Sickness, Sleepovers and Soccer

We spent the weekend in the cold and the rain to cheer on our favorite soccer player! Grammy and I weathered the elements while daddy and Maddox were back home playing basketball. Also, this past week, Mommy and Maddox battled the dreaded stomach bug along with the Kennedy kids, Aunt Lindsey, Grammy and Grandpa! Somehow Uncle Boomer, Zack and Zander have held strong and we pray that continues! We pray for health for everyone going into the upcoming week. We celebrated good grades with Krispy Kreme donuts which were perfectly timed to be eaten on the Valentine holiday this past Friday! Zander got to connect with middle school friends one afternoon that were all dropped off at Sedge Garden (their former elementary school). Finally, before the sickness hit us, the boys were able to have a guy’s night with their best friends, Jackson and Austin. They had pizza for dinner, ice cream sundaes for dessert and went to bed around midnight to be ready for basketball and soccer games the next day!

 

More Best Friend Time!

After spending the weekend with my best friend, Liz, I got a call from Ashley that she would be in town and could we meet for dinner. I enthusiastically said yes and made it through the snow to meet her for dinner. The very next weekend, I had planned to meet up with Kelly and her family for lunch.  I couldn’t believe how blessed I was to get to spend time with some of my very best friends, connecting on all things marriage, kids and work! With life being so busy, I’m incredibly thankful that God provided these opportunities for us to catch up. Sometimes you just need time with the people that know you the best, love you for who you are and celebrate with you for all the blessings in your life.:)

It was incredibly cold last week. Car rider duty was a challenge! We have had a busy few weeks. We tried to fit in reading time when we can (hence why Zack snapped this picture while I was still in my coat and shoes after work one day)! Zander is loving golf lessons that Grandpa is taking him to each week. His eyes light up as he tells me what he has learned. I love that my dad and my oldest are having this time together as well. Maddox loves a good dress up day… Awana Wacky Tacky/Crazy Hair Night is a favorite every year! He is also pretty excited that his two favorite teams are headed to the Super Bowl next weekend!

It was a big week for Zack! He earned an unheard of EIGHT awards at his annual sales meeting. As a President’s Club winner, we are headed back to Hawaii! I can’t believe Zack has earned this honor three times in the last four years! He works so incredibly hard and I’m thankful we will get to celebrate him through this trip! While Zack was in Orlando winning major awards (such as Store Manager of the Year for NC/SC), I got to celebrate my National Board certification at our school board meeting with my friend, Kristen!

In other milestones, Zack and I have officially been together for 20 years now! I’m so very thankful for him and our family. You can see the post I shared in honor of the special day.  We continue to enjoy basketball games on Saturday mornings! We get to see the Kennedy kids and some best friends on and off the court while we are there.

More Days at Home!

Maddox started playing basketball after a delayed start due to the multiple unexpected snowfalls we had at the beginning of January! We have enjoyed some additional time at home due to the winter weather.  We’ve played pickle ball and basketball at the YMCA. We went swimming one day at the Y as well! Zander got his certificate for finishing the middle school orientation at the YMCA where he can now go anywhere in the Y by himself. I can’t believe how independent our oldest is getting! We’ve watched a lot more football (and enjoyed playing “Next Play” as we watched college and NFL playoff games). It was helpful we didn’t have to get up early the next day for school. The boys have enjoyed treats throughout our snow days…. Subway and Starbucks! (Maddox got a hot chocolate while Z was at soccer practice as part of a mommy-son date;)). Daddy got me “just because” flowers one day… which was a special surprise after all the schedule changes these past two weeks due to the snowy weather! Finally, I got to have my annual 24-hour kid free weekend with Liz! We enjoyed tea and brunch and uninterrupted time to talk. I’m so thankful for her friendship and for the opportunity to catch up!

Snow Much Fun!

We’ve had a few snow days lately! The boys attended school for two out of the five days last week while mommy attempted to work from home the other days and keep the boys entertained! We enjoyed sledding, snowman making, snowball throwing, snow walks, baking, puzzles, cuddles, reading and football watching (the perfect week with college football playoff games and NFL playoff games). I even took the boys to the Airbound Trampoline Park one afternoon to use some free passes we got at M’s birthday and to get some energy out!

We fit in a trip to Great Wolf Lodge to celebrate Seph’s 10th birthday! It was so fun going to the indoor water park with friends! It was a great way to end Christmas break! The boys got to move from slide to slide on their own while mommy and daddy moved around with them and the other adults in our group! They are getting so big to do some of these things independently! Where is the time going??

Happy New Year 2025!

After our epic ski trip, we enjoyed a few days at home as we counted down to the new year! The boys and I went to see Sonic 3 in the theaters.

 

Beau didn’t appreciate the rainy days we had. He wanted to bring his outdoor toy (Lambie) in to stay dry… haha

We enjoyed our new Dude Perfect board game! We get to see the guys this summer when they are on tour and we are already looking forward to it!

As for personal goals accomplished this year for me, I read through the entire Bible!  Also, I ran over 1,000 miles (for the 4th year in a row)! And as mentioned a few weeks ago, I found out I earned my National Board Certification (something that took a good portion of 2024 to work on and worry about as I counted down to the date that scores were released)!

We enjoyed NYE with our favorites and love our annual tradition of dinner, drinks and fun at the Houstons! With a group of 16, there is never a dull moment and entertainment is all around us! We broke our backboard on the basketball goal this year with the kids playing outside way after it got dark!  I do love hosting this crew every year and appreciate all the cooking Zack does to make for a memorable evening! For the second year in a row, he made a low country boil complete with sausage, shrimp, potatoes and corn! 2025…. Ready or not, here we come…..