Sleep over fun!!

Maggie has been begging me to have a sleep over.  I've never been up to it...but double digits seemed like a good time.  I told her she could limit to 3 friends...so she chose 3 of her favorites, Hadleigh, Ava and Charlotte.  The girls were all very excited to hang out together.  They all got along so well.  It was a sweet group.  They got in PJ's immediately, did hair, put on face masks and tried to settle on a movie choice...that wasn't near as easy as it could have been.   They finally got settled and enjoyed popcorn, nerds and Carpi Suns when Hadleigh decided she was ready to go home at 10:30.  After 11:00 I told Caroline she was in charge as I was going to bed.  She said they finally settled down around midnight.  The girls were wide awake when I got up at 7:00.  There were lots of laughs and giggles.  Once I finished baking bread, they began making breakfast.  Fruit, pancakes, bacon and eggs.  Everyone was picked up by 10:00 and I was ready to crash!

 

Happy Early Birthday Maggie

Maggie was SO excited to celebrate her birthday early! (Honestly Andy and I too were thankful she celebrated early because we heard about it nonstop for the 4 days prior to the party!!)  She invited a few friends for a pool party, subs, chips, fruit and cupcakes.  The best part about double digits is that the kids can entertain themselves.

The birthday twins.  Maggie was born at 1:29 AM and Hadleigh was born around 2:00 PM on the SAME day!!

 I am so thankful for the sweet friends Maggie has in her life.  These girls are sweet girls that lift each other up!  

Neighborhood Cuties

Maggie looks forward to time spent with her favorites, Mica and Zoe.  Today they decided to put on bathing suits and turn on the sprinklers.  It's a two for one deal for me...they get to enjoy the sprinklers and my grass got watered.

 

Anniversary Camping

We decided to spend our anniversary weekend camping with the girls.  Not many places near the beach book for less than 4 days, mostly 7 days.  North Myrtle Beach RV and Marina books a minimum of 3 days and we've never camped here before so we thought this would be a great time to try it out. The girls were allowed to each invite a friend.  Sadly, both of Maggie's friends backed out the week of.  So Andy and I tried hard to do all the things she would have done with friends.  Thankfully my extraction site wasn't painful but it was certainly tender.  Thankfully it didn't stop me from enjoying our time.

We spent a lot of time at the pool, visited the arcade each night and enjoyed a beach day on Saturday.  Caroline cooked breakfast for us, which was delicious.  The day at the beach was amazing!!  We've decided that if we're camping at the beach, we need to be camping on a beach front property.  It was too hot to not have walking access to the beach. :-)

 

Our Golden Annivsersary

 This guy is lucky he married me...anybody else may have robbed him of the daily joys of sweeping the floors, washing the dishes, folding the laundry, cleaning the bathrooms, picking up shoes in the foyer, keeping mine and Caroline's car filled with gas and settling disagreements among the females in his household.

It's a high calling and he does it well!  Thank you Andy for 21 years of marriage.  It hasn't always been easy and we've had our share of heartache and disappointment but I'm so thankful we chose US when things got hard.  I love you and appreciate all you do me!  I'm blessed indeed!!!

Our favorite blanket!

This is my absolute favorite blanket.  When I'm taking a quick nap, when I don't feel well or when I'm just resting and needed a little coverage, this blanket is my absolute favorite!  My college roommate Mandy was planning to donate it to Goodwill when she got married and moved out.  We decided to pull it out of the stash and have loved it every sense!!!  I think I need to find someone who can help me stick it up.
 

Unexpected Expensive Summer Experience

 While at DeBordieu, I decided to crack a tooth the very first night, eating Caesar salad at that!  I was hoping that maybe I had lost a filling but the week we came back it was confirmed a cracked tooth...which equaled oral surgery to extract the tooth.  That was today.  While I wasn't looking forward to it, I am so thankful to say it wasn't bad at all.  My sweet momma took me.  She got my meds, got me settled at home and then took the girls to buy a few of their favorite things at Sam's and Aldi's.  She also picked up KFC for dinner.  

Andy has taken such good care of me since getting home.  The's made sure the house is cleaned and dishes are washed.  I am so blessed!  I am so thankful for all the wonderful people in my life that make sure my and my family are taken care of.  

Splashing Good Grades

 Jill and I took the girls to Neptune Island for their free day of water park fun thanks to their splashing good grades!!  It was the perfect weather day and the girls had a lot of fun.  I'm always thankful for this fun day where I only have to pay for my entrance and lunch.

Happy Father's Day to the best!!

Happy Father's Day to the very best!!  We are so very thankful for all that Andy does for us!  He cooks, cleans, taxis, listens and partakes in a lot of shopping adventures!!

New camping shirt...I'm sexy and I tow it!

We also gave him a portable ice maker for the camper, something that has been on his camping wish list!

 

Adventures with Lia

 What a week!  Camp, GA, Camp, etc.  I'm so thankful that Lia and I got to do it together.  Below is an overview of our travels...

1. Monday: Ridge Haven Drop off (8 hours there and back)
2. Tuesday: Trip to Richmond for GA (4 hours)
3. Friday: Richmond to Brevard (6 hours)
4. Saturday: Ridge Haven to home (4 hours)

We joked on Monday when we were dropping the girls off, that we should come back and go tubing on Friday before picking the girls up on Saturday.  We decided that was exactly what we would do!  We left Richmond at 8 AM on Friday and made it to Brevard by 2:30 that afternoon.  The trip down the French Broad was an adventure.  The water was low and often we got stuck and coudn't budge over the rocks.  Their maps weren't drawn to scale and I began to think that maybe we had missed our pick up...but thankfully we didn't.  We made it out safely! Shew...

Ridge Haven

It's the most exciting week of the entire summer!!  It just so happened that our crazy, busy week started with Ridge Haven and ended with Ridge Haven. Lia and I left Monday at 8:30, drove the girls 4 hours, ate lunch, registered the girls, got them set up and headed back home. The girls were all excited with their counselors and their lodging for the week.

We got a few pictures each day of the fun they were having.  

I love seeing pictures of our girl worshiping with her new friends, laughing and enjoying her time at camp.  

 As always, the girls didn't have much to say.  They stayed awake for about 30 minutes and then crashed the entire way home.  After 5 years of camp, I have learned that I will hear more about camp tomorrow...

Camp Hilton

When I got the opportunity to attend GA with Andy, I immediately thought to ask Aunt Lill if Maggie could stay with her for the 4 days we were in Richmond.  She was happy to have Maggie and Maggie was thrilled to stay at her house for Camp Hilton during that time.  Aunt Lill had each day planned with something special for them to do.  One day they attended the Richmond Zoo and one day they went to a movie and an outdoor concert.  Rupee slept with Maggie each night that she was there.  She loved that!  She was the queen of the castle and felt so very special!  Thanks Aunt Lill and Uncle Ed for all that you did to make Camp Hilton so exciting!  She told them that she thinks I should attend GA next year so she can return to Camp Hilton.   

 

General Assembly

This week, I had the opportunity to join Andy in Richmond, Virginia for the PCA General Assembly.  It was such a wonderful experience.  I had NO idea what to expect but wow, it was truly an experience.   There was so many people in one room.  My activity in the business meeting was the singing during worship!!  I told Andy that I don't think I'm smart enough to make decisions in these meetings.  I am thankful for our Elders who understand what's being discussed.

We ate well, we slept well and we truly enjoyed the time away.  We got to catch up with our friends Jake and Lauren.  Even got to have dinner with them.  The highlight of the trip was sitting through a panel discussion with Rosaria Butterfield.  

Lia, Abby and I enjoyed several long walks as well as mid day naps!!  It was so fun to lay in a hotel bed, pitch black dark with the AC cranked really low and not feel guilty!!  It was a gift!  On our last day there, we rented electric scooters and that was an adventure!!  We ran out of money about a block from the hotel...our scooter started sounding an alarm and this homeless guy walked by us and said "y'all out of money!"

 

Celebrating Jake and Emma

Today we celebrated Jake and Emma's high school graduation. These kids were the two last grandchildren that Daddy met.  Hard to believe they were just 2 months old when daddy died.  He was so proud of them.  I know that he would have been so happy and proud of them today.  

We celebrated them with a yummy meal, delicious desserts and family fun.  Looking forward to what the Lord has in store for these two in the next chapter of their life.

 

Date Night

 Tonight we enjoyed a date night with our friends Chris and Charissa.  It was a yummy dinner downtown and then we sat outside and talked for almost an hour.  Such a treat to catch up with them after a busy school year.  Thankful for friendships that last over time!

Flamingo's Family Fun Night

 Tonight we enjoyed a family fun night with our church family at the Flamingo's baseball game.  We sat in the party porch area so we didn't really watch much of the game but the kids had fun playing in the play area.  

National Doughnut Day, who knew?

 This morning Krispy Kreme sent me an email letting me know it was National Doughnut Day and that we got a free doughnut.  I thought it was one per rewards member but both girls got a free one!  Such a fun treat!!!  I am happy to say that I did NOT get one...they even had hot ones...and I said no!

Lunch with Jack

Jack invited me and treated me to a delicious lunch today!!!  I have no idea how many weight watcher points it was but it was SO GOOD!!!!!!!!!!!  Our time together was even better than the meal we enjoyed!

 

Pickleball Fun

 These two decided to skip the gym today and try pickleball instead! They had fun and Caroline is ready for her own set of paddles.  :-)

A slow morning...

Thankful for a slow morning, with nothing immediately on the agenda, to enjoy breakfast and conversation with these lovely ladies!!  While chatting, Maggie asked if we could go to the library to pick up her summer reading packet.  We all found a few summer reads to enjoy!

 

Caroline makes everything better!

 Maggie and Nori were SO excited to have Caroline join us at the Y today!!!!  My momma heart was happy too!

Ice Cream Truck Excitement

 At first Maggie had no clue why she was hearing music that repeated itself...then she realized the excitement of having the ice cream truck stop in front of our house!!!  The kids on this street were super happy for the summer treat!

Summer at the Y has begun...

We look forward to this every single summer...this year it looked as if we might not be able to join.  I told the girls and they were both like "but we always go to the Y in the summer..."  I am so thankful that the Lord provided a way for us to join!!  We're looking forward to fun with friends!
 

Tyler's Graduation Party

We made it home in time to celebrate one of our many high school graduates this year!  Tyler we are so proud of you and can't wait to see what the future holds for you!
 

Last morning...

Today is the hardest day...the day we have to leave paradise!  It's been a wonderful week and I am so grateful!  I got up early and enjoyed coffee as I caught a glimpse of the sunrise.  Then went for a walk to start June miles.  It was quiet on the beach and I soaked up every minute!!  Such a blessing and memories to last a lifetime!