Chick-fil-A fun!

Madison is liking her job more and more each time she goes.  She's getting more comfortable with everything, and is making a lot of new friends!  She feels like it's really pulled her out of her comfort zone and she's gaining a lot of confidence, which I love!  Tonight was her first night on iPads, and one of the trainers said, "Wow, Madison, I've never seen a new-hire this good on their first day on iPads.  You're ready to be by yourself!"  She was pretty excited.  Proud of my girl!

Warren, our youth minister at church, came to see Madison and took this pic of her and Mae!

I'm thankful it's going so well for her.  After the second night of her working, I was really worried it might've been the wrong decision.  But she's loving it now!

Pre-UIL concert...

This was the first in-person concert for Madison this year.  This was the first year of her being in the top band, so we were excited to hear her perform!  They did amazing.  This group is so talented!

Dinner...

Papa came over tonight for dinner after his first day of chemo treatment!  He was feeling pretty good, and hopefully will continue to feel good throughout this process.  He brought Chance with him because he was over at Papa's this afternoon and his parents weren't back yet.  At the end of March, they are off to living in an RV.  We'll see how that goes!  But the kids enjoyed hanging out together and having dinner together.  Hopefully it won't be a long time in between visits with these three!

New track shoes...

Nathan is convinced that he could be faster with track shoes.  "Everyone" has track shoes, so, we bought him some on Friday and went out today to break them in on the track at school.  He gives them two thumbs up and can't wait until his meet next week!

First track meet!

Nathan had his first track meet tonight!  First of all, he made me laugh because he would NOT wear the tank top and "girl" shorts they gave him.  He was feeling a bit exposed (which I kind of don't blame him!), so he wore a shirt and shorts underneath!  He tried it on when we got home and said, "Um, yeah, I will not be wearing this!"  And I didn't try to pose him by the tobacco sign - I just snapped the quickest picture I could because he was with his team and needed to get on the field!

His first race was a 200m relay.  His group was disqualified because of a bad pass-off.  Not a great start to the competition, but he enjoyed the 100m and 200m much more!

The 100m race went pretty well.  He finished 3rd at 13.47 seconds.  He was gaining on 2nd place, but didn't quite make it in the time he had.

The 200m race was so much fun to watch!  He was neck and neck with another kid, and it was SO close.  He finished 2nd at 28.01 seconds and first place was 27.38 seconds.

I think he did a great job at his first meet!  It was fun watching him run and knowing he was having fun doing it!

UIL competition...

Nathan's band had their UIL competition this afternoon, and they did so good!  He missed his first concert because he was in quarantine, I missed his second concert because I was working, so I really couldn't wait to hear him this time!  They got first division for the concert and also the sight reading part of the competition.  He had a solo part (well, a trio really...he and two other saxophones played) and he rocked it.  I loved hearing him!

New employee at Chick-fil-A!

My grown up girl started her first job tonight at Chick-fil-A!  No other place would suit her better - she's a fanatic about their food and practically lives there already!  She was pretty nervous, but excited too.  Her trainer wasn't there, so she was pretty much thrown into the fire, but she survived!  She said she was overwhelmed/stressed, but that everyone was so friendly.  And she already has a good friend, Mae, that works with her, so that helps!  Hopefully she adjusts to the working world soon, and loves this job!  Hey, a free meal at Chick-fil-A every time she works?  That's worth it!

Friends...

Madison went to lunch with some friends today at Loco Gringo Taco Shack.  I just love her great group of friends that she has!  And just for the record, Madison tends to have more blog posts about her because she is great about taking pictures and sending them to me!  I have a feeling I'll have a lot less of Nathan once he's this age.  We'll see!

Madison's day...

We opened presents the night before Madison's birthday because most things she wanted for Monday morning!  Mostly hair stuff.  And her main gift was getting her hair highlighted, which she loves!

Madison had to wake up bright and early this morning for band sectionals.  Too early for her to want to eat, so breakfast couldn't even be made for her!  Then she had school all day.  Not the most enjoyable birthdays she's had (she usually celebrates over spring break but it was early this year).  She came home from school to balloons though!  Max is deathly afraid of balloons, but he posed with her anyway.

Then we headed to Olive Garden for her birthday dinner!  She did NOT want the waiters singing to her, but they did anyway and she was horrified.  But she got a free chocolate brownie lasagna for the torture!

I think she had a good birthday, even though it was a school day AND a Monday!  Happy 17th birthday, Madison!

17 years...

I know that my kids are getting older, and I know each year is moving further and further away from them being dependent on me, but it's also at this time that I really think about it!  Seeing another year pass, and seeing a new age can be tough!  Especially when I look through old baby pics for this post.  Makes me realize JUST how old they really are and how much they've grown.  How was she ever this itty bitty?

My little Madi-girl has grown up!  She's almost an official "adult"...only one more year and I can hardly believe that.

Madison hasn't changed too much over the past year.  She still is very social and loves her friends!  Last year during quarantine/remote school was tough on her because of this.  She needs that social interaction!  She prefers to spend her time with friends, and loves doing anything from shopping to lunch/tea or even going on walks with them!  Madison also loves reading.  She went through a long phase where she didn't like it, but now she's back at it and has been really enjoying it!  She also loves Kung Fu tea, any boba tea, Olive Garden, Chick-fil-A (she just got a job there and starts on Wednesday!), candles, painting, organizing things, band, any hair products, and of course her phone.

Madison loves Max most of all.  She adores this dog, and I'm not sure what she would do with her time if it weren't for taking pictures OF him and WITH him.  He makes her happy and she's so thankful for him!  He sleeps in her room a lot and likes to hang out on her cozy blanket with her!

She also loves Nathan, as always.  They still have their moments, but overall, they really get along well!  They go to Sunday night church together all the time and they will run errands together too.  They are doing things without us more often, so it's bringing them closer together!

She also loves God, going to church, and spending time with friends who have the same beliefs as she does.  She loves her friends in the youth group and enjoys seeing them and doing what they can together!  Madison reads her devotionals, puts Scripture all around her room, and is trying her hardest to be the kind of person God wants her to be in this life.  I think her faith somewhat grew going through the hard time with Nana, and she is aware that God is always there for her.  She is a kind, thoughtful, and loving person who thinks of others often.  She is an amazing encourager and likes to lift others up when they are down.

Madison, I love you so much!  You're not only my daughter, but my friend now.  I enjoy spending time with you and being around you!  You make me laugh so much, and when you're not leaving water bottles all around the house (haha), I am so proud of you.  You're growing into such a wonderful young woman, and I'm just really proud.  You love God and others, and you live your life that way.  Keep looking for opportunities to show His love to others, and look for the positive in life.  I look forward to seeing what God has planned for this next year, and I'm planning on soaking up every minute you're at home!  I love you a ton....happy 17th birthday, sweet girl!

17th birthday party!

Madison was really wanting to do something fun for her 17th birthday since her 16th birthday was messed up because of COVID.  She never did anything for her birthday last year, although she did get brand new bedroom furniture which more than made up for it!  This year, she invited Ruthie and Rylie over for a sleepover.  First, they went to La Madeline by themselves, then to Crumbl Cookies to pick up her cookies for the night, back home for some pictures with balloons and more fun!

Today, they went shopping at the Dallas Half Price Books, and then to Northpark for more shopping!  She had a great time and really enjoyed everything.  My girl is growing up way too fast.

Solo contest...

Nathan got 1st division (best you can get) for his solo performance!  So proud of him!

Here is what they said...

Nathan,

You make a really great sound!  You have a beautiful vibrato.  Work to use the vibrato more consistently.  Especially as you play in the lower octave, take a deeper breath to make a full, resonant sound.  Great job with articulations, notes and rhythms.  Work to add more full dynamics - remember a solo can have wider dynamics than band class because you're not bound by matching your section volumes.  Bravo on a wonderful performance.  Keep up the hard work!

Performance strengths:  tone quality, rhythm, note accuracy

Performance weaknesses:  Phrasing, dynamics

A day with friends...

We invited Kolton and Makenna over to hang out today.  We started off the day at Whataburger, and then came home for a long and crazy game of 100 Wacky Things, sardines (hide-and-go-seek) and other fun!  They had a really good time together and have really missed seeing each other!

Another sleepover!

Nathan hardly ever has sleepovers or even friends over (a lot of his friends can't get out right now because of COVID and their parents).  So, we let Nathan have two sleepovers in a row!

He and Matias are the exact same and have so much fun together.  They have the same definition of yummy food (Panda) and the same definition of fun (video games).  They even took a break from video games to play some ping pong - with multiple ping pong balls going at once.  They had a blast together!

Sleepover with Chance...

Nathan wanted to have Chance over for a sleepover since it's spring break, so Chance came over today!  They had fun playing video games, playing 100 Wacky Things and just hanging out together!  Madison even got in on some of the fun.

Putt-putt....

Today starts the first day of spring break, and the weather was gorgeous (it got up to 70 and sunny)!  We decided to go to Mi Cocina and sit on the patio, and then head over to Adventure Landing for some putt-putt.  Parents still dominate, but it was a close couple of games!

Are these baseball bats?

It was a fun day, and so nice to have everyone off school and work!