Turkey in Disguise

Both boys brought a homework assignment home over the weekend - to disguise your turkey so it will not be eaten on Thanksgiving.

I am not the most creative person - plus I don't keep lots of art supplies/crafts anymore - plus I have two boys who would rather be playing outside with friends on a beautiful fall weekend. 

I googled how in the world to disguise a paper turkey - and found an idea both boys were behind...

 

A Chief's football player - because, of course.

 

I actually found 2 Chiefs folders in my school supply stash - which was perfect and made Zane's pretty easy to accomplish. First, he colored the turkey (because he wanted to); then I cut the helmet out and he glued it on; next, I made a jersey from the rest of the folder; he then drew and colored cleats/football - I cut them and he glued them on. Done. Easy-peasy.  

 

Jaxen's turkey was smaller - so it was a bit more difficult. I still cut created the jersey from  the folder while he learned how to draw a helmet. I thought he did so good with the helmet! He finished coloring the turkey and then called it good.

If you are wondering why he went with a Chief's football player and not the Cowboys, it's because Jaxen's turkey is wearing Tyrann Mathieu's number - but Jaxen will call him "Turkey Mathieu" :)

Life Lately

Here is a bit of life lately for you....

I love setting the TV up outside, watching football (eating pizza at the same time is just a bonus)!

Jaxen talked me into playing Monopoly over a weekend. It was not too bad when you play for 1 hour here and there. He beat me. Bad. Park Place and Boardwalk with houses are no joke. I only had "savings" to land on them twice. That third time did me in. Haha.

 

Nik enjoys taking the boys to see cool cars. They apparently love to pose in front of those cool cars. Please notice my kids are both in shorts, but Zane has a jacket on. (It was new and he wanted to wear it, even though it was hot outside).

 

I love the little moments when my boys are being sweet. Jaxen was reading us bedtime stories one night when we had a sleepover together.

 

I'm thankful I can work from home when needed. Zane was sick a few days so I worked at home in the mornings, while Nik slept. Here is me... in my element - messy hair, comfortable clothes and hot tea in my favorite mug.

 

A little later - a sweet boy wanted a pic with me and my (blue-light blocking) glasses.

 

Zane's day, week, month, maybe year was made when a friend of his gave him this huge dinosaur that was never played with anymore. Zane has had the best time with Tooth. That's his name.

 

Good night Tooth, and Zane.

 

Zane has really been into drawing lately - can you tell what this is a picture of? The KC Chiefs and the Dallas Cowboys playing football. Zane is doing excellent with his letters and over the weekend, I taught him how to draw a star. We find pictures like this all over our house now!


And last, but not least - look at what my hubby received at work: Peer MVP. People love working with Nik. They are always glad when they find out he is their supervisor (he moves around a lot).

Halloween Fun

Friday the kiddos were allowed to dress up for their classes Fall Party. Jaxen was SWAT (same as last year) and Zane was Spiderman (an old costume as well). They both wanted to be tackle football players (go figure) but I did not want to spend the money on all the gear....so "leftovers" it was - and they had a great Halloween.

We purchased some colored hair-spray and I think that was their favorite part! 

 

Zane has really been into decorating this year. See all of his creations in the window?  Everyday there was something new.

 

On Sunday afternoon we had some neighbors and friends from Zane's football team over. Nik brought the TV outside so we could watched the Saints and Cowboys pull out a win (woo-hoo)! We had the campfire pit and of course, hot dogs and s'mores! Everyone had a great time. We laughed, the kids played and we just enjoyed the night. I only have 1 picture and it is of all the kiddos before they went trick-or-treating. 

Jaxen thanked Nik and I later that night for such a great Halloween :) It was fun. And the best part? Kids were showered and in bed by 9pm. Not too bad, right?!

Pumpkin Carving

We finally got around to carving pumpkins this season. Nik took the boys to pick out their pumpkins (from a grocery store - no cute pumpkin patch this year!) and I worked with them to carve them out!

 

Zane was into digging the "guts" out. He appreciated that job, since I would not let him have a knife. 

Jaxen - not so much. He was disgusted by it! I think the only reason he did this part is so he could use a knife. I helped him a little bit, but made him do most of it. 

 

 

Eventually he put a mask on, and Zane followed suite.  

 

The boys each made a face on one side of the pumpkin, and then the other side was the number of their favorite quarterbacks... 15 for Patrick Mahomes (Chiefs) and 4 for Dak Prescott (Cowboys). 

 

I placed some fake candles inside and they turned out pretty cute!

Church Updates

Typically each week, our family attends Sunday Morning Worship in-person. On the few Sundays we don't make it - I'm thankful for the online-option that we still have!

 

They boys have enjoyed attending the children's Wednesday night program. They are learning a lot, and having fun too! Every now and then some pics get posted (which I love) of their time together. I thought I would share a few with you...

I am praying that my boys grow up loving God and for them to want to have a relationship with Him and lead a life that is an example to others. For us, church is one way to help build that. Not the only way - but one that we feel is important. I am thankful for those who are investing their time to teach these young ones!

School Updates

School is well underway and before we know it the semester will be over! I thought I would try to give some updates on the school-front for the boys....

Zane: he loves school! He works very hard at home, with whatever he is learning at school. Currently, he practices daily on writing his letters - and his handwriting is great! He has a really good understanding of everything he is being taught and scored super high on the Phonemic Awareness Objectives. The goal is to be at 3.6 and he scored a 4.2! During his parent-teacher conference I heard very good things. He is ahead of where he needs to be, he loves to learn, and is a good friend!

Zane has joined an after-school club - the Gaga Ball Pit Club. Basically, every Tuesday, for 4 weeks Zane stays after school to learn and play Gaga Ball. It is a fun game that all the neighborhood kids like and I'm excited he has that opportunity. (Jaxen was also a part of this club, at the beginning of the year for the first session). 

Each evening, I have the boys lay their clothes out for the following day. Zane loves to pick out his clothes (not caring if they match) and lay them out like this:

 Zane had to get new glasses this year (his broke and he needed a tad stronger prescription). Nik and him went online and he picked out his glasses - all on his own! They are a bit more grown-up and I'm not sure I like that....even if he is still so cute in them!

The boys had "crazy hair" day at school so that meant pulling out the blue hair gel. They loved having their hair blue and even wore blue to match their hair. I will miss this stage where they love to participate in school activities - I think Jaxen is almost done with it, but I'm trying to hang on for a bit longer before letting it go.

Jaxen: does not love school like he used to. It makes me sad...but I've come to realize he likes it a bit more than he admits :) He does love all the "specials" they have - art, computer, library and music. Jaxen brought home a typing test this week where he scored 21 words per minute with 100% accuracy! He likes to type and is getting better and better! He like to challenge Nik and I on some of his typing games. We crush him - but I have a feeling it won't be for long. Haha!

During his parent-teacher conference, his teacher showed me some test results where he ranked above average in Mathematics and Reading! The funny thing though, is that those are his two lowest grades. He works too fast and does not fully read through questions on assignments, therefore, getting lower grades. I've talked to him about this - but he does not like doing the work and wants to get done quickly. I understand - that was me :) He is smart, though, and knows his stuff - if he would just slow down!

We have had some behavioral problems with Jaxen in the classroom and are trying to work those out. Let's just say there have been lots of conversations and many many days without privileges that a 9 year old boy loves. He'll get there. Sooner rather than later, I hope!

The boys have officially become "walkers" something during my blog break. That just means they walk to and from school each day. They walk with our neighbor, Brooks and sometimes Tyson. And they love it. I love they get that much more fresh air and exercise each day!

The boys, all ready to walk to school together!

This is some artwork Jaxen created - pretty cool!

On picture day - I gave each boy 2 outfit choices. They both picked the blue shirt. When Brooks showed up the next morning to walk to school, he was in blue also!

I am trying to figure out how to order those pictures. I missed the deadline to turn my form in, so I'm trying to naviagte the website. Either the pics are not posted yet - or I missed it. I sure hope they are just not posted yet, because I love ordering fall school pics!

I think that is all for now!

Catching Up

Oh my goodness. 

I thought my blog maybe died. 

But it is still here - not sure if anyone is still reading or not...but we will see!

These last two months have been a whirl-wind. I will try to catch you up in pictures over the next week or so but the short story is this:

Flag football and work have taken over our lives. Over the weekend though, flag football ended for both boys, Nik finished up being a handy-man (as a side job), and I finished up an important work function. That alone, frees us up more than anything! We are looking forward to the next few weeks, which will be a lot slower than it has been in months!

- - - - - - - - - -

So where do I even begin?! Want to see some cute flag football pics?

This was Jaxen's 2nd year to play and he really enjoyed it! His main position was center, and he also played defense - and had some great flag pulls! 

Zane played for the first time this year, and I was his coach for about 2 weeks - imagine that! Haha! It actually went well, but thankfully a teenage brother stepped up and I was able to talk his dad into coaching also. From week 3, on, I was the "mom" of the team. I organized everything and was at practices reiterating what they were learning and helping how I could. I had so much fun with this little group of kids and I have never talked "football" more, in all my life. 

Zane had the best time - he loved every position (the kids all took turns) quarterback, running back, center, receiver, rusher and blocker. He for sure wants to play again!

Enjoy the many (but not all) picture I took over the season!