One Day More

Megan sent me this collage that her phone put together of photos from 2024. Wow, we did so much last year! It was fun remembering all of the moments behind each photo. 2025 is on pace to be another year of big memories!

As I write this, we are on the eve of our last day of summer. Queue the Les Miserables soundtrack...."one day more!" This week, we completed our Summer To-Do List (full re-cap coming soon!) by checking off the last remaining item: visit Daddy at work. We had our annual trip to his office on Tuesday, and once again, the kids conned all his coworkers for candy. Look at those stinkers with their baskets of sweets! We snapped a few photos at Boomer's desk and then took him out to lunch at Debbie's Dairy Freeze. Afterwards, we knocked out Emmy's back-to-school shopping and started the prep for the first day of school. Earlier that morning before going to Yadkinville, we stopped by to see Aunt Megan at Sedge Garden, and the kids were very excited to walk the halls of their school. 

Other adventures this week have included: a play date with Emmy's new classmate Logan Bremer and her mom Lindsay; a double date to the Dash Flow Club (check out Meg's plate of nachos and our yummy frozen drinks!), a pool day, and my car reaching 300,000 miles. I captured my car hitting 300K, fittingly enough, while I was playing taxi and getting the kids to ball practice. We were on our way to Emmy's first practice with Yadkin Ignite, a travel team in Yadkin County. This fall season will be our first foray into the "travel" world, and we are both excited and nervous for this experience. For Boomer's last free Friday, we went to the Wyndham Golf Tournament in Greensboro. It has almost become an end-of-summer tradition. Boomer and I went several years just the two of us, and last year, the kids came along for the first time. We had nice overcast temperatures this year, and the kids got all the freebies: keychains, sunscreen, even neck fans, and a golf ball from one of the players (Adam Hadwin). I enjoyed a freebie coffee, using Dad's perks of being a volunteer. 

On Saturday, Boomer went along with his dad and brothers to Bristol, TN for the Braves vs. Reds game. The game was pretty historic for two reasons: 1) it is the first MLB game to be played in the state of Tennessee, and 2) the Bristol racetrack was converted into a ballpark just for the game. The game was originally supposed to be played on Saturday evening, but after a delay due to heavy rain, it was then postponed to Sunday at 1PM. The guys already had planned to stay Saturday night in Tennessee, so luckily they were able to go back to the racetrack today to watch it. The Braves won 4-2, with Eli White hitting two homeruns. Our Eli was very excited when I told him the news. While Daddy was away, we went to the Science Center on Saturday for one last trip this summer. I am not quite sure our plans for tomorrow, but we plan to soak up summertime for one day more! 

"Adventure is our life!"

After our week at the beach, we have settled back in for our last two weeks of summer in Kernersville. I realized that time was running out for a few of our 'staple' summer adventures, so this week we went to Reynolda Gardens, got donuts at Dough Joe's, played at Harmon Park, and had pretzels from Patriot Pretzel. We have always enjoyed these outings in the past, and we did once again this year.

Boomer and I had not one, but TWO, date nights this week. We had dinner on Monday evening at Rooster's in Winston-Salem after a meeting with our financial advisor. It was a good meeting where we discussed some long-term planning for retirement and for Emmy and Eli; we worked up an appetite and debriefed over our meal afterward. On Thursday, we had a double date with Seth and Jenny Alyn Key to Top Golf. Of course Boomer dominated and won two out of the three games. He is annoyingly good at everything! While Mommy and Daddy were off having fun, the kiddos were in good hands at Grammy and Grandpa's. 

With our remaining days, we have been chipping away on the last items on our Summer To-Do List. On Friday, we went to the Milk Bar in Walnut Cove and combined it with a hike at Hanging Rock State Park. We arrived at the Visitors Center around 9:30AM and set off on the Hanging Rock Trail just before 10AM. Ordinarily 1.3 miles to the summit, the trail had a detour, which extended the route to 1.8 miles (3.6 miles total!) The ascent was moderate and uphill, but with perfectly timed water and snack breaks, my crew stayed in good spirits. When we were about halfway to the top, two other hikers warned us about a rattlesnake on the trail. Sure enough, we saw it and even heard its rattle! There was a bit of fear and trepidation for continuing forward, but as a positive, the sighting put a pep in all of our steps, and we arrived to the top much faster in the second half than in the first. There was a beautiful view and a nice breeze at the summit. On the way back down, we saw two deer cross the path just in front of us. After the snake and the deer, Emmy remarked "Adventure is our life!" which became the new tagline for the day. After returning back to the Visitor Center, we did the shorter 0.4 mile hike to the Upper Cascade Falls, where the kids put their feet in the cool mountain water. Eli took a spill and got his shorts wet, and while I brought plenty of snacks, I was not prepared with a set of spare clothes. It was a funny picture of Eli falling asleep in his underwear on the drive back down to Walnut Cove, while Boomer dried his shorts out the window. Once in Walnut Cove, we stopped for a late lunch around 2PM at the Milk Bar. I got the pimento cheese burger, while Boomer got the catfish nuggets. And of course there was ice cream, too!  

On Saturday, we went to the Charlotte FC match vs. Toronto. I added this one to our Summer To-Do List after last year's trip to Manchester United, which peaked all of our interest in soccer. Grammy, Grandpa, and the Houstons came along, and we made it an outing for all ten of us. Even though the match didn't start until 7:30PM, we left Kernersville around 2:30PM to allow plenty of time for eating, parking, and navigating to the stadium. I reached out to some friends ahead of time for recommendations, and they were spot on with their suggestions. We had an early dinner beforehand at Midwood Smokehouse on Central Avenue, a restaurant made famous from having visitors like Barack Obama, Hilary Clinton, Justin Timberlake, and Bill Murray. Boomer and I shared the four meat platter with sweet potato fries and bacon-wrapped jalapeño poppers. It was plenty of food for 2! After eating, we headed to Bank of America. Luckily once in the stadium, our seats were in the shade, but temperatures were still in the 90s for almost the entire match. We stayed hydrated and were glad for any bit of a breeze. It was exciting when Charlotte FC scored twice within 10 minutes in the second half. They kept Toronto from scoring and won 2-0. 

(Eli showing off the Kerwin Vargas bobblehead giveaway)

While we enjoyed the soccer match, baseball still reigns in the Kennedy household. Is it normal for a 5-year-old to practice the MLB logos, instead of the ABCs? Asking for a friend... :) Boomer recently unearthed an old baseball game from his childhood, and he and Eli have enjoyed playing it. We also got pictures back from Emmy's Allstar team. Her serious face makes me chuckle. Pretty soon we will be back at the ballfield again.