A Visit to Furnitureland South

So we have been wanting to pick out a new dining room table for some time, but just haven't had a spare second to make the trip to High Point to check them out.  But, being that school is now out, we decided to visit Aunt Cherry today.  After several hours of walking and looking, we made some progress but still aren't completely sure what we want.  So, we decided to come back home and remeasure to make sure about the size. 

Before we left the store, we were able to visit the warehouse to pick up our bonus room rug that has been stored since December waiting for us to retrieve it.  Preston was thrilled to be able to help the employee scan out the rug and to see the miles and miles of storage racks of furniture.  It was a fun day, complete with a trip to Chick fil A for lunch with Aunt Cherry!

Summer Day One!

Today was the first weekday of summer break!  The kids were so excited and wanted to kick it off by going to Carowinds.

 It was hot, but not very crowded so we were able to do everything we wanted quickly!  A memory was made as we got stuck on the Boo Blaster.  They actually shut down the ride and had to escort us off of it.

We were a bit sad that they closed the Windseaker because of the dark storm clouds in the sky, but it was still a fun morning in the park.

After lunch, Preston was begging to do a lemonade stand so I finally said yes.  I then surprised him with a very unexpected gift, a real cash register.  His face was priceless as I brought it down the driveway and plugged it in, let's just say it was his FAVORITE gift!!  After baking in the sun for a bit, he headed in and did lots of research on how to program the machine.  He's figured out how to type specific messages like "Go Tigers", how to do discounts, coupons, set the date and time, and also how to make each key a certain amount for easy processing at his future lemonade stands. :)  Summer is off ot a good start!

Savannah's 13th Birthday Party ~ backup plan

We had a fun-filled afternoon pool party at the YMCA planned for Savannah, but when we woke up the weather forecast was 100% storms and rain for the entire afternoon.  We debated back and forth but ended up making the call to move the party to our house.  We were still able to have Domino's pizza for lunch and her Baskin Robbins ice cream cookie cake, but we had to come up with some fun at home instead of the pool being the entertainment.

I was quite nervous about how to keep these 9 girls busy, but they did a great job of self-entertaining and seemed to have a blast!  They played the Wii, enjoyed some games inside, and did a lot of hanging out on the screened in porch as well.  As you can see from the pictures the weather was beautiful the entire time . . which made Savannah sort of sad that we moved the party, but the girls still had a good time.

We crammed 9 teenagers around our table for 4!

Happy Happy Birthday Savannah!!

It was such a fun afternoon celebrating our Savannah a few days early.  As much as I didn't want to have a party at our house, it was nice being able to see the girls interact and get to know each one a little better.  Only a few days until she's officially a TEENAGER!!!!

Hello Summer!!

John Robert, Preston, and Savannah enjoying their treat

Today was the last day of school!!  After my dentist appointment, I promised I would pick Savannah up early from school so I did ... and then it was off to run a million errands before the big yellow bus arrived with Preston.  We celebrated with another ice-cream truck treat as the neighborhood always has a truck come on the last day of school.  I cannot believe summer is officially here.  Let the adventures begin!

PSE Parties Galore

So somehow I ended up organizing the end of the year 3rd-grade party for everyone . . . I guess it was my determination for the kids to have something more than a popsicle that got me into finding an ice-cream truck to come for the party.  Anyway, although it was stressful, it ended up being a super fun morning for my little guy and his third-grade friends.

The kids could pick any treat they wanted from the truck so they LOVED it!  Plus there were tons of other fun activities on the blacktop to keep them busy too.

Preston's friends and Mrs. Armbruster, the principal!

After the party wrapped up, I was scheduled to work in the office until 1:30 as a volunteer.  So I headed to my next job and whenever I had a chance (not too often as the office was CRAZY on the day before the last day of school) I worked on wrapping and delivering the 30 bundt cakes for teacher gifts. Then at precisely 11:15am, I headed to the cafeteria for Preston's birthday celebration.  I'm not sure what I was thinking cramming everything into one day . . . and giving the kids even more sugar on the day before the last day of school?!? BUT, he was so excited to celebrate his birthday with his friends at school. So we passed out cookie cake, enjoyed our 20 minutes of lunch and then it was back to the office to finish out the day.

It's hard to believe that tomorrow will be the end of third and seventh grade for my kiddos... and that summer will officially be here, but I think we are ready for a break from the busy, busy routine.

Preston's Final Y Guides Adventure ~ Camp Harrison

 So the boys set off for their final Y Guides longhouse Saturday morning super early.  

They had a super fun day, filled with lots of adventures and laughter.  I can't' say for sure what all they did, but here are some pictures from the weekend.

 Sunday morning was filled with more activities after chapel and then they headed home . . . leaving behind lots of clothing.  Ugh!

All in all, it was a super fun way for Dave to spend lots of quality time with each of the kids over the past many years... but I'm pretty sure he won't miss sleeping with a bunch of rowdy boys in a cabin for a while. :)

Science Olympiad 2019

After months of Friday afternoon practices, today was finally the day for Science Olympiad competition!  Preston was on the JV2 team and was able to compete in 3 events . . . ramp and roll (which I coached), 3-2-1 blastoff, and data crunchers

Ramp and Roll teams

After getting up at 4:40am to get my long run in and throwing things together we were off to UNC-Charlotte by 6:20am.  I thought I had all of my ducks in a row, but quickly realized that no matter how much you plan and prepare somethings you just can't control.  Like when one member of your team is late to the event that starts FIRST and forgets the car for the competition! Let's just say it was one stressful start to the day, but things ended up okay.  Lots of lessons were learned too. :)

The second event was Data Crunchers.  Well, let's just say Preston crushed that one!  He and Maks were a team and they said they knew every question on the test.  They did pretty well too, ranking second overall!

Data Crunchers Team

 The final event for Preston was the one he was most excited about!  3-2-1 blastoff was SO much fun!!  His rocket did great and although it did get stuck in a tree, he had a great time.  Thankfully we got some help and managed to get it out of the tree before leaving.

William & Preston partners for 3-2-1 blastoff

We rescued the rocket from the tree and couldn't wait to find out if he placed with this event!

We took a quick break and headed home for lunch (and to pick up Dave and Savannah) before coming back for the awards ceremony.

This kid rocked his first SO competition!!  He placed second in Data Crunchers and third in 3-2-1 blastoff!  I'm sure he would have placed in Ramp and Roll too if we hadn't been penalized for not having the car on time.  But, hey, not many kids left with one medal, much less TWO medals so we were pretty excited!  Actually, he was so excited he says his socks were lucky and refuses to let me wash them. HA!

It was a super long day, but in the end, it was worth it!  Preston says he can't wait to do it again next year, but after my crazy morning, I'm not sure I'm as excited to do it again. . . ever!