Happy SEVEN, Andy!

Sweet Andy woke up on Friday, May 18th, as a BIG SEVEN YEAR OLD! I can't believe my BABY is seven!

 Proud of the balloon arch his momma made!

We started the day with donuts, which was Andy's pick....

He's a lucky kid to get to go on a field trip on his birthday! United SKATES of America for the win!

 They listened to a speaker from STEM talk about force and movement. And then they were READY to go!

 So glad I was able to go on this trip with him!

 I had every intention of skating along side my buddy, but there were a LOT of kids out there, and most of them were using the walker thing in the back....and ALL of them were falling.....HARD. I knew if I went out, I would be taken down. So I watched and videoed....and laughed. A lot.

 When the field trip was over, we headed home.... but made a quick stop at McDonalds for a blue icee. Whatever the birthday boys wants!

 A few weeks prior to this, my friend Amy called me and said she wanted to do a sleepover for her son, Brady, but that it would be on Friday night, Andy's birthday. I was about to say I am so sorry we have to miss it.... but then she said it was going to be in the Dean Smith Center. And seriously, how do you tell your kid they can't do that??? You don't. I couldn't do that to Andy!

So I took Andy to the Smith center (where UNC plays basketball) and he had the best sleep over ever- they ate dinner (with sport center on the big screen), played a TON of basketball, plated ping pong, watched a movie and finally fell asleep, in the locker room on the couches. A dream, right?

 They woke up early and shot more hoops before breakfast at Suttons.....

Pretty sure it was the best birthday everrrrrrrr!!!!!




 


 

Last Weekend at the Beach

We spent Mother's Day at the beach this year. Eddie got a new boat and it was supposed to be delivered by the weekend. It wasn't. But we still wanted to go down. We enjoyed some solid family time together, and ended up having the best weekend....not on a boat.... but still....

 We got there Friday night and had dinner on the water and this new place that is super small. but sooooooo yum and we are obsessed.

 Late night play on the beach. The sky was amazing- Eddie, both boys and Bru: my world in that picture.

Ready to PLAY! Andy found this hat and is obsessed. Doubt he will wear it much, but I love the sun protection it offers. 

 CB gace the boys kid kayaks for Christmas. This was first time using them and they were a huge hit!

 We spent hours out on the sound- Ed and I in the big kayak, the boys in the littles.

 And, of course, some swimming too!

It was SUCH a fun weekend and got us really excited for Memorial Day!


 

2nd Grade Wax Museum

The whole second grade lined the track last week, each child dressed as a historical figure. They researched these people and then wrote a speech about them, then dressed in character and posed as if they were a wax figure. Visitors pressed a button on their hand and they came to life and recited their speech. Y'all. I was so impressed by this second grade! The costumes were pretty amazing, and the speeches were not short little blurbs! And they had them memorized (some kids used note cards, which was totally great too!).

Cal was Babe Ruth, and I was a proud momma:

 And not only did parents come to the museum, several grades came out too!

Already wondering who Andy will pick next year.....!


 

Another golf match

In our marathon weekend, we finished with a golf match. We were so so hopeful this would be the match where this one broke par and got to move back to the 50 yard mark. And he was soooooo close......

Cal, who never wants to be coached, decided he wanted Eddie to actually coach him. 

 It didn't last long.

 Andy wants to be coached and listens to his dad's every word.

 The boys were grouped with Andy's buddy Lee and his dad, and I loved this picture of them-- these boys will always remember this time spent with their dads. I have a feeling the dads will always remember too.

Andy was under par pretty much the whole match. And then he got a six on a hole (par is 4). He got a 3 on the next one, which helped.... but then he finished two over.... so so so painful. 

 But at least it was a gorgeous day spent with my most favorite people ever.

 Maybe next time!!! But we were SO SO proud of sweet Lee who made par and gets to back up to 100 yards at the next match!!! He did awesome!

 Golf is a TOUGH sport. Sheesh. I think I say that every time I write one of these posts......!

 

Just tRYAN it!

This is SUCH a special event and each year, I am so proud of the boys for participating! This past action-packed weekend included this "triathalon" turned "duathalon" due to chilly water temps. We were super bummed to not have the swimming portion, but it was cold the morning of the race, and I can't even imagine how cold that water was!

We were up early Sunday morning to be at the Country Club before the race started. This organization is just outstanding. The whole event is well run and so well orchestrated from start to finish. 

 These clowns found the photo booth #ofcoursetheydid

 Mrs. Lee was there (don't tell Andy she was there because her super adorable nephews were there... he's pretty positive she was there just for him...)

Andy did the mini course (I can't remember how long each course was), so his event was first. He set off on his bike....

 And then finished off on his run! He did SO well! He's ready for the short course, I am pretty sure. They announced his name as he crossed. I was proud!

 With his medal!

 And then the Short Course started! I got a bunch of videos of Cal, but not as many pictures... but I did get that smile when he was all done!!! I think he was flat spent after all that fun!

We were all tired after all of that. And we recovered my car late the night before, so I was anxious to get home in the day light and check it all out. Thankfully there wasn't any damage, but it needed some good attention!

And, keeping it all in perspective.... Cal and Andy raced in memory of Justin. Justin was my student way back when, and while in my class, fought like hell against his battle with cancer. He lost his battle, sadly, but he has stuck in my heart ever since. His parents asked me to speak at his funeral, which was one of the hardest, yet special moments of my teaching career.

 So, yeah, my car was stolen by some bad guys.... but seeing this on the back of my HEALTHY boys' shirts put it all in perspective. We are so.damn.lucky!




 

My car....!

Let me start by saying Eddie and I are both SO at fault here that our faults pretty much cancel each other out, so we can't blame anyone but ourselves....hahahah

Okay, so we came home from the YOTA banquet on a total high over Cal's award. We stopped and grabbed food on the way home and pulled in around 9. I took the kids up to bed and Eddie was going to let Bruce out and lock up the house. He did that, then met us upstairs and we tucked the kids into bed.

I started gathering baseball gear for the morning and Ed was going to go down and "watch the news and check the doors." This is funny because I make fun of him for this every night-- he is an over checker. He checks and then he re-checks. Which makes it even WILDER that he didn't realize the left the door open.

We were up early on Saturday to get to Cal's game. The boys went into the garage to get on their cleats, and I leashed up Bruce and walked him out to pee. I stopped in the garage and said "where's my car?" to the boys and they just stared at me. So I walked into the driveway thinking maybe Eddie moved it, but it wasn't there either. Ed was still upstairs and Bruce was still smelling grass, so I called Eddie and asked him where my car was.

Long story short, someone was prowling the neighborhood and happened upon our never-ever-left-open garage door, and got in my car, I am sure looking for money. Lucky for this person, not only did they find cash, they found my purse and my keys. Because I keep them in the car in the garage (enter palm face smack). Yes, I know I should not have left my keys in the car (technically, Eddie was driving the car, so HE left the keys in there, but there's no blame here). Yes, I know I should not have left my purse in the car. I am still beating myself up over it all.

So the police were called, Eddie and Cal and Andy went to the game and I stayed home and started the process of cancelling the cards.

We had a long day at the baseball fields and we pretty much sat in shock of the whole thing. As soon as we got home, I poured a FAT glass of wine:

 And then we decided to find some funny in the day. The whole neighborhood was super upset, understandably so, and on high alert. So I sent out this picture and said "great news! we remembered to shut the garage door tonight...." made me laugh... we so funny. And so so so dumb.

Meanwhile, Eddie is ready to be all:

 And then at 9:30, the police called me saying they found my car. Seriously. It was in a parking lot in Durham (about 15 mins from our house). My purse was still there, as was my wallet, but it was totally emptied-- like even my Harris Teeter VIC card is gone. But nothing else, really... my parents and Eddie went to meet the police at the car. The officer felt like the guy was coming back for it- he left things in there, etc. My credit cards were used a various gas stations for about $30 each time. They smoked a lot of cigarettes in the car, as it reeks.

But all in all, the car is fine. I took it to get a big fat bath to remove all of the "them" from it and put dryer sheets throughout to try and knock out some of the smell.

Catching the punks: okay so I realize it's Durham and there are MUCH bigger fish to fry in the world. So I am not hopeful they will catch these guys, BUT a neighbor across the street got video footage of the person- so they have an idea. And another neighbor has video of my car leaving the neighborhood, with an additional car with it, so we know there were two cars. My cards were used and we have exact amounts and the time stamp on them, so they should be able to access videos from the stores. Those are not accessible on weekends, so they had to wait until Monday to view (seriously, wtf?).

So there you have it! Just thrown in to make the weekend extra exciting.......wowzas.