Back to Work I Go!

After a very brief summer, the shortest I think I've ever had (and I used to work at the bank or at summer school before having kids), I went back to work this week!  I am required to work from school this year.  Some staff members have the option to work from home or school but based on my position, I am required to be in the building Monday-Friday.  Our school system is doing a remote learning plan for the first nine weeks of instruction which means that I will be bringing a 2nd grader with me each day to hopefully have him complete his assignments (synchronously and asynchronously) while also completing my daily tasks.  I have lined up Grammy to help part of the time (especially when I have days of all day meetings) but we are going to see if our new normal (mommy and Z working at school) will work for at least the first quarter of the school year.  I am so hopeful we will be back in the school building with kids in each classroom like a traditional year but it looks like that will have to wait a little longer!  Maddox will be going to his preschool to finish out his early learning experience as a Pre-K student and will be at school with mommy and brother this time next year! I still can't believe how big our kids are getting and how time seems to fly by from one year to the next!  Since I went back to work this week, I wanted to enjoy some last minute summer fun with my boys while also balancing work obligations.  We fit in a trip to the science center (with Grammy too)!  We also took a couple bike rides (one day with adventure vests worn)!  We had baseball every night this week and will have nightly games next week as we finish out the season.  The Kennedys were able to see both our boys play last night and Grammy and Grandpa have attended as many games as they possibly can!  The boys love having a cheering section!  Also, we fit in a swim at our neighbor's pool one afternoon! 

I had my mom take a picture to document the beginning of year #16 in education! (I guess if you count all the years I was a student as well..... it would be a lot more than 16)!

Grammy has been entertaining our boys until Maddox returns to his preschool and Zander starts school with me.  We are so lucky to have her!!

Grandpa's 91st birthday was this week.  This marks the first birthday we haven't celebrated together here on earth.  I hope he had an amazing celebration with family in heaven.  If you want to know how I celebrated my grandpa's big day..... I grabbed his favorite treat from McDonalds for dinner.  This is the same meal I would bring him each week in his final months here.... so it only seemed appropriate that I would grab it for dinner on his birthday!

My talented art teacher at school was able to use pictures of our boys and create a trading card since official little league pictures won't be taken this year.  We had to document Maddox's first year of baseball and Zander's first year of machine pitch! The boys have had so much fun this season!  Next week will be the last week of baseball and we are sad to not be on the ball fields each night but equally excited for a little more rest in the evenings after the busy days of work and school! 

Summer Break: Week 5

We made our way from Isle of Palms, SC (after a week with Zack's extended family) to Ocean Isle Beach, NC to meet up with the Bakewells!  It has been so much fun for the cousins to spend time together at the beach!! I have loved watching aunts and uncles, Grammy, Grandpa, Grannie and extended family members love on our boys while we have enjoyed a change of scenery and time with our boys!  I took this first picture to capture some of the differences this year compared to previous beach trips!  We are required to wear masks in public which makes for an additional accessory that mommy has to plan for and keep with us at all times. The boys are doing pretty well wearing their masks when in public.  Some restaurants are closed but we have been able to grab take out from a couple seafood places.... this week was Inlet View... a yearly tradition!  We also managed to eat out at Dockside with the Bakewells.  It was a treat to get dressed in clothes other than our bathing suits and comfy clothes to take some pictures and eat dinner with a scenic view!  Most nights we have cooked in and enjoyed evening swims at the pool!! The house we rented this year has a pool... we are absolutely loving the time together with family into the evening hours.  The boys love doing cannonballs, going under to grab torpedoes or golf balls they have thrown to the bottom, and diving in from the side.  This week Zack was able to successfully teach our kids how to dive from the side of the pool!! Since he was a swimmer growing up, I loved watching him coach the boys on this new skill!  We definitely have two little fish that will miss the pool after this week!  The Bakewells have already decided that a pool is a must have for future beach trips!

Zack and I took a selfie at Inlet View while picking up our take out!

The boys requested miniature golf one day so we were able to play putt putt and a little bit of tennis before spending the afternoon at our pool!

These boys love feeding the birds (Maddox even got nipped as he held up food for a bird to eat from his hand!) and jumping/diving through the waves!  Daddy even got them a boogie board this year so they could ride the waves!

I can't say enough about how much we loved the pool! It was a great way to entertain the kids while the adults made lunch and we would swim after dinner most nights until bedtime.  Since there are extra precautions with Covid-19, most community pools are closed this summer.  This means that most of our swimming play dates with friends haven't happened like in years past.  We were very excited to have our own personal pool for a whole week!

Dressed up for dinner at Dockside!

Looking for crabs, grabbing ice cream and walking on the pier.... all requests by our boys! Since we have come to the same beach for a few years now, they are starting to get familiar with some of their favorite things to check out while we are there!

I fit in extra cuddles with my boys these two weeks before I head back to work! The governor and our district are coming up with plans for what school will look like in the next few weeks.  As of right now, it looks like Maddox will return to his preschool for Pre-K and Zander will be coming with me to work as he has virtual learning and I work from our building (at least for the first 9 weeks).  I have really enjoyed time with these boys without focusing on school work and just watching kids be kids! (As you can see in my lap though, I still fit in a little bit of reading for the upcoming school year.)  I've missed a few trainings these weeks that I'll have to make up when I return...... definitely glad I didn't try to fit those in while we were at the beach!  It already seems like vacation went by so fast!

Grammy and the big kids on a morning walk to get out of the house and explore!

Got in some extra cuddles with my niece and nephew!

Grandpa splurged and got the kids Sunset Slush (a.k.a fruit slushies) two different days while we were on the beach... they were a hit with the cousins!  Dad never purchased these growing up for us big girls so I can definitely tell things are different when it comes to spoiling the grandkids! ;)  

Since we were not able to go out as often as in previous years, Grammy made a seafood dish complete with shrimp and grits and coconut shrimp!  This dinner was probably my favorite of the week and tasted better than the restaurants we usually visit!  I think this will be an annual tradition now! 

The cousins in front of the house we stayed in for the week!  Do you see all four kids on the front porch?! ;)

On the way home we stopped at Kalawi Farm to see where Uncle Boomer worked when he lived back home and have some yummy ice cream.

Until next year......I'll finish this post with one more comparison collage.... we've been taking our annual trip to the beach with the Bakewells for 8 summers now..... I can't get over how quickly our boys are growing up!  I need time to slow down just a little bit!

Summer Break: Week 4

My boys have been counting down until our beach trip for months!! Honestly, since everything happened back in March, I was unsure we would actually be able to make our annual trip east to put our toes in the sand and jump some waves!  The boys were so excited when we arrived and they were finally able to run to the ocean!  Here are some comparison pictures I enjoy taking every year..... it is crazy to see how much our boys are growing from year to year!

Here we are on day one... loaded down and beach bound!

Grannie and her boys!

We loved our nightly golf cart rides! We would all pile in and take a lap around the island.  Sometimes we would see local wildlife and other times we would check out the sunset!

The boys were excited to go to the pool a couple days and continue to practice jumping off the side and swimming like little fish!

These pictures were from the first night when the boys were too excited to change into their bathing suits before putting their toes in the water!

Zander's best friend, Mia, was vacationing nearby so we arranged for a day on the beach for our two families.

We also fit in bike rides, tennis, scooter rides around the circle and playing catch with baseball gloves and baseballs.

We went to the beach most days!

One night we took flashlights to try and find crabs.  We were unsuccessful but Maddox continued to search for "ghost crabs" the rest of the week.

We tried to get most of the family in a picture during one of the nightly sunsets.  Zack's cousin John and his family were there at the same time so it was a lot of fun to have time together with the extended family.

Golf cart rides to the beach and around the island were some of our favorite parts of our trip!

Cousin pictures!

The older cousins ;)

We fit in some relaxation time at the beach house.  I had to get some reading done for work and Maddox had the ability to crash for his nap pretty much anywhere including the floor one day! haha. He doesn't usually nap these days but I think the beach and pool wore him out!

Family photo

We are always sad when our time at the beach has to come to an end!  Until next time.....