Fourth of July 2022

We had a relatively quiet but fun 4th of July this year. 

Cannon was able to come spend the third and part of the fourth with us which was super fun for Matthew. 

We went to mom and Doug's for dinner on Sunday and grabbed Ellie to come along with Evelyn. We enjoyed a yummy meal and a lovely evening with them. 

The kids played corn hole most of the evening!

We came home and since Cannon and we did fireworks... a day early so Cannon could be with us. The kids were super silly and we had a fun time. 

The kids were up in the tree house until dark.. it was so nice outside!

The morning of the Fourth I took the kids to Jamba then we went and walked around Commonwealth Park. 

Last year we went to In and Out on the Fourth and decided it needed to be a new tradition. So we drove down and grabbed dinner there. And, similar to last year, there was a very short wait. 

Evelyn drove on the way home and to drop Cannon off. 

We came home and watched Top Gun.. the kids had not seen it yet. LOVE that movie!

Poor Bodie. He was pretty spooked by the fireworks.

He ended up sleeping in the laundry room on the floor. It was so sad to see him so scared... but he made it thru the night just fine..haha!

Happy Birthday America!

Shawn Mendes

 

Evelyn, her friend Amy and I went to the Shawn Mendes concert last night. I can't even remember the last time I went to a large venue for a concert.... it's been ages! The girls were SO excited and it was such a fun time spent with them and hearing some really great music!

Both Shawn and his opening act Dermot Kennedy were so good. We sang and danced the night away, and the girls were giddy and smiled the entire time. So grateful for time with them doing something so fun.

Other than getting home super late and needed a few days to catch up on sleep (old people probs...haha) it was a really fun night. I look forward to going to more concerts with my girl!!

FINALLY on the boat!!

 

It has been such a wet and mild spring and summer. We FINALLY had a 80+ degree weekend to get the boat to the river. Evelyn was babysitting, so Matthew brought his friend Dayton along.

It was SO good to be back on the water, and our in and out with the boat went smoother than ever. We are super excited to make more boat memories this summer!

End of May/Early June

 The past few weeks have been a blur.... but here's a brief recap

After avoiding it for two and a half years, COVID finally paid a visit to our home. Matthew, Doug, then me and finally Evelyn all test positive in the course of a week. All of us had varying degrees of symptoms. 

Mom and Doug were so gracious and brought over a HUGE haul of food and beverages for us. It was a huge help and a huge hit. 

...especially the mac-n-cheese! :) 

Doug and I definitely were the sickest and took the longest to get thru it, but we all have been healthy now for a bit and are so grateful.  I finally got out for a walk 12 days after getting sick. Grateful for vaccines and a healthy family!

After THIRTY years, Doug finally got his baby, his Mustang, up and running. There aren't enough words to say how proud I am of his dedication, patience, perseverance, hard work, and care to this project. So happy for him. I even got to go with him on it's first trip out and about!! YAY!

Sadly I got into a little fender bender :( First one in almost 20 years. Hopefully she'll be fixed up soon. I LOVE my car and am so sad she got hurt. 

LAST DAY OF SCHOOL!!!

These girls. I was blessed to have been able to drive them to/from school this year. We have had so many laughs and also so many good (and sometimes hard) conversations. They are the best and I am so grateful for such amazing friends for Evelyn. I took them to get Frosty's and french fries after school to celebrate. 

These two crushed their first years of new schools, both getting straight A's ALL YEAR! They also had good friends, were well liked by their teachers, and learned a lot. We are so proud of them. 

It is crazy that we will have a 7th grader and a sophmore in the fall!!

Happy Father's Day, Doug! So glad you got to bring the Mustang to the car show at church. We love you and are so thankful for you!!

First Track Season

 Matthew stepped out of his comfort zone and went out for track this year! He loves to run but knows he isn't the fastest, but he decided to go for it anyway to improve his speed and I couldn't be more proud of him. He grew as a runner, made some new friends, and most of all seemed to have fun!

It was pouring during his first meet!

He started his first race (1500) slow.. but then he started picking off runners one by one and ended up coming in second out of all the 6th graders!!!

He was super pumped about that!

This is a pic of his last race. I didn't get a lot of photos thru the season but he did so great. He is planning on doing it again next year. 

Strong work, buddy!!