Summer Break 2026: Week 8

Our favorite week of summer…. the Bakewell Beach Trip! Our 14th annual beach trip with my extended family and one that we count down to all year long! We started the trip by eating at Ocean Isle Fish Company and then headed to the beach house for some pool time in the afternoon. We had the traditional Dominos pizza delivery dinner and finished off the night with grocery shopping for the moms while the kids and Daddy/Uncle Zack took the four kids to the center park area. (We have a new house this year right near the water tower, making it easy to find when walking, running or driving on the island along with minimizing the commute to all the fun things near the pier.) The park was a favorite most nights. We also enjoyed Blondiez donuts, the arcade, ice cream and miniature golf within walking distance. Our beach access also had a ramp this year and all of us appreciated less stairs when carrying all the beach essentials. We had our traditional dining out at Inlet View and Oyster Rock along with Calabash Creamery after our Oyster Rock dinner. Reading on the porch in the mornings and nightly ice cream bowls made for some predictable starts and endings to our beach days. I won the annual miniature golf game this year (note: that means I have won 4 of the 6 years we’ve been playing putt putt. Since I was the only girl competing against seven boys this year, it had to be noted! It was fun to add Uncle Boomer and Eli to this tradition.) Aunt Lindsey joined our annual marsh walk with Grammy. We love seeing the “Dragon Tree” every year but feel this might be one of the last years that it is still standing. We are sad that our beach trip has come to an end so soon! Until next year ….

*These comparison pictures are so hard to see… how are these kids getting so big so fast, but what a blessing to watch them grow up?!  The first picture was taken in 2020.

Summer Break 2026: Week 7

The highlight of the week was our church’s Vacation Bible School (VBS). With a “road trip” theme, the lessons, songs and Penny Campaign all connected to taking a road trip with the big ideas of God Calls, God Provides, God Guides, God Disciplines and God Delivers. The three younger cousins enjoyed participating this year while Zander was one of the youth photographers for the week! Aunt Lindsey, Grammy and I were guides so you can imagine we were busy from start to finish. The boys won the Penny Challenge which means three of the four cousins were excited about that result! ;) Since VBS was in the evenings, we fit in a couple pool days (one took us back to Tanglewood Park) and got to spend time with friends throughout the week. Sam and Jenn came into town and we were able to celebrate Sam’s birthday together (at Print Works Bistro for brunch and Fire and Sticks for dinner), take a tour of our college campus (posing for pictures outside our freshman and sophomore dorm rooms), take the kids to a trampoline park and simply enjoy catching up on the couch at our house (thanks to a rainy Monday). We are already counting down to next summer. I had lunch with Aunt Kelly and Carmen on two other days this week which means I got to see 5 of my closest friends within a 7 day period. This is such a blessing as many of them live out of town, the state or the country. Also, this past weekend, we got to have our annual lake day with the Badens. It was raining most of the morning so we opted to hang out at the house before catching a break in the weather and going out on the water for a few hours. We picked up a desk for Zander from Grannie’s house on the way back home and stopped at a 7-Eleven for free slurpees for 7/11 day!

Summer Break 2026: Week 6

The biggest adventure this week was that Zander went to FUGE camp with our youth group! He had a blast! He got to hang out with friends and even make new ones (including joining another church’s volleyball team and helping them win the overall bracket)! All of his chosen tracks were sports related (basketball, volleyball, pickleball, disc golf, etc). I didn’t get many pictures this week but based on how tired he is tonight, I think he soaked up all camp had to offer, growing closer to God and enjoying fellowship with others. While Zander was away, Maddox enjoyed “only child” status for a few days. We fit in a few pool days with friends and family including a trip to Tanglewood Park with his cousins as a highlight of the week. We also visited Carmen’s family coffee shop and continued our search for all the World Cup cups from McDonalds. Zack was out of town for a couple days for work so Maddox and Beau joined me for cuddles. Maddox even got a sweet treat from the ice cream truck at the pool (don’t tell Zander). Last weekend we celebrated the 4th of July with our town’s parade in the morning and a fireworks display in the evening. It was the 250th anniversary of our country’s independence so it was fun to mark this significant milestone with all the traditional fanfare. 

Summer Break 2026: Week 5

After our fun beach adventures the previous week, we enjoyed being home! Zander continues to enjoy his summer golf league on Sunday nights (thank you Grandpa for being his Uber driver… haha). On Sunday evening, both boys had their best friends (Jackson and Austin) spend the night. We went bowling on Monday and enjoyed time at our local recreation center (playing basketball and pickleball) due to really high temperatures outside. On Tuesday, Zander got his top braces put on. He will get his bottom braces after one last molar comes out. We met Aunt Kelly for lunch at Freddy’s and spent another afternoon at the recreation center, playing volleyball and basketball (thank you air conditioning). We celebrated my 43rd birthday with my side of the family that night at Kimonos with a Bundt cake and frozen yogurt (at Zack’s Treats) for dessert. We knocked out a 300 piece dog puzzle on Tuesday night while listening to Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince.  Wednesday, we went to Quarry Park to enjoy some outside time before the over 100 degree temperatures came in. Wednesday afternoon, the Kennedy kids came for our annual summer sleepover. Due to the heat, we went to see Toy Story 5 in the theaters (with popcorn and drinks to share). We finished out the night at our church’s 4th of July picnic and then watched the USA in the World Cup (round of 32) while hanging out in the fort the kids created. The cousins slept downstairs (in or around their fort) and were ready to enjoy the day on Thursday (waking up bright and early). We played outside until it got too hot and took Beau for his walk before the heat settled in for the day. We went to the pool to escape the heat and finished our night watching more World Cup soccer. Today, we are taking it easy and trying to decide what fun we might get into before the holiday weekend! Fortunately, there is a lot of soccer matches this weekend as the round of 16 games continue, so if we aren't outside, you might find us watching soccer since we have two soccer players in our home! ;)

Summer Break 2026: Week 4

We got to enjoy week 4 of summer break with the Cantrell family in Charleston! This week gave us hours of fun in the sun at the beach or the pool, delicious food, fun games (both boys won in Left/Center/Right), golfing (for Zander with the guys), family birthday celebrations (including eating at Hyman’s in downtown Charleston on my actual birthday), miniature golf, fishing on the beach and countless memories made with our extended family. We enjoyed days without a schedule and making a plan each day as we went. We are so blessed to have this time with our family!

Summer Break 2026: Week 3

The highlight of this week was Maddox attending the junior retreat with our church’s children’s ministry. He spent 3 days and 2 nights in the mountains enjoying games, bible study, and camp like activities while he was away from home. A bonus was that Emmy was old enough to go this year so M & Em got to experience this adventure together. Maddox would want me to add that he won the duck race for the boys while at camp. We missed M & Em while they were gone but fit in some fun in their absence. Zander and I went to check out Carmen’s family coffee shop before their grand opening on Saturday! We actually went twice this week and took Grammy, Grandpa and Maddox with us the second time. After our Monday coffee visit, we fit in a little pool time.  Zander got to go golfing with Grandpa on Tuesday while I spent time with my friend, Kristen. It is rare to have kid free fun. Also this week, Zander had his first legitimate birdie on a par 3 at his summer junior golf league. Zander went to the Dash game on Wednesday night with his youth group. I got to see Anna for dinner while he was at the baseball game. I have enjoyed some reading time this week and got some of the things checked off the to do list (including my yearly physical). The boys completed a whole puzzle on one of the really hot afternoons. They also got summer hair cuts to help with fending off the heat. Last weekend, we got to visit Zack’s best friend, Ryan, for a pool day. We got home in time to have the Stanwoods stay with us on their way home from their vacation. We haven’t been as busy this week and have enjoyed watching sports in the evenings (The Carolina Hurricanes won the Stanley Cup in hockey). Beau continues to enjoy rest time with his favorite people!