Preston's Birthday Beach Trip

 For a couple of years now, Preston has mourned the loss of having a birthday party.  I mean summer gets so busy, and he's not exactly a kid anymore, but finally we struck a compromise and decided we would make a quick trip to the beach and he could bring some friends.  It was quite the feat deciding which friends to bring, but he chose a fantastic group!  So we left Friday at lunch and headed to Hilton Head.  The boys wasted no time hitting the beach as soon as we arrived.

I was shocked when they all got up early the next morning to go for a run.  In the heat.  At the beach.  On vacation!!!  I think Paxton ran the farthest, clocking in with 8 miles, while the other boys ran a good distance too.  Did I mention this group of friends were all athletes, that apparently take summer training seriously.  Anyway, after their workout, we had breakfast and hit the beach for the entire day.

One quick family photo before packing it up to head back to the condo. 

After everyone showered and had dinner, we headed to Coligny for some browsing.  Savannah and I realized we were twinning so we had to take a picture. :)

Sunday came all too quickly and we loaded up to head home.  Dave stayed back with the boys so they could enjoy a few more hours on the beach, while Savannah and I opted for shopping at the outlets on the way home.  It was such a fun weekend and reminded me once again how thankful I am that both kids have hand picked such great friends.

Preston's *Best* Summer Day

 

According to Preston, today was the absolute best day of summer so far!

He loves being on the lake so much . . .  add in some of his favorite frinds and it's a day made in Heaven!

He spent the day at Lake Wylie with some of his friends from church on Corbin's dad's boat and loved every second.  So thankful for this little group of good kids who enjoy each other so much.

Celebrating BIG!

Tonight we went out to celebrate with these two kiddos.  Preston's AP scores were released today . . .  and he scored a 5 on all three exams!!  Whoop whoop!!  That's the highest possible score, so he is thrilled to add 3 more college classes to his transcript.  Savannah has been anxiously awaiting her parking lottery from UNC to come out, and she found out today that she has the closest possible parking spot to her dorm!  Needless to say, I have two happy kiddos tonight; certainly worthy of Jeni's ice cream!

The 4th of July Inside!

It has been SO miserably hot lately that we decided our best bet was to celebrate the 4th of July indoors. Activate was doing a special if you wear red, white, or blue, and I had already purchased a gift card at a discount, so we made what is usually a super expensive event quite reasonable.  PLUS, there was no one there, so we didn't have to wait at any station and could do our favorite laser room over and over again.  We played it so much that we all came home with damaged knees. LOL

Toy Story was a bit more crowded, but we did find a matinee seating so we could finally watch the movie using Dave's blood donor tickets.  It was such a cute movie!  We had planned to go to Macado's in Concord (Savannah's favorite restaurant but we opted not to go to Boone) BUT realized at the last minute it was no longer in the mall and had been permanently closed.  So we had to choose another favorite, that was unfortunately, equally as far away. We ended up getting take out from Red Robin.

We ended the night watching fireworks at our usual favorite place, Food Lion.  Crazy enough, they had a little mishap and the fireworks started shooting towards the crowd!!! It was absolutely terrifying!  We were getting eaten alive by bugs, and were still startled from the mishap, so we left before it was over.  All in all, it was a fun, super low key, day celebrating our country's freedom!

 

Happy Father's Day!

Today we celebrated Dave and the glue he is for our family.  He is always willing to pitch in around the house and "take one for the team" when traveling to out of town sports events.  He loves us all so well and we are honored to call him DAD.  Parenting is hard, but together, somehow, we've figured it out enough to have two pretty awesome kiddos! 

As a side note, with all the sweet treats lately, we decided to put one of the birthday freebies to use and decorated the free Papa John's cookie to celebrate today.  It was quite the adventure with getting the orange color mixed just right (Savannah and I both ended up with red hands) and making a last minute run to Michaels to get the tip for the icing writing, but it turned out cute!

Back From Camp & Celebrating 17!!!

I cannot even believe my baby is 17 today!!!  Fresh off of a week of church camp and a morning of slight school, he arrived home eager to celebrate his birthday at Texas Roadhouse . . . and to take a shower. LOL He had a fabulous week worshiping and enjoying time outside, unplugged, with his friends.  So thankful for our church who pour into the students in such a meaningful way each summer!

This kid continues to amaze me.  He survived a hard year with managing a LOT of different activities and a rigorous load at school too. He's learned so many coping strategies; what would once have sent him over the edge, he can now manage quite well.  BUT, we learned a lot and have adjusted things so that he can focus on what is most important to him this coming year.

He is passionate about flying and will hopefully have his private pilot's license within the year.  He is a rule follower, and is quickly becoming my go-to for things that need to be fixed (thanks to his buddy "chatty").  His car is probably his favorite item, and he is always looking for ways to improve it and keeps it quite clean.  He has a few close friends and likes to keep his circle small.  He loves track, working out (don't dare mess with his gym schedule), and eating healthyish.  He enjoys soccer too, but he realized this year that maybe he's not quite as passionate as he used to be about playing. This kid has a heart of gold, and it is an absolute joy having a front seat to his life!  I can't wait to see what the next year holds for him . . . hopefully less injuries and stress!

 

She's 20!! Happy Birthday Savannah!

 

We have celebrated this beauty all weekend long.  She decided to keep things simple and invite a few of her closest friends from UNC over on Saturday.  They made cute bouquets, went shopping, out to dinner, and enjoyed dessert back at home.  I love that they are such sweet girls and can have fun together doing the simplest things.

Did I mention that they love to take pictures?!?! Unfortuately it was brutally hot today, so I convinced Savannah it would be best and most comfortable just to do some pictures indoors and skip the park.

After a fun trip to Southpark Mall, they had dinner at Duckworths.

And then we celebrated the big 20!!

Reagan spent the night (she was pretty far from home) and joined us at church on Sunday.  After church they went on some fun adventures together.  They made some returns for me at Costco (and enjoyed the ample samples), did some MORE shopping, and the highlight was going to Swig for cookies and drinks.

Sunday night she crashed!  And we took a picture to remember the last night of her teens!

She didn't take Monday off from work, but took a side trip on her lunch break.  She picked up her Starbucks freebie, Firehouse Subs freebie, and I met her at Bath and Body Works to get her free birthday item and check out their clearance sale.  She chose Super Chix for dinner, so we all enjoyed that (Dave even had a mystery shop for his meal), and then it was home for presents and more dessert.

Turns out when your brother has a super close birthday and asks for big ticket items, you get a LOT of smaller things on your list!!

She was truly surprised by this game (because I hate playing it), but it was one of her favorite gifts!

It's crazy to think our first born is 20 years old!!!  She is such a beautiful woman inside and out, and really has her head on straight.  I'm thankful for her drive, desire to serve others, her solid faith, and the joy she brings to our house.  I love watching her bloom as she tries new things.  What a gift and blessing she is. . . and I'm pretty sure we just got lucky with this one!