Last Day of School and Girls' Getaway!

First, a few more pictures from Maddox's preschool graduation.... my friend, Kristen (Mollie's mommy), took pictures of all the graduates and their families that night.  I will mention that three boys in Maddox's class (Nash, Burke and Luke) weren't there for the picture.... hence why it looks like a girl heavy group! ;)

I love what Google did with this photo to make Maddox in his cap and gown stand out from his surroundings!

Zander officially finished 2nd grade!  He is so incredibly smart and incredibly kind!  He is known around school for giving the staff members the best hugs and has grown so much this year!  He placed into the AIG (academically intellectually gifted) class which starts in third grade and I continue to be amazed at all he is learning!

Here we are dismissing car riders on the last day!  I love having my boy with me each day!

Zander went with Grammy on Wednesday to the science center to see the new exhibits which include flamingos, pygmy hippos and a serval!  I can't wait to take Maddox next week after I am off from work while Z is at baseball camp!  Zander spent the rest of the week at Grannie's house, being spoiled!  He got to visit Linville Caverns and a splash pad!

I've enjoyed some evenings out with my girlfriends as we wind down the school year.  We went to dinner to celebrate mine and Angie's birthday the other night!  A story came up about how I was going through some of my grandpa's old historical magazines/newspapers and at the bottom were some playboys!  I was shocked and immediately put them in the recycling bin since I have never encountered magazines like that!  My co-workers were shocked I threw them out.... insisting that they were worth money! haha  So we went dumpster diving to retrieve the magazines.  A friend has them in their possession right now... I didn't want to have them with me any longer and I didn't want to be on the news for selling these! haha

I love naptimes with my boys!  This was last weekend... all cuddled up on the couch after church!

Maddox and Emerson had their last day of preschool on Friday.  This was Maddox's last day ever at preschool as he will start kindergarten in the fall! Emmy has one more year for PreK before she joins us at elementary school!  We are all looking forward to summer before we start back into the school routine!  Maddox had some ice cream on the way home to celebrate!

He also has been talking a lot about this "Mario fishy thing" from CVS!  Daddy made all his dreams come true and purchased it this weekend for him!   He is obsessed with any type of stuffed animal.... he has about 30 in his room!

Grammy, Aunt Lindsey and I had a "girls' getaway" (that is actually what the package we purchased is called) this weekend.  This was an idea about two years ago that we finally brought to fruition!  We thought it would be a great way to celebrate mom's 65th birthday and Mother's Day as we typically have a spa day for Mother's Day.  We drove about 30 minutes away to the Grandover Resort.  Our package included lunch vouchers, a spa treatment (massage), a bottle of champagne, a beautiful room for the night and breakfast vouchers!  We had the best food and enjoyed working out in their fitness center, laying by the pool and just having the opportunity to have uninterrupted conversations!  I feel so incredibly blessed to have both of them all of these years as sounding boards for discussing important decisions and for receiving encouragement when it is so desperately needed!  I know we will be doing this again in the future! :) 

PreK Graduation Part 2 and End of Spring Baseball!

We were able to officially celebrate our PreK graduates with a park party on Friday night.  The kids showed some of the things they learned this year and we ate yummy food, complete with celebratory graduation cupcakes!  Mrs. Veigh, Maddox and Zander's PreK teacher, retired this year.  We took time to celebrate her with her last class of preschool!  We are so thankful she waited until after she had Maddox to retire! He has learned so much about God, knows many bible verses, knows the books of the bible, knows letters and numbers, read books this year and even showed how he can read a clock!

At the park, I discovered he has a few admirers in his class.... one that left this note earlier this week in his folder. ;)

This week, we also finished out our spring baseball season!  Maddox got to play on the big field and receive a medal after his final game.  Zander helped as catcher during M's game so I had to capture the brothers on the ball field together!

Zander also finished up this week.  One of the baseball moms snapped some pictures of the boys during practice and within the game this past week!

Cousin Wade sent me this picture of the CD I gave Zack back in 2005!  It prompted me to dig up the first rock CD that Zack gave me at the same time!  These will be antiques one day (or maybe they already are)! haha

We celebrated Memorial Day by visiting the Field of Honor where the boys saw pictures of family members representing the various branches of the military.  It is always a good learning experience and many people were there to honor and remember those that fought for the freedoms we have today.

Yesterday was National Trails Day... which I didn't know was a thing until after we got home and I saw some posts about it.... but we found our own trail and enjoy being outdoors as a family!

Friday happened to be National Donut Day.... and while we waited until Saturday to celebrate after our hike, the donuts tasted just as good a day after their national recognition!

We are ready for summer!  The boys enjoyed playing in our backyard last night while the parents sat in lounge chairs on the back deck watching their fun!  It was a perfect evening!  It won't be long until we have more evenings like this together!!

Countdown to Summer!

We are on the official countdown to summer with a couple weeks left of school/work to wrap up the 2020-2021 year!  Maddox had his official last day of PreK on Friday.  I cannot believe when we start back to school in August, both boys will be going with me to elementary school.  Zack and I have reached the stage of raising "school-aged children"!

 

It is hard to notice each day how much Maddox is growing and maturing but when you put a comparison picture of the first and last day of PreK... you can tell this has been a big year for him!  He knows all of his letters, numbers and is reading books!  Kindergarten, here he comes!  He is soooo ready!!

This upcoming week we are finishing the spring season of baseball..... what will we do without heading to the ballfield every night?! The boys have learned a lot about the sport and have grown so much!

During Maddox's last two weeks of PreK, he has had themed days.... check out cowboy day!

One of the boys' baseball teammates had a birthday party at the skating rink! They loved seeing all of their friends and rolling around the rink!

I love that Memorial Day weekend is always the unofficial start to summer! We are enjoying time with family and friends this weekend!  We went to the science center, City BBQ and paddle boat rides on Saturday with the Whites.  The weather was perfect for our outdoor adventure!

Last night we went to the Dash game.  The boys loved seeing some of their teammates (since it was little league night) and after a rain delay, the home team was able to bring home a win!  I am loving this time with my boys after a very busy week at work!  We have 2.5 weeks until we are on summer break together.... and the countdown to summer is on!

Baseball and Ballet!

We continue to be at the ball field most nights of the week.  With only a week or two left of spring baseball, I am trying to soak up all the time I can cheering on #21 and #10!  Zander got the "hitting" belt last night for three solid hits when at bat and a couple RBIs to go with it!  He loves playing baseball and has gotten pretty good behind the plate as well when playing catcher. We were able to get a group picture of the team along with the coaches last night.  Maddox continues to do an awesome job on the field and up to bat as well.  He is super fast and really alert when trying to get the out.  His coach mentioned last night that a few people were fighting over him on draft night, commenting that he had a great name for baseball! haha  We also had our fan club out there this week.  We love having Grammy, Grandpa and all of the Kennedys at the games!  Aunt Kelly came to the games last night as well.  These boys are well loved!

These bookend cousins only have two more Wednesdays together after spending almost a year one day a week at Grammy's house..... I think they will always have a close bond after the time spent together during this "Covid" year!

Maddox is counting down the last days of PreK with themed dress up days and fun activities.  Next week he will have a bike day, a camp out day and a water day!  As you can guess, he dressed as Spiderman for Superhero Day this week!

While my boys are playing baseball, Emerson has been learning ballet and tap!  I got to see her showcase on Wednesday night.  She has learned a lot already!  Being an aunt is pretty great! ;)

Zander had field day this week.  We still aren't able to have parents on campus yet due to Covid restrictions, so I consider it an awesome perk of the job that I can snap pictures of my oldest with his friends at field day!  I even had co-workers sending me pictures of him when he was at their station.  I love the work family I have!  I also lucked out and got my favorite station.... I was able to make sno-cones for all of our PreK-5th grade students..... best day ever!

Leap into Kindergarten and PreK Graduation!

Maddox had a pretty busy week.... we had a "Leap Into Kindergarten" event at the elementary school where Zander and I learn and work every day and little brother is super excited that it is now officially his turn to come to elementary school!  We had 47 kindergartners stop by the event where we handed out school supplies, helped families register for kindergarten and the students were able to do fun stations along the way.  Maddox was a local celebrity since the staff has known him since he was in my belly!  Also, his best friend, Mollie, was able to join us and they loved going to each station together!  I think Maddox is ready for kindergarten and I am ready to have him join us every day for school... it looks like "Kindergarten Here I Come!"

We also had Maddox's drive thru graduation this week where he was able to get his "diploma" and celebrate finishing preschool with his classmates.  He still has about another month of school before he is officially off for summer and we are having an end of year celebration at a local park with his classmates and teacher, Mrs. Veigh, who is retiring.  This means you will have to wait for the "Last Day of PreK" pictures to join the blog! ;)  It does seem that time is flying by and I am still in shock that I will have two school age kids very soon!

In other news from our week.... Zander finished the fourth and final chapter book in the Way of the Warrior Kid series.  We have moved onto one of mommy's favorites, "The Mouse and the Motorcycle".  I love to read with my big boy.  Also, Maddox has been reading books of his own.... learning new words and spelling patterns every day!

My azaleas that I always say bloom just in time for Mother's Day have been looking good this May! I love coming home to our beautiful home with the new porch railings and spring flowers!

My office staff got me a sign for my reserved parking spot!  I love getting to park up front every day! It is such a nice treat when you have your hands full! ;)