Tom and I love going creek stomping with the boys in Mill Creek. There are a few different access points that we like to frequent…one near downtown Nolensville and one off of the trail that runs from NES to MCMS/NHS. Xander caught a crawdad!
Category: Xander
Art Camp…
We usually try to keep things pretty simple with the boys, schedule-wise, during the year…i.e. they each only do one extra curricular activity. This summer, though, I wanted to tap into their creative sides with creative classes and lessons. Jonas and Xander love art and are both really good artists. So, I signed them up for a week long art camp (pottery) with Nashville Children’s Art Classes. They enjoyed it! Here’s Jonas with his melting snowman pot and Xander with his upside down hat that doubles as a banana bowl pot.
Smyrna Outdoor Adventure Center Pool…
The boys and I went to the Smyrna Outdoor Adventure Center pool today. It’s pretty fun with water slides, a lazy river, and a climbing wall.
Lake Trip…
We spent the week at Lake Anna, VA with Grandma and Grandpa Seyfried, the (Northern) Seyfrieds, the Longs, and the Paccassis.
For more pictures, click on the “Lake Anna 2021” picture page to the right.
To the Lake…
We’re heading to Lake Anna, VA this week to spend the week with Grandma and Grandpa Seyfried, the (Northern) Seyfrieds, the Longs, and the Paccassis. On the way, we stopped off at The Caverns at Natural Bridge. We’d never been to anything like that with the boys before, so it was super cool to explore together.
We spent the night at a hotel and stopped off at Virginia Military Institute where John Paccassi is a cadet in school. One of his good friends was there and gave us a tour, and we took him to lunch (the perfect thank you for a college student). Check out The Palms, if you’re ever in Lexington, VA…delicious!
Loved this beautiful mountain view…
Defy…
The boys love going to Defy…I love it too because it wears them out so much…haha. I try to take pictures of them, but it’s tough to take ones that aren’t blurry because they’re in constant motion.
Happy Birthday, Xander…
Xander celebrated his 11th birthday a day early with his two best friends, Jeremy and David. Tom took them to Urban Air, we ate dinner (waffles, maple sausage, and fruit at Xander’s request), they swam and jumped on the trampoline in our backyard, they played Exploding Kittens (such a fun game), Xander opened presents and we ate dessert (apple pie and ice cream at Xander’s request), they settled down to watch Gravity Falls, and they built with Legos and laughed a lot before bed.
Nash Family Creamery…
I took the boys out to the Nash Family Creamery today, a dairy farm in Chapel Hill. On the tour, we visited with the calves (one of them kept trying to nurse Jonas’ finger) and checked out the milking parlor. Afterwards, we stopped in to the creamery to buy some ice cream to enjoy with our lunches under the pavilion out in the fields.
615 Day of Service…
Our church coordinated a day of service for middle schoolers today. I chaperoned and really enjoyed my time with my group of boys (Jonas, Xander, Spencer, and Braden). It worked out great because the boys were so like-minded and close in age (three rising 6th graders and one rising 7th grader).
We started out at St. Philip Catholic Church where we listened to music and a talk by PJ Anderson in the fellowship hall and attended daily mass in the church. We were supposed to clear brush from the property of the new catholic church in Nolensville, but someone had already done that. So, we loaded up and followed three other groups out to Columbia to the 431 Ministries farm, where we helped build a retaining wall around their new office for about 15 minutes.
Jonas had a hard time not chasing the chickens the entire time, so even though it ended up being a lot more driving, I was somewhat relieved (if a little frustrated) when the youth leader asked me if I could take the boys out to Catholic Charities in North Nashville to help out there instead. So, we loaded back up into the van, the boys ate their lunch and cracked jokes, and we arrived at our destination about 45 minutes later. We ended up filling 60 bags for the elderly leaving rehab…it was the perfect job for the boys (and for me). I was so proud of their willingness and their ability to work together to get the job done.
Afterwards, we stopped at a playground, so I could eat lunch. Then, we headed back to Franklin to Baskin Robbins for some ice cream and on to Pinkerton Park for some hang/play time with the rest of the group. It was really fun and really exhausting for everyone all at the same time. I’m so thankful for this opportunity that the boys (and I) had to serve, learn, and grow.
Beach…
We LOVED our beach trip to Cape San Blas, Florida. We hung out on the beach, swam in the pool, read books, watched shows, played board games, went out for lunch and ice cream, checked out a shipwreck on the beach, sat on the porch, went to the state park, and enjoyed relaxing.
For more pictures, click on the “Cape San Blas 2021” page to the right.
Patterson Park Indoor Pool…
The boys and I love the Patterson Park Indoor Pool and were so excited to get back to it, as it’s been closed for a almost a year and a half due to COVID. Roman was especially excited that he was finally tall enough to go down the water slide!!!
Geocaching…
Tom and I took the boys geocaching this afternoon. We found a few caches in the new neighborhood connected to ours and on the trails across from the boys’ school. We also hid a cache, which was fun (our second in Nolensville)!
Blessing Bags…
The boys and I put together Blessing Bags for the homeless today…thought we’d keep the bags in the van…that way we can give them out when we see a need.
Splash Pad…
We met our dear friends (and former next-door neighbors), the Drinkards, at the Brentwood Splash Park this morning. I feel like all of Mrs. Amanda’s kids are my own…we’ve known Jeremy since kindergarten and Jameson, Josie, and JJ since they were babies. We were (and still are) beyond sad that they moved at the end of the school year, but we’re loving getting to spend time with them this summer.
Here’s a picture of Jonas and Xander with Jeremy…they had a blast. And here’s a picture of Roman…I’m amazed that I actually caught him smiling in this photo, to be honest. He was having a huge sensory meltdown at the time (thus the noise reduction headphones in his hands). Some days I can handle his meltdowns and some days I can’t. This was one that I made it through with him at the time but then needed a BIG break from him once we got home. Ah life…the good, the bad, the beautiful, and the ugly. We’ll take it all and be thankful for it. We’re all works in progress.
Nolensville Food Pantry…
So, this is so sweet…
One of the blessings that came out of this school year was that school breakfasts and lunches were free for all students. Towards the end of the school year, a classmate of Xander’s starting putting the unwanted food from her lunch on his desk. He thought to himself, “I’m not going to eat this. I should save it and give it to people who need it.” So, he decided to collect unwanted food from school lunches in his classroom and give it to the Nolensville Food Pantry. Then, he asked Roman to collect food in his classroom as well. (Roman even tapped a point person in each class in the 3rd grade to help out with their collection efforts.)
At the end of the school year, the boys bagged it all up…chips, fruit cups, fruit snacks, animal crackers, and juice boxes. We swung by the Nolensville Food Pantry this morning to deliver everything. When Debbie Noland, the director of the pantry, saw what the boys had brought, she said, “The Lord works in mysterious ways”. I said, “Why do you say that?” She said, “I was just telling someone earlier today, as we were packing fuel bags for summer school, that we really needed individual bags of chips”. Individual bags of chips are what made up the most of what the boys collected. When Xander got in the car, he said, “Mom, that felt good”. I totally started tearing up, and the boys were like, “Mooooooom!!!” Thank you, God, and thank you, Holy Spirit, for moving on our hearts and for showing up in our lives and in the lives of others.
Rising Middle Schooler…
Look at my big guy…all graduated from elementary school and ready for middle school in the fall!!!
Xander’s 5th Grade Graduation…
Xander’s 5th Grade Graduation Ceremony was tonight! It was a big deal for this momma…it was already a big deal because my Xan-Man is going to be a middle schooler next year…but even bigger because of the year we’ve all come through and because we missed Jonas’ 5th Grade Graduation Ceremony last year due to COVID. It was definitely one of those head-shaking, tear-jerking moments for me, realizing once again just how fast time passes.
I totally teared up when Xander came processing into the gym, when the kids sang “When You Believe” and “Hall of Fame”, and when Principal Fuller asked us to give the kids a round of applause for making it through this challenging year. Xander received the Perfect Attendance Award and the Presidential Award for Academic Excellence! Congratulations, Xander!!!
Magnet Fishing…
We picked the boys up early from school today and took them out on the lake to do some magnet fishing…a little celebration for making it through the first week of TCAP testing. We had fun just riding around on the lake, and the boys caught a grill grate, some electrical wire, and a hoop earring to boot. HaHa!
TaeKwonDo…
Xander belted up tonight at TaeKwonDo…he’s now a third level yellow belt. Here he is with his indomitable instructors, Mr. and Mrs. Mast. Congratulations, Xander!!!
Xander…
It is almost impossible to get a picture of Xander…he’s either giving me the hand and saying, “Mooooooooooom!”, running away from the camera, or making annoyed, sad, or silly faces. But, I was able to get a good picture of him today…he’s so beautiful. He’s my sweet-spirited, animal-loving, cool-because-he’s-who-he-is kid. He loves playing Words With Friends with me, having talk time before bed, and cozying up with 1,000 stuffed animals and blankets. Precious boy.
