Xander made his first communion this afternoon. We are so grateful that Grandma and Grandpa were able to be here with us to celebrate. Congratulations on your big day, Xander!!!
Author: Jodi
Kindergarten Field Trip…
I loved being able to go to the zoo with Roman on his kindergarten field trip.
Water Guns…
I think it skipped spring and went straight from winter to summer. The boys are feeling it today, enjoying a water gun battle in the front yard.
Mommy and Me Trip with Xander…
Xander and I had SO MUCH FUN on our Mommy and Me trip to Wilderness at the Smokies!!!
We left on Sunday morning after breakfast, ate an early lunch at Cracker Barrel just off of our exit, checked in and got all settled into our room, played at the indoor water park (water slides, wave pool, hot tub, etc.), hung out in the arcade, took warm showers, ate dinner at the hotel, went out for ice cream, snuggled up together and watched “The Emoji Movie”, and slept for 11 hours.
On Monday, we ate breakfast at the hotel, painted pottery, played in the adventure forest/arcade (ropes course, bowling, black light mini golf, etc.) and ate lunch there, played at the indoor water park, had some quiet time in our room (Xander had some tablet time and I took a nap), took warm showers, ate dinner at the hotel, played in the adventure forest/arcade (laser maze, laser tag, etc.), went out for ice cream, snuggled up together and watched “Smurfs: The Lost Village”, and slept for 10 hours.
On Tuesday, we ate breakfast at the hotel, packed up, and headed to the indoor water park for one last hoorah before heading home.
What a blessed time that we will always remember!!!
For more pictures, click on the “Mommy and Me Trip with Xander 2018” picture page to the right…
Destination Imagination…
Jonas was on a Destination Imagination team this year. His team was coached by Tom and also included Ethan (one of Jonas’ best friends and also a 3rd grader) and MacKenzie and Makaylee (two precious 5th grade girls he’s known from our neighborhood since he was little).
Destination Imagination is a way for kids to learn through the steps of the creative process…recognizing the challenge, imagining ideas, initiating the project, collaborating to discover solutions, assessing and evaluating the outcome, and celebrating the experience.
Jonas’ team, Mack E. Jo, placed first in the Regional Competition!!! They moved on to the State Competition, where they placed seventh. Not bad at all for the first time around for everyone!!!
A big thank you to Tom for putting in so much hard work, coaching this team every Monday night throughout the school year. And a big congratulations to Jonas, Ethan, MacKenzie, and Makaylee for their creativity, team work, and stick-to-it-iveness.
Here are a few pictures of Jonas from the Drop Zone challenge…
Easter…
We spent Easter this year at Aunt Jean’s…eating yummy food, hunting for eggs, and catching up on life. I love this picture that Heather snapped of all of the kids together (from left to right: Annabella, Jordan, Dylan, Val, Jonas, Xander, and Roman). I can’t believe how big they’re all getting!!!
Spring Break…Day 5…
We are so grateful to Mark Fielder, one of Tom’s good friends from the fire department, for letting us go camping on his land over Spring Break!!!
It was definitely a cool day and an even colder night, but we very much enjoyed walking through the fields and the woods, following the creek, collecting firewood, roasting hot dogs and marshmallows, and staying warm in our sleeping bags. It is always so soul refreshing to get away from it all and just be in the great outdoors.
Spring Break…Day 4…
The boys and I went to Chick-Fil-A for lunch (dang, that place is always so crazy busy) and then to the Smyrna Outdoor Adventure Center to play this afternoon.
The boys ended up doing an impromptu scavenger hunt (that was set up there for all of the kids on Spring Break), learning a little bit about turtles along the way, and picking up a prize at the end (they each picked out a slap bracelet). They had a blast in the climbing rooms and even played a few old school kids games in the party room (Chutes and Ladders and Candyland). Thank you, Aunt Jean!!! She gave the boys a membership to the SOAC for Christmas.
We can’t wait until the pool, splash pad, lazy river, and water slides open up later this spring…
Spring Break…Day 3…
Today, the boys and I went to Patterson Park Community Center. We swam in the pool (it was so nice and warm), ate lunch in the lobby, and played around in the game room (air hockey, ping pong, bumper pool, and pool). It ended up being a fun little outing.
Spring Break…Day 2…
I had the worst case of strep throat I think I’ve ever had and was pretty much in bed from Saturday through Monday. My sweet little Xander asked this morning, “Mom, are you feeling better today? Cause I’d really like to go somehwere…” Thanks to prayers, rest, and antibiotics I actually started feeling like myself today. So, after taking the boys to a few quick appointments in the morning, we headed to IHOP for lunch (spontaneous fun) and to Pinkerton Park to play.
Tom’s Golf Trip…
Here’s Tom on his annual golf trip with his best friend, Jim…I love these faces so much.
March Snow…
We woke up to a freshly fallen snow this morning! Oh to experience it through the eyes of a child and his best doggy friend…
Happy Birthday, Roman!!!…
It is unbelievable to me that Roman…my baby…is 6 years old today!!!
Happy birthday to my snuggly, fun-loving, bright, loud, emotional, funny, musical, passionate boy. What a fun birthday celebration you had this week…a sleepover with one of your best friends, Owen, and a jumptastic time at a trampoline park with Owen and your big brothers! I love you, RoRo. “You are my sunshine…”
10th Wedding Anniversary…
Tom and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary in Turks and Caicos!!!
Thank you so much to Aunt Julie and to Grandma and Grandpa who took care of our wild and crazy boys for us while we were away. There is NO way we could’ve done it without you.
Tom and I talked about how this was our best trip together yet. We flew to Florida and then on to Turks and Caicos, rented a teeny tiny car, stayed in a sweet bright yellow house a few blocks from the beach, spent mornings on the beach snorkeling and reading and resting, ate lunches listening to the sound of the waves, spent afternoons resting at home, and spent evenings eating home cooked meals on the screened in porch and riding bikes for ice cream or frozen yogurt or picking up groceries or watching movies. We saw sea turtles, stingrays, barracudas, and lion fish when we snorkeled (Tom saw a black reef tip shark!!!). We marveled at the beautiful, huge yachts. We saw a rainbow (or two) every day. We ate a delicious lunch and dinner out. We went on a snorkeling tour (we saw JoJo the dolphin and his family, I got incredibly sea sick, and Tom ate a conch spine). We renewed our vows on the beach.
I am so blessed to be married to Tom…his love for and patience with me heals my soul and gets my heart every day, he gave me three beautiful wild at heart boys, he makes me laugh countless times a day, and he’s still always the one I’m drawn to in any room. Here’s to 10 more years!!!
For more pictures, click on “Turks and Caicos 2018” in the Picture Pages column to the right…
Swim Lessons…
Xander and Roman have been taking swim lessons this winter (while Jonas is taking art lessons and trying his hand at Destination Imagination). It’s always so exciting for me to see them swim…I’m amazed at how quickly they learn and how far they can swim.
Disney…
We were beyond excited to get to take the boys to Disney World and to share it with Grandma and Grandpa!!! We spent the first day at Magic Kingdom, the second day at Hollywood Studios, the third day taking a break (resting, walking around Disney Springs, and swimming), and the fourth day at Animal Kingdom. It really is such a magical place, and we are so grateful for our time together there.
For more pictures, click on the “Disney 2018” link in the Picture Pages column to the right…
Snow Day…
We had a snow day on Friday!!! It ended up being mostly freezing rain and a light dusting of snow, but the boys still had fun getting bundled up and going outside to play in it.
Painting Glass Stones…
I picked up a craft kit at Five Below before winter break that I thought the boys might have fun with…painting glass stones. They were already hard at work on them this morning just after breakfast. Jonas painted a volcano, a tornado, a hurricane, and a spider. Xander created a fish, a penguin, and (will create) a few more sea creatures. Roman made the earth, a smiley face, a blue monkey, and a person in the snow.
Grand Ole Opry…
What a joy to be able to enjoy the Grand Ole Opry tonight with my brother, Darren, listening to my sweet mommy sing!!!
Gingerbread Houses…
Before winter break started, I tried to stock up on a few activities for the boys to do at home in between outings. Today we busted out the Gingerbread House making kit!!! The boys watched a how-to video on www.wilton.com/gingerbread-wm while I worked on getting everything set up (gingerbread, candies, and icing). We ended up learning a few fun, helpful things from the video…you can use sugar as snow, a gumdrop can be rolled out flat and then stamped out with a small cookie cutter shape, and it works better if you decorate your gingerbread (and let it dry) before you put it all together. Here’s what Jonas, Xander, and Roman came up with…
