Winter Hangouts

Gone are the days when I can use the phrase "play date" when referring to Connor wanting to spend time with his buddies. I think I can safely use "hangout" instead, right? Ha! Over the winter break and in the early weeks of the new year, Connor was really enjoying several opportunities to hang out with his new friend group in 8th grade. It seemed like every weekend there was a new sleepover or activity that these kids were planning. I found it interesting that most of the friends he had become close with during the school year were all brand new to his Junior High school. It was like they had all bonded over being new at the school and navigating 8th grade together.

Connor was also enjoying time reuniting with his elementary school friend, Parker. These boys had a strong bond in their GT program at school through the 5th grade, but since then they have attended different Junior High schools. Despite our temporary move overseas and being zoned to different campuses in Katy, they continue to enjoy each other's company and always have a great time together.

Kaitlynn is never short on hangouts with friends, either. She was really enjoying all of her time with Sophia over the winter break, and most weekends they can be caught scheming to get additional time together.

It has also been birthday party season, it seems, as both kids have been attending several of their friends' parties. One of Kaitlynn's favorite parties was for her friend, Londyn, from school. They went to a fitness facility with aerial silks, and all of the girls were able to learn various techniques to hang and do tricks from the silks. They all shared so many giggles and had such a blast!

Kaitlynn also enjoyed more school lunches with Sweet Daddy and even made a new puppy friend with Katie, her friend Libby's sweet puppy.

The kids weren't the only ones enjoying play dates. Although my work schedule has been super hectic since the beginning of the year, Jeff and I carved out some time to enjoy a day date with each other at Top Golf  earlier this year. We enjoyed a fun lunch together along with many missed shots on my part (has it really been 30+ years since I've swung a golf club??). And even better, Jeff bought me some beautiful flowers for my office and the house to keep me company for days. So sweet!

But the best winter hangout of all was the weekend when Collin was in town from North Dakota. He  and Kevin came to spend some time with the family and had so much fun. Kaitlynn suckered Collin into several games of Dubai Billionaire (the Dubai version of Monopoly), the kids all learned how to play the favorite Thanksmas card game called Euchre, and our driveway had a significant upgrade in the "cool" factor while the older boys were visiting.