A Taste of Summer

We got a sweet taste of summer this past week! The temperatures were in the 90s, and we broke out the sunscreen and bathing suits for the first time. Memorial Day Weekend always marks a big milestone in the school year. With only a few school days left, we will be out on summer break before we know it! Last Friday evening, Emmy and I went to Zander's Little League game. Zander is doing such a good job learning the game of baseball. He often hits the ball from his coach and rarely has to hit off of the tee. He also does really well in the field playing pitcher, 1st base, and several other positions. Emmy and Maddox generally love running around in the open area behind the bleachers. In a rare moment that she was sitting, Emmy posed for a photo with Aunt M in their sunglasses.

Last Saturday, we hit the road to Lake Tillery for our annual Memorial Weekend lake trip. When we arrived, there was a smaller crew than usual: Granny, Paw Paw, Aunt Carlin, and Trivett. The rest of the gang (Goosie, Darby, and the girls - Adelynn, Kessley, Ellison, Whitlee) arrived later on Sunday afternoon. While it made sleeping arrangements easier with family coming and going throughout the weekend, it was fun to all be together for a few hours on Sunday (minus Kyle - we missed him!) I was curious to see how Emmy would react to the water this year. She loved splashing around in the baby pool on the dock and riding on the boat. She stayed in the baby pool for hours on end, and we rotated an umbrella around her to keep her mostly in the shade. When more of her cousins arrived on Sunday, I was pleasantly surprised at how well she shared the pool and her figurines. The two closest cousins, Ellison and Emmy, both 2 years old, had fun playing together while the bigger kids jumped off the dock and went for rides on the jet-ski. This lake trip was particularly nice because for the first time Boomer did not bring along his lap top! We joked that his fingers were going to start tingling from lack of typing on a keyboard. Now that he is done with graduate school, I am glad that he can enjoy time with family without the added stress of school work. 

A true sign of the school year wrapping up was the Forbush Graduation this past Wednesday evening. It marks the conclusion of Boomer's third year as a Falcon. Like in years past, the ceremony was again held at Wait Chapel on the Wake Forest University campus, and my parents, Emmy, and I went along to cheer on the principal. Grammy and Grandpa were such a big help picking up Emmy from daycare and getting the Kennedy girls to the ceremony on time. This year Boomer was decked in his full doctoral regalia - thank goodness he is getting extra use out of that expensive get-up! His charge to the graduates was to "Enjoy the journey," with the analogy of a train heading toward an elusive station at the end of the tracks. Rather than focusing on the final destination (like graduating, having children, putting your last kid through college, retiring), he encouraged the students to focus on the journey in the here-and-now. Just like the previous two years, I was so proud watching him speak from the podium. After the ceremony, we snapped a few photos and celebrated with dinner at Olive Garden, another tradition we seem to have created over the last three years. Even without a graduate, commencement ceremonies always have such an exciting atmosphere. Congratulations to the Forbush Class of 2019!

The following evening, Boomer and I headed to Troy for the East Montgomery HS Athletic Banquet. A couple of weeks ago, Boomer was asked to present the award to the EMHS Male Athlete of the Year. With the two county high schools consolidating next year, the banquet marked the final year of East Montgomery athletics. The new school will be opening in 2020 as the Montgomery Central HS Timberwolves. Boomer was honored to be asked back to his alma mater to present the award, and it made for a fun evening for the two of us. With Emmy staying home with Grammy, I count any time together just the two of us as a date! 

This past Friday and Saturday, my Morganton best friends all got together in Winston-Salem for a girls weekend. There was a pretty bad storm Friday evening, and the power at Carrie's house went out; we ended up sitting around and talking in the dark by candlelight for several hours. Then on Saturday we walked from Carrie's to a wine festival on 4th Street. We found outdoor seating at one of the restaurants nearby and enjoyed drinks and appetizers for lunch. Then we went out to dinner that evening at an Italian restaurant called Quanto Basta. We are already looking forward to being together again in July for our annual beach trip!

 



While I was off "gallivanting" with my girlfriends (as Boomer would say), he and Emmy had a fun Daddy-Daughter date on Saturday at the Greensboro Science Center. After going several weeks ago, Emmy hasn't stopped talking about seeing the meerkats, the porcupine, and all the other animals. She was so excited to go back, and based on the pictures, it looked like they had a great time. It was hard not to be jealous as Boomer was texting me photos. Going on these adventures with Emmy at this age is so fun. She has such a curiosity for everything around her and her memory is so impressive. She again loved the meerkats, and during this particular Science Center trip, she really liked the wolves, too. She was not a big fan of the crocodiles.



During naptime after the Science Center, Boomer even got a jumpstart on some of our summer to-dos. One thing on the list was to clean out/declutter the office. This is what it looks like to purge books from 8 years of graduate school! Between watching Emmy all day Saturday and checking things off the honey-do list, Boomer was the MVP this weekend - I think I'll keep him around! :)





A Belated Mother's Day

After Boomer's graduation, the month of May has continued to speed by. The Sunday after his graduation was Mother's Day, and I had visions of Emmy and I dressed alike in our matching Mommy-and-me dresses. Unfortunately Emmy woke up with a fever over 101, so we cancelled our plans for church and lunch with the Bakewells and Houstons. I am not sure if the graduation festivities just wore her out, or if she picked up a little virus at daycare. After spending Monday at home with Grammy, luckily she was back to herself. We celebrated a belated Mother's Day this past Sunday, and while I didn't quite get the picture-perfect photos I was hoping for, I loved matching with my little mini-me. Even Daddy wore blue to match his girls!

You'll remember photos from last week's blog post where Boomer's mischievous staff decorated his office in celebration of his doctorate. All the decorations were Avengers themed, and Emmy has found a new toy in the Iron Man mask. Sometimes a girl just has to be prepared to save the world while reading her Christmas carols. 

Boomer's evening activities seem to be tapering off as the school year comes to an end. Emmy and I joined him at the last girl's soccer game this past Saturday as Forbush played in the 4th Round of the state playoffs. It was a close game, but unfortunately Forbush lost 2-1 to the favored Lake Norman Charter. Emmy had fun spotting the airplanes in the sky and watching with Daddy, yes from on top of a trash can. 

Last week, Boomer received a very special award as the 2019 Yadkin County Principal of the Year. He was recognized at their annual end-of-year retirement banquet, and it was quite a surprise to both of us. I was putting Emmy down for bed that evening, and when I got back to my phone, I had a message from one of his coworkers telling me that he had won! I was particularly excited about his new desk plate showing his title as Dr. Robert "Boomer" Kennedy. Boomer works so very hard, and the end of the school year can be particularly grueling. I am so proud of him and for the recognition that he is receiving.

Boomer with Mr. Howell (Teacher of the Year) and Dr. Martin (Superintendent)

We are heading off to the lake this weekend for the Memorial Holiday. Emmy hasn't been in the water yet this year, so I am anxious to see how she reacts. She has always loved riding on the boat in the past; hopefully she still feels the same way. She certainly loves being outside. Here she is patiently waiting to go for one of our evening walks!

Celebrating Dr. Kennedy

We have had a full three days of celebrating the new doctor! A few months ago in February, I wrote my post about Boomer's defense and the long journey that had led to that point. After his defense and the approval by the Graduate School, it was a strange few weeks of Boomer not having any work to do and waiting for the official conferral of his doctorate degree. His cap and gown came in the mail, and he received a letter stating that he had met all requirements. All that was left to do was walk across the stage. The festivities kicked off this past Thursday with the UNCG Graduate School Hooding Ceremony. The ceremony was on campus at the beautiful, historic UNCG Auditorium. We took a few selfies beforehand as Emmy and I hung out in the lobby and the rest of the gang was at our seats.  

When the music started to play and I saw Boomer walking down the aisle, I couldn't hold back a few tears. This degree represents so much hard work, perseverance, and sacrifice. Over the last eight years, Boomer has been a fulltime educator, a graduate student, and then Daddy, husband, son, uncle, and friend. (Add to that fantasy football enthusiast, umpire, Marvel fan, and occasional runner.) It would sound like a Dr. Seuss poem to say that he has written at the beach, he has written at the lake, he has written in the car; he has written near and far. His laptop has been a permanent accessory on every trip we have taken. I thought of all of these things as I saw him dressed in his regalia marching to the graduation music. During the ceremony, each of the new doctoral candidates were recognized as they walked across the stage and were hooded by their advisors. Boomer's advisor was Dr. Craig Peck. Dr. Peck worked closely with Boomer over the last three years to direct his writing, offer suggestions, and make edits before the final submission. Their common interests in educational policy made for a good match, and Boomer is very thankful to have had him for his advisor. 

 

After the ceremony, the new doctor posed for photos with his fan club. Boomer's littlest fan had a special sign for Daddy. 

Boomer with his advisor, Dr. Craig Peck

We celebrated with dinner at Village Tavern, and Zack and the boys were able to meet us there. The three cousins did really well, especially considering the restaurant was a bit fancier than our usual Chick Fil A! While at dinner, we saw the Causby family, long-time family friends from Morganton that were also celebrating a graduate. My mom has been friends with Martha Causby and Susan House for many years, and they have been prayer warriors for all the children growing up in our church. It was so nice to see them on such a special occasion. 

There were more celebrations on Friday, with Commencement in the morning at 10AM and the School of Education ceremony in the evening at 5:30PM. Much to his chagrin, it meant taking the day off work. Boomer was a good sport to participate in all the ceremonies. If it had been up to him, I'm not sure he would have done any of the graduation exercises, but I really wanted to formally celebrate this tremendous accomplishment. So you know the saying, happy wife, happy life! :) He acquiesced and suited up for Round 2 of graduation activities. We came up with the plan to go to the Commencement ceremony on our own, just the two of us, and then both sets of parents and Emmy would join us for the evening ceremony. After dropping Emmy off at daycare and grabbing a quick biscuit from McDonald's, we headed to Greensboro. Commencement was held in the Greensboro Coliseum, and it was a combined ceremony for all undergraduate and graduate students. The guest speaker was Dr. Ken Jeong, physician-turned-comedian who is most known for his roles in The Hangover, Crazy Rich Asians, and a few other blockbusters. After the ceremony, Boomer and I met back at the car and beat all the masses out of the parking lot. We went to lunch at one of Boomer's favorite burger joints, Hops. It was a delicious meal and the perfect way to cap off our graduation 'date.'  

Perhaps we were pictured out, because I did not take any photos from the evening School of Education ceremony, except for this one. 

Emmy did so well through both of the ceremonies on Thursday and Friday. It was a group effort for sure: Grammy packed lots of snacks; Granny wore a fun necklace that provided extra entertainment, and Aunt M took her to potty before and after the ceremony. We also colored and looked for Daddy in the crowd. I am hopeful that we will survive the plane ride next month to California for the #KennedyBallparkTour!

But wait, there's more! Boomer and Emmy were in our local paper, and then we had one more day of celebrations on Saturday with a joint Mother's Day and Graduation party in Star. Cathy decorated with balloons, and Bret made a cake that said "Dr. K". It had been since Christmas that all of the Kennedy kids and grandkids had been together - I know it made for a very special Mother's Day for my mother-in-law. 

Boomer's staff have been celebrating with him, too. I guess it is a sign of endearment when they make posters like this? :)

A few non-Graduation photos...it was Picture Day at Emmy's daycare, and Emmy's teacher sent me a few pictures of her posing beforehand. The pictures turned out considerably better than last year when Picture Day captured a grumpy Emmy on the Monday after Spring Break! I may have to buy them this year!