Celebrating #40

I met Zack when he was 15 years old.  We didn't start dating until he was 22 but I am still in shock that I have been blessed to be with this guy for almost two decades now!  I hope the next few decades are as much fun as the last few have been!  We have really grown up since these first two pictures were taken from when we were dating!  

On Zack's actual birthday, he took Maddox to baseball practice after work and came home to an ice cream cake and a few minutes of Mario 8 Deluxe with his boys!

The weekend after his birthday, we were able to have our first getaway just the two of us in awhile.... at least since the start of Covid in 2020!  We both love the mountains and Zack is not one for wanting a lot of attention so I knew a party wasn't going to be our best option.  So, we planned a weekend in Asheville and got to stay at the Grove Park Inn!  I have always wanted to stay there and Zack humored me by going along with my plan for spoiling him for his birthday weekend!  We started off by enjoying a bottle of wine and chocolates that had been placed in our room upon our arrival.  After having a hard time finding our room on the 5th floor in the main portion of the building (not one of the wings as we originally hauled all our luggage down... next time we will allow the sweet gentlemen carry our bags to our rooms.... we aren't used to fancy things... haha), it was nice to have a beverage and get ready for our seafood buffet dinner at the Blue Ridge Restaurant that is part of the resort.  

After a quick change from our drive, we headed to dinner and enjoyed beautiful views of the mountains as the sun was setting.  With a 7:00 p.m. dinner reservation, it was perfect to watch the sun set over the mountains.  We walked around the resort afterwards (this time without our luggage... haha).  We checked out some of the gingerbread houses that I fondly remember seeing at Christmas time when my family would go up to Asheville for a day trip.  It was a great first night!

The next morning, we went for a hike.... birthday boy request!  I had researched a hike that I thought was nearby.  GPS didn't cooperate and we remained flexible and found a second hike that was in the area.  While it was 44 degrees with 28 mph winds, we still enjoyed our 2 mile hike where we were able to observe God's creation and have a great conversation, not to be interrupted by two cute boys!  I always love time outside with Zack and it is fitting he proposed at the top of a mountain.  The mountains really are our happy place!

We ate lunch in downtown Asheville at the Blackbird Restaurant and fit in a late afternoon nap!  After our nap, we explored the fitness center for a bit and then came back to the room for showers before heading out to dinner.  We ate dinner at Vinnie's (a recommendation by Liz) and it was the most delicious Italian food, even if we were eating dinner at 9:00 p.m.....I cannot believe we were out this late, especially sitting down to dinner at this time of night! haha  On Sunday morning, we checked out of the hotel and made our way to the spa for a day of relaxation.  We each got a massage (another birthday boy request) and lounged in the hot tubs or by the pool until it was time to make our way back east to meet up with our boys!  It was a great weekend and a great way to celebrate Zack's 40th birthday!

Burke kept me company while I worked from home on Friday prior to leaving for our mountain adventure.  It was a workday full of online meetings so Burke enjoyed relaxing close by.

Grammy and Grandpa kept the boys entertained while we were gone.  They went to the local park, baseball practice, Mia's birthday party, the mall, church and out to eat at Arby's.  I think they had as much fun as we did on our getaway!  

Bye Bye Basketball!

 We just had our last weekend of basketball games for the season.  We had Grandpa, Grammy and Grannie in attendance to cheer on our little ballers as they closed out the season.  Baseball has already started four nights a week so I think we are thankful that we won't have overlapping sports as we head into spring!  The boys loved trying a new sport!  Maddox was celebrated for his hustle on the court, his ability to dribble and pass the ball to his teammates along with making some great shots this season..... thanks Uncle Boom for being his coach!  Zander took home the trophy for "most improved" this season and it was incredible to watch his skills develop on the court with his dribbling, staying within the boundary of the court and his teammates trusting him to a greater degree to make the plays!  

This week was also a big one for Maddox!  His artwork was recognized in the Spring Arts Extravaganza!   We were able to attend a reception on Friday afternoon as he proudly showed his family members his artwork. His work is entitled "Name in My Face".  Can you see where he incorporated each letter of Maddox?  We are so proud of our little artist!

When not at a sporting event this past week, I got to catch up with two of my very best friends.  Aunt Kelly came over last week to ask me to be a bridesmaid in her wedding!  Of course, I said yes!  She also has a plan to include the two boys in her wedding as they are built in nephews to her!  We are so excited about the upcoming wedding plans!

I also got to celebrate Lindsey's 40th birthday with a weekend full of festivities with a girls' dinner Friday night and a co-ed party on Saturday evening!  She hasn't changed a bit in the three decades I've known her and is one of my oldest and dearest friends.  Lindsey is one of the first friends I made when moving to North Carolina in fourth grade.  I am so thankful that we are still so close after all these years!

No blog post is complete without a picture of our lazy pup!  He loves his new dog bed and I love to watch him rest while I'm getting ready for work!  It has been dark in the mornings, making it harder to get moving! ;)

Fun with Friends!

One of the biggest highlights from this past week was getting to spend the day with one of my best friends and college roommates, Ashley! We got all our boys together.... the ones we married and the ones we birthed to have a fun day at a trampoline park that is halfway between our houses!  Originally, we planned to go to the zoo but with the forecast changing to freezing rain, we opted for an indoor adventure.  The adults were able to catch up while the kids wore themselves out! I am already looking forward to the next time we can get together... maybe at the zoo?!

We have one more week of basketball and I am loving watching our boys and Emerson on the court!  It is so much fun cheering on these cousins on Saturday mornings!  Uncle Zack/Daddy has helped coach M & Em's team under Uncle Boomer's leadership, and it is so fun to see these brother in laws together as well!

More fun with friends.... I celebrated one of my dearest friends from work and her milestone 40th birthday last weekend!  I love these ladies so much!

Twinning with my Madman at Team Night for AWANA

This boy plays hard and crashes hard.  A few days this week he has fallen asleep while I am reading with Zander!  As you can see with Burke's tail and feet, he is not far from his family at bedtime either!

Another big highlight from the week, one of my very best friends (a.k.a. Aunt Kelly to the boys) got engaged!  I am so excited I was able to take her out to dinner to celebrate and hear all the wedding plans!  We are counting down to an October wedding! :)

In the afternoons, my boys find ways to entertain themselves while mommy is working!  This particular afternoon, I walked in on Zander playing "school" with some of his friends.... as you can see, he is a little outnumbered, I think Maddox and the rest of the crew were playing basketball in the gym!  There is never a dull moment!

Dress Up Days!

Being in an elementary school, we love a good dress up day!  We've had quite a few lately!  First, on 2-22-22 (which happened to also be on a "twosday") we dressed in tutus, ties and tennis shoes!  

Then, we had Read Across America week!  Monday, it was crazy hair and crazy sock day since we are "crazy about reading"!  It also marked the first day in approximately two years where we went to school without masks.  It was Maddox's first day of elementary school ever without a mask so even with "crazy" hair, it was great to see that toothless grin!

We also had animal print day (harder to make work when you have boys), book character day and historical figure day.  I was able to document book character day.  Maddox was Tyler from "Toby's Story" and Zander was Mark from "Way of the Warrior Kid".  I was the big bad wolf with my three little pigs! ;)  The boys dressed as famous soccer players (Cobi Jones and Tim Howard) for historical figure day.  As you can see, we like creating costumes out of what we already have in our closets! haha

We had another week full of basketball.  The weather has been gorgeous, so the boys have gone outside while I've been prepping dinner to get in a little practice.  I loved watching them from the front window!  We have three more weekends of games (including this morning).  I snapped pictures from last week of Maddox's halftime devotional (which is the sweetest thing) and Zander icing his knee after coming down on it during his game.  Fortunately, these boys seem to bounce back quickly from injuries!  This upcoming week, the boys have tryouts for baseball as the new sport's season is approaching!

On Friday, I had a teacher workday and since I spend the whole day on the computer in trainings, etc. we were allowed to work from home.  Lately on workdays, I have had both boys with me while trying to knock out my workload.  Zack offered to take the day off and have a "boys' day" at Uncle Henry and Aunt Maude's property in the mountains.  So, they headed west while Burke and I enjoyed a quiet, productive day at home.  Zack focused on introducing the boys to gun safety and they even experimented with shooting targets using a new BB gun!  I think each boy (big and little) had fun!  They couldn't stop talking about it when they got home!  It was a pretty great end to the week!