Kevin and Jersey Village Water Polo

It has been an exciting senior year for Kevin and his varsity water polo team!

Individual pic taken by a fellow parent.

We knew the team was going to be great this year and poised to compete well, but they have exceeded everyone's expectations. After many weekends of tournaments and matches, both the boys and girls teams of Jersey Village High School placed 1st place at the regional tournament! They were on their way to State!! Here are some pics from the Regional Tournament.

Jersey Village, regional water polo champs!

Jeff and Kevin after the big regional win.

Kaitlynn wanted a pic with her brother, too.

Jeff and Kaitlynn in the stands watching the regional game.

Kevin, after one of the regional games.

Love these pics of Kevin during the games.

Both the Jersey Village boys and girls water polo teams and their families were overjoyed to travel to Dallas for the state tournament. Our family was no exception, we couldn't wait! Unfortunately, Connor came down with a nasty stomach bug the night before the trip. :-( So we decided that Jeff would go with Kevin to the tournment and the rest of us would stay home. We were sooooo bummed!

At the tournament, both teams did GREAT! The girls team ended up placing 5th, and after an exciting championship game, the boys team lost by 1 point to place 2nd in the entire state. What an amazing accomplishment for both teams!! Jeff had an amazing time watching the games and cheering on the kids, and even my parents (who were also in Dallas for the weekend) were able to attend some games. We were all so proud of the kids! Here are some pics from the state tournament weekend and earlier in the season.

Team photo after winning 2nd place in State.

Jeff and Kevin after the 2nd place win at State.

Kevin's girlfriend Helen was there for the tournament.

Kevin on defense.

Passing the ball to a teammate.

Kevin with the ball.

Another shot of Kevin with the ball.

Some side notes about water polo: When Collin and Kevin first began participating in water polo years ago, it was very confusing for us, even Jeff. The rules are hard to learn, and the games are sometimes difficult to follow. And a LOT happens under the water that spectators can't see. These guys are BIG and ROUGH! They are throwing punches, kicking, holding, etc., all under the water, so you don't know what's going on sometimes!

And another thing, have you seen these big guys in their suits?? Those are TINY little suits for such big guys. Sometimes it's a little disconcerting to be in close contact with these players when the suits are all they are wearing. In fact, after the boys team won the Regional tournament, they were supposed to get a team picture printed in a local newspaper. But one of the press contacts sent an email saying that the picture was "inappropriate" due to the immodest dress of the boys. To which, one of the parents responded, "Butt cracks are just a part of the game." Ha! Very true statement!!

The team all lined up for introductions.

The seniors were presented with their caps and nameplates at the end-of-year party.

What an incredible way for Kevin to finish off his senior year at Jersey Village!!

Michelle's Wedding Day

So finally, the REAL reason for our trip to Fort Worth last weekend...

My sister Michelle got married!!! Doesn't she look so beautiful?!

As I blogged about last spring, I was fortunate enough to be a part of Michelle and Chris's engagement story under the Century Tree at A&M. Since then, they have been enjoying their engagement and trying to find the right time for the wedding based on both families, school, work, etc. So imagine our surprise last month when Michelle sends the family a text message to Save the Date -- April 27. We were all so excited and scrambled to make plans for the special weekend. 

Michelle and Chris were married at the beautiful Fort Worth Water Gardens on a gorgeous-weather day. It was sunny, cool, and breezy...a perfect wedding day! They were joined by close family and friends and they took us all on a journey through the Gardens as they exchanged sentimental thoughts, prayers, and vows. Such a beautiful ceremony and so fitting for the happy couple. I was so honored to be a part of their day and take some pictures that they can hopefully cherish forever. Here's their wedding day in photos.

Michelle with Renee and Ryah, getting ready before the ceremony in her honeymoon suite.

Michelle with Dad and Mom

Full length of Michelle's dress.

She looked so beautiful!

The groom before the wedding.

Love this one. Chris made the rosebud bouquet from his own garden.

Chris with his 3 kids before the wedding: Caleb, Grace, and Ashley.

Michelle walked across the plaza towards her groom. A nearby band was playing the national anthem. It was quite the wedding entrance, ha!

Standing before the minister.

A wedding prayer before the ceremony.

The couple during their wedding journey.

Love this.

Dad read a scripture passage.

The 7 cousins hung out nearby during the scripture readings.

At the next location, Michelle and Chris exchanged vows.

The final location required quite the interesting hike down into the water gardens.

It was tricky getting down to the bottom with the entire group, but it was so beautiful.

Exchanging rings.

Finally, they were pronounced Man and Wife!!

And immediately afterwards, they had to update their Facebook status. It's not official until it's on Facebook!!

The new Warhurst family!

Morgan cousins.

Sneaking in a picture of the Courtright family :-)

The happy couple with Mom and Dad.

Congratulations to Michelle and Chris!! 

Fun Weekend in Fort Worth

Recently we traveled to Fort Worth for a very special weekend. (Details coming soon!) The trip there was especially fun since we went in Daddy's Truck. (Yes, that is a proper noun. Daddy's Truck is revered by all around here.) I was worried that our long drive would be tough on the kids since they've been spending so much time in the car lately, but they did GREAT. I think they loved being in the Truck; it was a refreshing change of scenery, haha.

We stayed at a hotel in the Fort Worth area very close to where Uncle Jeb and Aunt Alli live. I'm not sure if this is all kids or not, but our kids LOVE hotels. Every hotel we've ever stayed in is the "best hotel ever" and makes for quite the adventure. Rides on luggage carts are the main attraction.

During our Fort Worth trip, we had all of the Morgan cousins come to visit us at the hotel for some indoor swimming. Oh, what fun! The kids were so happy to be together again since it doesn't happen very often.

Ready....Set....

SPLASH!!!! :-)

Our trip home was a little more tricky because we had quite the load to haul. My brother Jeb built some amazing cabinets for our new house and we took one of them home with us. Luckily Jeff and Grand Daddy are quite skilled with tarps and bungee cords.

Made it home with no damage! Phew!

Stay tuned for the REAL reason for our trip to Fort Worth!

Daddy Daughter Date Night

We've been eating fast food WAY too often lately due to all the chaos with our daily commute and housing situation. Recently we ate at Chick-fil-A and found a fun flyer in our food bag: an advertisement for the upcoming "Daddy Daughter Date Night" at our local restaurant. This event was very similar to the Mother Son Date Knight that Connor and I attended last year, but it was instead geared for Daddies and their little girls. Oh boy, was Kaitlynn excited! She and Jeff began planning their special date night and counted down the days until it arrived!

On the morning of their date, both Daddy and Kaitlynn were beyond excited for their big day. Kaitlynn was very clear that she wanted to wear her Tangled/Repunzel dress for her date, so I had to make sure to stop at our new house to pick it up along with her princess slippers since I had already packed them in her new closet. Kaitlynn also requested that Jeff wear her favorite color, purple, for their date.

When Jeff arrived home from work, it was time to get ready for their big date. Oh, the excitement!! I took Kaitlynn and got her dressed and fixed her hair, and then she came out of the bedroom to meet her "prince". They were so sweet!

Kaitlynn was super excited about riding in Daddy's truck for their date. They were both all smiles as they loaded up to leave.

It turned out to be a chaotic night for Connor and me back home (frantically trying to get the house ready for the first showing) so I never did get many specific details about Jeff and Kaitlynn's special date. I know that they had a special picture made and she came home with a lovely rose from her handsome prince. And I also heard that Kaitlynn LOVED the special princess cow and kept going up to her for high-fives.

Kaitlynn and her Daddy had such a wonderful evening together and Kaitlynn has been talking about it ever since. I feel so blessed that she has such an involved, loving Daddy who will take her on special dates and show her how a man should treat her with kindness and respect. And I know these two have many more dates in their future.