Dab Your Ballot!

In the fall of Connor's 5th grade year, he decided he wanted to run for Student Council of his 5th grade class. This is another privilege reserved only for 5th graders and he was excited at the opportunity to campaign and go through the election.

The kids running for election were required to create a campaign poster and video using their slogan or any other ideas they had. At the time, the "dab" was all the rage, and Connor wanted to incorporate dabbing in his campaign video. For anyone that doesn't know what dabbing means, Connor would be more than happy to demonstrate, ha!

Connor loves to dab at WoodCreek.

After deciding to run for Student Council President, Connor settled on his campaign slogan: "Dab your ballot for Connor Courtright!" It cracked me up, and it was perfect for him!

For his campaign video, Connor decided to put together a video compilation of himself dabbing in various situations. He really wanted his video to be funny and make his friends laugh. We had a lot of fun brainstorming ideas and filming the video, with several different video clips of Connor dabbing in random situations -- eating breakfast, waking up in the morning, walking down the street, and even jumping into the pool. In the end, Connor was happy with his submission and definitely got some laughs from his classmates.

Connor didn't win the election for President, but his class was well represented by a great group of girls to lead the 5th grade. Instead of holding an office, Connor joined the Student Council as his 5th grade class representative and had a great time with the rest of the group. It was a neat experience for him, and he still has this super cool campaign poster at home!

 

Connor standing in front of his campaign poster while it was hanging in the cafeteria.

 

Playdates

There's nothing the kids enjoy more than having their friends over for some 1-on-1 play time. They are both constantly asking me to have playdates with their favorite friends from school, so we try to work those in as often as we can. Here is a collection of photos from some of Connor and Kaitlynn's fun playdates last fall.

Kaitlynn with her sweet friend, Addison, on an afternoon playdate.

And sometimes you just have to work in time for homework on playdates.

Dominique and Kaitlynn strike a pose during their playdate.

Pool time. Love these sweet smiles!

Libby and Kaitlynn enjoy some time together while their brothers played football.

Kaitlynn and Libby strike a silly pose.

And their other favorite pastime, playing with their American Girl dolls!

Connor and Parker shoot some hoops.

Connor with his buddies Parker and Jack.

Love this pic of Connor and Jayden at one of the high school football games.

Falcons Football

Based on the title of this post, perhaps you were thinking that we'd finally given up on our beloved Houston Texans in search of a more successful NFL team??

Of course not! But the fall of 2016 did bring some major changes for us with football...just not the NFL kind. After 3 wonderful years of playing for the Texans in the Katy Youth Football league, we ended up parting ways with our former team in 2016 to join a brand new KYF team. We were now the KYF Falcons!

I wrote previously about the difficult transition away from our former KYF Texans team, and starting the new season as a Falcon was definitely tough for us. However, it wasn't long before the weekly grind of football activities kicked in, and we were soon all feeling at home with our new football family.

Here's a collection of my favorite photos from our varsity season of Falcons football.

Connor, #90, in the offensive huddle.

Our #90 goes low to tackle the runner.

Coach Jeff really enjoyed coaching the Falcons team.

The game against our former team was tough, but the Falcons pulled out an easy win.

The little siblings have a tough time keeping cool on game days. Snow cone and umbrellas help!

The Falcons lining up against our long-time foe, the mighty Dolphins. Connor is right there on the end.

Love this pic of Connor running through the post-game tunnel.

Connor makes another great tackle of a Broncos running back.

Falcon Strong!

The boys and dads enjoyed a game of kickball during practice one night. Love the smiles.

You know your team is serious about football when the coaches bring portable lights to keep practicing after dark!

Connor and Jayden played against their buddy, Jack, and enjoyed catching up after the game.

Courtright family photo at one of the games.

Connor was SO excited that his best buddy Jayden joined the team this year.

Half-time Gatorade break.

My little Falcon before the first game.

 

Kevin joined us for a couple of the games to see Connor play and get in some cuddles with Kaitlynn.

Coach Janna rounded up a few of her former cheerleaders for a reunion photo. Love these girls!

Kaitlynn's favorite part of every sport is snacktime!

Coach Jeff gives Connor a few pointers during a game.

Official photo of the 2016 KYF Varsity Falcons

2016 KYF Varsity Falcon photo

I loved this shot we took of the team for our end of season photo book. What a great group!

Although we didn't make it to the playoff game as hoped, the team had an incredible first year together and can't wait to come together again next year in hopes of taking home the trophy. We have one final year of recreation football left before the boys will go their separate ways with teams in junior high school. Sniff sniff!

SnapChat

After hearing and seeing so much about this new craze called SnapChat with chatting and photo filters, I couldn't resist creating an account to see what all the fun was about.

Fun indeed! It didn't take long before the kids and I were having so much fun with all the photo and voice filters. Easy entertainment!

I guess the word craze to describe SnapChat isn't really the best way to describe it, considering that most teens these days solely communicate using this app. But I think I can speak for many parents when I say that it requires a bit of a learning curve for us grown-ups. It took me a couple of years to adjust to sending my communications via text message instead of email, so who knows, maybe I'll be snapchatting away in no time. In the meantime, the kids and I enjoy trying out all the latest photo and voice filters when we're bored.

My favorite snap of Kaitlynn.

 

Creepy face swap with Connor and Kaitlynn!

 

Even my mom joined in on the fun.

 

But my favorite snap of all so far has got to be this one below. The voice filters are just TOO MUCH FUN!

 

Girls Weekend

In 2016, I had the privilege of celebrating my 40th birthday together with my best friends from high school. We decided to take a girls trip together in honor of our milestone year, so we met up in San Antonio for an amazing weekend of shopping and girl time!

The area of northern San Antonio near La Canterra is one of my favorite places to spend time away. It's not too far from home, but it feels far enough away for a nice getaway. The shopping, restaurants, hotel, and beautiful landscape all make for such a fun time. We didn't make any plans other than just spending quality time together, and it was such a rejuvenating trip for us to reconnect and catch up.

My besties from high school. 25+ years of friendship!!

Morning hike near our hotel.

We couldn't fit all 4 girls in the photo so Katherine leaned down and I became a giant, ha!

Shopping in the La Canterra outdoor mall on a gorgeous day.

I'd say we had a successful weekend of shopping!

Champagne bellinis to celebrate our 40th birthdays.

Cheers to 40 years!

Being silly, we were dabbing in support of Connor's upcoming student council election

We loved dining out the entire weekend. Wonderful food and company!

Post-dinner selfie.

Walking with the sunrise. Beautiful!

When I think of these three special friends of mine, I feel so grateful and lucky to have made these special and lasting connections. Over the past 25+ years, we have been through so much together and these sweet girls have been by my side through thick and thin.

When I experienced success and joyful moments as both a young woman and now a more mature wife and mother, they cheered with me and praised me for my accomplishments.

When I've made poor choices with permanent consequences in my life, they were there encouraging me to do the right thing and look to the Lord.

When I've experienced sadness and disappointment, they were there to uplift me and remind me that better days were ahead.

When I was selfish and neglected my friendships with them, they always accepted me back with open arms and willingness to forgive.

When I lost my way and felt despondent about my path forward, they listened intently and then firmly instructed me to change the things that were bringing me down.

I don't claim to know what the future holds, but life teaches us that with age comes both greater joys and harder struggles. Perhaps even utmost happiness like we've never experienced or debilitating heartbreak that we can't overcome. No matter what circumstances my life may encounter, I know these friendships will remain and these girls will be by my side. Maybe not in person, but forever in my heart.

Dana and I go way back. We explored our wild sides together, became roommates at Texas A&M, and moved to Houston together to start our careers after college. She inspires me to be my best self and turn to God in both the good and bad.

Katherine and I really bonded in high school when we began mentoring young kids in school. Now our kids are best friends, too, and our families have so much in common. I lean on her often for help in navigating motherhood and family life.

Amanda and I became close in high school when I was her "big sister" in Z-Club, and we later bonded when we both left our careers to raise our children. Her faith, strong convictions, and great advice have gotten me through many trials.

Favorite photo of the trip. LOVE my besties!