Tennis time

Here's a quick look at the guys before their first tennis lesson. Aren't they so cool?

Hooray for 2015!

Whew! It's been a while! I haven't blogged in quite some time. Mostly because I just really have moved away from ever using a PC and really only do anything on a mobile platform, and the Blogger app is not that great. It doesn't allow me to resize my photos from a mobile device, which makes the blog posts look crazy when they post.

But I honestly want a place to house memories for my boys to come back and read, so I'll pick this back up. I have so many things to talk about!

Aden is eight now. He's so big. He's doing really great in school, and science is his favorite subject. He doesn't like reading, but he seems to come by the skills pretty naturally because he makes really good grades in language arts. No surprise - technology is his favorite subject after science. Whenever he's allowed, he's got his nose in his iPad or games. He also loves watching TV on his tablet. He's been playing soccer, although he doesn't have a real passion for it, so we've got him in tennis right now (which he does love!) and we've got him signed up for baseball this Spring to see if he likes it. He looks at me like I'm crazy when I ask if he wants to learn an instrument. He has no love for that, and honestly barely listens to music (although he does have a few favorite go-to songs). I really wish they offered a computer programming course for kids around here. I'm betting he'd like that. He can work out a puzzle like no one's business. 

Ethan is five... going on thirty-five. This kid.... sigh. He's a ball of energy. He wakes up before the chickens and is on full speed until he finally crashes sometime in the night. He needs NO rest time during the day, and on the off chance you get him to sit still for a full movie, then you feel as though you've just witnessed something rare. I wish I had just a sliver of his energy. He is also really, really positive. Every day is the "best day ever" and he just loves to love. Ethan would give you everything he had, he's just such a giving guy. Nothing makes him happier than to give to others. I hope he keeps that giving heart forever. He's also really funny. He is such a jokester and has wonderful comedic timing. People are always wanting to hear what Ethan's going to come up with next. Ethan really loves music, and is always grabbing his guitar or bongos to play his own stuff. He's also been playing indoor and outdoor soccer and loves it tremendously. He gets a little antsy between seasons, and prefers games to practices - because the applause is louder. Ha ha! He's also trying out tennis between seasons, but will be going right back to soccer when it starts up again.

A few changes for the family since I last blogged... we moved! We still own our Spitfire home (there's a renter in there now), but we bought a home in Mansfield with a pool and more room for the boys to play. It's been a big change for Ethan. He misses the old house a lot, he seems to have an emotional tie to that house that I didn't even realize. Seven months later and he's still asking to move back. Aden doesn't miss the house much, but really misses a little friend (Anthony) that he made in first and second grade. I miss him too, he was a great friend and Aden seems to be struggling with making a good friend at the new school.

Ethan started Kindergarten. He's already on girlfriend #3. And has about 7 best friends, as best I can tell. He's loving "school life" and is always ready to get back each day. Aden was that way too in Kindergarten, so we'll see how long Ethan feels that way.

I took a different job at Mouser. I've moved to the sales floor as a sales manager and I really enjoy it. It's been a new challenge every day, which is what I like!

We also had a new addition to the family. Aden's been begging for a cat for at least two years and he finally got a little kitten (a boy, he named Gryffindor - Harry Potter reference - and we call him Gryff). He's a rescue kitten and we all love him. Even Adam.

I'll post a few more pictures, but I really do intend to keep this updated - for YOU, Aden and Ethan. :)

Promotion Weekend

We had such a fun day! Ethan was promoted to the four year old class at church, then after church we met Lola, Papa and Lindsey at Fuzzys Tacos for lunch. The boys ended up grabbing their own little table and never needed us. They just had their own little lunch party by themselves. It was like a little window looking into the future.

Lola brought entertainment too...

Then later, we had everyone over for cake to celebrate the end of another school year. We spent the rest of the evening at home playing games, watching movies and relaxing. 

Nature walk

We've been enjoying the mild spring with tons of nature walks. Adam and I enjoy them, the boys enjoy them for short periods of time before the "My legs hurt... The bugs are annoying... Can you carry me..."  sets in. They go a little longer each time though, so I'm hopeful we will make a whole day of it soon.

Today we found several dirt path trails to explore. These are my favorite, although on our last walk, I got poison ivy so this time I was little wary.

Ethan took this picture if me.

We ended the hike at a pavilion where an ice cream truck was parked. We paid three times as much as we should have for ice cream, but the boys were so happy.

Afterwards, we threw our swim suits on and cooled off in Gigi's pool. It was a fun Saturday!

From the archives: Christmas 2012

Here's a photo from Christmas 2012. Aden bought that bear for Ethan from his school gift workshop. We sent him with $20, and he spent $18 of it on this bear for his brother. Ethan picked out a Scooby bowling set for Aden. They got to open these gifts to each other on Christmas Eve. Both of them loved the gift choices... Good job guys!

Hiatus Over.

It's been nearly a year since I've blogged. To be honest, I just got frustrated with Blogger and decided I was too upset to continue this blog (at that time), and it was too time consuming to try to recreate my posts somewhere else. The photos that I uploaded a few years ago are already not showing up in blog posts. It's only been a couple of years since I posted them! The purpose of this blog is so that Aden and Ethan can look back on it when they're older. If the site has outdated itself in only a couple of years, how can I expect the photos to be there - or even the content! - in another 10 or 20 years?

Anyhow, as I mentioned previously, it's been nearly a year and I still want a place to record our happenings, and there still really isn't any better options, so I'm going to give it another chance. I've missed blogging so many things! Aden made it through first grade, and did so well. He got a sweet teacher named Ms. Miller and she taught him so much. He finished 1st grade reading and writing at a 3rd grade level. And his math skills are wowing me! He has also participated in a couple of seasons of soccer, and tried out basketball.

Ethan is a little firecracker. He's been so full of personality since birth, but especially this last year his personality has really taken shape. He's so funny - intentionally funny.He has style and a certain coolness, and even has great rhythm (way too good for someone his age!). He adores playing with Aden, and their friendship has become strong. They make each other laugh, and they look for each other when they have something they want to say or do. It makes me smile to see their bond grow so tight.

I'll post some back-dated photos that I've missed (Blogger... be kind), and start documenting their memories again. I'm really hopeful that this will be a successful place to store their stories. Fingers crossed!