Girls Weekend

We have had a busy and fun end to the month of March. Last weekend, I had a girls weekend in Winston with my BFFs. We hung out Friday night at Carrie's, with take-out and other junk food and snacks. On Saturday morning, I joined back up with them for brunch at Mozelle's, the cutest little bistro in downtown Winston. Kelly and I went halfsies with the Eggs Benedict with a side of cheesy grits and the tomato pie with succotash. Yum! After brunch, we went to Lash & Blade, a beauty salon and boutique, where we each got permanent bracelets. There were several options of styles, both in silver and gold, and even though we each got something a little different based on our personalities, we all added in seven gold hearts. I love mine! Later that evening, we had dinner at East of Texas, where we watched some of the March Madness basketball games, followed by drinks at Easy Talk. It was such a fun day from start to finish. The other three Kennedys had a very fun Saturday, too. Boomer, Emmy, and Eli went to our friends', the Mastens, for an Easter egg hunt, complete with a bouncy house. Then, that night while Grammy watched Eli, Boomer took Emmy to the ACC Gymnastics Championship at the Greensboro Coliseum. Wake doesn't have a gymnastics team, but there were four other ACC schools there: NC State, UNC Chapel Hill, Clemson, and Pitt. Even without the Deacs, Boomer and Emmy had a fun time watching all the gymnasts. Boomer sure embraces the role of a girl dad, and the two of them made some special memories. 

One day this week, I got this super cute picture from my sister. It's a before-school snapshot when Emmy is with Aunt Megan until the bell rings. I sure am grateful that Emmy has Aunt Megan close by during the school day. Both Emmy and Eli have had lots of fun activities at school in anticipation of the upcoming Easter holiday. 

One last bit of excitement for our week, Emmy wrote to our mail carrier, and he wrote back! Thank you, Mr. Brad!

Fan Favorite

There's no doubt that Eli loves baseball. He has been wearing his glove around the house for months, and he loves going to play in the backyard. He especially loves being pitched to and hitting the balls. After weeks of waiting, the day finally arrived for his first t-ball practice. I picked up both kids from school, and we did a quick change in the school bathroom. For this first practice, we went all out with the full uniform. (I know now that athletic pants and regular socks are okay for practices!) The green socks were Eli's choice. And he wore his Daddy's old Orioles hat. Once we got to the field, Eli became a bit shy. Okay, full disclosure, there were some tears, but after I peeled him off of me, he smiled and participated the rest of the practice. I was very proud of him! Practices continue through the month of March, and then games will begin in April. It should be quite entertaining, to say the least!

Eli's teacher Mrs. Judy said that he is a "fan favorite" (her words) in the Bluebirds class. I loved hearing that. Hopefully it wasn't just a euphemism for being too chatty or boisterous! :) It made me smile, because he is certainly a fan favorite with us. This past week, somehow I had to take Eli to the store not once, but TWICE, and both times he chose the monstrous kid shopping cart, which made for the fun task of navigating the tight aisles and the check-out. But look how happy he is!

Emmy has started her practices too. In the machine pitch division, each week they have field practices and cage practices. Before that first practice, Boomer took her to a batting cage nearby so she could get used to the ball coming at her. Already we have seen a big improvement in her stance and swing. During the field practice this week, Emmy was noticeably more comfortable being out there. She is doing a great job stopping the ball with her glove or going after it if it gets through. We are especially proud of her desire to learn and improve. She will often ask Boomer or her coach questions to clarify a skill or a set of directions. 

At the end of this week, Boomer had a conference in Wilmington, and we certainly missed him. I missed him tonight as I hustled to get both kids to their respective fields for practice at 6PM! While in Wilmington, Boomer got to have dinner with Kyle and Carlin. He doesn't get to see them often, so it was nice that his conference brought him to their neck of the woods. 

Since we will be traveling over the Easter Holiday, we dyed our eggs a little early this year. Grammy had everything set up for us last Saturday when we arrived: 36 eggs in total. Each of the kids took turns putting their eggs into the color of their choice. In between dyeing eggs, they were back and forth playing ball in Grammy and Grandpa's front yard. It was such a beautiful day that we moms didn't fight to keep them inside. We finished up the last of the eggs and had a dozen each to take home. It will be a different Easter this year not at church and with our whole family, but hopefully the Easter Bunny will find us at our hotel in Florida. 

I am looking forward to the weekend ahead. This week has been a doozy, as I have coordinated two different field trips. For a field trip to Appalachian, we took a larger bus with a bus driver. But for the second field trip to a local business fair, we took this smaller bus. Enjoy this photo of me behind the wheel for the first time! 

Running in the Rain

At the start of March, we had our first free Saturday without basketball. While we loved our Saturdays at the court, they did not allow for our usual adventures, and it was a perfect day for being outside at the Science Center. During this trip, we separated into boys and girls in the outdoor section, and I was quite surprised when Emmy wanted to go in the petting zoo. When she was little, she wouldn't get anywhere close to the animals, but on this day, she was brave enough to even pose for photos. She had her own camera and took several pictures too. After leaving from the Science Center, we had lunch at Freddy's and then made a stop at Play It Again Sports. There were still a few items we needed for the upcoming baseball season, and we were able to find some good deals on a glove and helmet for Eli and belts and socks for both kids. I have managed to acquire the other items (bat bags, bats, cleats, and pants) from coworkers and from Aunt Megan. Whew baseball equipment can be expensive! Thank goodness for hand-me-downs. After leaving from Greensboro, we headed to Winston to catch Wake baseball in a double header against the Binghamton Bearcats. We saw the last four innings of the first game and then the first five innings of the second game. Wake ended up winning both games. Go Deacs!

The baseball season will soon be underway for both kids. Emmy had evaluations last Monday, and I was so incredibly proud of her bravery and courage to step out on that field. Kernersville Little League does not have a separate softball division, so Emmy is playing with the boys! She is one of three girls in the machine-pitch age group. While we would have loved for her and Maddox to be on the same team, Emmy will be playing with her friend Avery, whose dad is coaching. I think it will be nice for the two girls to be together. Boomer has offered to be an assistant coach, and Emmy is excited about that. She always seems to be more confident and open to instruction with Daddy close by. As we were leaving evaluations, she said several times that she wanted to practice the drills, like ground balls and batting, with him. I have been so impressed by her determination to improve and learn a new sport. Eli has his first t-ball practice this coming Saturday. Stay tuned for photos of our littlest ball player!

Yesterday, Meg and I checked off our 2024 half marathon. All week, the forecast was predicting a 100% chance of rain, and for once, they sure got it right. It was a steady rain throughout the whole race. We suited up in our best water-proof gear, but within a few seconds of being outside, we were sufficiently soaked. We were not deterred and ran the race anyway. Meg had a fantastic time (1:54), while I was much slower (2:10). My time was still somehow good enough for a 3rd Place finish in the 30s age group, and Meg took 2nd Place in her new 40s(!) age group. She seems to get faster each year, while I seem to be getting slower. I'm proud of us for keeping this tradition each year. With the less than ideal weather conditions, it was the first year we did not have our usual cheering crew. There was no need for everyone to get wet! We knew that they were cheering for us from home. After the race and later that day, Boomer and I got dressed up for the JROTC Military Ball. We enjoyed the date night...even though it was with 100 or so high school students haha!

A few more photos to wrap up this post: Emmy's basketball pictures, a shoutout for Boomer in his hometown paper and in the Kernersville News, and a special package in the mail - my cap and gown! We moved our clocks forward this weekend, and we are excited for the spring season ahead.