Quick Catch Up Post!

We have been busy.... here is what we have been up to this past week!

Dinner with the Williams family and Kennedy crew!  Chick-Fil-A is always a winner with our group!  

We had Kindergarten Registration at my school for our rising kindergartners.  My sweet niece will be starting kindergarten at our school in the fall.  I am so excited to have another one of my favorite little people with me each day!

I grabbed dinner out with some of my favorite ladies.... there is never a dull moment with this group!

Uncle Chris was ordained as a minister yesterday.  We were able to be at this special service and grabbed a quick picture of our boys matching. ;)

After the service, we grabbed lunch at Red Robin!  I think I lost my mind since I let both boys get a root beer float when they asked! haha  They loved it!

We also had Wild West Night at AWANA last night.  Maddox constantly makes me smile with his antics!  We took Burke for a quick walk before heading to church.  Maddox kept running until his hat would fall off (over and over again)!  haha

To My Little Valentines

 Z & M, 

I cannot believe another year has passed and we are celebrating Valentine's Day again! I feel like I just wrote the February 2021 blog post and now here we are with you at the ages of 8 and 6!  I am LOVING having both of you with me every day at our school.  I have the best memories from my own third grade year when my little sister joined me for elementary school.  It has been so wonderful to get to see you in your classes from time to time and have the same schedule.  It is hard for me to believe that in less than 2.5 years, we will have to establish a new routine when Z heads to middle school, let's not think about that just yet! ;) You both are doing an awesome job in school, getting good grades, modeling good behavior and continuing to excel in making new friends.  Zander, you are in the AG class this year since your test scores in 2nd grade identified you for academically gifted services in reading and math.  You continue to impress me with your ability to solve any math problem in your head and your quick memorization of all of your multiplication facts!  You are a good reader as well, although I do wish you would slow down from time to time to really process what you are working on rather than trying to finish first to move on to the next task! haha  Maddox, you are reading books now too, blending letters together like crazy to make words and sentences!  Just last night you told me that 6 +3 = 9 and didn't appear to use your fingers or anything to add those two numbers together!  Z & M, I love your optimistic personalities.  Your faces light up when you are telling a story and your voice level increases by a few decibels too as you strive to convey your thoughts.  You both love to go swimming in the wintertime at the YMCA.  You are loving basketball during the winter months after trying and enjoying soccer in the fall.  We are going to have another spring season of baseball before you both decide what you might want to focus on, although Z, you are already saying you want to do soccer instead of baseball so I guess we will stay tuned on that one!  You both have great speed when running which helps for each sport you are involved in.  I love how both of you have worked so hard to memorize verses in AWANA.  You both have finished your books for the year and have started into the extra credit books, not wanting to let a week go by without going after the added challenge!  Life with you is far from boring.  You keep me on my toes and are constantly moving from one thing to the next.  I hope you both know how much I love you and how thankful I am that I get to be your mommy!  Zander, you have decided to have a little girl in your class as your valentine this year.  Maddox, you proudly said I am your valentine.  I will take it as long as I can! ;)  Always remember how much your daddy and I love you!  Not just on Valentine's Day, but every day, we are thankful for the family we have and the love we are blessed to share.  

With all my love,

Mommy

We stopped for Chick-fil-a chicken minis for breakfast this morning, complete with a heart shaped tray!  I made tacos for dinner and I think the day overall was a success especially when you factor in all the sweet treats that were sprinkled in throughout the day! ;)  Grammy made us all feel special again this year with hearts on our doors for all the reasons she loves us!  The first door is Zander's, then Maddox's and finally ours!

The boys worked on their valentines one night while I was cooking dinner.  Maddox gave each of his classmates slime and Zander gave each of his classmates pop-it bracelets!

We celebrated the 100th day at school last week! I cannot believe that Maddox has already been in kindergarten for 100 days and we are over halfway through the school year!  Zander, being in third grade now, didn't really want to dress up.  He opted for sweatpants and a sweatshirt, the typical attire of Great Grandpa Bobby! ;)

Maddox and his BFF, Mollie, looked too cute in their 100th day attire!

This is what happens when I try to work after school and Maddox grabs my phone! He loves taking selfies!

Linds and I fit in our first 10 mile run of 2022.  We have a half marathon the first weekend in April so we had to up the mileage with consideration of the basketball schedule!

The boys had another great Saturday on the basketball court!  I love watching them play any sport (although I think football is off limits)! ;)

On Saturday night, we went with the Kennedys and Williams family to see a hockey game!  We had never been to a hockey game before, so it was quite an experience!  The boys loved when our team got a goal and Zander loved getting to throw a puck on the rink during one of the intermissions!

Burke got a new bed and so far he loves it!  We are hoping he will sleep more at night if he is a little more comfortable.  Stay tuned.....

We watched the Super Bowl at Grammy and Grandpa's on Sunday evening after AWANA.  The Rams won the game and we were all winners with the yummy food we got to eat! :)

What a week!

 So..... we made it to February!  It has been a hard week.  Monday started out with a vet appointment for Burke to check and see what is going on with him.  He had an abdominal ultrasound done and a urine sample to figure out why his water intake is greater than the typical consumption along with his constant restlessness during the nights.  The vet is thinking it might be Cushing's syndrome.  We still haven't heard the results from the ultrasound but his urine sample came back normal.  They had to shave his belly area for the ultrasound.  Needless to say, he needed (and deserved) extra cuddles on Monday night. ;)

I got to see my littlest love on Wednesday night for dinner, and he appropriately rocked a shirt that Zander, Maddox and Henry have all worn in their earlier years.  I enjoyed the extra time with my sister and her kids that evening.  It is always fun to see the cousins together.  It is always a lot of work too with these four busy kiddos!  Linds and I wonder when the day will come that we can just sit and enjoy a conversation while the kids play without requiring maternal interventions! haha

Friday was Career Day at school.  We had a lawyer, a vet and a missionary for the day! I always love when the boys pick something that can be easily represented with the clothing in their closets! haha

Friday was a hard day.  One of my sister's closest friends since childhood passed away unexpectedly last week of a heart condition.  At the age of 35, her three young children and husband are grieving the absence of a mother and wife.  It has been incredibly hard to comprehend how this could happen to someone so young and someone that means so much to so many.  She was always a constant friend to my sister, and I have many fond memories with her at wedding and baby showers, girls' nights at our house growing up and at sporting events where my sister and her friends would gather.  I offered to drive Linds to the funeral back home on Friday afternoon.  While it was such a difficult day, I enjoyed the time I had with my sister and was thankful to show my support to Katie's family.  If you are reading this, please pray for their family.  Pray for the upcoming days, weeks, months and years as they will undoubtedly notice her absence as nothing can replace the love and presence of a mother.  In true "sweaty sister" fashion, we went for a run when we got back into town (dad, it was in Linds' neighborhood, I promise).  It was a way to put all our emotions on the pavement after a very tough day.  I am so thankful for my friendship with my sister and our ability to grab a run when needed and share a drink afterwards (even if that beverage is an iced cold water)!

Considering the events of the past few weeks with the death of our two neighbors and now the sudden death of one of Lindsey's friends, it's made me want to soak up the time with my boys even more.  I took the opportunity to cuddle with my youngest during rest time yesterday.  He has the most kissable cheeks and has an optimism that is second to none! God, I pray you protect my babies.  I pray that you provide them a long life filled with positive memories of their childhood with the presence of their extended family members at all important milestones.  

This weekend, we also fit in our second week of basketball games of the season.  While the season started a month ago, due to winter weather, this was only the second time that the boys were able to play actual games against opponents.  Grannie came to visit for the games.  The boys also had Grandpa and Grammy in the stands cheering them on!  It is equally entertaining to watch Coach Boomer with Zack as his assistant coach wrangle the five and six year olds up and down the court!

Finally, this past weekend, I was able to head back home for one whole afternoon and evening to see one of my best friends, Liz.  I don't believe we have been able to spend time together just the two of us without our children and husbands included since we became moms!  We were able to see "Redeeming Love" in the theaters (based off the book we read in college).  We ate a yummy dinner and went back to her mom's house for an evening of catching up into the wee hours of the morning!  While I might be tired this week, it was so good to talk to someone that has known you for half your life and understands exactly what you are going through since we have hit many milestones (engagements, weddings, births) at the same time!  We are already planning to make this happen more than once a decade! haha!