What happened to the last 5 weeks?

I guess we've just been doing the usual stuff....school, sports, birthday parties, homework, date nights, housework, blah, blah, blah.  Thankfully, there's nothing too exciting to write about.  Everyone has been pretty healthy, except for a few colds.  Allergies should be starting really soon as the flowers are starting to bloom on the trees and the smell of spring is in the air.
Until Valentine's Day, I hadn't taken a single picture!!!  I took this one at K's party and got him doing the monkey bars which he is obsessed with.  He was so excited to have me there :o).

Video of the monkey bars:

We went to see the Lego movie yesterday with some friends and it was really entertaining.  It had a good message for adults too :o).  The kids got some Christmas money and have decided to spend it on going to the movies.  They are patiently waiting until RIO 2 comes out.
Reggie started track a couple weeks ago and is loving it.  I am very glad he has a friend doing it with him.  It changes the entire experience.  He is so competitive even in practice, always looking over his shoulder to make sure he is winning.  His friend was telling his mom that Reggie is REALLY hard to beat.  He has an interesting running style and it will be interesting to see if they get him sprinting on his toes.  The timing for ending swimming wasn't the best....everything was really starting to click and he got moved up a lane to swim with the faster swimmers.  He will go back next week because he is participating in a swim meet in March, so we'll see just how much he improved.
Now that I think back over the last month, maybe it was a blur because Ryan traveled every single week.  It was really hard keeping up with the ever changing schedule!

Court

Court was last week and it was interesting.  We have been waiting to get DeFacto Parent Status since September and our judge just can't make a decision.  That is why we are almost 3 years into this process!!!  My prayers have been directed toward the judge because he will ultimately make the decision and he really struggles in that area.  Well, God is good and fixed that problem on Tuesday.  We had an unfamiliar face sitting in the judge seat.  She was wondering why there was such a delay in giving us this status, so even with opposition, she granted us DeFacto Parent Status as well as held the March court dates that they were trying to push out yet again.
Unfortunately, while waiting to enter the courtroom, I had a conversation with K's dad.  The relationship that I have worked so hard to build between us is unraveling quickly.  We do not agree on what is best for K and he was enraged by my honesty.  It confirms we are doing the right thing, but it is really hard and a bit scary.  Please pray that his emotions will settle.
Not sure who our judge will be in March, but it will be a game changer if it isn't out usual one.  What a miracle that would be......

Cats

We have 4 very large planters that have become the local cat litter box.  This weekend we decided to clean them out and get ready to actually plant some fruit and veggies.  I got several ideas online and decided to go with a 3 part strategy.
Here's a picture of what we came up with.

Unfortunately, the next morning a cat decided to walk right through the skewers and was not deterred by the chili pepper or lemons (cats aren't supposed to like citrus).  So, I rearranged the skewers to cross and point toward the outer rim and so far so good.  I also put motion activated Zurg out there to scare the cats away.  I sure hope we can get this figured out.  It is so gross!!!