North Myrtle Beach Mom/Kids Weekend

We went for the weekend to North Myrtle Beach with three other families and had a GREAT time. We stayed in an awesome house that was part of the North Beach Plantation so we had access to all the resort amenities (Caribbean style pool, shuttle, beach etc.) We had such a good time and it was great to be able to hang out with our friends.  On the way home the kids asked when we could go back... maybe we can make this an annual trip! 

Ryan's Last Baseball Game of the Season

Ryan had his last baseball game of the seasons with the Marlins. They did great- it was by far the most exciting game- plays were made- runs were scored. It was a great time. I'm glad the season is ending because man it was getting HOT at those late afternoon games! Ryan has basketball next which will be in an air conditioned gym. 

Durham Bulls Mom/Son Date

Ryan and I had a mom/son date at the Durham Bulls baseball game today. It was a lot of fun, we started out at Tobacco Road Sports Bar and then headed into the game. It was great getting to spend some one on one time with Ryan. We ended up leaving a little early because Ryan was worn out from too much fun and he said he missed Audrey. We have tickets for the whole family for the next game which will be an entirely different adventure. 

Last Day of Heartwood for Audrey

The school had a talent show/ end of the year songs in each class. Each class had their own color tie-dye. It was a nice way to end the year- and the chaos of a million people helped me not get too emotional :) 

 Ms. Liz

 Ms. Jody

Ms. Isabel (Spanish)

Audrey Pre-K Before and After

Audrey at School Survery

Audrey's teacher filled this out to help her transition to a new school. I thought it was sweet and very telling of how she is at school. This was technically a parent survey but Audrey is so different at school then she is at home that I thought it would be more helpful coming from her teacher Ms. Liz

Ryan's Classroom Birthday

Ryan had his classroom birthday today. We brought Popsicle and did his "trips around the sun" celebration.  In the trips around the sun Ryan holds a globe and every time he goes around he shows a picture of what he looked like each year of his life. It was a great time and Ryan really enjoyed celebrating with his friends. 

He then got to go to Frankie's Fun Park for mini golf with Uncle David, dad and grandpa and got to pick out a baseball glove as Uncle David's birthday present. And it's not even his birthday until tomorrow! 

Mothers Day

For mothers day I got breakfast in bed, which turned into me vegging out in bed most of the morning. Audrey and I then went out clothes shopping and then we all went out to dinner. It was a great day!

Mothers Day at School

Both kids had mothers day breakfasts in their classroom. They both started at the same time and since I didn't want Audrey to be without her mom at a celebration I took her to Ryan's classroom. Their teachers set up a really nice breakfast for all the moms. It was nice to meet some of the moms I hadn't  met before. Then Audrey and I went to her class where we had missed the group mothers day party but the teacher let Audrey and I have a special breakfast (Audrey served me- it was pretty nice).  We got to have our breakfast with her best friends Lucas in class since his dad was at a celebration in his older brothers class. Audrey had grown me a mint plant and made me a magnet. It was a great morning and I felt very loved. 

Life and Science Museum

A beautiful day at the Museum of Life and Science. 

A Weekend Outside

Last weekend was so beautiful we spent almost the whole time outside. Don and Ryan fixed the fence that was damaged in strong wind a few weeks ago. Audrey and I did some planting and yard work. It was fun and the kids really liked having jobs to do outside. 

Quick Family Updates

Our new normal seems to be that we are just really busy. Here is a run down of what we are up to and what we are like right now.

• Ryan- he is revving up for the end of the school year. Because he is in Montessori he will be in the same classroom next year- the third graders will move out and new first graders will move in. He is so excited about being one of the big kids next year. He has started asking to do work at night that isn't assigned and has started keeping a journal which is great practice for his writing. He has also started getting closer to his friends- at the beginning of the year he was friends with everyone in his class- which he still is but he has certainly started getting into deeper friendships with a few kids. He wants to have friends over all the time. He came home last week with a list of what he had to wear the next day because he was going to be "twins" with one of his classmates. He has lost a lot of fear about life that he has had since birth- he is starting to slowly branch out with new foods, he wants to have new experiences and he is taking more chances. 
• Audrey- She is really excited to start Kindergarten in the fall at Ryan's school. While she is young for her grade she is more than ready. She doesn't understand why she can't start now. Her reading is improving and she wants to do work at home when Ryan does it. She wants all the privileges Ryan has even though she is younger and that has been hard for us to negotiate because sometimes she just isn't old enough for it. She has been testing us more lately and testing our boundaries. She loves having a million activities- she gets bored when there isn't something new to learn. She is in both swim lessons and gymnastics and I have to remind her weekly that she is capped out on activities because she wants to do more. 
• Kenzie- She is the most fearless of our children. She doesn't understand (or care it's hard to tell which) that you fall when you go over and edge. She wants to be busy all the time just like her big sister. She is clingy to me and Don but this last week she was left alone with my dad for the first time and she did great. She is at a hard age where she has concrete wants but doesn't yet have the language to communicate what they are. She is sweet and loves hugs and kisses. She is a much happier kid when her belly is full to the brim. 

Don has been going through transitions at work as a company is trying to buy his company- there is lots of change but it has left him at least temporarily with more time at home (I have a feeling we will soon have to pay the piper and he will be working crazy hours/ lots of travel). 

I have been doing lots of photography stuff in the 4 seconds a day I have that some might consider "free time." I am trying to get better about working out and my goal is to run a half marathon by February. 

This is a quick update- because honestly it has taken me 2 weeks to have enough time to just sit down for this 20 minute block of time. Hopefully it won't take so long for another one... until then I will add as many pictures as I can.