Prom Season

If you work in a high school, there are certain annual events that mark the calendar each year, and April is always Prom Season. Working at two high schools this year, I had two proms to attend, and it just so happened that the high schools had their proms on back-to-back Saturdays. After lining up my mom for both evenings, Boomer and I took advantage of the kid-free time to go out to dinner beforehand. First up was the Starmount Prom. For dinner, we ate at Ryan's in Winston-Salem, a fancy steakhouse with seafood options too. I got the shrimp and grits, and Boomer got the rib-eye, with the biggest baked potato you've ever seen. The prom was at The Liberty, an event venue in Elkin, and the theme was Hollywood Nights. 

The next Saturday, the 27th, we had Round 2 with the Forbush Prom. This time for dinner, we ate at The Katharine, a French-inspired restaurant located in the Kimpton Cardinal Hotel in downtown Winston-Salem. It was another delicious meal. I had the Risotto aux Champignon des Bois (mushroom risotto with shrimp), and Boomer had the Steak au Poivre (pepper crusted NY Strip). Not quite sure how to pronounce the dishes, we pointed at the menu when ordering. The Forbush Prom was at the Yadkin Ag & Education Building, with a neon/glow theme. We've started to lose count, but we *think* it was prom #18 for Boomer and me. Wow!

 

After church today, we spent a fun afternoon at the ballpark. Boomer's parents met us in Winston for a double-header between Wake and Western Carolina. The weather was looking questionable up until the first pitch, but then the sun came out from behind the clouds, and we even ended up with a bit of a suntan. The highlight of the game was Emmy and Eli getting to say "PLAY BALL!" in the announcer's booth. After the game, we went to dinner at Camel City BBQ. It was so fun to spend some time with Granny and PawPaw. 

April sure was a fun month, and there are lots of fun things ahead in May. Most evenings we collapse into bed after a full day of work and sports, but I love all the memories we are making during this crazy, wonderful season of life. 

April Happenings

Even though our days mostly revolve around work and baseball right now, we have had some other events sprinkled in. Last week, Eli's preschool had their annual St. Jude's Trike-a-thon. Grammy and Grandpa went to cheer on our little guy. I had sent his trike to school that morning, but it turns out he had a preference for a classmate's scooter instead. 

This past Saturday, we went to the Kernersville Touch-a-Truck. It was our first time going to this annual event, and we were so impressed by all the different kinds of trucks there: semis, ambulances, excavators, concrete trucks, garbage trucks - you name it, it was there. The kids had so much fun exploring all the vehicles, and it was a beautiful day to be outside. 

And then I celebrated turning 38! My birthday was this past Tuesday, and in a lot of ways, it resembled every other day that week: work, hustling to pick up kids, dinner at a fast food restaurant, a couple hours at the ballfield, and then a mad rush to bed. I did have a few sweet surprises; my coworkers brought in treats, and I received a few handmade gifts from my family: cards from the kids and a video from Boomer. He picked out lots of photos from over the years and set it to a song we hear on K Love called Counting my Blessings by Seph Schlueter. It had me tearing up seeing all the sweet pictures of our little family. I think 38 will be a great year!

A few other happenings: Emmy and I wore our matching dresses again to church, and the book fair came to Emmy's school. She was so excited to use her own money to purchase another Jory John book and a diary with a lock and key. (One of the keys has already gone missing, somewhere in Mommy's car.) And of course, more baseball! Emmy loves doing all the chants in the dugout, and she had a particularly good hit when the bases were loaded. It turned into a triple, scoring three runs! Eli loves everything about the game. If he's not playing, he's watching it on tv or making up a game by himself. I've decided there is nothing cuter than a little boy with his hat turned backwards. 

And as for that free Dash shirt, big sister shared and let her little brother wear it for awhile. They do have some sweet moments sometimes!

Play Ball!

Prepare for baseball picture overload! The season is in full swing, and we are at the ballpark almost every night of the week. Both kids have games often two nights a week, with practice on a third night. Just to give you a glimpse of the first week, Emmy's first game was on Monday; both Emmy and Eli had games on Tuesday; Eli had practice on Wednesday; and Emmy had practice on Thursday. And not to mention Emmy is continuing gymnastics, which is on Wednesday nights. Whew! I don't know that I was quite prepared for the commitment of being a sports mom! Emmy is playing in a machine pitch division. In both of her games so far, she has gotten a hit and gotten on base. One hit even brought in a run, yay! Eli is in t-ball, but their coaches often chose to forgo the tee and soft-toss instead. Eli makes great contact with the ball and likes to look to the crowd in celebration. Both kids have done well in the field too. They have stopped the ball and generally known who to throw it to. Here are a few pictures (okay, A LOT of pictures!) from the start of the season!

 

Today was the Opening Ceremony and team pictures. 

And as if we couldn't get enough baseball, we went to a Dash game last night! It was a chilly evening, but we braved the wind and cold to cheer for the Dash as they played the Grasshoppers. Just before we left, they did a t-shirt toss....and I'll let you guess which kid got the t-shirt and which one didn't!