Life Lately

School's out, summer has begun, and we have a set of grandparents visiting - woo hoo!

Jaxen started a summer basketball league....

 

...and Zane eats non-stop.

 

Other than that - 

the boys enjoy jumping on the trampoline, playing with friends, and using technology :)



 

Zane made a craft in church that he was very proud of (this represents the Holy Spirit).

 

And I love catching beautiful skies, while sitting outside in the evenings.

That's a little life lately :)

Swim Lessons

The boys have started swim lessons this week! 

 

I am so glad they are doing this. I love them being around water (as do they) and I need to make sure they are confident and know how to swim. We were barely in/around water last year, due to the pandemic so I wanted to make sure they had these lessons early in the summer.  

First up each evening is Zane's lesson. Here are few pics from the last two nights:

 

Next up, is Jaxen:

 

They are both doing pretty well so far. I am excited to see how much they progress!

 

The first night of swim lessons Zane had a fit (during Jaxen's lesson) because he wanted to jump off the diving board. It was 30-minutes of me being logical (you cannot swim in 12 feet of water), putting up with the non-stop crying, arguing with Zane over the rules of the pool, and convincing him that just because his first swim lesson was over that does not mean his swim lessonS are over. Exhausting.

 

He went to bed early that night and then we tried again the second night. Success!

 

Let's just say that someone (whether it be his swim teacher or myself) will have to teach this boy how to swim this weekend so he can jump off the diving board. The rules of the pool state that you have to be able to swim (solo) to the side of the pool before jumping off the diving board. Meaning - no adult can be there to "catch" you or help you. 

 

Wish us luck!

 

The boys also got treated to McDonalds after swim lessons the second night. I did not want to cook dinner and Nik was already napping before work. Plus - did you see the paint in my hair from the previous picture? Well, I was working on a project and who has time to stop and cook dinner, right?!

Bottomless Lakes

Before we left for NM, Nik and I talked about some fun adventures we could take the boys on. 

There are lots of options: Carlsbad Caverns, Valley of Fires, Ruidoso, White Sands...etc. 

For this trip we chose Bottomless State Park! 

It was the best little get-a-way - the boys had lots of fun!

Can you believe this little lake is in the middle of the desert?

 

Of course, I made the boys take a pic after they were sun-screened and before they got wet :)

 

They really enjoyed the water!

 

It was too cold for me...but Nik did go in with them for a bit - which they loved!

 

I was happy sitting in the sand, watching my boys enjoy the water.

 

They made some friends who brought some sand toys and enjoyed digging for awhile.

 

After a bit - it got too cold for Zane. He hung in there a long time...but then he was just shivering, poor guy. We tried to dry him off and made him stay on the sand, in the sun to get warm.

 

He passed out on the way home!

 

Two days later, we hit it up again! It was actually warmer this time around - although it was cloudy. 

This time we came prepared with goggles and floats.

Nik purchased two little "pug" floats and Zane loved playing "puppies" with them!

Jaxen was busy playing with some more new friends most of this day.

 

We got to see some pretty cool weather move around - no lightning or rain near us...

but we could see it in the distance.


We had a very nice time! We will be back, for sure.... :)

School's Out For Summer!

We made it - The 2020-2021 school year is over!

These boys are pretty thrilled about it :)

 Zane, on his first day (September 2020)

  

And yesterday, his last day (May 2021)

 Jaxen, on his first day (September 2020)

 And today, his last day (May 2021)

Hello Summer!!!

 

New Mexico

Last week we headed out of town to NM!

 

The boys get a little stir crazy in the car so outside of Amarillo we stopped at a very nice rest area and let them play on the playground a while.

 

 

Jaxen and I loved the views!

Don't mind my sleepy, no makeup, glasses on look. 

Instead, notice how sweet my oldest is being - these days are fleeting!

 

Have you ever driven through West Texas or New Mexico? 

This picture does not do it justice - but it is one of many dust bowls we drove through.

 

After a 12 hour car ride, we made it!

 

We spent the next few days going through some of my mom, Scottys and dads things.

I found some wonderful treasures....

 

My dad's business caps....

My mom and dad's engagement announcement...

 

A scrapbook....

 

and fun pictures of my dad in high school!

 

Amongst those treasures (plus many more) there were a lot of items that were good, but not needed. 

So we had a garage sale!

 

In-between sorting through 2 sheds, a garage and a storage unit, we had fun playing games! 

It's one of our favorite things to do as a family :)





We did take some time to hang out with the boys at a nearby lake - more on that in the next post!

We arrived home late Saturday night / early Sunday morning. 

This kid looks like we all felt after another long drive!

It was worth it though! 

I love spending time with my mom, sister and other family members. 

It's never really long enough, but I'm thankful I get to see and spend time with them when we can!

Life Lately

I am pausing from the remodel posts to give you a glimpse into our life lately!

This is probably not a true glimpse because I have been terrible at taking pictures! Plus, I would really need to record our life, instead of capture it through a picture to give you a real update...but you get the idea :)

The boys love the library! I met Nik and the boys at the library one day when they were out of school. They picked out some books, movies and then had fun using the computers! Jaxen is learning to use Microsoft Office so he enjoys creating in Word, Excel and Power Point.

 

Rusty and Diane love to visit (and pet) puppies. We were out shopping at Garage Sales one day when we found ourselves at the local pet store. We went in and had a fun time playing with the puppies. Zane is ready to go back!

 

Guess what? We are now trampoline owners. The boys are pumped - I'm neither here nor there about it. But a co-worker ended up with an  "extra" trampoline (long story) and she offered it to us. The boys enjoy it...however there is probably a trampoline at every other house on our street (most of which are bigger) so they normally play other places with friends. But I am looking forward to this summer when I can hook up the sprinkler under the trampoline :) Zane and his friends will love it! Not sure about Jaxen.... we will have to see.

 

Zane got to visit a car museum one afternoon (with Nik, Rusty and Diane).



 

And this was a funny vehicle we saw at the park one day!

 

It's garage sale season! Diane and I hosted a neighborhood Garage Sale at our house last weekend. We didn't mean for it to be a "neighborhood" sale in our front yard...but the neighbors were more than happy to drop off their things - haha! Traffic was a lot slower than I expected, but we got rid of lots of stuff (and made a little money along the way). I highly recommend that if you want to have a garage sale - do it with a friend!

 

Roasting hot dogs for dinner around the campfire pit? Yes, please.


Lunch date with my cutie husband...at Sam's Club....buying toilet paper! We are trying to take advantage of a few more lunch dates before school ends and we never have a second alone again...until Fall. Bit dramatic?! Of course.

And last...the top moment of my week:

When Zane gave me my Mother's Day presents he made at school. 

This is a drawing of me and Zane (when is grown up). Please notice my hair. He pointed that out to me :)

And a pretty butterfly....

And my favorite....


Being Zane (and Jaxen's) mom is one of the best things! Who knew I needed them in my life? God did! 

 

Happy Mother's Day to all the momma's out there.... biological or not! 

I'm thrilled to get to spend the day with my mom!!!!