A recap of Bobby's big 13th birthday!

 Bobby turned 13 on March 3rd. This year his birthday fell on a Sunday. We made Sunday all about him. He requested a special breakfast made by his dad. Then he wanted to watch a church service online. Next he had baseball practice and I bought him cookies to share with his team. The last special thing we did was get him dinner of his choice. He chose to let his sister pick her favorite place. She chose Ramen from Nara Ramen. He got lots of presents.....some shoes that look like plastic sharks, clothes, money, etc. His favorite gift was a new bat he has had his eye on. We love our new teenager and I think he felt loved on his birthday!!

Night out in Deadwood

 We had a fun night out in Deadwood while on our trip. We had to wait for a table for dinner so we stopped into a wine bar where Robb and I did a wine tasting, Emmy made friends with the owner's dog, and Bobby had a lemonade. We had a great dinner together and the boys ate the same soup in the same way (Emmy and I got a kick out of this). We walked the downtown a bit before heading home.

Last night before the kids and I completed our nightly prayers, Bobby said something to me that I made sure to write down because it was so sweet. He said, "Mom, I love each person with a different kind of love that is just for them and unique to that person but the different kind of love I have for you is more than the different love I have for anyone else." I sure do love my Team Eckert. I'm very grateful to spend time with each person in this family, they are so special and fun.

A sunny ski day (X2)

Bobby says the ski lodge has the best apple cider

 Robb made it snowboarding most of the first day and the kids and I hit the slopes hard for almost two days before we headed back home again. The kids are such great skiiers. Bobby didn't even stop for lunch on Day 1.....I made him eat a granola bar but he wanted to keep going. The weather was warm but there was still snow.

Terry Peak Ski trip - night 1

We wanted to fit in a quick ski trip this year once Emmy finished up hockey and we got lucky enough to find a couple days to go to SD. We arrived in the evening and played a fun game of Telestrations. We laughed SO HARD making fun of Robb's "2 blind mice" that Bobby felt looked like a goblin with a walking stick and 3 pieces of cheese. Emmy drew a drawing that I then thought was an old man elf with a cane and a cheese tray. We watched a movie and pulled the coach out to a bed so we could cuddle up.

 

Hockey pics

 Here are some fun in action hockey pics from Emmy's season!

Calling out the players at the State Championship Game!!

 

State Hockey 2024!

 State Hockey 2024 was a blast! CHS girls came in ranked 8th (barely made it to state) and beat out the top ranked team first game. Then beat #4 in the semis to make it to the Championship game!! They lost to a team that has won state 3 years in a row but played hard and had a great time. Emmy got on the ice in the last few minutes of the last game but was excited to be there as a new freshman. She made many great friends and was even chosen by a friend to be interviewed for an article in the CHS paper.

3 on 3 soccer

 Bobby had some fans to cheer his team on for the 3 on 3. His team did well with one win, one loss, one tie for the day. He worked very hard and has the bruises to prove it. He made sure to get his money worth of meals as well!

work accomplishments

 I had a few work accomplishments with research published and an article published about our excellent CAPTE review/accreditation.

Bobby finishes out basketball

 Bobby had so many ups and downs this season. He started out on the A1 team and after one game was moved down to A2. He struggled with this change but quickly persevered and became an important scorer/leader/point guard on the A2 team while still getting to move up and play a bit on A1 every game. He worked hard and was very coachable which meant more time on A1 and soon it was tournament time. He was told he would play A1 and he was great at his role there. They ended up in 4th place as a team. He made many new friends on A2 and learned some important life lessons like the importance of resilience.

Choir star

We ended up sitting directly behind the chair that Grandpa and Grandma sponsored which was fun.

Emmy got a nice surprise to have flowers from her grandparents. She had two big solos that were so amazing. She is confident, poised, and sings her heart out. I've not heard a more impressive voice and I can't believe how she can just get up on stage and sing!!

Later that week we went out for dinner on one of the last days of grandpa and grandma's visit back home from Florida before they went back. It was fun to see the Moldenhauers and spend some time together.