Swim team!!

Olivia and Leo had an awesome swim season this year! Because of the craziness of our schedules, they only did for me, but they both got better and faster throughout the season. And more importantly, they had such a great time swimming with their friends! Their end of season party was on Monday, and these are a few pictures of them from the slideshow!

Back to school!!

Olivia and Leo started third and first grades on July 9!! Wow! Time flies!

Third grade is a big change because there is a lot of standardized testing and a lot more independence. Olivia’s classroom is a trailer outside of the school and she has to walk in for restrooms, lunch, and specials—art, PE, media, and technology. I think we lucked out with Olivia’s teacher, though, because she is young, enthusiastic, and loving. She moved from fourth to third grade this year, so her book selection is great for Olivia! And she is kind and organized!

First grade is different for Leo, too. Most of his friends moved classes so he is challenged to make new ones. We lucked out with his teacher, too! She is also young, enthusiastic, and loving. She has done a great job so far with communication, too!

Their whole school is focusing on positivity and manners this year with the advent of the new principal. I love her and this school wide Positivity Project! I think it’s going to be a great year!

The rest of track out...

Track out was unlike any other this time. No museum/park/playground tour for us. A week in Indiana and a week at the beach left us with just two weeks of at-home time... and those were taken up by vision therapy appointments, double music lessons, music practice, swim practice, swim meets, quite a bit of pool time, a few play dates, and some babysitting time where I got some work done. In the interim, Nicholas and I were trying to pack!

Here are some highlights:

When you can read your own chapter books...


Pool play dates:

Swim meets...

Practicing...so much practicing 

And Nicholas and I had a beautiful evening out at a five star restaurant called Heron’s Saturday night to celebrate 15 years of marriage!! The food and wines were delicious and perfectly paired! Thanks again to Tamara and Bill for the gift card from Christmas, which prompted such a lovely experience!

And if anyone is zooming in, my favorite was the tomato course—both the wine and the food!

A week at Atlantic Beach!

We had so much fun spending a week at the beach with our friends! These are the friends we met up at Atlantic Beach last year for a few days, and realized it would be way more fun to be closer and spend the whole week. We were right! Here are some of the highlights!

Bungalows and pool—There were eight little bungalows around the pool, all of which were set a few hundred yards from the beach. We had two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a living room and kitchen with table for six downstairs and a loft with two twins and a bathroom where Olivia and Leo slept upstairs. It was a great set up!

We spent lots of time at the beach in the water and out—boogie boarding, digging for crabs, swimming, diving to see fish, flying kites, making sandcastles and relaxing!

Jason napped in the wagon one afternoon!


We went to the pier for breakfast one morning...




And to the aquarium...

And the maritime museum...

We went out to eat for dinner once...

And definitely had downtime in our little places...naps, video games in forts, magazines, pool time...

It was such a restful, relaxing trip! Lindsey and I each cooked two meals, we went out one, ordered pizza for one, and ate leftovers for one. The adults drank and visited each night, the kids got to play together, and we had separate mornings and some separate day adventures. But mostly we stuck together and hung out! It was lovely! And we ended the week with a walk on the beach with out friends...