3 Things: Zane

Here are 3 Zane updates for you!

1. He lost his glasses the first week at school. So he is wearing his old, back-up pair. And he is adorable, as always. However, he does.not.like.glasses one single bit! So we are currently working with him on putting contacts in his eyes! We are not close yet... but we keep practicing. He really wants to wear contacts. I'll keep you posted!

 

Doing homework, while eating a bowl of rice

 2. Zane has now lost both of his top front teeth!

3. Zane was picket for Secret Student of the Day yesterday! He was so excited and proud!

New Vehicle!

It was almost a year ago when I showed pictures of our last new-to-us vehicle. And then I stopped blogging. 

Hopefully, that is not the case this time around! Ha! 

So we got another new-to-us vehicle. This vehicle was to replace our beloved white "tissue box" Scion. That car has been very good to us, but with over 215,000 miles it became a bit unreliable and started to show signs of dying. 

We purchased a Nissan Juke a few weeks ago and it has worked out well!

Yes, we have two black exterior / black interior vehicles. Not Nik's preference (it is mine) but when you are buying used with a budget and other more important criteria - color becomes an-almost non-issue!

Here is our Juke! And guess who loves it the most... Zane! It is so funny - but he loves this car and wants whoever is driving him around to drive it. 

Tackle Football

"Flag forever" has been my mantra... until it wasn't. 

Jaxen and our entire family (yes, it is a family ordeal) has now entered the world of tackle football. And it's a whole new world for us! This summer Jaxen begged and pleaded for us to allow him to play. After many conversations we decided that if this is something Jaxen really wanted to do we would support him. We thought it best to sign him up through a rec league so he could learn before he is allowed to play in middle school, as a 7th grader.

It's hard to see in the pic - but the smile on his face is pretty big! This was taken when he got fitted for his helmet and pads (in July). 

They started practice (conditioning) three times a week during the end of July. At that point, it was a few of the hottest weeks of summer (head index was above 100). And it was tough. His coaches do not play around. After every practice Jaxen would calculate how many yards they had to run during practice. The answer - too many! And he wanted to quit every single second he was out there.

 

Once they got through conditioning they were able to start learning to tackle and running plays. That is when (finally) Jaxen decided he liked it and was having fun. He learned some good lessons through that time and overall he did pretty well pushing himself and giving it his best.   

Don't they look so big out there?! It does not help that they are using one of the local high school fields to practice on...which makes it even more legit! 

 

Jaxen's team practices three times a week - for at least 2 hours each practice, until games start in September. That is a long time for him... and me... and Zane. Practices go past when Nik leaves for work, so Zane has to hang with me. And I need to be there for physical, emotional and mental support for Jaxen - ha! (Told you it was a family affair!)

Thankfully, Zane loves it out there. He is living his best life climbing trees, running the track and hanging with his bestie. And now that school has started, doing homework :( 

I have come to terms with Jaxen playing tackle football. He is learning all the things to be as safe as possible. Will he get hurt? Yes. Will it be bad? Who knows. He has been pushed, and tackled, and pummeled and has the bruises, soreness, and small wounds that will not heal because they keep opening up to prove it. Nik and I are doing our best to encourage him, help him to stay positive, learn the hard lessons, do the work, help him stay hydrated, work out sore muscles and remind him that he can do hard things!

Will he want to keep playing after this season? Who knows. But we are excited for their first game and can't wait to see all their hard work pay off through the season! Go Bulldogs!

School!

The school year has officially begun! And everyone in the family was happy about it and excited!

Zane is now in 2nd grade. 2nd grade feels "big" to me, for some reason. So far, Zane is enjoying his teacher and really has no complaints about school! I'm so glad...because last year although he loved his teacher and had so many friends in his class he just got to a point where he did not like school and did not want to go. 

His favorite things about school are PE and recess. He lives for those two things - haha! 

 

Sadly, when we saw his class roster none of his "besties" were in class with him - but he assured me he still had many "friends". I'm sure the school knew what they were doing by splitting some of those boys up :).

 

Jaxen is now in 6th grade. 6th grade (here) is middle school and Jaxen was so excited! I thought they did well at the end of 5th grade, getting the kids ready for the transition. They were able to tour the school, meet with counselors and the principal and were able to pick their electives early. A week before school Jaxen had the chance to go to the school and find his locker (practice the lock) and find his classrooms. 

 

The first week or so, they really took things slow. They did a lot of "getting to know you" and "get to know the school". The kids have 3 schedules they follow through the week (which sounds super confusing to me) but the kids seem to understand it and were able to get a good feel for it during that first slow week. They also got a chance to get to know the teachers and the other 6th graders (about 250). 

Jaxen loves the extra freedom that comes with middle school. He loves being able to get to school early just to hang with his friends. He loves that he now has some kind of cool computer (I don't remember what kind!) that he gets to use and bring home. As parents, Nik and I are trying to help him balance this new freedom. He is still a kid. He needs to mature and grow in responsibility still - but he is honestly doing really well. We just try to keep guiding him in the right direction and we PRAY as he enters this new season of life!

Here's to the 2023-2024 school year!

Summer Recap: Part 2

This summer, Jaxen was able to attend his first missions trip with our church. He is part of a group called DIG56, which consists of 5th and 6th graders. Every other year, they switch from serving somewhere local and out of state. This year was local. They joined up with another church and went about 30 minutes south to work at a transition-house (for those who were homeless, trying to get their feet under them). Jaxen learned so much about this ministry and he loved it! He did not love all the work they did though... it was one of the hottest weeks here in KC and the work outside just about did them all in. They worked hard though, and accomplished what was laid out for them to do. I am so glad he has this experience!

Jaxen also attended Camp 456 this year - and had a blast (as always)! He loves camp. He is a little like his momma though... gets excited, talks too much, does not sleep enough, consumes too much caffeine and loses his voice. All in all, it was a great experience for him as well!

Zane attended Kamp Kanakuk for the 2nd time this year - and loved it! I don't have any pictures of him, sadly. 

He also went away to Camp 123, for his very first time. Overall he did well - but he struggled the 2nd day there, after not getting good rest the first night. The boys in his cabin were too excited to sleep which meant Zane did not sleep much and was really missing home. Nik was able to talk to him on the phone and after getting good rest the 2nd night - he made it through the rest of camp with a smile on his face!

We spent the 4th of July in one of the smaller towns nearby and it was so much fun! They had live bands, food trucks, bounce houses, plenty of space for the boys to run and play, and they ended the night with a great fireworks show! We met up with some friends and were able to sit back, relax and enjoy the festivities.

One of our neighbors invited us out to the lake one day. They were camping there over the weekend, but we just went out for one day. The boys had a good time playing around, fishing and swimming.

One night Zane and I headed to a friends house (in another neighborhood). They had planned 5 different games at 5 different houses for the parents and kids. I got to meet some new people and Zane ran around a new neighborhood like it was his own - win, win. The last house had a foam party. Thankfully I was able to pull Zane out before the foam got to be so much it swallowed him whole (at the end, it was only the adults in there). 

We also had some visitors throughout the summer which is always nice!

Here are few more gems for you to enjoy as I wrap up our summer 2023 recacp...

Jaxen :)

Jaxen had to have some dental work done this summer - not fun!

Swimming!

All in all, we had a very good summer. I always try to make the most of each season and the boys were able to do some really fun things. We also had some down time...at times, too much so (for the boys)... as they began fighting A LOT! I, on the other hand, was able to read A LOT for a few weeks!

By the time summer was wrapping up and the new school year starting, both boys were excited and ready to head back. They had enough of lounging around at home. 

I do have to end on this note: Jaxen takes one nap a year. This year it happened on July 3. 

Summer Recap: Part 1

I'm back! About time - right mom?!

I have missed documenting our life in this space and I know our families missed hearing about what was going on in our world. 

There is a lot of transition happening right now, mainly with Jaxen, as he starts middle school this year - and I don't want to forget these days. So - here I am!

First, I am going to start with a little summer recap for you...

Summer started with a bang as Jaxen graduated from elementary school. Some of the class moms got together and threw a surprise party at the park on the last day of school. It was so.much.fun! Slip-n-slide, water balloons, football, soccer, kickball, pizza, cake, decorations and close to 70 people - good times!

 

We had some campfires (before it got too hot) and of course pool days with friends.

 

 

In June, I headed to Indianapolis for work and while I was gone the boys lived their best life with dad. Donuts, Science City, pool time, friends, football... all the fun things!

While I was gone, I received this picture from a friend...

Haha - Zane went on a "lettuce" kick for a bit this summer and was eating a piece of lettuce while face-timing his bestie.

Zane lost one of his front teeth! It was not loose when I left. He worked and worked at it until it came out. I will miss his little front chick-lit teeth - but have to accept he is growing up.

Jaxen turned 11 and had fun at Top Golf with his friends.

I was able to take a few days off this summer and hang with the boys. It was fun taking them bowling, experiencing Science City and of course - many hours spent at the pool (and being goofy).