Basketball Saturdays

We have two weeks of school under our belt now, and we are back in the routine after the wonderful pause of Christmas break. On the night before school started back, Eli lost his second tooth, so that next morning, as we were getting ourselves ready and out the door, we had the excitement of another Tooth Fairy scavenger hunt. I'm sometimes surprised how much we fit into the hour between 6AM and 7AM! All in all, Emmy and Eli have adjusted back to the early mornings with relative ease, and the selfies with Aunt Megan at lunch have resumed once again. 

In other news, the Upwards basketball season is officially underway. The first game was on Saturday, the 11th, and Eli's team had the very first game of the day at 8:30AM, with Emmy's team playing the very last game of the day at 2PM. All of our Saturdays will pretty much follow this same schedule until the end of February. It's an unlucky draw with such a big gap of time in between. We were pretty spoiled in the past with both kids' games being closer together and before lunchtime. But we are making it work. Boomer has come out of referee retirement and has been volunteering in that gap of time by officiating a few of the other games (not our own kids' of course!) Just before that first game, we had to dig out his referee jersey and dust off his whistle. I'm amazed by how he plays the role of parent, coach, and referee so effortlessly! Now with two weeks completed, Eli's Kangaroos are 1-1. They have played well, with a bit of comical relief and confusion mixed in. He has scored several baskets and has showed his usual joy and enthusiasm for anything sports related. Emmy's team, the Sun, had tough luck with three of their players missing the first game. The remaining five players had to play the whole time, matching up with an opposing team that had the full squad of 9. The Sun played hard and were pretty red-faced after each period. The girls hustled the whole time and showed a lot of heart, especially our Emmy. The game ended in a tie 18-18. In the game yesterday, the Sun won 38-18, and their current record is 1-0-1. If you're looking for the Kennedys on any of the upcoming Saturdays, you'll find us in the TBC gym! And we are loving it!

A few other things for the month so far, we celebrated Sarah's 40th birthday; Awana resumed on Sunday evenings; and we went to a trampoline party for Emmy's teammate and friend Austin. January has been a fun month so far!

A Water Park & a Football Game

The new year is off to an exciting start! We have packed a lot of fun into the first three days of 2026. We rang in the new year once again at the Houstons' with the Williamses and the Whites. I've lost count how many years we have had this tradition of celebrating the new year together. As in years passed, Zack made his low country boil, and we all chowed down on the delicious food. Zander organized a ping pong tournament, complete with a bracket for the kids and the adults. There were only a few tears from the youngest Kennedy, when he was beaten by his big sister. Around 8:30PM, we counted down to the new year using a Youtube clip from Sydney, Australia, and we all toasted to 2026. Happy New Year!

On New Year's Day, we hit the road around 11AM heading toward Concord and Great Wolf Lodge. We stopped along the way at Waffle House in Salisbury. Given that it was a holiday, several restaurants were closed, but thank goodness for the Waffle House; we can always count on them to be open. We arrived at Great Wolf Lodge a little after 1PM, and to our surprise, our room was already ready. We got our wolf ears and our bracelets and headed to the room to change into our bathing suits. With our one-night stay, we were able to use the water park on the day we checked in and on the day we checked out, and between the two days, we spent about 10 hours total going down all the slides, splashing in the wave pool, standing below the big bucket in Fort Mackenzie, and playing basketball in Chinook Cove. We did it all! The kids were the perfect age for enjoying all the rides and thrills. A crowd favorite was River Canyon Run, which we could all ride together in one big tube. Daddy's favorite ride was the Mountain Edge Raceway, which you rode down on your belly on individual mats. The most exciting ride was the Howlin' Tornado, and both days, the kiddos got their bravery up to the do ride one time. It's similar to River Canyon Run with a single tube for four people, but it has a big drop into a spinning drain. We all had to catch our breath after that one. Around 7:30PM on the first day, we headed to the room for showers and pjs, and then we went down to the Main Lobby for storytime and the dance party. When we got back to the room around 9PM, it didn't take long until we were all asleep. After more time in the water park on Friday, we left Great Wolf Lodge around 3PM. We stopped for a late lunch/early dinner at Talkin' Tacos and then checked in to our hotel in downtown Charlotte. Even though the kids were excited for another hotel, we enforced a little bit of rest time before setting out into the city around 7PM. Our hotel was within walking distance of Bank of America Stadium, and we met up with our friends Matt and Virginia Olson just outside the gates. Kickoff was at 8PM, and our group of six was excited to cheer on the Deacs as they took on Mississippi State in the Duke's Mayo Bowl. We watched the 1st Quarter from our seats, which just so happened to be in a MSU section! In the 2nd Quarter, we moved to a section with black and gold and watched the rest of the game there. It was an exciting game, and Wake led for most of it. In the last few minutes, MSU came within 3 points, and we thought for sure we were in for heartbreak. But luckily, Wake held strong and pulled off a 43-29 victory. Go Deacs! We arrived back at our hotel around midnight, with two very tired kiddos and two tired adults too. From a water park to a football game - what a full day! We came back to Kernersville today and have been enjoying the time at home. With school starting back again on Monday, we are preparing for the return to routine and schedules. We are sad to see the Christmas break end, but we have loved 2026 already!

Last Post of 2025

We've been enjoying the days at home in between Christmas and New Year's. We mostly have the house back in order, and the kids have had fun playing with their new gifts. In our cleaning and rearranging, we moved Emmy's desk from the play room into her bedroom. She has been very excited with the change and uses the desk to do Legos and write in her journal. On Saturday, we were able to go to the Kaleideum one more time, this time with Daddy. Beforehand, we had brunch at a spot in downtown Winston called Young Cardinal & Co. The chocolate chip pancakes were a hit, as were the omelet and hashbrowns. On Sunday evening, we had the last of our holiday traditions: the post-Christmas Tanglewood lights. We packed a picnic to eat in the car: sandwiches for the kids and sushi for the adults. The sushi was a last-minute addition, to go along with our usual Starbucks drinks, and now I proclaim it an every-year staple. Our timing was perfect, as we joined the line around 5:30PM and were entering the park just before 6PM. The kids, hopped up on hot chocolate, were quite silly and loved sticking their heads out of the sunroof. On Monday and Tuesday, Boomer had to work, but the kids and I filled our time with a trip to the Science Center. We spent almost 4 hours there between the inside and outside exhibits. On Tuesday afternoon, we went to Asheboro to watch Trivett's team play against Wheatmore. It was an exciting game, with the Cougars coming back from a 17-point deficit to win 62-46. Trivett had a big 3rd Quarter with two 3-pointers and 12 total points. Watching the game and being in a gym again made us all excited for the upcoming basketball season. Emmy and Eli's games will begin soon on January 10th. We can't wait!

On December 26th, after much wiggling and cajoling, Eli finally lost his first baby tooth. His two bottom teeth have been wiggly since the incident in September with the railing at school, but he wasn't too concerned about getting a visit from the Tooth Fairy. In the end, it came out on its own. He was rough-housing with Boomer when all of sudden, he ran to the bathroom and spit it out in the sink! Luckily, Boomer made a quick dash to save the tooth from the drain. The next morning, Eli was rewarded with a whole dollar! 

As we close out 2025, it has been a year of new experiences and wonderful blessings. We look forward to 2026 with hope and anticipation for more fun memories with our loved ones!