"Lookit, Mommy!"

Eli's newest phrase (which I hear no less than 50 times a day) is "Lookit, Mommy!" I'm not quite sure where he picked it up from, but rest assured, he will say it over and over until I do in fact look at whatever thing has caught his attention. He also likes to declare "This is the best day ever!", a spinoff of Emmy's phrase "This is the lifetime!" As I get to spend more time with the kids this summer, I do enjoy picking up on their sayings and jokes and the little behaviors that I don't usually see when we are apart at work and school. We will soon be off on our grand international adventure. But this week, we enjoyed adventures more local. On Monday, we went to the new Kaleideum with Grammy, Zander, and Maddox; on Tuesday, we went to the kids' summer movie with Aunt Megan and the boys; Wednesday, we went to Reynolda for some outside time and donuts (okay, mostly for donuts!); and then on Thursday, we had a pool day at the YMCA. We also fit in hair cuts for the Kennedy girls and donuts at Krispy Kreme to celebrate Maddox and Emmy's good report cards. Today, we had Daddy home with us, and we went to Local Roots for coffee and smoothies. Then Emmy was invited to a birthday playdate for her friend Avery. The girls dressed up and got their make-up, hair, and nails done. When I picked her back up after lunchtime, she looked like a real-life princess. Our girl sure is a beauty! Then this evening, Emmy was invited to a putt-putt birthday party for her kindergarten buddy Heidi. They extended the invitation to the whole family, and it was a fun evening for all of us. 

I've started the task of packing for our trip. Whew, it is a task indeed. Packing for four people, to a destination with varying temperatures and unknown activities, is challenging! But as Boomer says any time we head off on vacation, "we either have it, or we buy it!" He has been working long hours this week, and one night, he fell asleep while tucking in Emmy! This upcoming vacation will probably not provide a lot of rest, but surely a lot of memories!

Father's Day Weekend

We enjoyed a fun Father's Day weekend in Kernersville. There have been some years when our baseball trip has coincided with Father's Day, but this year, it was nice to celebrate our special guy at home. The weekend kicked off on Thursday evening with a date night to the Dash. We met our friends Jenny Alyn and Seth at the Flow Club. Even after several times of going to the Flow Club, the luxury of it still has not worn off. We feel totally spoiled and fully enjoy the unlimited food and drinks. On Friday, we went for a hike at Stone Mountain State Park in Roaring Gap, a little over an hour from our house. We parked at the upper trailhead parking area and set off around 9:45AM. It took us about an hour to reach the summit, and there were beautiful views from the top. When we arrived back to the parking area, we had a picnic lunch close to the car. I was very proud of all THREE of my hiking companions for their good attitudes and perseverance. After leaving the state park, we stopped at the Stone Mountain Country Store for ice cream and soda in glass bottles.  

On Saturday, there was a break from the Father's Day activities for a girls' spa day. Yes, we left the kids with the dads and spent the day getting massages and hanging out by the pool. We had originally tried for an earlier date, but then it just so happened that the date this year coincided with the Father's Day weekend - oops! My mom, sister, and I always enjoy this special day together. It goes by much too quickly, and even as we are leaving, we are already looking forward to next year.

The Father's Day activities resumed Saturday evening with a night of racing at Bowman Gray. After leaving from the Grandover, we met up with the dads and kids for dinner first, and then we arrived at the track around 6:30PM. The first race didn't actually start until 8PM, but we were entertained by watching qualifying (and the people in the crowd!) As usual at the Madhouse, there were several cautions and exciting crashes. I think we will be back for more racing in the future. 

Today, we went to Sunday School at church, and then we headed to Winston for lunch at East of Texas and another Dash game, our second Dash game in four days, this time with the kids in tow. Before the game, dads and kids could play catch on the field, which was a neat experience. Once the game started, a staff member from the Dash asked if we would like to move to special seats near the dugout. Even before Boomer and I could answer, the kids gave an enthusiastic 'yes!' In these seats, we were at field level and very close to the players, and Eli even got a ball from one of the pitchers. At the end of the game, the kids got to run the bases. From start to finish, Boomer declared it a Father's Day that would be "hard to beat!" 

Volleyball Camp

We didn't waste any time getting right to work on our Summer To-Do List. Emmy's last day of school and Zander's 5th Grade Graduation was on Friday, June 7th, and it was also Boomer's first Friday off work. On that day, we packed in not one, but TWO of our to-do list items. First we had lunch at Piedmont Aviation Snack Bar. I had wanted to go to this restaurant in Winston for a while, but with somewhat odd hours, we had not been able to go sooner. It is a popular lunch spot and quite literally a hidden gem - we had trouble finding it at first! It is located in an industrial building, and we finally spotted it by the line of people waiting out the door. Although it is located close to the local airport and the name would suggest sightings of airplanes, we did not see any airplanes. In fact the restaurant doesn't have any windows at all! But the food was delicious. Later that evening, we went to the American Legion Pro Rodeo in King. I can not recall having gone to a rodeo in the past, and it was the kids' first time. We arrived about an hour before it started. After grabbing seats, we went in shifts to check out the vendors and get some food. It began at 7:30PM, which would usually be considered late for our crew. But with the longer summer days, everyone was in pleasant spirits until we left around 9:30PM. There was bronco riding, calf roping, steer wrestling, barrel racing, and bull riding. We were all impressed by the skills of the cowboys and cowgirls. The rest of the weekend included a movie night on Saturday, followed by church on Sunday. 

During this first official week of summer, Emmy had volleyball camp at one of the local high schools. It was our first attempt at any sort of 'summer camp,' and I signed her up after hearing about it from one of my other mom friends. I didn't quite know how Emmy would feel about it. However, I did not anticipate that she would be sad because she had already 'missed out' on the days Eli and I had together already. Luckily we assured her that she would not be missing any fun while she was at camp from 9AM - 12PM. The mornings would usually start around 7AM with breakfast and some practice from their workbooks. Then Eli and I would drop Emmy off at the camp. After some rest time in the afternoon, twice we went to the pool in the afternoon around 4PM, and one day we skipped rest time all together and went to the pool earlier. We are continuing to work on swimming with both kids, especially Emmy who is striving for the yellow band. After the camp on the first day and again after the last day, we got some special treats. On Monday, we went to a nearby bakery called Cupcake Cuties. Eli got the strawberry banana sherbet; Emmy got cupcake ice cream, and Mommy got a bourbon caramel latte with a slice of blueberry cheesecake. We definitely want to take Daddy back to this place. Yum! On Thursday, we got pretzels downtown and walked over to the fish pond. Emmy said that she learned some new skills this week and may be open to more volleyball in the future. She seems to still have a preference for basketball, baseball, and gymnastics. We'll see!

On other bit of news, my official diploma came in the mail this week! It was exciting to see the package arrive on our doorstep. Pardon the make-up free, messy bun look - this is generally how I look at the end of a summer day wrangling two kids! We fit a lot into Week 1, and I am already looking forward to Week 2.