School's Out for Summer!

Zander is officially on his way to 1st grade and his brother will be finishing preschool on Friday.  They will be spending some time with Grammy and Grandpa until I am done for the school year.  After that, we will have about six weeks together where I get to be a full time mommy!! The summer is always my favorite time of year..... a time where the schedule each day is what my boys and I make of it!! Until I officially start my summer break, here is what the boys have been up to!

Maddox has water day one day a week as part of the "summer program" at his preschool.  He loves wearing his bathing suit and flip flops to school on these mornings.

Zander had field day last week.  His favorite game was tug-o-war.  I got to run the sno-cone station so Grammy snapped a picture of me with my first-born.  Zander's teacher and Grammy also sent me some additional pictures so I could see all the fun Zander had throughout the day!

Zander had a school dance on Friday night.  He loved the cotton candy and as you can see, I might have some competition when it comes to being his favorite girl! ;)

On Saturday, we loaded up the car for a day trip back home.  We got to see Granny V, Paw Paw and Uncle Grant on our way into town.  After a visit with them, we headed to the lake for some fun with the Badens.  This is always one of my favorite days of the year!  I get to see my best friend, Liz, and we get to watch our kids play together!  The weather didn't cooperate as well as it usually does but we still managed to fit in a boat ride and the kids got to swim some in between the rain!  As you can see from some of the pictures below, we got rained on some during our boat ride which added to the excitement of the day!

We got to see Grannie, GranDan, and the Stanwoods before heading back home.  Grannie had made matching shirts for the cousins which they were able to model for pictures.

On Sunday, I brought out some of our board games. We played Candyland, Guess Who and Twister!  The boys had fun with each game for about five minutes before there was some complaining!  I am hopeful that their stamina will increase over the summer as I always loved playing board games with my sister and I feel the boys are just starting to get to the ages where this can be enjoyable as a family!

Zander had awards day on Monday.  He got perfect attendance for the year!  After all the typical sickness in his early years, I was celebrating this accomplishment with him!  This has been our healthiest year yet!! I pray this trend continues! ;) 

And just for comparison sake, check out our oldest on his first and last day of kindergarten..... first grade here we come! :) 

Countdown to Summer

We are officially in June which means we are officially counting down to summer break!! Zander has one more week of kindergarten and I have about two more weeks of work before we are off for the summer, and I get to spend my days with my boys!  Here is what we have been up to this past week....

Zander loves his teacher!! He is going to miss her when he goes to 1st grade.  She has been so perfect for him this year!! She understands his energetic boy personality and challenges him academically! He is reading like crazy and has such a great number sense!  Zander and Mrs. Noell wanted to take a selfie during one of our staff meetings after school! haha

We said goodbye to one of our four-legged family members this past week.  My parents' dog, Sox, has been dealing with heart issues for awhile, and my parents had to make the difficult decision to say goodbye to their beloved pet they have had for 11 years.  I will miss his aggressive face licks!

We had the Stanwoods come to stay for a brief visit Friday night on their way to a family vacation.  It was so great having the cousins together and getting hugs from my favorite nephew! I also love seeing him in all the clothes that have been passed down from the Houston boys!

 I took the boys to see Aladdin on Saturday afternoon.  We absolutely loved it!!! Having seen the original when I was a kid, it was so fun to hear and sing along to the songs I grew up knowing!  That morning we fit in some bike riding and baseball practice (fielding and hitting) with daddy so it just seemed to be a perfect Saturday!

 On Sunday, we went to the Greensboro Grasshoppers game with Zander's little league team.  The boys got to practice catching on the field before the game and we even got to walk the field with Z's team!  It was fun to watch a minor league team on a Sunday afternoon.  Zander had many questions.  I hope I can learn more about baseball (hint: Aunt Lindsey and Uncle Boomer) so I can keep up as he moves up in the various divisions!

Yesterday, we celebrated Zander's kindergarten year with an end of year celebration.  We got to have a picnic lunch with him afterwards!  Even daddy got to come!

 After work/school, we headed to Zander's last little league game of the year! He had three great hits and got a few players out when he was playing pitcher, center field, and second base.  His favorite position to play is pitcher or first base.  We shall see if these preferences stick! ;)

 We could not make it without our support team!! Linds and Emerson have come to many of Z's games.  Grammy and Grandpa helped us celebrate our kindergartner and picked up the boys and fed them so we would be ready to cheer on #21 on the baseball field!  Their support makes parenting so much easier and more fun! 

Finally, Uncle Jay taught me about a new picture option on my phone that turns pictures into comics! I'm loving playing with the new feature! haha

Memorial Day Weekend

We've had the best time celebrating a long weekend together as a family.  We are so thankful for those that gave the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom so we could spend time together as a family unhindered.  Here is what we have been up to......I went to Core Values Dinner for our district on Thursday night.  We got to celebrate our school's teacher of the year, classified employee of the year, and our principal (who was a finalist for principal of the year). 

We had a ball game on Friday night... Emerson and I got to sport our sunglasses on a hot Friday evening.

The Houstons headed to the zoo on Saturday.... it was crowded and hot but we had a blast.  The kids got to do everything they wanted to do that day.... including playing in the kid zone water area!  Maddox's favorite animal to see was the rhinoceros and Zander wanted to check out the cacti in the desert.  We were all smiles throughout our fun day!

The boys were worn out on the way home.... and fit in about a 10 minute nap before we got to the house. ;)

I just love the relationship that our boys share with their daddy...... on the way to the grocery store, they were walking hand in hand.... safety first! ;)

 Also, check out this picture comparison from two years ago at the zoo and this past weekend!  Our boys are growing up way too fast!

 On Monday we fit in a family hike! The boys did great even with the "strenuous" terrain.  Zack only carried Maddox about 0.1 of a mile!  It was great getting to spend time outside together and listening to the boys sing "no more monkeys jumping on the bed" as we climbed up and down a mountain will be something I'll always remember!

Our pup got to fit in some extra time with our family this week.  He is a lazy pup!! Notice he doesn't want anyone messing with his tennis ball (even if he is being lazy)! ;)

Moving Through May!

I cannot believe we have one more month of work/school before I am off with my boys for a few weeks!! We are definitely counting down to summer where the days seem longer and we can be a little more lazy! :)  This past week we were at the ball field four days.  I had a PTA Talent Show and AG parent night on one of the other nights and Zander and I attended Mia's dance recital on Saturday evening.  We finished up with our Awana Awards Night last night.  This means that Monday was the only day we were home last week.  We are loving all the fun activities we have planned but also are excited for more evenings together at home with our family.  On the night we were home, I made a delicious, balanced dinner (see Maddox below) which worked as leftovers another night or two before ballgames.  This definitely felt like a "mom win".  Grannie came to visit for Zander's game on Saturday and she helped the boys put together a fairy garden..... you can see a picture of this below!  I've also included pictures from the dance recital.... Zander got Mia flowers.... their friendship is just the cutest!  We also celebrated our boys' accomplishments at the Awana Awards Night.  The boys are learning so much about God and starting to memorize scripture verses that I pray will stick with them in the future.  Awana has also been a fun experience for us as Zack works with Zander's group and I work with Maddox's age group!  It will be fall again before we know it and we will be back to Awana!  Until then, we might enjoy some leisurely Sunday afternoons as a family. ;) 

Happy Mother's Day 2019

I got to spend the weekend with my boys which is the perfect way to spend Mother's Day weekend!  On Friday, I went to Muffins with Mom at Maddox's school.  As you can see, he was really "cheesing" when his picture was taken.  He wrote an "All About My Mom" that just makes me smile and laugh.... apparently, I'm really good at making bananas! ;) 

 We ate breakfast with the Whites on Saturday morning.  The boys' shirts say "There is no buddy like a brother".  I am praying that they find this to be true as they get older.  At the current stage, they are fighting more than hugging so when I catch a rare moment where they will sit with their arms around each other, I have to snap a picture!  I love the moments they play together.  In all honesty though, we are spending time in opposite corners of the room or of our house on many occasions due to the arguing and fighting that the boys engage in.  Thank goodness they are cute! ;)

We went to church together on Mother's Day.  The boys wore matching outfits and cooperated for more pictures so I was excited to have some pictures with my boys.  We ate lunch at our house afterward.  Grammy, Grandpa and Great Grandma came over to join us!  The Kennedys stayed home this time since Emmy was running a fever.

 A few other things from our week..... we continue to enjoy cheering on our baseball player and Maddox loves hanging out with the big kids while brother plays ball.  He can keep up with them too as you see from the picture below. ;)

 We also have a new ride!  Zack is without a truck for the first time since 1999 as we realized we needed a larger family car for our family (especially for a couple upcoming road trips).  We are excited about the extra space the 2019 Subaru Ascent has (including a third row and captain chairs for our boys) and with the AWD, we know that Zack and I will be safe heading to work no matter the driving conditions (especially in the winter months!)  The car has everything we needed and wanted for our current stage of life and we continue to feel blessed to have been able to get it!

We also got to cheer on Dr. Kennedy (a.k.a Uncle Boomer) as he officially walked across the stage to receive his doctorate!  It is such a huge accomplishment and definitely something to be celebrated!!

Folly Fun!

One of my favorite days of the year is when we can go to our Spring Folly!! It was rather hot this year but we still had a blast!! We had a ballgame for Zander at noon so as soon as it was over, we headed downtown to eat yummy food, ride the rides, feed animals and walk around the various vendors.  We got to see the Williams family while we were there which made it even more fun to walk around with friends.  Grammy and Grandpa met us at the firetrucks and then they headed for some air conditioning after being at the ball field with us earlier.

 Also this past week, our kindergartner got another positive bow tie behavior award for his great behavior on their field trip the week before.  It's always nice when they represent you (or your school) well in public. ;)

 I got to spend some time with my favorite little girl this past week!  She went to two of Z's ballgames so we helped entertain her and Maddox with bubbles, cars and suckers! ;)

Zack and I got to see the Avengers Endgame movie.  It was so good!! We loved going to the "nice" theater and already having our recliner seats picked out and paid for.  Grammy and Grandpa had the boys spend the night last night which helped our Saturday morning start a little later than normal (as in 6:45 a.m. instead of 5:00- thanks Maddox and your new wake up schedule!). ;)  Ignore the mustache that is growing on Zack's face.....I'm hoping it disappears soon.  (Captain America did rock one in the movie!  Maybe that is the look he was going for?!)

 As I mentioned in my previous post, we have been spending a great deal of time at the baseball field.  We had practice Monday and games on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.  I love watching Zack help coach the team and watching the little cousins cheer on Zander!  We have one less day of baseball this upcoming week but a few other exciting things scheduled (like Boomer's doctoral graduation and dinner with friends).  So stay tuned....