hours the hogs came in to feed.  Eric silenced the boys and said on the count of 3... 1, 2, - the shooting frenzy began.  The boys just started firing.  They each got a pig, 3 total (not sure who shot what) and Eric asked the owner of the property to clean 'em up and quarter them.  I guess he misunderstood.  The guys hunted till about 2 am then decided it was time to head out.  They went back to Eric's truck and found the hogs in pretty much the same condition they shot them. The property owner just cleaned out the organs and left everything else in tact.  Eric knew he had to get them on ice pronto so they dragged their dirty/stinky butts into the nearest convenience store and set off all sorts of alarms.  They were filthy, crazed and buying gloves, ice and duct tape and as Eric walked to the cash register he said to Jackson, "hurry, we've got to get them on ice."  The cash register's eyes nearly popped out of her head (per Eric's viewpoint).

They get out to the truck and the twins are trying to stuff the hogs in coolers and their heads and hooves keep popping out.  They are shoving and pushing and no luck.  Eric decides he needs to do a little surgery.  There he is on the tail gate of his truck, sawing the head off these hogs with a knife that isn't very sharp.  Then the police pull up...

Just thought I'd leave you hanging for a bit... the police access the situation and realize it's just an everyday hog, head chopping occurrence and drive off.  Eric and the boys are laughing the whole time.  They finally get the pigs to cooperate and fit them in the cooler and on ice.  They arrive back home at 5 am and go right to bed.  The plot thickens...

This is my garage.  It was turned into a meat locker.  Blood was dripping and skin was flying.  It was disgusting and I don't know if I can ever eat pork again after seeing this.  Guess what Eric did with the carcasses?  He deposited them into my garbage can, WITHOUT a garbage bag!  To this point, I've mainly kept my mouth shut.  Fast forward to Sunday morning (the butchering took place Saturday) and I am in a hurry to get to church by 8:45 am because our family is singing in sacrament meeting and we need to rehearse.  Yes, you heard right.  In a week moment, I agreed that our family would sing, together.  Well, as I am backing out of the drive way, I hit the damn garbage can and knock it over and the hog's head and hooves come tumbling out.  Kennedy is ready to call in the officials on her dad (he had already left for church) and I am struggling to pick up the remains without touching them (using the garbage lid).  I realize it's too heavy and call for Leighton to help.  He thinks this is all pretty funny.  We manage to get the hogs back in the can and I clean up and drive to church trying to calm Kennedy down.  And keep myself calm, all the while laughing inside. 

 I get to church and don't say a word because I'm so stressed about singing.  We've only practiced once the night before (singing A Child's Prayer).  We run through things and I come to the conclusion that although we don't sound perfect, it's going to be just fine.  We sit down in sacrament meeting and I look at the agenda and our names aren't on it!  A sense of relief rolls over me then reality kicks in.  If we don't sing it this week, I will have to stress about it next week or the next or the next.  We are getting this over with.  I send a note up to the bishop and let him know we are supposed to be singing and that is that.  We survived the singing (and the ward did as well) and received a few compliments but mostly, people in awe that I got my family to do that.  I think secretly they liked it.  Especially Eric, but he won't admit to it. 

I shared the mishap with the garbage can with Eric during the actual sacrament and we just both started busting up (quietly of course).  Sometimes you just gotta laugh.

The hog keeps on giving.  Jim Roberts and Shane Robinson (also from our ward) are professional sausage makers (not really but really) and helped Eric turn all that meat into Jimmy Dean type sausage.  They even used their kitchen and garage.  A tender mercy for me.

Eric brought all the sausage home and stocked the freezer and felt pretty good about our year supply.  He wanted me to get out of bed and go check it out.  I told him it could wait.  I see lots of sausage in our future or in yours:)

The twins actual birthday party was at Paintball Zone (the same place Kennedy had hers).  It was pouring rain the day of their party and I had parents calling asking if it was cancelled but the twins couldn't be swayed - rain or shine, the party was on!  It was a complete mud bath and 20 boys have never had more fun.

There was even a flash flood warning amongst it all.

Proof we were there.  The party was from 2-5:30.  That's some stamina.

One big muddy mess!

We continued to celebrate the twins birthday by eating at Tookie's for a family dinner.  It's in Kemah (on the water).  A fun spot with expensive burgers and drinks.  The twins loved it and it was their day.

Father's and Son's also occurred in March.  The boys really look forward to this event and had a blast camping with their dad and friends.  I wasn't there so no pictures were taken but I did capture this one before they left. All smiles and thumbs up.

Boston made the tough decision to sell his drums so he could pay for a new baseball mitt.  Secretly I wasn't too sad because they were taking up space and every kid that came over went to town on them.  We haven't found a teacher since we left Vegas so they've mainly been collecting dust.  Boston got just enough for the drums to cover his glove.  It was a win-win for everyone.

Kennedy spent 4 days in Dallas at the state BPA competition.  They stayed in the Sheraton convention center.  She had the best time!  She had planned to do all her homework that she was missing out on by not being in school but instead threw caution to the wind and didn't do any of it.  Panic set in Monday at 12 am when she realized school would be starting the next day and she didn't have any of it done.  I wasn't very sympathetic and got a remote thrown at me.  My sisters were here at the time and probably got a good laugh out of the scenario.

Eric was working in Dallas so he picked her up from the hotel one night for dinner and they went to sushi.  Yummy food and company.

There was even a massive snow storm in Dallas while she was there.  Schools were shut down but the competition carried on because it was all contained in the hotel.

Fellow Friendswood High School BPA competitors.  It was great for her to break out of her comfort zone and ward friends.  When one of the kids found out Kennedy was LDS, he insisted that LDS kids are cliquish and only do stuff with their own.  She showed them that she can have a great time with all walks of life.  She even planned a little get together at our house after the competition.

Their state BPA team was honored at the school board meeting for their accomplishments.  Pretty cool.

There is always a service project going on and the kids are usually willing to pitch in.  This day it involved spreading fill dirt.

And being goofy. Landon is our token 4th son.

Leighton finished up his track season and rocked these "shorty shorts" as he calls them.  Jackson also participated in track but didn't qualify for the meets.  He didn't seem too bothered.  They competed in discus and shot put.

Baseball is in full swing with opening day and Boston's has first couple games under his belt.  He has pitched in two games and so far pitched no hitters.  We decided to play him up an age group this year and he seems to be holding his own.  He is the only 3rd grader (9) on his team with mostly 5th graders and 11 year olds.  He lives, eats, breathes baseball.  Thank goodness I like it too.

Because Boston's team is older, they have done their fair share of opening day little league parades and had a choice this year and opted out.  Boston was pretty bummed because he's never done this so he was the mascot of his buddies team, the Pittsburgh Pirates.  Boston wore the costume well and yelled out, "give us your women and your money!"  Oh boy.

We enjoyed a special visit from our friend Eric Bomsta who was in town for the Sweet Sixteen basketball tournament.  He was wearing his token lime green color shirt (2 time Hodgkin's Lymphoma and stem cell survivor as of 1 year ago).  He came and stayed with us and of course we had to give him a taste of Texas from the boy's favorite barbecue, Killen's.  Eric (little e) said it was the best barbecue he'd every had.  He was full of energy and picked right up where we left off years ago in Henderson.  They moved to New Jersey with his company (Mars) 5 years ago and have loved it there.  It was wonderful to be able to give him a hug and see how great he is doing in person.  The only thing (s) missing were his wife and family.  

Boston's baseball tournament team, the .45s, had a craw fish boil like none other while Eric was here too.  It was our first and his too.  I thought the craw fish was going to taste fishy but it was more like shrimp.  It was heavily seasoned and boiled with corn on the cob, red potatoes and mushrooms.  It was such a fun experience soaking up the southern grub, swimming, playing basketball, and visiting with friends.  Texas has a real strong sense of community and Friendswood takes that to another level.  I was glad little e could experience it all too.

I went the more refined route and wore gloves so I wouldn't be picking seasoning out of my nails in church.

Kennedy was hesitant but didn't want to miss out on the experience.  She thought they were pretty good.

Thanks for sticking with me if you're still reading.  We are loving Texas and all that comes with it.  We are grateful family and friends come to visit us and get a taste of it too.  Although I recommend coming sooner than later because pretty soon the humidity and mosquitoes will be unbearable and I'll be singing a different tune. And that's a wrap folks.