florida!

This year we went to Navarre Beach, Florida for our summer vacation. I booked this trip back in the spring, when COVID had died down, before the Delta variant started spreading like wildfire. Little did I know, come summer time, Florida would become a Covid hotspot! Luckily, everyone 12 and up in our family was vaccinated and had already had the virus. We rented a condo right on the beach, that was a quick walk to the water. Unfortunately, there was a ton of sea algae and seaweed in the water, most of the time we were there, and the water wasn’t that clear, but the kids still had fun! A tropical storm also hit a couple of hours away from where we were, and the waves were really rough and huge for a day. We played card games each night, and walked on the beach. This particular beach had lots of pretty shells that we had fun collecting.  

 

Class of 2021

Dario is now a graduate of Vidor High! That went by so fast! It seems like just the other day he was graduating from kindergarten. He is excited to be attending Texas Tech in the fall!
 

Dario’s senior pictures

I took Dario’s senior pictures in downtown Beaumont. Unfortunately, days before I took the pictures Aiden shaved Dario’s eyebrows and he got his ears pierced with his friend! 
 

Eighth grade banquet

The eight grade banquet is a big deal around here. The kids get all dressed up, and the school has a nice dinner and dance for them. Ava looked pretty in her new dress that she picked out, and she had a great time. I can’t believe she’ll be in high school next year!

prom!

 Dario and Aiden went to prom this weekend.  They didn't have dates, but went with a big group of friends. Luckily, Aiden's suit that he wore for his 8th grade banquet still fit him! Haha!

Soccer!

Dario’s senior year of soccer has come to an end. I can’t believe he is graduating this year! He had a great soccer season and got a lot of playing time in. He did not play soccer as a child, and picked it for the first time while in high school. He’s a natural!

Easter!

Last Easter, because of the Coronavirus, we weren’t able to get together with anyone. It was really nice to be able to spend it with family this year!  We celebrated at Lauren and Dan’s house, and the kids had lots of fun being together. We really missed Dad, I don’t think I will ever get used to him not being at family gatherings.

The great Texas freeze

It seems like it’s been one crazy event after the other around here.  Recently we experienced an Arctic freeze here in Texas. We had temperatures in the low teens here, which is so rare! Other parts of Texas experienced even colder temperatures. The Texas power grid was totally unprepared to handle the freezing cold and people were left without power and water for days, with pipes freezing and bursting. Luckily we are NOT on that power grid, but one based in Louisiana, who was more prepared. The roads iced over and the kids were out of school for the rest of the week. The kids went outside to play in the snow, but it was so cold that they didn’t last long. They also didn’t have warm enough jackets and had to use socks for gloves. I got a couple of cute pictures, then everything else was like the pictures below, haha! 

9 year heart anniversary

On this day, nine years ago, Dahlia received the gift of a new heart. She is doing so well and by some miracle managed to not catch the Coronavirus twice. Unfortunately we’ve had two separate rounds of the virus at our house and we were very worried about her catching it! She is still having to do online school, because she is high risk, so that is a bummer. Hopefully, sooner rather than later, she can return in person. We are so grateful for the special gift she was given, all those years ago, and very thankful to have Dahlia still here with us.

picking out a christmas tree

One of our favorite Christmas traditions is going out to the Christmas tree farm to find a tree. We look forward to this every year! 

halloween

 Evelyn was Elsa.

Dahlia was Mavis from Hotel Transylvania.

Laila was a ghost buster.

Ava was Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffanies

This year Halloween was about as frightening as they come, with hordes of maskless, zombie Trump supporters out trick-or-treating.  The kids begged to go trick-or-treating and we decided to take them wearing masks and staying apart from other groups of people. I thought surely other people would be doing the same, but here in Trump country, common sense is hard to find!  I think I spotted about two other people wearing masks the whole evening, and that includes the people passing out candy, being exposed over and over to large groups of people. Hopefully, next Halloween will be a lot different!

12!

 Laila celebrated her birthday today and turned 12. She was a bit bummed about not having a party because of COVID. Hopefully we can make it up to her next year!

nine!

This sweet girl turned nine!  What a gift it is to get to see her grow up! Dahlia is doing really well health wise.  We are doing everything we can to keep this precious girl safe form the Coronavirus. She hasn't been able to return back to school like so many children have. It has been challenging, but we will get through it. We had a party with just our family. Dahlia requested her favorite food, Chinese and SpongeBob decorations.  I think I went overboard on the presents, to help make up for the hard times, but that's ok, she deserves it!

four!

 Evelyn is now four years old! It's hard to believe that my baby is getting so big.  She brings so much sunshine and joy to our family. Dahlia is Evelyn's best friend and those two play together all day long! At four years old Evelyn loves princesses, dress up, she is always singing, and always drawing. I have to watch her closely when she is drawing, because she still tries to color on walls and doors.  Because she only has big brothers and sisters she thinks she is one of the big kids and always wants to join in on what they are doing.  It's crazy how fast kids grow up and I'm enjoying the time I have with her while she is still little!