School's Out for Summer!

We finished our last week of school!  The boys had their award's day where they received awards for honor roll and Zander got an award for perfect attendance.  Emerson also finished kindergarten, and I was able to tag along for her end of year activities.  It's definitely a "work perk" to be at the same school as these three cousins!  We documented the last day of school with our annual pictures and then headed back home for the weekend to spend time with the Baden family for a lake day.  We got to see all of our family while we were back in town as well which worked perfectly after a busy spring with sports obligations every weekend!

First Day vs. Last Day for the three musketeers!

Last Day shenanigans... Mr. Neagle brought his bird for the kids to play with!  The soon-to-be 5th graders stopped for a quick picture and we went for ice cream after school to celebrate a great year!

Lake Day with the Baden Family!  We love this annual tradition, and I don't know who is more excited each year... the kids or the adults! ;)  Scott and I are turning 40 within a month of each other so we had to document the milestone while we were together!

The boys also got their green bands after successfully completing the swimming test so they are ready for many pool days in their future!

Counting Down to Summer Break!

The boys have one final week of school before summer break officially begins for them!  Mommy has a couple more weeks of work before I can join my boys for our summer adventures!  I absolutely love the weeks I get to spend with my boys... making plans with friends, spontaneously creating plans the day of and sometimes not having a plan at all!  Until then... here is what we have been up to the last couple weeks....

We had an unseasonable cool and wet Memorial Day weekend.  We enjoyed rest time, indoor activities including board games such as Sequence and Clue and spent some time outdoors playing in the cool, rainy conditions.  It was fun heading to the nearby field to play soccer... the Zs versus the Ms.... As you will notice, Mommy got cold and had to borrow Daddy's rock festival shirt to offer an extra layer of warmth for the outdoor conditions.  We also fit in a birthday party for Josh and a movie with the Kennedys (the Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3).  It was a relaxing and fun three day weekend!

Zander finished his artwork that he has been working on at school.  He is proud of his mug that went through the kiln!

In the world of sports, Zander tried out for a travel soccer team and made it!  He will be starting this new adventure in August!  We are excited to support his passion for this sport and that he will continue to develop and strengthen his skills on the soccer field!  Maddox finished his baseball season this past Friday night.  They had a tournament that lasted all week.  Maddox's team came into the tournament undefeated and encountered a tough loss in the championship game!  Personally, Maddox had a great final game with hits each time up to bat, a couple doubles and RBIs to account for half the runs scored in the championship game.  He showed progress with his fielding abilities as well.  He says he will be back on the baseball field next spring after a fall season of soccer and winter season of basketball.  Until then, we will enjoy a couple months of minimal evening commitments.  ;)

On Saturday, I went with my mom and sister for our annual mother-daughter spa day.  It is one of my favorite days of the year!  Fortunately, the weather cooperated perfectly!  We started out with a workout at the fitness center, massages at 10:00 a.m. and then pool time for the afternoon.  We enjoyed "Mermaid Water" drinks and lunch poolside before getting our showers and heading to J Peppers for dinner!  With the hectic schedules of work and parenting, it is nice to have a day free of interruptions where we can chat and catch up.  I always love hearing their perspective on the current topics we are discussing and love that we share such a close relationship.  I wish everyone were as blessed and lucky as me to have such an awesome support system! :) 

After church today, we went to see Mia at her dance recital.  Zander and Mia have been best friends since kindergarten.  It was so much fun to support her in something she loves!  I am including a comparison picture from when Zander went to her kindergarten dance recital in 2019.... where did our babies go?!  I cannot believe they will be fifth graders by the end of the week!

Awana Awards, Emmy's Dance Recital and More Baseball!

The boys finished out their AWANA year this past Sunday.  Zander was recognized for finishing his third book within the T & T program (on his way to getting the Timothy Award next year as a 5th grader), and he also earned a trophy for finishing his third Sparks book that he wasn't able to complete the year that Covid was prevalent and we didn't have our typical Awana night routine that year.  Maddox finished his second book in Sparks.  I continue to be impressed by their memory of scripture verses and their excitement for learning these verses each week!

Emmy had her annual dance recital this past weekend as well.  You can tell we are approaching the end of the school year as all the kids are having performances and ceremonies to celebrate the past year!  Emmy did a great job with her two dance numbers.  She had us in tears during "Butterfly Kisses" (a song I danced with Grandpa to at our wedding 15 years ago)!  She also had us smiling through her tap routine as she performed each movement and had her personality shine through with her hand gestures at key moments within the song.  I love being this little girl's aunt!  Eli enjoyed the recital as well and it was fun to get extra cuddles from him as he shared the snacks I brought!

Zander had an interactive music performance last week as well.  It was fun to see him singing and playing musical instruments (including his recorder) during the exhibition.  

We continue to be on the ball field multiple nights a week cheering on #10.  This past week, Maddox added more family members to his cheering section!  

These boys love spending time with their daddy.  He works hard and he works a lot.  We are always thankful when he is home.

This picture cracked me up of Maddox.  He loves pushing his hair up when it's sweaty to see the height it can get.  I think there is no mistaking where he gets his thick, wavy hair from! ;)

Happy Mother's Day 2023

This past week we had our annual field day.  I was able to hand out sno-cones to all 750 + kids that we have at our school.  I particularly loved giving a sweet treat to my three favorite students at school! ;)  I think the kids had a blast and enjoyed all 18 stations at their field day last Wednesday!  Field day takes place over two days at our school due to our size but the cousins had field day on the same day this year which was extra special!

Spring pictures were taken while we were in Hawaii.  Both boys rocked their old tennis shoes and Maddox somehow picked out a different shirt than what I had laid out for him while I was out of town.... here is the final product.. they are cute nonetheless! ;)

Zander was asked to play on the All Star soccer team at the end of his soccer season this spring.  Two of his best buddies from school were on his same team!  They had a blast practicing together since they typically do not play on the same team!  I hope their friendship continues as they head to middle school in about a year! 

This Thursday, Maddox had strep throat for the third time this season which meant extra cuddles from Mommy throughout the night and during the day. We had beautiful weather on Saturday so Daddy and Zander got our vegetable boxes ready for our summer harvest while Maddox and I took it easy on the hammock! ;)

We kept Maddox home from church on Mother's Day Sunday to give him an extra day of rest.  As you can tell from these pictures, he was back to his normal self after about 48 hours of antibiotics!  

The kids sang a sweet song in both services and I enjoyed eating lunch with two of my favorite moms (my mama and sister).  We celebrated with the ones that made us moms! :) I enjoyed some rest time with my boys in the afternoon and Zack finished working on our fire pit! It was a great Mother's Day weekend!

The boys made sweet presents for me at school... Maddox made a card that is proudly displayed on our refrigerator and Zander made me a keychain! :)

Grand Prix, Soccer Stud and Folly Fun!

Last weekend, the boys had their annual Awana Grand Prix race.  Daddy works so hard to help them with their unique designs each year and creates cars that zoom down the track.  This year, Zander came in 1st place for design with his Avengers themed car.  Maddox came in 2nd place for speed in his division.  There are three division and over 90 cars that enter this race each year so we are really proud of the boys for their podium performances!  They are already planning their car designs for next year!

Maddox with his best friend, Luke, at the Grand Prix

More Friends!

Zander with his first place gold medal for design

We spent this past Friday and Saturday at the soccer field!  Zander had a tournament to finish out his season!  He played all three games of the tournament and his team came in second place overall, being able to play in the championship game on Saturday afternoon.  We had great fans supporting our soccer stud at each of his games this weekend!

After soccer, we went to our annual Spring Folly!  The boys (like their mama) enjoyed the snacks as we moved from one vendor to another!  This is always a favorite weekend of mine as it signifies the start of summer events for our town!  Maddox saw his BFF, Mollie, and we had to grab a picture for the wedding album. ;)

My azaleas out front always bloom on Mother's Day weekend.  They seemed to have bloomed early this year so I grabbed some pictures with my boys in case they don't last until next Sunday!

After Awana last night, we grabbed a sweet treat (a tradition each Sunday evening)!  It is our next to last Awana of the year as we take a break for the summer.  We splurged and let the boys get dipped cones with their ice cream! ;)

In news from around the globe, the United Kingdom crowned a new king this past weekend.  I woke up at 5:00 a.m. to watch the processional and coronation ceremony for King Charles III.  His mother, Queen Elizabeth II was crowned in 1953 as the head of the monarchy so it had been 70 years since the last coronation.  It was exciting to see King Charles III's son, Prince William, along with his family as they are the future heirs to the throne.