Memorial Day Weekend!

I am so thankful for those that sacrificed it all and fought for the freedoms we have today.  I am thankful that because of their service I was able to spend time with family and friends on this long weekend.  We started out the weekend with a letter from school that said Zander passed his reading EOG.  We weren't surprised, although it looks like he was! haha  He has worked so hard in third grade and I have been so proud of how much he has grown as a reader this year!  He will take his math EOG tomorrow!

Linds and I fit in our long run for the week on the "dreadmill".  Eight miles on that thing is not for the faint of heart!  Boomer was at graduation and Linds took advantage of the "childwatch" so we could fit in the weekly run.  Zack offered to watch all four kids, and next time I think we will take him up on his offer.  After our run, we took care of her financial obligations for the beach trip so we are officially paid up and ready to head to the beach later in the summer!  I love how the two kids posed for this picture without any prompting! haha

Two days this weekend, we made our way to the local track and field so the boys could play some baseball, tennis and kickball while daddy got in a run.  Burke joined the first day and opted to stay in the air conditioning the second time.  On Friday night, we also fit in a competitive kickball game between the parents and the kids and then we changed up the teams to have one parent and one child vs. the other parent and child!  It was a fun weekend for outdoor activities!

On Sunday, we headed "back home" to see family.  We went to church with Grannie and then ate lunch at her house with GranDan.  After lunch, we headed to the mountain house to see Granny V and PawPaw.  We played ping pong and pool in the game room, and I think we wore out the boys for the drive back!

I slept in until 7:44 this morning and it had to be documented!  While Zack was making a big breakfast, he snapped this photo of me and my pup!  Even when we have date nights, I never sleep this late!  I think I have worn myself out with work, baseball and parenting over the last few months! haha

After a delicious breakfast, the boys and I went for a bike ride and run before the day heated up.  After some time at the track and field down the street, we made our way to the pool for our first visit of the season!  Zander got his green band again this year and Maddox swam for a yellow band again!  Maddox was so close to getting the coveted green band.... he was able to swim the distance to the lifeguard stand and tread water for 30 seconds.  He ran out of stamina to complete the backstroke for the distance back to the side.  I told him after swimming around throughout the summer, he will get that green band before we know it!

In other events, I went over to Lindsey's to watch the series finale of This is Us. It has been a favorite show of ours for the last six years and I'm sad that it is over! It was fun watching the finale live rather than waiting a day to watch it like I typically do!

We also found our way to the ball field last week in between some pretty bad rainstorms.  I can't believe how big Maddox looks when he is up at the plate while batting or catching! 

We had "tourist day" this week.... we tried to match the theme!

Madman continues to live up to his nickname.  This time he ran into a door frame and gave himself a pretty large goose egg which has turned into a nice looking bruise.  We iced it for about 30 minutes last Sunday night while reading to him.  This definitely helped with the swelling and you can see our pup was right there to comfort him as well!

Field Day Fun and Awana Awards!

A perk of working at the same school as my boys is that I get to see both of them throughout the day in the hallways.  On two particular days last week, I got to see them participate in field day.  I always work the sno cone station with my principal and AP which puts me at a great vantage point to see the boys at a few of their stations.  I even got to join Zander's class in the tug-o-war when they called for parents to come join in! ;)  Thank you to a fellow classmate's mom for snapping a couple pictures to show how mommy and Grammy were able to join in the field day fun! ;)

Tonight we celebrated our AWANA awards after a year of hard work learning memory verses each week.  Both boys were motivated to learn 3-4 verses each week of the school year so they each could finish not one but TWO books!  Zander got an Alpha award and Excellence award for his two books completed and Maddox got his first book ribbon along with his extra credit book pin! I am so proud of both of them for working so hard and memorizing verses that I pray will be recalled in times of need as they get older.

Google photos does it again.... pictures of Zack! ;)

I love our four-legged pup!  He has found a new favorite spot on my rocking recliner that we moved downstairs (since it is no longer needed to rock a baby;)).  We added one of Great Grandma's blankets which Burke seems to love as well.... and mommy can ensure that the whole chair is not covered with his white fur! ;)

We were able to have a park date and ice cream dessert with some of our favorite people last weekend! I love each of these kids so much!  

Mrs. Mize and I have worked with our student council all year.  I love each of these kids and their leadership at our school!

We welcomed our graduates from the local high schools this past week to walk the hallways of their elementary school one last time.  I love being able to see my boys randomly as we are in the hallways of the school... this picture was snapped while I was escorting one set of graduates.

These boys wanted to fit in the cart while we were grocery shopping.... I think they are a little big for this!;)

We had a night out with friends to catch some local racing, chain races and a demolition derby.  We tailgated in the parking lot (in the rain) prior to heading to the racetrack.  It was a fun evening.... the first time ever that Zack and I had to pay for a babysitter... but luckily Hailee was able to come spend time with our boys while we were gone!  Grammy has helped us have many date nights so it was odd having someone else watch our boys for an evening away but the evening was definitely needed for all of us! ;)

Mother's Day 2022

We had a great Mother's Day!  The weather was unseasonably cooler than any other Mother's Day I can remember so we had some afternoon rest time instead of a traditional hike or quality outdoor adventures!  We did manage to take Burke for a walk around the neighborhood while the boys threw a football back and forth to each other.  Grammy provided a yummy lunch after church and we were able to snap some pictures of the cousins.  I am always impressed that my roses in the backyard (which I got after each boy was born) and our azaleas in the front yard manage to bloom perfectly the week of Mother's Day.  It makes for some great pictures with my boys!  The highlight of the day was getting to watch the boys sing a special Mother's Day song that they had practiced while pictures of all the moms in our children's ministry were displayed on the screen.  Since I'm not a big "gift" person, the song and time with my boys was just what this mama wanted and needed for this holiday!

You can see Z waving in the back row in this picture! :)

Watching the boys walk back to Kidstreet after they finished singing was a lot of fun too! :)

Zack loves taking candid pictures.  I thought this one deserved an honorable mention since I took time to straighten my hair for the occasion! ;)

Great Grandma was definitely missed on Mother's Day.  It was the first one we spent without her.  I know she would have loved to see the boys sing on that stage if she were able to! I guess she had a better seat than we did this year. ;)

In other news.... I've been doing a lot of "mothering" lately to warrant the holiday! ;)  On a night that Zack was working late (and we didn't have baseball), Maddox decided to stand on our glass coffee table and get a few scratches on his leg.  I am so thankful it wasn't worse as the glass was very sharp and it could have required stiches.  It is healing nicely, and we have decided we will not get a coffee table in the foreseeable future, until the boys get a little bit older and can make wiser choices. ;)

We have been at the ball field every night this week.  It has been fun to cheer on both boys but my allergies have decided that I should stay indoors for awhile so I think this weekend will include some indoor activities and rest time.  The baseball schedule is pretty busy with late nights and early mornings to get back to school.  We are all tired and a bit on the struggle bus as we finish out the school year!

Zander and Maddox attended Christian's birthday party last Saturday.  The weather was perfect for a bounce house, trampoline, pizza and cupcake party!  Maddox was excited he was invited to a birthday party with big brother. ;)

Aunt Kelly came to Z's game and M's practice on Tuesday night!  It was great to catch up on wedding plans as well... October will be here soon!

Boys and their toys!

First.... a little about me.... we had a Word Week at school last week... it was something I came up with and had the support of our staff to make it a reality!  We got excited for our "Word in Action" parade on Friday where a group of us were "social butterflies".... get it?!  We have all types of social media on our clothes with butterfly wings. ;)

I got my plaque for winning 1st place in my age group from the most recent half marathon Linds and I ran!  Being in the top portion of the age bracket, I'll take it! ;)

A couple cute picture of Burke!  He loves his new bed and taking Maddox's stuffed animals any chance he can get!

This boy is loving to read before bed!  He fell asleep the other night with his book still in his hands. ;)

Maddox and Zander have been keeping us busy on the ball field this month.  Maddox has tried to play catcher a few times and had a few of his biggest fans (Mrs. Choplin, Mrs. Moore, Emerson, Eli and Aunt Lindsey) come cheer him on this past week!  Grammy and Grandpa are always in attendance at the boys' games, and I have yet to remember to take a picture of them with the boys! Fortunately, we have a few more weeks of games, meaning many opportunities to snap a photo!

The big event of the week was our church's Grand Prix race.  The boys (including daddy) have been looking forward to this event since it was cancelled the last two years.  Daddy worked hard to get the colors the boys wanted and had the weight distribution just right for Z to come in 3rd within his age group and for M to come in 2nd within his age group! I think this was the only sibling pair that made the podium!  You can tell by the boys' faces that they enjoyed the whole experience.  We are so lucky to have a daddy that works hard to make these memories possible for the boys! ;)

The cars have to be weighed and evaluated the day before the race.  Then, the cars stay overnight to be ready for race day!  Our church takes this competition very seriously! ;)

Google photos gets me every time.... here were some collages they sent me of my boys through the years!  I thought you would enjoy a trip down memory lane as well! ;)