The Ducote Family

Wednesday, June 9, 2021

Favorites from February

 Well, the best news from February came on February 10th when the Ozecks surprised the kids with a permanent visit back home to San Diego!!  Yay!!!  They found out after Christmas that Dave was accepted into an internship program here in San Diego which began March 1st so once they got everything figured out wtih their home in Virginia they made their way back home!  We kept it a secret from the kids since we all love a good surprise-we decided that the Ozecks would be at our house waiting for them after school.   I picked the kids up from school and we came home and started getting a snack when Charlotte looked out the window and saw them jumping on the trampoline-she started yelling and then everyone else caught on what was happening and all rushed out to the trampoline!  So.much.fun.  The Ozecks then shared that they were here for good which made it even better!!!  We are so happy to have them home.  They'll be staying at Nani and Poppa's for the next few months until they figure out where they will be for good.  With the Ozecks back in town we spent most of the next month catching up and hanging out with them. Lots of great memories already!  I didn't get any photos from their surprise arrival but got it on video which is even better!  So fun just having all these cousins together again!

Before the Ozecks arrived, the kids did go back to school in person on Febrauary 1st!  Yay!!  Still half days from 11:30-2:10 but we'll take it!

We had some beautiful beach weather the first weekend the Ozecks were back so we hit up the beach two weekends in a row with them! Gotta love the beach in February!
From the beach to the pool...gotta love San Diego weather!
We had some name game fun as soon as they returned!
A cool picture of Joseph fishing one day with Poppa
It was so fun to be able to celebrate Cole's birthday with him!  
Joseph and Rich went to a fishing derby at Lake Poway the first weekend in February so the girls and I picked up breakfast and went to the beach which was such a nice morning!  We really should do that more often!  I didn't pack suits since I figured it'd be too cold but I should have known better as they all ended up in the water by the end!
Meanwhile, Joseph had success at Lake Poway!
This isn't a great picture but I wanted to remember our walks to school to pick up the kids-Charlotte is almost always skipping to get them.  She has such a joy for life and I just love her energy!
We had Finn one afternoon so brought him up to the other cul de sac and made him an obstacle course-always a good time doing these in the cul de sac!
Charlotte was stretching before her turn!  Ha!
Joseph has been keeping busy every week with his Roadrunner TV segments.  Since it is all done at home/via zoom this year it has definitely become more of a "family" affair and there are times when I feel like I am having to persuade him to get it done or helping him with ideas for the segments.  One of the weeks in February he was assigned the "good news westwood" segment where they are supposed to share good news happening in Westwood.  The week prior we noticed that there were Happy Birthday Karina signs posted all over Westwood.  I learned from WW moms on Facebook that Karina was a young girl who died in a tragic accident eight years ago and would have turned 18 this year so her friends surprised their family with signs all over Westwood.  I shared with Joseph that since she went to Westwood Elementary that this would make for a really great Westwood good news segment.  He was on board with it so I reached out to Karina's mom and one Saturday, Joseph and I walked over to their house and he interviewed Karina's brother.  We felt honored to share her story and her brother is simply amazing-so articulate and friendly that we are so glad that we had the pleasure of meeting him.  
Some just hanging around this month, too.  

All dressed up for school one day!

So...Joseph has had his slingshot for awhile now and is always asking to hit things with it.  All summer he was trying to kill the crows and we told him that was ok but they couldn't be moving...really never thought one would sit still for long enough for him to get it.  Well, one day he comes running into the house and is half excited/half nervous saying "mom, I killed a bird"-I totally expected to see a crow but instead I see this tiny little bird that he actually killed with his slingshot!  My reaction was definitely shocked which I think got him upset-he started crying but was apologetic and felt bad but was filled with mixed emotions since he was also impressed with himself that he actually got one.  We talked about him just sticking with the crows from now on!
Joseph had evaluations for little league one Saturday morning so the girls and I picked up some donuts and headed to Webb park for an hour or so.  



Love watching Julia's writing progress this year-"I shared my candy with my sister." 
I thought this was one was too sweet-"The lesson for the book is be kind and helpful"
Miramar wtih Char on most Tuesdays now that the kids are back in school...or "Miramars" as Charlotte calls it! 
So thankful these kids are back in school and had a somewhat normal Valentine's Day celebration!  Joseph's class didn't do anything thisyear (combination of being in 4th grade and having a not so fun teacher-ha!) but both Julia and Ella's classes exchanged valentines which made it fun for them.  Plus crazy hair fell on the same day which was fun, too.  
Ella didn't want to participate in crazy hair but still had a great day! 
Charlotte also got to participate in a Valentine's Day exchange and it fell on the same day as pajama (and pancake!) day so it was a lot of fun for her, too!  
A crazy Valentine's Day celebration at Nani and Poppa's!  

Thankful for continued time outdoors this month as well.  We are so thankful to live in a beautiful climate and it is so important to me that these kids get outside and get exercise every.single.day so we really make it a point to visit new parks, play new things, and just get outside!!  It is still weird here as San Diego requires masks on playgrounds and outside (if you are within 6 feet of others) but we have just been having the kids bring their masks and if there are a lot of other kids on the playground wearing them then putting them on out of respect for others, but if not we just let them play without.  I hate that they're required to wear masks outside but we also try to follow the law so we kind of meet in the middle...


A rope swing appeared at the grassy area one day and was the biggest hit! It only lasted a few weeks until it disappeared but the kids loved it.  
Nani and Poppa have been continuing to take Charlotte most Tuesdays to play with Finn and they have such a great time! 


Julia celebrated the 100th day of school.  It has been such a unique kindergarten year for her but she has done a great job of adjusting to the changes and making the most of it.  We are glad that she was back in person to celebrate this special day though!
The sunsets never get old here.  Beautiful February sky!  

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