He's a candymaker too. . . .

Zane was reading the Candymakers series at school. At the end, the kids were challenged to make their own candy, from scratch or variations of already existing candies. Zane loves sour and hot candies, so he thought it would be fun to create new candies using his faves. He made a plan in class and then had to create samples for all the kids in his class. His first plan would have required some major manufacturing, so we improvised a tad to make it achievable for the purpose he needed to accomplish.

He settled on naming them Super Tots and Hottie Dogs. He loved the concoction and so did some of his classmates. Some his classmates do not like hot or sour things. Either way, he was so creative and really loved this class project. It was so fun to see how invested he became.

Cheddar Bisquits and Crab Legs

 We sat as a family from beginning to end.

 Zane was a buttery mess...

Baptizing

As cousins, I wonder how John the Baptist baptized Jesus...pretty sure he didn't have to force it, Hendrix... :-)

Wolf to Bear

Zane completed his year as a Wolf and is now a Bear!

And for fun!

Soccer Highlights

Much like the season, these pictures are all out of order. The season flew by. Both Zane and Vanessa played "like your hair is on fire"...at least most of the time. :-) Both prefer to stay away from goalie but both ended up in the spot a few times. 

When Zane was bored he danced and performed. :-) And Hendrix spent a lot of time practicing his soccer skills, for free! At least when he was taking off his clothes. He cheered on his brother and sister, even when they were on break. The Dragons pulled off a good season with a great coach, Miss Carrissa. 

And the Bullets held in there pretty well too, learning to tolerate each other more as the season went on. Interesting dynamics, for sure. Vanessa was an excellent punter. She was aggressive when most would be too intimidated. Having two Vanessas on the team together was interesting but worked well.

And let's not forget -- having Grandma and Grandpa there was extra fun. And we're more than grateful for their extra support at times when days were way too full.

Just being...

...your mama is something I could never imagine. I'm so thankful and honored to walk this journey with each of you. Each day I get to choose. . . choose misery or joy, happiness or sadness, positivity or negativity, defeat or triumph...the freedom to feel the day as I wish...thankfully each of you help lighten those choices with ease...

Release the Dragon

He likes to pose. Excited for warmer days at the zoo and parks!  Lots of new things coming to the zoo. And a lot of our fun was peering through peepholes to watch the construction and big machinery. Hendrix was disappointed when the train came to a stop. With furrowed eyebrows he exclaimed "That's all?! What the heck?"

Didn't think of it at the time but seems to be appropriate posing for the letter S -- "sleepy!"

 He thinks Zoombezi Bay slides are just bigger versions of this. He's up for the challenge . . . so he thinks . . . ;-)

Colorful Contexts

He is so colorful! There are many things he says consistently and with clarity, that just make him so unique. Sometimes I'm searching for context to understand all the gibberish explanations he spews. I know I can't capture it all but I want to highlight some of my favorite things at this age, to stow in my box of memories.

He often says "Sorry . . ." with an I-didn't-mean-to or gee tone. And will insist "I can't." when he's either too tired or just plain refusing. He announces "What the heck?!" when things don't go as anticipated.

Below are some other colorful gems.

"Are you kidding me?!"

"That's enough."

"Mom go up the ladder and see what's in the fridge. Tell me. Get lunch . . .? Samich?"

Me: "Hendrix, are you all done?"
Hendrix: "No. I'm finished."

Burgers are "bicnics" ever since last summer when we would eat burgers on picnics. :-)

While outside playing, "Mom, go in the kitchen. Bring lunch to table . . . . Pleeeaaasssse."
Me: "What? You would like to eat out here?"
Hendrix [while patting outside iron table]: "No. eat at dis table."

High winds stop him in his place. He looks up, gets quiet and shhhhes me, and then watches and studies the trees, as if they are coming alive. Several months ago it seemed to frighten him a tad.
"Let's go inside before blow away. Mommy, come on. Hurry . . ."

Hendrix also makes up games and I love to stop what I'm doing to watch. Here he had some sort of game going where it sounded and looked like a mix between basketball and bowling. Once he had it set up he called me over and gave a long and detailed explanation, starting with "Mom. Come watch. See."