An obnoxious brag post

The other weekend, I had a really "proud mom" weekend. This is a total brag post, and you just have to excuse it. I feel like by coming out and saying I am bragging, it totally excuses my bragging. Right? You follow?

Let's begin.

Eddie was out of town duck hunting...or fishing...or something.
Friday night, the boys and I ate dinner and then curled up on the couch (all three of us on one couch) and we watched Home Alone 3. It was perfection. I mean, the movie was pretty awful, but everyone was happy and snuggly and it was just a great night.

Saturday morning, Cal had a swim meet in Raleigh. We headed over that way and got situated to watch our buddy swim. (his hair is wet because he had to take a shower prior to leaving because he was playing football in the yard and was COVERED from head to toe in mud. How does one do that so quickly? I do not know....)

He met up with his buddies, and I met up with their families and these two surveyed the competition.  just kidding. They just chatted it up. 

 We swear we feed them.

So this meet was called the Turkey Classic and they had this huge turkey up on the wall... every time a swimmer got a personal record, they got to sign the turkey (such a fun idea, I think!)

Insert bragging here:

Cal Williamson got to sign that precious turkey THREE times on Saturday (he participated in three events, so that is pretty awesome if you ask me!). He placed FIRST in 25 back. I about died.  

There is an app where you can track your kid during a swim meet-- I took a screen shot after the first day. The places are fine, but what I like to look at is the time improvement.... those are significant numbers to be dropping.

And this was a very fast-paced meet. Cal did 25 back and then accepted his heat winner and then handed it to a coach and got in line to do 50 fly, and then got out of the water and literally ran to get in line for the IM (individual medley: all four strokes). He was done with all of his events in under two hours.

We left the meet and went home to quickly change clothes for the end of season golf banquet. I have not been quiet on here about my love of this program- or my kids' love of this program.

The pro did an intro and then said it was time to hand out awards.

Insert bragging here:
He said last year they only gave out one of these awards, but we would understand why that wasn't possible this year once he handed out the awards.... then he announced ANDY AND CAL WILLIAMSON got most dedicated golfers (along with some other kids too!)! I was shocked (I didn't know awards were given out-- just thought it was like a pat on the back, way to go, kind of thing.)

 These boys really were dedicated this season and spent a LOT of time out on the course and range. They were thrilled and really, really proud.

The boys (whom I did NOT dress) with the pro, Mark. 

We had to send a picture to Eddie, who I know was kicking himself for not being there-- but thankfully we were able to call him immediately after and fill him in (and also, I took too many pictures.....he got those too!)

Super proud of these two!!!

So then Sunday, we had to head back to the same meet. Cal had three more events to swim. How cute was he Sunday morning??? I mean, I could have eaten him up. 

 Eddie hauled tail home and was able to be there before his first event-- they BOTH were happy boys!

 And, here is Cal, signing the turkey THREE MORE TIMES. Oh wait, hang on....
Insert bragging here:
Cal swam three more events and got three more personal bests. He did a 50 free and dropped almost 8 seconds, 25 breast and dropped a few seconds and 25 fly and dropped time too!

Six events, six PRs, six signatures on the turkey!

I looooove this picture, with my boys- all supporting Cal.... how cool for Andy to get to see this? How great Eddie was able to make it back to see it?? How great Cal tried this hard (and was able to swim that many laps-- let's be honest, I think I would die if I had to swim a 50 right now.....).

Okay so this post was totally obnoxious.  But I had to brag.  So there. I was a proud momma. I AM a proud momma!

We have another meet coming up this weekend. Hope he eats his wheaties!


 

A mother/daughter trip to Wintergreen

My sweet mom and I take a trip together every year- most often, the trip is to NYC, but we have also done Chicago, Miami and other places. This year, due to a variety of factors, we were a little slow to the planning process. All that being said, we decided to take a trip up to Wintergreen and do the tennis academy up there! And it was SO fun!

Truth be told: mom and I could sit on the New Jersey turnpike and have a blast. We are just happy to spend time together! Nothing against New Jersey; I hear it's lovely this time of year....

So we set up Friday morning (a few weeks ago) and headed up to Virginia for a little tennis and a lot of fun!

 We stayed at the Wintergreen Inn, which was fairly run down, but undergoing a face lift. There was one restaurant opened there, so we stopped in for lunch and I had this amazing bloody mary! Isn't it pretty?!?!

 Happy girls!

 After lunch, we did a little exploring and then it was time for our first tennis lesson. I put some water in my new cup (see below) and then we were off!

So there is this huge bubble that covers the courts-- and it is "heated" in there, but I guess when it is super cold outside, it can only get so warm.... 

 We played (HARD) for two hours before heading back to the hotel. Our instructor was adorable- she played at UVA- and was so so sweet. She was determined to "fix" us...hahha

We came home and showered and then ventured out to grab dinner. The only place open was the place where we had lunch, so we went back there- ha! It was sooooo cold out this night....! burrrrrr

 The next morning, we got a call that the bubble didn't heat properly over night so it was SUPER chilly in there when we arrived. I think it was 38 when we got there (inside the bubble!), but we warmed up quickly. We played for two hours, then took a little lunch break (in the car! ha!) and then went back for another two hours. We played so hard and had such a great time- the four hours flew by.

We stopped at a scenic overlook on our way back to the hotel and tried a selfie- haha it didn't turn out great...

We went to dinner that night at a nice little place up the mountain a bit. We sat at the bar and thoroughly enjoyed our meal. We were ready to crash that night.

The next morning, we had two more hours of tennis fun and then we hit the road for home!

It was such a fun little get away- I would love to take my tennis team back there.  I think everyone would love it. While it was a TOTALLY different experience than New York, we had so much fun just being together.

And this next picture has zero to do with anything Wintergreen related, but it uploaded on accident and I don't want to delete it because I love it! 

 

FAVORITES!

A post of some of my favorite things! I haven't done one in forever!

O N E: school pictures

School pictures crack me up. They are never good. And the past two years, something they are doing is off because their pictures are elongated:

 Cal took it upon himself to "do" his hair before his pic. Pretty sure it is still wet from the bathroom sink session.  Andy looks like he is in pain. Maybe from his head being stretched out so long...? I don't know....either way, these pictures are a favorite of mine!

T W O: lotion

This stuff is the bomb. I looooove the way it smells and I get comments every time I wear it. It is thick, but not greasy. I am a big fan. Find it here.

 T H R E E:   turkey on the table

This is about the cutest thing ever. I got this at Learning Express, for those who have one near, but they have them other places too. This little feather-less turkey comes with a book and he's wearing a little scarf- he's adorable!

 It comes with a bunch of feathers and the idea is, you write something you are thankful for each day in November and then for Thanksgiving, you have your turkey sit on the table and you read what everyone has written. I LOVE the idea of this as it serves as a wonderful reminder to be GRATEFUL and appreciate.

A huge bonus to this Turkey is the authors are donating money to feed those who can not afford food, so with each turkey bought, they are providing a meal. These aren't cheap, but in my opinion, they are so worth it. I found it here on amazon, in case you are interested! I am loving reading what the kids write each day. And, to be honest, it has been good to remind me to be thankful too.



 F O U R: NC beach in November

North Carolina is a great state. We've got the mountains. We've got the beach. Our weather is basically amazing. We went to the beach this last weekend and the weather was a definite favorite of mine.

These kiddos were PUMPED for a weekend at the beach! Friday night we caught the sunset out in the boat-- it wasn't cold at all! There was no breeze at all, so it was nice and calm out there.

The wind was calm....they were not.

we watched the sun set and then turned to see the moon rising.... it was MASSIVE. The pictures didn't do it justice. I posted an insta video of it, hopeful it would better show off how amazing it was, but nothing could really show how huge it was.

Saturday, we loaded the boat and headed out. The wind picked up quite a bit so we layered up, but the sun was warm and it was a gorgeous day to be out!

We cruised the waterfronts in Morehead and Beaufort-- we saw a wild horse and some dolphin and we also observed these wild animals:

We went to sand dollar island-- one of my most favorite spots! We beached the boat and had to walk in-- Ali wasn't so sure about the cold waters hahaha

Everyone ran around the island, Andy (below) did a little dancing....

Happiness is.....

We stopped for lunch in Morehead and on the way home, all the boys fell sound asleep-- it was amazing!

Sunday, we hit the beach and it could not have been a more beautiful day-- there was not a cloud in the sky, the sun was super warm and it wasn't windy. It was just perfect. No one wanted to leave! I actually got a little sunburned-- who knew that could happen in November?!?

It was a great weekend away and any time I get to go to my favorite place, I am a happy girl!

F I V E: Bruce

This dog is something else. He's a favorite for sure.

Have a great weekend!!! I am getting away for a few days with just my momma! Can't wait for some girl time with my favorite!

 

BOOK REPORT!

Ohhhhh I have some good ones for you!

Four books this month, and I really liked them all!

 The Couple Next Door

My friend was reading this book on our way to Napa and on the way home and she was so into the book! She kept gasping out loud and saying how good it was, so I was excited to borrow it from her when she was finished-- it was a definite page turner with lots of good twists! It was a quick read that I liked! I don't usually gravitate towards mysteries like this, but I still enjoyed this! (and the ending........!!!!)

 The Woman in Cabin 10

I say I don't gravitate towards mysteries, but here is my second one this month.... but still. I listened to this one and it was really good! I thought it was a little slow in the beginning, to be honest- but by the end, my heart was racing and I didn't want to arrive at the beach (I finished it while driving there last weekend) until I got to the end. It was super suspenseful!

 Winter Solstice

Ohhhhh, Elin. You've done it again. This is part of the Winter Street series-- I thought it was a trilogy, but now this is the fourth installment, so maybe not...? I love this series. It's light-ish, but so so good. I cried at the end of this one. There are several characters that she brings in in this book that are from some of her other books not in the series (but you don't have to read them to know who they are--). I love the Quinn family and their dynamic and this series will get you in the Christmas spirit! I finished this one and want to start decorating my house- haha! Not sure if it matters, but I will add that I listened to this one too- I think I listened to all of the books in this series. And I am pretty sure they all have the same narrator too, which is nice.

 If You Only Knew

Okay, I really liked all the other books this month....but I LOVED this one! It wasn't heavy at all, but it was so so good! I could not put it down. I found myself grabbing it to read while brush my teeth, drying my hair, folding laundry, etc etc... I need to read more from this author, clearly. Have y'all read this?


That's all I've got today! I started reading a book that I am not super into, so I might switch a start another. I need to go to the library, I think..... any suggestions?!?!