Fall 2023 Photo Dump Part II

Back with more pictures to share! Here are some more events in the fall that aren't tied to any holidays.

Eli joined a new dojo! Master Rick became his new sifu. Although there are a few differences in what they learn and their teaching styles, Eli had a strong foundation from his previous dojo and flew through a lot of the forms and belts.

Eden got invited to quite a few birthday parties throughout the year. Someone must have started the trend of trampoline parks because almost every party was at one! Here is Eden's first party.

 

As I mentioned in my last post, we wanted to redo our yards and hired some contractors. They ripped out the grass/weeds, re-fenced our yards, and leveled everything. We decided to add gravel and artificial turf instead of adding grass back in for maintenance purposes. Absolutely no regrets, it's been a lot less work and it looks so much better.

Adding the brick and landscape barrier.

View from the balcony.

Adding the rocks!

New plants added in.

There was an eclipse we had fun viewing (safely). It was sadly cloudy but we could see it through the pictures we took.

We added the turf!

Noah loved it!

Joseph trying out how soft it is under our feet.

 

Look how nice it looks!

Gravel was added too.

The kids were busy this fall with school and activities, and they had fun at home too.

Eli getting his first belt.

Noah on his balance bike.

His love of Luigi is still strong!

Eden enjoying another party at a trampoline park with her classmates.

One of her very cute drawings!

Joseph and Eli at school doing an after school engineering class.

More rain!

We ordered a new playground set after the contractors finished the yard makeover!

We also added lights on the fencing.

All done! The yards are perfect for hosting and minimal yard work
while looking nice!

And that's it! The next posts will be all the holidays (Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas), so that will be fun. Thanks for hanging in there!

Fall 2023 Photo Dump Part I

Time for another blog post! Our first days back in San Antonio were busy exploring, fixing up our house the way we wanted, and starting school back up! So the best way to go about this time is with a photo dump post. Here we go!

We got Sea World passes and enjoyed the new things they offered since the last time we went.

Eli's tall enough to go on almost all the rides! He's the best ride buddy.

A new show for kids with puppets and glow lights.

Excited to see the beluga whales again!

Only the beluga can look like a majestic marshmallow. My spirit animal!

There was a back-to-school event in over 100 degrees. All three older kids will be attending the same school this year!

Just a picture to show how hot it was 🥵

We were busy in August doing things around our house. We set up our king-sized bed that we had in storage. I missed this bed, and seeing it fit all our kids comfortably was nice.

Getting comfy for scripture time.

Sam custom-built this desk in our kitchen nook area. I wanted a desk downstairs, and after some back and forth on where to put it, we decided on this location. It was perfect!

Building the frame.

We used butcher block for the top.

Finished!

And it has a huge drawer!

Sam really wanted an exercise area, so we converted part of our huge bedroom into one. We got a treadmill and a Vitruvian. The Vitruvian is a fancy machine that uses smart resistant bands instead of weights. Look it up if you want more information because I don't feel like writing about everything it can do 😂. It is pretty cool though!

Vitruvian machine and bench.

We also redid our shower! I didn't mean to do it so soon but the Costco pitch worked, I guess! I love it more than the last one, though.

Before the shower doors and glass were put in.

We also got a DoSeum pass and enjoyed the exhibits there.

The kids started school!

Here is Tang. Just for fun.

Eli's first lost tooth! Took long enough!

Look at these cuties!

There is always fun wildlife in the neighborhood.

A buzzard with a squirrel in the middle of the road.

Deer nearby the trail we were on.

Trying out the new trail they built.

The trail led straight to a park!

Finally rain came to cool us off!

Jumping in puddles in our backyard.

Remember house projects I mentioned? Our yards are getting completely redone,
complete with new fencing!

Loving that rain!

Stay tuned for Part II. This one kind of got long!