Fickle March

March came roaring in like a lion this year, and was pretty unpredictable and fickle all month -- a back-and-forth pattern of dreary, rainy, windy days then warm, sunny, spring-like days. We wore summer clothes one day, then a sweatshirt the next. But...there was a blanket of the dreaded yellow pollen everywhere, the grass started to green up, and everything started to bloom, so spring was definitely in the air.

Arthur Murray's World Dance-o-Rama coincided with Isabelle's and Olivia's spring break week, so I got onboard with Amy and the girls for an exciting weekend in San Diego with Tara. It's always so fun to be treated as first-class guests at one of AMI's events -- we had an awesome view from our hotel room at the Grand Hyatt Hotel right on the water. We ran along the waterfront together every morning, and had a super great time wandering in the little seaport village. We all did our share of "work" for Tara, and enjoyed all of the fun at the dance-o-rama, including the formal dinner on Saturday evening.



Our last day was an adventure to the San Diego Zoo, then a final stroll along the waterfront. We rode the gondolas for an overview of the huge zoo, and Isabelle and Olivia were especially excited to see the one-and-only panda bear in the United States, and the gigantic polar bears.

It was so lovely to end our day watching the sun go down over the ocean. I loved checking out the massive aircraft carrier Midway, and all of the historical monuments and memories of WWII. We got take-out from The Cheesecake Factory and had a picnic at the hotel pool, then got in the hot tub to watch the sun finally set over the horizon. As always when we travel with Tara, it was a wonderful San Diego weekend.

On March 23rd Isabelle celebrated a milestone birthday when she turned 13. Ahhhhhhh, our little Belle is a teenager! She and I had a great birthday date shopping for athletic shoes/clothes, and she chose Panera Bread for lunch. Tara came over to help her celebrate, and to be a witness to the transformation from "tween" to "teen." Amy & Ben reserved the park and soccer fields for a big party and soccer tournament for all of her 7th grade friends, and we had a great time watching all of the teenage fun. Isabelle is such a delightful girl. She is super smart and kind, adventurous but careful, and always ready to try everything/anything. She wants to do it all -- she loves ballet and sports, plays the piano and violin, and excels in school. She is a true renaissance woman and we love her so much!

One of the best parts of March in Houston is definitely the wild flowers. They are everywhere! A particular favorite is the blue bonnets -- they grow in fields, in the highway medians, along the roadsides, just all over! We found a beautiful patch near our house and couldn't resist some Texas Blue Bonnet photos.