Marilyn planned a surprise retirement/birthday party for Mark. We had a good time, and I think he was surprised and pleased with everything. The kids were also super excited to see Kacy and Coby. There was a video that was supposed to be played at the end, but unfortunately, it didn't work.
Oh Damon, he gets a little goofy sometimes.
She used to be so scared of Coby, but she loves him now!
Kyler was able to compete in track this year. He ran both hurdle races and did both the high jump and long jump. It was a quick and rocky season without much direction from any coaches, but he was able to improve with help from family members and really did enjoy it overall. There were some really cold nights and it was a quick season with only 4 track meets. There wasn't a lot of time for improvement, but he did! High jump was the best to watch because his confidence grew so much! His team won the district track meet and all did really well.
Photo finish for his first race and he won!!
Friends made track season so much fun!
Cousins made it even better. In Childress, Kyler, Tyce, Brek, and Avery were all competing. It was fun to watch!
High Jump
He did amazing for his first time to ever high jump. He was taking tips from Diana and trying his best to listen. He improved with each jump. He cleared 4'8" and placed 4th.
This track meet with freezing and running behind so much. Kyler had to run his 110 hurdles and went straight from the finish line to the high jump. He jumped so well!! He landed on the bar for the first time which hurt, but he jumped really well. If I remember right he got 1st or 2nd place and there were so many kids at this track meet!!
He had quite the cheering crowd in Childress. I believe he got 4th place.
Did you see that emotion??? He just won the district track meet!! He achieved his goal of jumping 4'10" and finally a coach came to see him jump! He was so happy! It was amazing to watch!
Not his best missed attempt, but he was so close to getting 5'
110m Hurdles
1st place for his first ever hurdle race!!
2nd place at the district track meet. I wonder if he would have ran against the guy from the other heat if it would have pushed him to run faster, but either way, he did great!!
300m Hurdles
This was not his favorite race to run. 300m hurdles is so hard. He almost caught the guy at the end.
We never heard the final results of this race from the district meet, but we think he got 3rd. He was very happy when this race was over!
Long Jump
His first time high jumping and long jumping was extra stressful because he was doing both at the same time. Luckily they are right next to one another. He did really well and placed 4th this meet and jumped 14'9.
There were so many kids at this track meet; I think it freaked him out at in the beginning.
There is a lot of room for improvement with this event! He did really well considering there was never much direction given to him. I think he enjoyed it enough to do it again, but we'll see! We also think he placed 4th at this meet but never heard the final results.
This video makes me laugh because it is so typical Kyler. He loses things all the time because he never remembers where he sets them down. I watched him take his shoes off to put his spikes on and didn't think he would remember where he left them. I was right, but it was fun to watch him look for them!
We didn't have any set spring break plans so we made some last minute plans. The Payne boys came over and we had some fun at the house, went to Shamrock for the St. Patrick's Day parade, and the boys went fishing at Skinners.
The boys all paired off and spread out. It was much needed space outside to talk.
They had some interesting rowing techniques.
The Payne boys love being able to game when they are at our house.
It was freezing this year at the parade.
People (and by people I mean adults) crowed the streets so bad. We weren't entirely sure if those adults were even giving the candy to the kids. We were trying to keep the kids back, but they weren't able to get anything!
See the writing on the window? Kenney thought it was funny!
Damon and Luke giving their report.
Why are they hugging one another?? Haha!
They all love this part of being together. It has taken me a while to be ok with gaming, but I've realized that if they enjoy playing these games, who am I to say it's bad or wrong just because I don't like it and I have seen other people get addicted and waste their lives? They have fun, don't play too much and are learning some skills. Is Netflix or social media any better??
The boys all went to the track one day to practice. They had a good time.
Parade fun!!
Mackenzie can't help but dance when she hears music and neither can Damon.
