Grammy's 70th

Although we celebrated all of our April birthdays when we were together on our cruise in March, we have still been determined to celebrate at home too, despite our busy spring schedules. Grammy's 70th birthday was on Friday, the 10th, and originally the Kennedys were supposed to be in Statesville for another Friday Night Lights softball tournament. Quite unexpectedly, several teams withdrew from the tournament, so the date was moved to May, which opened up our evening to celebrate with Grammy. I was so thrilled that things turned out the way they did; it would have really crushed me to miss the birthday celebrations. Meg changed the reservation from 7 people to 10, and we joined in with the Houstons and also with Aunt Glenda, who was passing through on her way to Virginia, for dinner at J Pepper's. It was so wonderful to be together and celebrate Grammy's milestone birthday. We are so thankful for all Grammy does for our family! She is an easy person to celebrate - she brings so much joy to our lives!

Disclaimer: below is not Grammy's actual cake, but it is pretty accurate! We have been playing a lot of ball lately - softball and baseball! Even though the FNL tournament was cancelled, we were at a ballfield the next day; this time in Greensboro at Proehlific Park for a 13-team tournament with Emmy's Yadkin Ignite Black team. The girls went 1-1 in pool play, which placed them in the Silver Bracket. They had two strong double-digit wins in bracket play, to go 4-1 for the day and end up as champions in the Silver. We had hoped to play in the Gold Bracket, but a 6th place finish wasn't too bad. There is still a lot of softball to play this spring and hopefully more opportunities to face stronger competition. After the tournament, we had a quick dinner at Freddy's, where I changed into a dress in the bathroom and jetted off to the Forbush Prom. I went solo this year, while Boomer took the kids home for baths and bedtime. I missed my Prom date and our usual standing tradition of going out to a nice dinner beforehand, but it looks like things will just be a little different this year as we adjust around the kids' activities. After checking off my Prom duty, I finally arrived home a little after 10PM - what a day! 

Here are a few other snapshots from April so far: spring pictures at school, Eli's teammate Barrett, photos with Maddox when his KLL team played in Walkertown, silliness in Ms. Servello's classroom, and a very thoughtful gift from one of my coworkers for Emmy's baptism. What a wonderful village we have!

Kennedy Ballpark Tour: Detroit

When we were in the early planning stages for our 2026 ballpark trip, we looked at our poster, and there was an obvious stand-alone park that was missing a photo: Detroit!

After Detroit, there will be four remaining teams on the West Coast and four remaining teams on the East Coast. With my somewhat spontaneous choice of location each year, I'm not even sure how, after 15 years, it has turned out to be so symmetrical! For 2026, Detroit seemed like a good choice, and with their Opening Weekend coinciding with Easter, we started the planning for the three-day holiday weekend. 

Day 1 (Thursday, April 2nd): Hitting the Road

Much like our trip last year to Pittsburgh during the Easter weekend, we hit the road on Thursday in order to get a jump start on the long drive. We also got a rental car to save the wear and tear on our own vehicles. The total trip from Kernersville to Detroit was about 9 hours and 600 miles. On Thursday, we had a goal of making it to Marysville, OH, which would cover about two-thirds. We picked up the kids a little early from school, and they had had a fun day of Easter parties and egg hunts. As you will see in the picture, some of the eggs came along with us on our trip. After a stop at Chick-Fil-A and one additional stop for gas, we pulled off the road around 9:45PM, with both kids drifting off in the very final miles (of course!) Luckily it was a smooth transition to bed, and we all slept well that night. 

Day 2 (Friday, April 3rd): 

On Friday, we had three hours remaining in our journey. We left Marysville around 8:15AM and headed straight to the Detroit Zoo. Deciding against "rope-dropping" the zoo when it opened at 9AM, we instead got a little extra sleep and arrived there around 11:30AM. The timing seemed to be perfect, as a parking spot opened up from a family that looked to be heading home for nap time with their little ones. Boomer and I remembered those days of planning around naptime. With the stage Emmy and Eli are in now, they don't skip a beat when our activity doesn't even start until midday. In fact, they were bounding out of the car. Once inside the zoo, Boomer downloaded the app and was an expert navigator for our group. We went through the penguin exhibit, then saw the river otters and beavers. Next, we saw many of the Asian animals: camels, tigers, lions, rhinos, zebras, and giraffes. At the midpoint and furthest point from the entrance, we stopped for lunch at one of the dining pavilions. Then we finished the second half of the zoo, walking back toward the entrance, and saw the kangaroos, polar bear, bison, and bears, as well as the reptile and amphibian conservatories. The kids took a spin on the carousel, and then we made our way to the exit. Considering we were not familiar with the zoo at all, I think we made good use of our day and really got to see so much. We headed into downtown to check in at our hotel. Once we checked in, we ventured out again to find dinner. My friend, Jaime Jo, recommended Buddy's Pizza for authentic Detroit-style pizza, and luckily the restaurant was within easy walking distance of our hotel. Buddy's was very close to Comerica Park, so while we were waiting on a table, we checked out the ballpark to get the lay of the land for the next day. Back at Buddy's, we got the "Motown Museum" 8-square pizza, with an order of cheesy bread and some wings. Everything was delicious. We returned to our hotel around 8PM and were grateful for our pajamas and beds. 

Day 3 (Saturday, April 4th): Detroit Tigers' Game

Saturday was game day, and seeing rain in the forecast, we had our raincoats and umbrellas when we left the hotel that morning. Not only was there rain predicted, but the temperatures were about 30 degrees cooler than the previous day. What a change in 24 hours! I had considered trying to squeeze in an activity before the 1:10PM game, but we opted for a slower morning and no alarm. While our hotel was in a great location on West Lafayette Street, it did not have a continental breakfast. After a quick Google search, we found Sugah Please Breakfast Brunch bar, which was on a 2025 list of best breakfast spots in Detroit. It was a chilly 15-minute walk, but well worth it. Boomer got the shrimp and grits; Eli got pancakes; Emmy the cinnamon roll French toast, and I got a build-your-own omelet. After finishing our delicious meal, it was around 11:30AM, and we made our way to the ballpark. We entered shortly after the gates had opened and got the free giveaway, Detroit rugby shirts, which you will see in a few of the pictures on Emmy and Boomer. We snapped several pictures while there were some blue beautiful blue skies. During the game, we were able to hang out with Boomer's college roommate, Jason, and his wife Robin and son Jude. They moved to Detroit a few months ago for a three-year medical internship that Jason started in July. It was fun seeing them in their new city. It wasn't until the 7th Inning that the rain drops started. By then, the Tigers were leading 9-6 against the St. Louis Cardinals. Some fans started leaving, since it seemed the Tigers were going to win. We stayed a little longer and moved up into the highest rows, which had cover from an overhang. In the 8th, the Tigers added two more runs to make it 11-6. With the Cardinals up to bat in the 9th, the rain really started to come down, and with only two outs remaining in the game, the tarp team came out to the cover the field. The game went into a rain delay, but then eventually with 8 innings already completed, they called the game as final. We made it back to our hotel while staying relatively dry, and instead of heading out again for dinner, we finished our pizza leftovers from Buddy's. Overall we really lucked out with the weather cooperating for us. Comerica Park checks off our 22nd team and 23rd ballpark, and the Kennedy Ballpark Tour is back on a winning streak. Yay!

Day 4 (Sunday, April 5th): Easter and Driving Home

When we woke up on Sunday morning, there were treats and surprises from the Easter Bunny, who once again found us even though we were away from home. The kids enjoyed eating the candy and doing the Magic Ink activity books on the way home. No sugar-coating it; it was a long drive. We left Detroit around 8AM and pulled into our driveway just before 6PM. The Easter Bunny had a few more tricks up his sleeve, because when we walked in the door, Emmy and Eli's baskets were sitting on the floor, and there were eggs all around the downstairs. When Emmy asked if I had hid the eggs, I could honestly answer that I had not. My sources say that there were 58 eggs...of which we found 57! Hopefully that last egg will show up at some point. This evening, we added the Detroit picture to our frame, and now there are only 8 remaining holes. I already have some ideas for 2027, and we can't wait!