Let's Go Racing!

We have had an action packed weekend! Boomer returned from a conference in Raleigh on Friday, and he, Eli, and my dad hit the road to Martinsville for the evening truck race. They arrived at the track early enough to watch qualifying and to check out the Fan Zone, which had lots of fun activities for the littlest racing fans. Daddy and Grandpa weren't in any of the photos, but here is Eli enjoying every minute of the experience.  

While the boys were at the race, the girls had a fun evening too. Grammy, Emmy, and I went to the Milton Rhodes Center for the Arts in downtown Winston-Salem. Emmy's artwork was on display, alongside of other artwork from all the other elementary schools in the district. What an honor that hers was chosen! Afterwards, we went to dinner nearby at Burke Street Pizza (Emmy's pick) and then for a sweet treat at Krispy Kreme. The girls agreed that we enjoyed our evening much more than being at the racetrack :)

Emmy loved showing off her other work that was on display at school when we went to STEM Night on Thursday. Since Boomer was out of town at his conference and gymnastics was cancelled, it was a fun activity for the three other Kennedys. 

Continuing with the racing title of this post, the Bakewell sisters completed our annual race on Saturday at the Only Fools Run Half Marathon in Greensboro! When we pulled up at the address, we immediately recognized the park from our run in 2017, which happened to be the race when I finally broke the 2-hour mark. The route was different, but it brought back memories from that special race. Meg and I stayed together for the first four miles, and then we separated. She came in at a speedy 1:55, and I came in about 3 minutes later, at 1:58:45. I was thrilled to be under 2:00 again. Our times were good enough to win Meg 1st Place in her age group, and I placed 3rd in mine. We received silly jester hats for our prize. We missed having our full cheering squad there to watch us, but Mom and Dad were sure to make lots of noise. After the run was complete, we met back up with the rest of our crew, Meg at the soccer complex and me at the ballfield. This season of life is a busy one, but I am thankful we can still continue this tradition each year. 

Most nights, we have continued letting Eli fall asleep in Mommy and Daddy's bed. It's funny that we would start this habit now, when we didn't let either kid sleep in our room as babies. Sometimes when he is being particularly silly or hard to settle down, I threaten that he will have to go to his own bed, but that rarely happens. I know sometime soon we will transition him out of his toddler bed, but at least for a little longer, I can still pretend that he is my baby. 

Leap Into Kindergarten

Update: We did not have any luck catching a leprechaun. Even though Emmy designed a very sophisticated trap, those sneaky leprechauns got away. The only thing we found the next morning were some Hershey kisses. The kids weren't too disappointed since it meant having chocolate before 7AM! Both kids headed off to school for some fun St. Patrick's Day activities, including leprechaun crafts and green mint Oreos. No pinches for the Kennedy kids!

Our biggest event this past week was attending Leap Into Kindergarten at Sedge Garden. Luckily the event fell on Thursday night, and Eli did not have baseball. (Emmy had gymnastics later in the evening, and we were able to make it there after leaving from the elementary school.) Like with Emmy three years ago, Eli was a little shy at first. Once he figured out that we were staying and not dropping him off, he warmed up to the activities and the people. Emmy and Eli even had their picture with the Panther. There were so many feelings when we took Emmy for kindergarten, and I am feeling similar emotions the second time around. It is bittersweet the closing of the preschool chapter, but I know that God will have His hand on Eli in this new chapter. We are excited for him to join his big sister and Aunt Megan as a Sedge Garden Panther. 

A second big event this past week was the JROTC Military Ball. We have enjoyed going to this event each year at The Depot at Cody Creek. The cadets all look so nice in their uniforms, and it follows a traditional military order through the recognitions, dinner, guest speaker, and dancing. We only had a short amount of time after leaving the ballfield to freshen up and change into our formal attire. Feeling like I've worn everything in my closet, I settled on the dress I wore to our rehearsal dinner - It still fit! While Boomer and I were at the ball, Grammy watched Emmy and Eli, plus an extra kiddo - Maddox. Since it was Zack's birthday, Meg and Zack went out to dinner to celebrate (and Zander was at an overnight event with church). The three cousins had dinner at Chick-Fil-A with the grandparents and then came back for movie night. Fun was had by all!

In the evenings, when time allows, we have been getting outside. Eli is continuing to work on his biking skills - hopefully he will make good progress this summer. 

The next few weeks have a lot of field trips for me. These days are usually pretty fun, but there is a good amount of prep work and planning beforehand. Last Wednesday, I went along with our Foods class on a tour of the Wilkes CC Culinary Department, and they even trusted me to drive the mini-bus. It doesn't require a special license, so here I am, behind the wheel (while safely parked!) I have six more field trips between now and the Easter Holiday. I won't be driving for any of the others...I will leave that job up to others more qualified!

Spring Break 2025

With the school year starting in early August, Spring Break shifted into the month of March this year, instead of being later in April. Although the kids have started with Little League, the Major Leagues are still in spring training, meaning no ballparks to check off just yet. We sure had fun last year on our Spring Break trip to Florida to see the Marlins and the Rays. This year, we stayed close to home and had lots of fun local adventures, including the Science Center, the library, Kaleideum, the YMCA pool, and various parks and sweet treats. It was a small taste of summertime, and I loved every minute of it. 

On Friday morning, we celebrated my parents' 44th anniversary with brunch at Cracker Barrel. Eli ate his weight in chocolate chip pancakes, and we somehow managed to leave the store with only the purchase of a pack of gum. After brunch, Boomer took over parenting duties while I headed to Asheville for a girls weekend. I rode along with Carrie and Caro from Winston, and we met up with the other girls mid-afternoon. The AirBnB we stayed at was in a perfect location within a short drive of downtown. It is actually owned by an old high school classmate who has a few other properties, called Blue Ridge Break. He was so kind to stock the house with the usual staple items, but also extra Asheville-themed snacks, coffee, beer, and wine. On Friday evening, we went to Bear's BBQ Smokehouse on Coxe Ave. Caro and I shared the Mac Attack, which was pulled pork on top of delicious creamy mac-n-cheese. There was an outdoor seating area, which was comfortable while the sun was out. Once the sun went down, we moved inside and stayed a little longer. We were back at the house by around 9PM. On Saturday, we took our time waking up and enjoyed a cup of coffee on the back deck. Then we had brunch at the West Asheville location of Biscuit Head. We walked along the streets and did some shopping. We returned to the house for some relaxing and time in the hot tub. Our dinner reservation was for 6PM at Chestnut, and it was another fabulous meal. Kelly and I got two entrees and split them: the shrimp and grits, along with the petite filet. We spent about two hours at dinner, enjoying the food, drinks, and lots of laughs. This morning, we checked out of the AirBnB and grabbed coffee and bagels at Penny Cup, before saying our goodbyes. It was a quick 48 hours, and we are already looking forward to being together again at the beach this summer.  

While Mommy was away, Daddy planned lots of fun activities for Emmy and Eli, mostly centered around baseball. On Friday afternoon, they went to Asheboro to see Trivett and the Southwestern Randolph Cougars play. Granny and Paw Paw were there too, so they got to see lots of family. I couldn't help going back through my pictures to find the older picture of a much smaller Trivett and Eli. They sure have grown up right before our eyes. On Saturday, the kids had practice in Walkertown, and then the three of them went to watch Wake take on Miami in game 2 of the series. They saw an exciting win, with a walk-off in the 10th inning. Daddy even splurged for hot dogs and Kona Ice. What a fun weekend for everyone!

Now that the weekend is over and Spring Break has come to an end, the countdown is on for the Easter holiday and then summer after that. But first, St. Patrick's Day! Emmy is ready with her leprechaun catcher!