First Day of School 2023!

We made it through the first day of school! This is year #19 for Mommy, fifth grade for Z and second grade for M!  I am having a hard time accepting that this will be the last year that Z and I are at the same school!  Enjoy some throwback pictures of our current fifth grader to show just how fast the years have flown by!  I'm convinced the Class of 2031 shirt is shrinking, and I can't possibly fathom that 2031 is eight short years away!

Emerson is riding with us again this year.  We enjoy having this cousin time.  I cannot believe she is in 1st grade already!

Fifth graders!

Matching with one of my besties!

In his 5th grade classroom!

Finished the first day!

On Maddox's second day of second grade, he went with hair gel! ;)

All the staff kids have fun entertaining themselves until the bell rings.  Emerson enjoys coloring in my office while there is chaos in the next room! haha

In other recent events, I got to celebrate Aunt Kelly's baby girl.... she will be here soon!

Grammy finished out Grammy Camp and had Grandpa tag along for putt putt!

Zack got to hang out with all his college buddies while Zander started his travel soccer season with his first weekend tournament!

Maddox (and Zander) love salmon!

We had open house! The boys got to meet their new teachers.  Maddox has Mrs. Morgan and Zander has Mr. Isley and Mrs. Maready! It's going to be a great year!

We had our district kickoff to start the year.... our school won an award for the most spirit in our area! ;)

Back to Work I Go!

Grammy has been keeping the three cousins entertained the last two weeks while the mamas have gone back to work for the school year!  The kids have one more week before school officially starts but I went back to work on August 7th.  We are busy getting everything ready to start a new school year.  I always feel that August and September are the hardest months of the year as we get back into our school routine. We also add sports (soccer this fall) and church commitments that make for many nights away from home and busy weekends included.  Here are some of the fun things we have been up to these last two weeks!

Grammy took the kids swimming, to multiple parks, bowling, entertained at the house (with fort making, board gaming, walks, etc.), and Grammy and Grandpa have taken the kids to see a movie and to practice golf at the driving range!  The kids are so lucky to have their grandparents close by and the mamas are so thankful for the free, exceptional childcare!

Zack and I got to celebrate our 15th anniversary with a dinner date at Milner's! We decided we would like to have dates more often.... especially after Grammy is not providing full-time childcare during the week when the kids are back in school. ;)

We went with Grandpa to the Wyndham Championship a couple weekends ago.  We enjoyed walking the back nine holes and sitting in the shade drinking wine slushies and eating our lunch.

Burke continues to be a mystery but his bloodwork came back great so he might just be getting old and ornery, accounting for the accidents inside the house.  I'm taking another urine sample today to make sure nothing was missed at last week's vet appointment.

The boys both got haircuts for back to school and decided they need to start wearing deodorant since sometimes they are stinky boys.  They are growing up!

Zander got to spend the night at his friend, Jackson's, house.  They got to go to an indoor adventure park and to the Wyndham where they were treated to free food and air conditioning.  I think it was hard for Z to come home after all that fun!

We enjoyed a final lake day with the Williams family.  We love anytime we can float on a boat or play in the water.  Zander continues to enjoy water skiing as well!  Their windblown look in this picture makes me smile. 

Mommy got to eat dinner with friends last night.  It is always nice to catch up with these ladies..... they make me laugh and accept me for who I am..... they are so incredibly special to me! We were missing Anna to round out this rowdy crew! ;)  Carmen bought us matching purses that you can see we are proudly displaying in this picture! ;)

Summer Break 2023: Week Six

These boys have been enjoying each other's company as we countdown to the end of our summer together.  They have rediscovered their love for their Hot Wheels cars and track and have spent hours racing cars and looking at the approximately 100 Hot Wheels cars they own!  Just when I thought they had moved on from those cars, here they are playing with them again!

Maddox and I spent the week together while Zander was at football camp every morning.  We went to a nature trail, waded in a creek, visited with friends (including breakfast at Waffle House one morning), met Daddy for lunch one day, went for bike rides/runs on the greenway, found playgrounds, found ourselves soaked from rain, both enjoyed a trampoline park and met up with the cousins for some tennis practice.  I think Maddox enjoyed his week with mommy while brother was at football camp!  Zander starts soccer practice for a travel team on Monday so he is officially committing his upcoming year to soccer but he wanted to learn a little more about football before then. ;)

We got to see one of Zander's best friends (Lana) who moved over to the other side of the county.  

Burke has been under the weather.  Prayers are appreciated as he is causing us a little anxiety and a lot of sleep loss lately.  Thank goodness he is so cute.;)

Proof of Life for Zander this week:  No pictures from football camp but we went to the pool one afternoon and the boys enjoyed making mohawks with their hair and tossing around a football!

Summer Break 2023: Week Five

This week was a hard one as we headed back home for PawPaw's funeral.  As I type this, it is still hard to imagine that he won't be at the country house when we visit going forward.  The boys will miss his ping pong skills and his enthusiasm as they attempt to play pool.  We will continue to celebrate PawPaw's life as I think about the legacy he left behind.  Without PawPaw, I wouldn't have Zack and without Zack, we wouldn't have Zander and Maddox.  That is pretty incredible when you think about it. :)  

Here is how we spent our fifth week of summer together.  We have one more week until Mommy starts back to work but the boys will continue to have fun plans until the school year starts for them in a month!

We had two lake days with the Williams family.  Maddox attempted skiing and showed perseverance as he wasn't able to stay up on the skis but continued to try.  Zander can now successfully get up on the adult skis without Josh in the water and can cross over the wake and navigate through the water as the boat is turning, etc.  We tried to give the boys a couple days of summer fun, knowing it was a hard week and they are trying to process PawPaw no longer being with us.   

Zander headed to overnight camp with our church on Tuesday.  It is a three day-two night mountain adventure that involves swimming, creek wading, flashlight hikes, s'mores by the campfire, etc.  While he was away, Maddox enjoyed some time as the "only child".  We ate at Wendy's (a request by Maddox) and Coldstone (Mommy's suggestion) while brother was out of town.  We also fit in a day at the pool where many of his friends were playing for the afternoon!

On Wednesday, we headed back home for PawPaw's funeral.  We grabbed our big boy from his retreat so he could spend some time with our family.  

The flowers were gorgeous and so many people came to offer their condolences and support to the family. I loved the urn that Granny V selected for PawPaw's ashes and she brought the blanket which has all of the family represented on it.  The blanket reflects the people that love PawPaw the most.  The service was beautiful with James Taylor songs and "It Is Well With My Soul".  Dr. Bland was able to celebrate the life of our PawPaw and remind us of the hope we have in eternity as given by our heavenly father and the sacrifice of his Son.  We went to Granny V's house afterward to enjoy a meal together. Zander is already lining up a day with Uncle Grant to learn how to play poker (as seen in the picture below) and Zander proudly wore PawPaw's bomber jacket as he headed back up to his overnight camp that evening. 

Granny V gave each of the three children PawPaw's last heartbeat in a bottle.  Zander was able to get one as well, being the oldest grandson.  We also have copies to be laminated so Maddox can have his own.  This was such a special reminder of how his heart beat for his family until its last beat. 

I'm including a few more of my favorite pictures that I gathered after my previous post.  We love you and miss you PawPaw!