Family Fun in February!

Zack arranged for us to go cheer on my alma mater this past week!  We had great seats and the boys loved every minute of the basketball game.  Maddox got to see his BFF, Mollie, and we celebrated a win on a Wednesday night!  It made for a late school night but I think everyone enjoyed the evening!

We have had some unseasonably warmer weather this February which means that you will find our boys and the neighborhood kids hanging out in our yard.  Zack snapped this picture as he came home from work one evening.  As we are finishing M's basketball season and moving into Z's soccer season before M starts baseball in a few weeks, I hope the weather continues to be like this!  I am able to get dinner prepared while the boys have fun with their friends!

On Friday night, the boys had their first sleepover with friends. Each boy got to invite a friend to spend the night.  We had pizza, cookies, popcorn and plenty of other junk food.  They enjoyed playing outside, playing video games and watching a movie.  As I'm typing this, Zack has made a yummy breakfast for us to enjoy complete with "funfetti" pancakes!

The Stanwoods came to town last weekend.  We loved having time with our siblings and that the cousins were able to hang out as well!  These boys are full of energy and I think they enjoyed every minute together!

Keeping it real.. while we have had some really fun activities these last few weeks, there have also been some challenges.  Our ceiling fan stopped working in our bedroom (we haven't attempted to fix it yet), Zack has had to work to fix a doorknob that decided to stop working and the latest challenge was that M flooded our downstairs bathroom with "poop water" as he overflowed the toilet with multiple flushes after a significant bowel movement.  This, of course, happened while we were supposed to be walking out the door on a Friday morning.  Linds happened to be dropping off Emmy that day and walked into the chaos!  Zack came home from work to clean up the towels I had put down to dry up the water after I plunged the toilet.  I came home to fresh flowers and a sweet note!  We don't exchange gifts for holidays etc. so this was a nice surprise at the end of the Valentine's Day week.

Here are some more cute pictures from the end of that week as well! ;)

To My Little Valentines,

Zander and Maddox,

How is it possible that you are 9 and 7 years old?  I feel like I just wrote our Valentine's Day post for 2022, and we are already in a new year!

Zander, I cannot believe that you have one more year of elementary school and then you will be joining the youth group at church and venturing onto middle school.  I'm not old enough to have a 10 year old in April. ;)  I am so proud of all you are doing this year.  You have decided to try new things such as TrailLife and Student Council while also continues to pursue passions you have found over the years with scripture memorization through AWANA and playing soccer.  While you are thinking you will try flag football this upcoming year (still not sure what I think about this as your mama) and are not sure you will continue with baseball, I am proud of you for trying new things and also focusing on what brings you joy and continuing to follow those passions.  I pray you will always have a love for Jesus that you currently have and a heart for others.  I am so proud of all you are learning at school as you continue to thrive by bringing home As and Bs on each report card while being challenged within the academically gifted program at our school.  The way you compute math problems in your head is fascinating to me.  Just last night, I grabbed my calculator to quickly solve a problem that you finished in record time.  You love being outside.  You love cuddling up on the couch to read a book together and you love cuddles before bed.  I pray you will always know how much I love you and how thankful I am that you made me a mommy.

Maddox,  you have an optimism that is contagious.  You are also quite resilient when you face changes or you get hurt doing things that little boys do.  I absolutely love your smile (with or without teeth).  You always ask me before bed if I will leave our door cracked so you can come in if needed.  There are many occasions you take advantage of that "open door policy" by coming in for extra cuddles before our alarms go off in the morning.  You are definitely a morning person, waking up on the weekends way before you need to! ;)  You also know when its time to go to bed and fast forward the bed time routines often (sometimes telling me you are good on cuddles and I can leave now).  You continue to show an athletic ability that I wish I had.  I don't think there is a sport you aren't good at.  You currently love basketball, soccer and baseball and are hoping to try flag football this upcoming year.  You have an incredible memory as I watch you memorize verses each week for AWANA.  You also are a critical thinker and excellent writer as your teacher constantly brags on how smart you are.  You continue to get the highest grades on each report card and enjoy our pizza celebration after each positive report card comes home.  I love some of your "Maddoxisms" where you make up things as you go (most recently calling the windshield wipers "wind swipers" or "rain swipers").  You are the boy that completed our family and I will always be thankful you are my baby boy!

Brothers, I am so thankful you have each other.  Whether you are playing basketball, football or soccer outside or if you are playing Nerf guns, board games or video games inside, I am always thankful you have someone to challenge you and grow up with you.  You will share a relationship that is hard to describe and will be one of the things you cherish most.  I am glad God made me a "boy mom" because while it is always "entertaining", it is also filled with so much more love than I could ever fathom.  I love you both so much!

Happy Valentine's Day to my little loves,

Mommy 

Fast Forward through February

I cannot believe we are halfway through February already!! I will admit that winter is my least favorite season and I am always ready to fast forward to spring but it seems to be flying by faster than normal.  Since we have had some enjoyable weather, in the 60 degree range, it has gotten me even more excited about the upcoming warmer weather.  Although I will admit one good snowstorm would be fun for the the boys to enjoy!  Until we figure out what mother nature has in store for the final weeks of winter, here is what we have been up to these last two weeks....

I took the student council on a field trip to our local municipal building.  Since Zander is one of his two class representatives for student council and our school's vice president this year, it was fun to get to go on a field trip with my oldest.  I had to snap a picture of him in the mayor's office!  I hope he will continue to seek out leadership roles as he gets older.

We've also been cheering on our favorite basketball player this winter.  Zander opted for Trail Life, a Christian based program for boys that want to learn more about respect and the great outdoors!  Maddox continues to be one of the highest scorers on his team each week and while he has an unconventional jump shot, I'm always impressed at how the ball finds the basket almost every time.  

Emmy and I matched one day last week at school with our Valentine/love attire.  I love taking her to school every day! :)

We celebrated the boys at our midyear awards program last week.  Both boys got certificates for being on the honor roll with their good grades and also certificates for having the most lessons passed on one of our online platforms.  Zander even got perfect attendance! Maddox missed this recognition due to two rounds of strep throat!

As I mentioned earlier, the weather has been wonderful to get outside some..... we even had family time at the nearby track two weekends ago where we played soccer and Burke joined in by howling at us when we were too far away from where we had him tethered. ;)

We celebrated the Super Bowl at Grammy and Grandpa's on Sunday night.  The Kansas City Chiefs won by 3 points over the Philadelphia Eagles.  Even though the Panthers weren't in the championship game, most of the family sported the local team's colors for the 57th Super Bowl party!

Maddox and Mollie continue to be BFFs and I love getting pictures like this from Mollie's mommy when she is helping watch them in the afternoons as I am helping with dismissal.  I love how we have such a great support system!

Grandpa Bill's Funeral

 I rode to Florida with my parents to attend my grandpa's funeral this past Friday.  We made the nine hour drive there on Thursday and came back on Saturday so it was a quick trip to see family and spend time celebrating Grandpa Bill's life.  Grandma had asked me to read scripture and a poem at the funeral along with share a few words about Grandpa.  Since my grandparents on my dad's side didn't have a funeral, I think this is the first family funeral I have been to in a long time.  It was special to have time with my extended family (Grandma, Aunt Glenda, Kristin, Kaitlyn, Dale and Allie).  We had a delicious lunch provided by the church after the funeral and the girl cousins decided to take an adventure hike that afternoon.  It felt good to stretch our legs after a long travel day and sitting around Grandma's house.  We had a bonfire that night that my dad and Aunt Glenda put together.  It was so special to have this uninterrupted time with family. 

Meanwhile, back home, we had wacky tacky night at church this past Sunday at AWANA.  Maddox and I definitely embraced the theme and he came in 2nd place with his crazy attire and hair! ;)  

Grannie came to cheer on our favorite basketball player and coach while I was traveling back from Florida.  I know Maddox enjoyed having Grannie in the stands! :)