Caroline's First Middle School Soccer Game

We enjoyed Caroline's first middle school soccer game!  We know nothing about soccer but absolutely LOVED watching the girls play.  The girls all know each other or have gotten to know each other over the last few weeks.  There are 3 or 4 star players that make great plays.  The other girls are awesome in setting those players up for action.  I honestly can't wait for the next game!!

With about 5 minutes left to play we were leading 11-0.  The coach pulled our goalie to actually play in the game.  He put Caroline in as goalie.  Andy and I looked at each other and were like "Does she know what she's doing???"  Then I silently prayed that no balls came her way!  After the game we asked her if she had been practicing in that position.  She said "NOPE!  But at this point, I don't think coach was worried about them scoring..."  I love that she isn't afraid...she went with a big smile and seemed excited to be there.  I pray that she will always face challenges head on and not be timid or intimidated like her momma.  

 

Annual Sibling Birthday Celebration

Last night was one of my absolute FAVORITE nights of the year...our annual siblings birthday party!  We started some 8 or 10 years ago as a way to celebrate our birthdays and enjoy steamed oysters.  Over the years we have slowly added more to the event.  My family and I arrived yesterday around 3:30.  The girls loved hanging out down by the dock with Mary Claire and Wilson.  Andy and I enjoyed chatting with Mom, Archie, Daniel and Claire.  We had our first bowl of catfish stew by 4:00.  Shortly there after, Aunt Lill and Uncle Ed arrived...funny story there.  Aunt Lill always talks about how much she enjoys oysters.  I texted her a picture of my crab balls around 8 AM yesterday morning.  She replied that they looked good and she was jealous.  I had a wild idea...why not invite them to come.  I called and said "I know this is crazy but why don't y'all get in the car and drive 6 hours to enjoy this yummines with us!  She called about 10 minutes later and said "We will see you soon!"  I was SO excited!!!!!!  Thankfully they made it safely!

Daniel and the rest of the male crew began working on the first round of appetizers fried shrimp, fried catfish and crab balls.  Oh my goodness, it was ALL so good!  It was a gorgeous day!  As the sun went down it got a little cool...it was perfect!

By 8:00 we were stuffed but ready for our oysters.  Bob got a really neat steamer that we tried out.  It worked great!!  Daniel's garage felt like a sauna at one point...we had to crack the windows and the garage doors. :-)  He definitely wanted to make sure we weren't cold!

The grand finale!!!  They were the absolute best!!!!!  SO good!!

It was a late night...we pulled in our driveway around 11:00.  You know I must be having fun to stay out that late...  The older I get, the more I realize what a treasure these times together really are.  So thankful for my siblings.  SO thankful for my nieces and nephews.  SO thankful for those who have joined our family!  We laugh a lot...especially thanks to Claire!  Daniel and Claire have a gorgeous home on the river and they are wonderful hosts!  Tonight, as we prepare to head back to school tomorrow, I am so grateful for the week of Winter Intercession!  My heart is full with the wonderful memories we made with all of our family this week!

Celebrating GS's 5 year anniversary

 Today we celebrated 5 years of formal worship for GS!  That is so hard to believe it has been 5 years since our first service at B. Elementary School.  Never in a million years would I have thought we would celebrate our 5 year anniversary in a permanent building that we call home!!  The Lord has been extremely gracious to us!  We love our church family!  We are thankful the Lord called us to GS.  We look forward to what the future holds for our church!

Sweet Mags

 Last night I was working on laundry while also working on dinner.  Once dinner was ready, I went to get Caroline and also switch out the laundry.  When we came in the kitchen, sweet Mags had set the table and made our drinks for dinner!  She was SO proud of herself and we were so thankful for her serving us in a huge way.

Zoo Fun

 

We spent our last day of Winter Intercession enjoying a beautiful Spring like day at the zoo!  Ansley and Jay joined us for the fun.  It was the busiest it's been!  There were 2 or 3 field trips, a family reunion and lots of people with little kids.  I thought that since it was a random day that there wouldn't be that many people...wrong.  However, it wasn't too bad.  I just miss the days when we were 1 of maybe 20 families there for the day.  The animals were full of themselves.  We saw a lot of action, more so than the last few times we have been.  I guess they were enjoying the warm weather also!  The kids enjoyed feeding the birds, riding the carousal and enjoying lunch beside the monkey's.   It was a great day!!

Melting Pot Then vs. Now

 Melting Pot Winter Intercession 2022 vs. Spring Break 2017!!  What a difference 5 years makes!

Baby got a new pair of shoes!!

Last Friday when we were checking the air pressure in the tires before hooking up, I noticed early signs of dry rot.  Not bad but definitely not something you want to see before hitting the road. It was too late to cancel and I'm not one for making deals with the Lord.  However, I promised Him if he allowed us to get safely to Huntington and back, I would make sure we had new tires before our next trip.  He was gracious and got us there and back safely.  Andy called Monday and got everything lined up.  He dropped it off yesterday after work and it was ready by 5.  The tires look great.  They even appeared to pull better.  I'm thankful for the Lord's protection and I'm thankful for my husband taking care of this!!!  We are ready for our next adventure!!!

 

Visiting Jack at Davidson

Jack is in his sophomore year at Davidson College in Davidson, NC.  Tomi Jean immediately fell in love with the campus and town during their first visit.  She has talked about the downtown area and the beautiful architecture of the campus.  She has said from the beginning that we needed to plan a trip to visit.  Well Winter Intercession proved to be the perfect time!  We left Tuesday morning and came back today.  The downtown area is precious.  Lots of little shops-a true book store, a little boutique, a plant shop, a few coffee shops and several little 'mom and pop' restaurants.  We had lunch at The Soda Shop and walked around before meeting Jack after class.  Once we met Jack, he gave us an awesome tour of the campus.  I can't really explain what a beautiful campus it truly is.  Jack is an awesome tour guide!

After our tour, we headed to The Melting Pot for dinner.  We decided to get the cheese appetizer and dessert and skip the meat.  It was a great idea because there was MORE than enough food in those two entrees.  

Next stop, Target!  Jack needed a few essentials.  Aunt Tomi Jean picked up some 'foot gloves' for our feet.  We all put them on and 20 minutes later our feet felt amazing!

Today we had a slow start.  Everyone slept in, including Maggie!!  Jack got out of class at 11.  So we met him downtown for lunch at the Famous Toastery.  It was delicious as well!  We walked around a little bit more before taking Jack 'home.'  

It was a fun overnighter.  It was neat to see Jack in his element and get a glimpse of what his life at college looks like.  Already planning our next visit...there were more restaurants to try and shops to visit!

 

Firsts...

When the girls were younger, their 'firsts' were so excited.  Smiling, learning to walk, saying dada, etc.  However, as they get older, their first can be rather scary.  This past camping trip, we let Caroline ride her bike to her friend Amelia's campsite by herself for the first time...that was scary.  She always wanted to take a shower every morning as soon as she got up...walking to the shower house by herself  was scary...she is totally into her independence, but her momma and daddy not so much!  I know it is all part of growing up...I'm just not sure I like it! :-)
 

Inaugural Camping Trip '22

Our inaugural camp trip of '22 to Huntington Beach State Park did not disappoint.  This has quickly become one of our absolute favorite places to camp.  This trip was especially great because we were only a few sites away from the beach access and the bathhouse.  The weather was gorgeous Friday and Saturday.  Sunday was absolutely freezing.  Of course today when we left around 11:30, it was already 65 degrees!  Our days were filled with lots of beach walks, nature trails and bike riding. We played several games outside but the wind was not our friend.  We had two really great trees for climbing and the girls loved that.  Our site was spacious and we had lots of room all around us. We accomplished 24 hours of outside time in the 4 days we were there! I don't take for granted the wonderful gift it is for our family to get away and enjoy our camper!!

Early last week Andy had a doctors appointment.  He saw our friend Farrah.  They were chatting and he mentioned that we were going to HBSP this weekend.  She said they were too!  So Friday night we hung out at their campsite and enjoyed a yummy pizza party with pizza from local pizza place.  We drove over to carry all of our chairs.  Mags loved riding in the back!

Saturday morning the girls and I enjoyed an early morning walk on the beach.  It was gorgeous!!

Caroline's friend Amelia was also camping.  Caroline and Amelia enjoyed bike rides.  Amelia had never climbed a tree so Caroline taught her how.

This tree was the perfect size and height for Maggie to enjoy!

Charlie Brown actually enjoyed the beach this time.  In the past, he has always been scared of the beach.

The nature center is always a favorite!

Mags "captured" the alligator!

The girls worked together to cook our breakfast Sunday morning!  The french toast and bacon were yummy!

Mad Libs under the tree!

Rhett invited us to join him and his family at the Crazy Mason.  It's a delicious milkshake place that makes amazing and very large milkshakes.  In the summer, the lines average about 2 hours long.  We have always wanted to try it but never willing to spend that much time waiting.  So we were there 30 minutes before they opened and had no problems.  The milkshakes were amazing!  Everybody enjoyed it.  It is one of those things that I can said we have done and enjoyed even if we never go again...it was $$$$$$.

I loved several beach walks with my oldest.  She is growing up!  I'm learning just to walk...listen...don't ask a ton of questions...just listening to what's important to her tells me a lot of what I need to know!

She forgot my camera at home so Mr. Rhett let her borrow his.  She enjoyed taking beach pictures.

Rhett also invited us to join them for an evening sunset walk on the causeway.  It was the perfect end to a wonderful trip!

We are huge fans of our fire pit when camping.  We learned early on that a real fire is nice BUT your clothes smell like fire and therefore your camper does too.  However, this evening, Andy thought it would be fun to build a small fire.  He and the girls picked up as many sticks as they could find on our site. Then they arranged them and Caroline started the fire.  She was super proud of herself!!

One final walk on the beach...I didn't want to leave...