First Day of School 2025

This week brought the first day of school for our seventh and fourth grader! I cannot believe Zander is halfway through middle school and Maddox only has two years left with me in elementary school. It felt great to know that both boys were going to familiar schools this year and we are already praying for great friendships, discernment with their choices, hard work and opportunities for them to show God’s love to those they encounter each day. 

First Day of School Pictures… since 2013… the first school year I started as a mom :)

We added Eli to the cousin crew morning carpool this year! It’s fun having a full car again after we went down to two kids last year…. I love snapping pictures with three of my favorite kids throughout the day while they are at school! We had to document the middle school drop off on the first day as well!

Maddox picked his future career in his 4th grade class… his teacher, Mrs. Flowers, allowed him to bring in baseball attire for the picture!

We celebrated Beau’s Gotcha Day on 8/10 with a frozen yogurt pup cup and a new stuffed animal…. He loves Lambie!

 

We ate lunch with Aunt Kelly and Emma! Emma loves Zander!

Here are some pictures from Open House earlier this week! We have officially kicked off the 2025-2026 school year!

Zander fit in one more round of golf with Grandpa on the last day of summer!

Grammy Camp

The boys came with me to work last Friday and were big helpers, setting up the gym for our opening staff meeting!

Zack and I celebrated our 17th wedding anniversary last weekend! We got to have a couple’s massage, relaxation time by the pool (even though it was unseasonably cold and rainy) and within the relaxation room, then finished out the evening with dinner at Finial at the Grandover. While we enjoyed our anniversary date, Grammy and Grandpa took the boys to the Wyndham golf tournament. They had a blast even if the weather wasn’t as dry as previous years! They came home with new hats (with autographs), neck fans and such a memorable day!

17 years ago!

We celebrated Beau’s “3rd” birthday…. Since we don’t know exactly when he came into this world, we celebrate the day he came into ours!:)

The cousin crew had the best week with Grammy (and Grandpa)! They are so lucky to have this time with their grandparents while the moms head back to work! While it was cooler and wetter this year compared to previous summers with Grammy, they fit in a pool day, Surge, the science center and children’s museum! They had a day at our house as well, complete with fort building and movie watching while it rained outside!

The boys had one more summer adventure Friday night. Zander went over to his best friend’s (Jackson) to spend the night and Austin (Maddox’s best friend) came to our house for a sleepover. We ordered a pizza, watched a movie and they built a fort to sleep under! 

Grannie Camp

Last weekend, we headed to Charlotte with the extended family to see a Charlotte FC game! It was a great way to continue our summer adventures even though I’m already back at work! The home team brought home a win (2-0) and our boys loved it since they are both soccer players themselves!

The Kennedy kids came to visit me at work! I can’t wait to have both of them with me this upcoming school year.

While the boys went to hang out with Grannie for a few days, I fit in a girls’ night with friends and two date nights (one to see the new Jurassic World movie and then to see a Dash game with Linds and Boom complete with unlimited food and drinks in the Flow Club)!

The boys had a blast while I worked this week! Grannie Camp included bird making, rock climbing, soccer playing and lake fun! 

Celebrated what would have been my grandpa’s 96th birthday with his favorite meal, a McDonald’s hamburger and strawberry shake!

Boys of Summer

Mommy headed back to work this week and the boys are still having ALL the fun of summer! We took them to Dude Perfect last Saturday night! We had the best night and were so surprised when Tyler and intern Jackson came up to our section for one of their battle games! You can see the boys behind Tyler as he is throwing a vortex football! We love these guys and their faith in Jesus! They are great role models for our boys and we all had a blast cheering them on!

Beau was helping me cook dinner the other night. I think he missed us while we were at the beach!

Maddox had his turn for sleep-away camp this summer! It was his first year attending an overnight church camp and he seems to be having a blast! Zander came with me to work one day and treated me to Starbucks with a gift card he won from his middle school due to a summer reading challenge! He got to hang out with Jackson twice while Maddox was away. We fit in two pool days among the work schedule this week as well! I officially start back to a five day work week next week….. here we go! 

Summer Break 2025: Week 7

We loaded up the car last Saturday and headed toward Ocean Isle Beach for our annual Bakewell Beach Trip! We stopped at Ocean Isle Fish Company on the drive down for a yummy lunch before checking into our house early and getting an extra day at the beach (and our rental house’s private pool). 

 

At the beach, we fit in daily walks and Sunset Slush Italian Ice! We enjoyed time to ride the waves, play baseball, look for shark’s teeth and eat lunch oceanside!

Annual comparison pictures! It’s been a decade of beach trips with both our boys!

Our two dinners out were to Inlet View and Oyster Rock! 

When we weren’t at the beach, we had time in the pool, driving around in a golf cart borrowed from dad’s friend (Greg), eating delicious donuts from Blondiez, consuming nightly ice cream, walking the pier and playing arcade games, going for daily walks and runs (seeing deer almost every day!), reading and working on a 1000-piece puzzle. 

On Thursday, we got to do our annual marsh walk with Grammy and golfing with Grandpa! We got to see the “Dragon Tree” on our walk and meet up with Zack and Zander who have been running at the marsh most days this week.  It might be hard to tell but Mommy brought home the victory once more at putt-putt after Daddy won last year! Grandpa came in 2nd and consistently causes us to up our game on the links!

Until next time….