Memorial Day Weekend

With Memorial Day come and gone, we are officially on the cusp of summer! I have only one remaining workday tomorrow, and then it will be summertime! This summer is extra long since my school system is pushing back the start date to August 29th. That's almost three weeks later than this past year. It is also the date that Emmy will start kindergarten. I'm not thrilled about how this change will affect the high school students having exams after Christmas...but for now, I'm looking forward to the time off. We started our Memorial Day weekend with the Forbush Graduation. Originally the ceremony was supposed to be at the FHS football stadium, but with the threat of rainy weather, there was a last minute change to move it indoors to Wait Chapel. Boomer and I were excited about the change, since we both love any chance to be back on Wake's campus. It was our first graduation with both of us in regalia, so I was sure to make Boomer take lots of photos. After the ceremony, we had a date night to Sweet Potatoes, in Winston-Salem. I got the BBQ shrimp and grits, and Boomer got the fried chicken Lunchbox. The timing worked out that we were home in time to relieve Grammy while the kiddos were finishing up Friday movie night. 

On Saturday, Boomer had to attend Starmount's graduation in the morning, so while we waited for him, the kids and I headed to the YMCA. I met Megan for our weekly run (8 miles on a treadmill - brutal!) and Emmy and Eli went to the child watch room. We met Boomer back at home and hit the road to Star shortly after lunchtime. As soon as we got to Star, we changed into our bathing suits and hung out at the pool for the rest of the afternoon. Even though the water was pretty chilly, Emmy didn't hesitate to jump right in (with her swimmy). Thank goodness for Paw Paw - he was great to get in with the kiddos while Granny, Boomer, and I watched from the side. We spent the night Saturday evening, and then on Sunday we had a second pool day. Uncle Goosie and the cousins joined, which meant that Emmy and Eli had a lot of friends to play with. Emmy and Ellison were like two peas in a pod. After having hamburgers and hot dogs for dinner, we came back to Kernersville and right to bed. We were able to accomplish everything on Emmy's Star To-Do List. 

Today, we went to the Science Center. We did not set any alarms, and yet we got there about an hour earlier than we normally do, which worked well since it got hotter as the morning went on. Also we saw a lot of the animals moving around, like the peacock and the red panda. We always love the Science Center. It's a low-prep, spur-of-the-moment adventure that is fun for the whole family. 

Lately, Emmy and Eli have started to develop a bit of sibling banter. They often want the same toy, the same plate at dinner, or the same seat next to Mommy or Daddy. We are working on sharing and being kind - I definitely have my work cut out for me this summer. Even though the fighting seems to be more frequent, there are times that they are sweet to each other. I'm hoping that the summer has many more of these moments!

Strawberry Picking

This weekend was a fun prelude to summer! On Saturday, we went strawberry picking at R & M Farms in Belews Creek. Grammy came along for the second year in a row, so we officially have ourselves a new annual tradition. Both Emmy and Eli carried their own buckets and were pretty good at spotting big, ripe berries. When the temperatures started to rise and moods started to drop, Daddy was quick to purchase two 50-cent icy pops to keep the kiddos happy. After picking a gallon of strawberries, we continued our adventure with a trip to Priddy's General Store in Walnut Cove. We had pimento cheese and bologna sandwiches for lunch before heading back home.  

On Saturday evening, I went out to dinner with the girls to celebrate Coley's birthday. We went to a new restaurant downtown Winston-Salem called Mojito. Coley is the baby of our group, so now she joins the rest of us at 36. We are looking forward to our annual summer beach trip in July (with Casey and Kelly, too!) 

Boomer left from church today to go to an afternoon Dash baseball game with his dad. The kids and I tagged along with the Houston crew for lunch, and Uncle Zack was so helpful in turning around Eli's car seat. It was still rear-facing, and Eli is certainly big enough to face forward. I was dragging my feet in turning it around, because now it really seems like we are past the baby stage. It is bittersweet to reach another milestone. They seem to come so quickly and always before I'm quite ready. With our upcoming summer trips, I think Eli will enjoy the view facing forward. Sometimes Mommy just has to learn to let go. 

While Uncle Zack was re-installing the car seat, Eli tried on his cousin's baseball helmet. This boy is ready to play!

This evening, we used our freshly picked strawberries to make a homemade cobbler. Emmy was a big help in the kitchen. She liked pouring in the ingredients and stirring. Now it's off to bed before the last week of school. Summer is just around the corner!

Waiting on Summer

The kiddos had an unexpected two days at Grammy's and Grandpa's after a COVID closure of Eli's class. I was quite surprised to receive the email from the preschool director; it came out of the blue after several months of no quarantines. On the bright side, Emmy and Eli loved going over to "BeeDee's" and the weather was nice for coloring with chalk and playing outside. Emmy especially loved trying on the play wedding dress that belonged to Aunt Megan. 

Emmy and Eli returned to school on Wednesday and finished out a normal week. I had AP testing at school, along with a field trip with the seniors and then Awards Day. Oh, and I started my summer class for grad school! Boomer had several evening events - whew, it was a full week! Over the weekend, we enjoyed a family outing to the Science Center. Instead of our usual lunch at Freddy's afterwards, we tried out a local restaurant called Emma Key's. Known for its burgers, Boomer had the Lone Star (bacon + barbeque sauce), and I had the Lou Lou with pimento cheese. It felt like a sweet glimpse of summer!

On Saturday evening, we met the Williamses and Houstons for a park play date. Then we got dessert at a new ice cream place in Walkertown called Miso's. I was very happy with my Cookie Butter stuffed milkshake, and as you can see, the kiddos liked their choices as well!

On Sunday, Boomer and I fit in a kid-free matinee to see the new Marvel movie. I admittedly had no idea what was going on during most of the movie, but Boomer loved it! Afterwards, we went to the FHS Baccalaureate service. It meant wearing dress clothes to the movie, but hey, a date's a date! We were grateful for the time together. In our Sunday School class, we are doing a series on marriage, and the most recent lesson was on our love languages. The quiz revealed that my love language is "Acts of Service" and Boomer's is "Words of Affirmation." In second place, we both had "Quality Time."  We value these dates so much and are grateful for any opportunity to be together just the two of us.