Category: Xander

Make and Create Day…

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The boys and I had a Make and Create Day today!!!

Roman has been really into water beads lately, so I looked up activity ideas on Pinterest…this one popped up and looked messy but fun…Shaving Cream and Water Bead Cupcakes. Yes!!! The boys had a BLAST filling their bowls with shaving cream, adding drops of food coloring, dumping in handfuls of water beads, mixing it all up into cupcake and cake creations, and decorating them with shaving cream icing and sprinkles.

We also made journals…this is one of my favorite things to do. We sat in the floor and cut out a bunch of different images and phrases we liked from a stack of magazines. Then, we collaged them onto the front and back of a Mead composition notebook with glue and sealed them with ModPodge. Such a fun creative exercise! It always relaxes and energizes me to do something creative…I think it has the same effect on my boys. Yay!

Game Galaxy…

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Last month, Roman went to a birthday party for his best friend at this retro arcade in Smyrna called Game Galaxy and loved it. So, I took the boys there today on their first day of Thanksgiving Break to try it out, and…it.was.awesome. I mean…it was so nostalgic for me…and brought back all of those memories of going to the arcade with my Dad when I was a little girl. I was so excited to see Pac-Man, Castlevania, Dig Dug, Food Fight, Centipede, Tempest, and Frogger!!! The boys tried out pinball machines for the first time and even got to step into the future with a little virtual reality. So cool.

Halloween…

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This Halloween was one of the most cold and blustery Halloweens ever. I only took a few pictures at the very beginning of the night and spent the rest of the time bundling us all up to brave the elements for trick or treating. Jonas was a stickman, Xander was Pikachu, and Roman was a ninja.

Fall Break: Chattanooga…

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We went to Chattanooga for Fall Break!!! We stayed in a hotel and walked around downtown, checked out the aquarium, ate a delicious dinner at Blue Plate, saw Superpower Dogs in 3D (so awesome…about all kinds of rescue dogs…we even got to meet a few in the theater lobby), grabbed some ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery, and walked along the Walnut Street Pedestrian Bridge. The weather was perfect, and we loved our one-night/two-day getaway just a few hours from home.

Click on the “Chattanooga 2019” picture page to the right for more pictures…

Fun Run…

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The boys ran their Fun Run today…they always have such a blast! There’s something about watching a race that gets my heart every time…I always find myself getting choked up…especially when it’s my three little guys running their hearts out. Roman was the only one I was able to get a good action shot of…he loves to pose for the camera which makes it easy. But I was still able to grab some good post-race shots of Jonas and Xander. Thanks to everyone who sponsored them and helped them raise money for NES!!!

Sweet Moos…

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We have the coolest new hand-rolled ice cream shop in town called Sweet Moos, so I thought it would be a fitting place to take the boys for sweet treat rewards. They’ve all three been working hard…Jonas finished his ELA choice board and brought his grade up to a 100%, Roman earned three smiley faces in a week for good behavior in class, and Xander has been consistently doing a great job academically and behaviorally.

Here were the flavors of the moment:
Mom – nutella and banana
Jonas – cheesecake and strawberries
Xander and Roman – oreo and toasted marshmallow
We can’t wait to go back and treat ourselves again…so yummy!!!

First Day of School 2019-2020…

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The boys had their first (half) day of school today!!! They’re not huge fans of picture taking on back to school day (I know I wouldn’t have been either when I was their age), so you can see that a little bit in these pictures. But, I always enjoy being able to look back at these and see how much they’ve grown and what they want to be when they grow up.

Jonas, 5th Grade
“When I grow up, I want to be an architect.”

Xander, 4th Grade
“When I grow up, I want to be a dolphin trainer.”

Roman, 2nd Grade
“When I grow up, I want to be a police officer.”

On the Boat Again…

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We went out on the lake this afternoon for one last hurrah before school starts. I drove the boat while Tom wake surfed (both super exciting in and of themselves). And Jonas and Xander both officially became…wake boarders…they got up on top of the water on the wake board and stayed up…what a beautiful and thrilling thing to see!!! I’m so proud of all of my guys. We also thoroughly enjoyed a little trio of ducks who hung out with us while we chilled on the boat, swam, and cliff jumped. What a great way to end the summer with fun times on the lake!

Summertime Camping…

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We headed out to Percy Priest Lake this afternoon for a family camping adventure! We unloaded the van, loaded up the boat, boated around until we found a good camping spot, unloaded the boat, set up camp, went tubing, relaxed and ate dinner, went on a sunset cruise, ate s’mores, and pretty much tucked into bed not long after that. Tom slept on the boat, I slept in the big tent with Xander and Roman, and Jonas slept in the little tent by himself (but ended up moving his tent right next to ours before nightfall). It was decently warm out, so it was a little tough for everyone to get to sleep. Xander woke up at least twice in the middle of the night, if not more. And Roman woke up bright and early at 5:45 am, saying (really loudly) that he was hungry. Around 6:00 am, a whole banana boat tube full of screaming girls from Camp Widgiwagan made continual donuts right beside our campsite on the lake for a good 30 minutes. All of that to say, we had eaten breakfast, broken camp, and were packed up and headed back to the dock by 7:45 am, ready to get home and recover for the rest of the day. It was fun…just exhausting.

Happy Birthday, Jodi…

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I had the best birthday ever!!! I woke up to hugs all around. Then, Jonas made me a delicious breakfast (oatmeal and strawberries with cinnamon and sugar). Afterwards, the boys showered me with presents wrapped in snowman paper…Tom gave me a beautiful dress and fun earrings, Xander and Roman gave me a comfy pair of pajamas, and Jonas gave me a really unique cactus. All things I love from the people I love. Not long after, we loaded up and headed to Tims Ford Lake. We had never been out there before, and it was beautiful. The weather was perfect, and there was hardly anyone out on the lake. We took turns riding on the tube, hung out on the lily pad, and swam in the lake. I even tried wake boarding!!! (I wasn’t successful, but it was still fun trying…I probably never would’ve taken the plunge without Tom highly encouraging me to.) We picked up steak, potatoes, salad, and cherry cheesecake for dinner. Yummy!!! It was a beautiful day, and I’m thankful for my life and to be 43.

Team Work…

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After a full day and a full week with the boys, having lost my voice and feeling an old running injury creeping back up on me, and looking around at the amount of things I needed to do piling up to an overwhelming state around the house…I just, all of the sudden, was done. I let Tom know in the best way I knew how that I needed a BREAK, and he immediately started packing dinner for the boys and loading them into the van in their swimsuits. My dear husband heard me and after his full day and full week of work and with the boys, he found it in his heart to serve me in the best way possible and give me several hours of quiet time alone at home, which is just what I needed. I was so tired but wanted to put my precious time gift to good use and knew, because I’m that kind of girl, that trying to set everything to rights by cleaning and organizing the house would help calm my frazzled nerves and lift my spirits. So, I picked up, sorted through piles and put things away, cleaned the kitchen, cleaned the bathrooms, dusted, mopped and vacuumed the floors, folded and put away buckets of laundry, and cleaned our room. I was even able to sit down for a few minutes and relax and enjoy the clean house before the boys came home!!! Tom ended up taking the boys out on the lake, where they ate a picnic dinner and had some good daddy time, and out to a store to pick up some birthday presents for me. What a blessing! I’m so grateful to God for bringing me Tom. His love and his presence are healing to me every day.