Fun in the sun before a new school year

The boys and I skipped work and camp for a day at the end of July to sneak in a three day weekend before the start of school.  It was a beautiful weekend in South Carolina and we took full advantage of it.  Jillian (George's Goddaughter that so sweetly visits each summer) and her friend, Nina, were there visiting Judy before coming to our house, so we got to hang with them as well.  While Mom and I were catching up, Dad and the boys settled in on the couch for Jaws.  Yep, Jaws.  Dad said he taped it sometime back and couldn't wait to watch it with the boys.  I was leery, especially since we were there for the beach, but Drew and David were fine.  They were scared of the movie of course (Drew more than David) but for some reason didn't think they would see a shark themselves.  I'm 34 and STILL think I'm going to have a run-in with a shark every time I swim in the ocean, thanks to Jaws. Drew said that sharks likes cold water (there is a reference to the chilly water in the movie) and since the water in Myrtle Beach was quite pleasant, fortunately that meant no sharks :)  On Friday afternoon we went to the beach despite the dark clouds rolling in.  We figured the boys would enjoy running around even if just for a short while.  It ended up being a blast for boogie boards and we had tons of fun.  On Saturday we all boated at Bird Island - what a gorgeous day - and on Sunday we went to the beach for a couple of hours before heading home to pull out school clothes and make lunches! 

Enjoying our "nest" at bird island. 

Pretty Grandmas

Lovin' on Nina and Jill

At the Kindred Spirit Mailbox.  What a special place.  Visitors to Bird Island can write an entry in one of the many journals inside the mailbox.  Drew referred to the walk there as an "epic adventure."  Precious.  

CC and Drew write notes. 

Getting rough with Day Day 

David fell asleep during the 2nd running of Jaws.  

Beachin' it before heading home.

Yo Lo after a great first day of school!

David proudly shows off his BEE Folder from his new preschool.  

Piranha Pride

A big chunk of our summer was spent at the pool as Drew and David practiced and competed on the Prestonwood swim team. Drew had a great season, swimming competitively in free style, backstroke, and relays and improving significantly on breast and fly.  In addition to being completely spoiled by the coaches and teenage swimmers, David also loved swimming and improved a ton. We all had a blast spending most evenings at practice and Tuesday nights at meets.  The boys were troopers as swim meets run way past our normal bedtime! The season ended with an awards banquet where the boys each received a medal and David was awarded the Mighty 6 and Under Coach's Award.  We were extremely proud and David was pumped!  Drew won the same award last year so now they have a matching set.  The coaches were so complimentary of the boys, commenting on their good attitudes, constant smiles, and impressive swimming.  I was one proud mama! Until next summer...

Drew's medal.  

David with his "bupple head."  The Coach's Award is a bobble head swimmer, pretty cute.  

Coach Michael

Head Coach Paul

Coach Shannon.  She is an absolute sweetheart and on numerous occasions jumped in to swim with David when his nerves got the best of him.

Coach Sydney.  May I be obnoxious for a minute?  Coach Sydney's Mom came up to me at the banquet to say that Sydney talked about the Davis boys all summer. She said their dinner conversations were "David Davis this, David Davis, that...." Very sweet of her and we all adore her just as much!

David and his pal, Anneka, showing off their awards.  

Drew with new friend, Jacob.  Jacob lead the 7-8 group, quite a rock star in the pool.  

David being silly with one of his new pals.  

 David with his friend, Sam.  

A good chunk of the 310 piranha swimmers

At a meet

 The boys love decorating their backs.  

Sometimes David would get tired and make this face.  

And at the final meet, he went ahead and took a snooze. 

School's Out!

We are so proud of Drew and the year he had in first grade.  He adored his teacher, Ms. McManus, as did George and I.  She continued to impress right through to the end.  Parents were invited to attend a Writer's Presentation the last week of school where the students read one of their pieces (if they chose to) and had the others on display.  The classroom was decorated, treats were out for the taking, and it was clear those kids had been practicing!  Most braved the crowd and the microphone while proudly reading their masterpiece to the audience.  Drew read a story he wrote about visiting his grandparents and he did a great job, he even received a few chuckles as he explained that after arriving at CC and Day Day's, there was "lots and lots of hugging and kissing going on!"  He's right!  Drew was thrilled that we were there, especially David, and showed us all of his writing.  It's amazing what 1st graders can do!! 

A couple of weeks before school was coming to a close, Ms. McManus contacted me to share the news that Drew would be receiving an award at the end of year awards ceremony and she extended an invitation to attend.  Turns out, Drew was awarded the Citizenship Award!  I'm not sure I've ever been prouder.  The kids don't know who is receiving awards and although Drew saw me in the audience, he didn't seem to pick up on it. The principal described the Citizenship Award as going to the student that best represents Wake County's character traits - courage, self discipline, perseverance, integrity, respect, responsibility, kindness, and good judgment.  Thank goodness I had it on video so I could play it back and recall those traits!  When they announced Drew's name, he stood up, gave an enthusiastic "YES!" with a cha-ching arm motion, and hurried to the stage.  Upon returning to his seat, his classmates greeted him with high fives.  As you can imagine, I was beaming from the audience! 

Refreshments 

Waiting his turn to read.

The book he shared with everyone. 

A few of the others.  

Awards ceremony.

USA played that afternoon in a World Cup game, hence the red, white, and blue. 

I love the comments from Ms. McManus on Drew's report card. 

 

Drew typed this in Technology the last week of school.  I thought it was precious because earlier that week I was snuggling him and saying I wasn't ready for him to be a second grader :)

And, it's summer!!  The boys have a month of camp, long weekend beach trips, and other fun in store before school starts July 28th.

Father's Day

We got to celebrate some awesome dads over Father's Day weekend. So thankful for my Dad, George, Tom, and all the great dads out there. On Saturday night we took the kids to Prestonwood's Kids Club and the adults went out for drinks and dinner.  That was a rare treat and lots of fun.  We also spent some time at the pool over the weekend- well some of us.  Drew got his nose glued after a toy hit him in the face and caused a deep gash.  He couldn't swim for five days.  Oh, the tears over that!   

 

Happy Father's Day George, a super coach, mastermind of school projects, early morning snuggle-buddy to the boys, and kid chauffeur extraordinaire!  Thanks for all you do!

 

Happy Father's Day to my Dad, the one who sets the bar high for other Dads and Granddads.  He makes us laugh, offers great advise, loves us all unconditionally, and as the boys would like to add, buys awesome toys.  Love you! 

 

 Adult night out.   

 George and Tom weren't afraid to order big.  Yum!

 Day Day with the grands. 

Including this photo just because I love it! 

Traveling Fans

We were pretty hard core this past weekend and drove to Jacksonville to see the US Men's Soccer Team play Nigeria in the final send-off game before the World Cup.  We had a "ball!"  Hee hee.  Jerseys were bought, snacks packed, the van washed, and we headed out late Thursday evening to get a couple of hours in before stopping for the night.  George had some meetings in Jacksonville on Friday so we wanted to get there by lunchtime. We stayed the night at a Hampton Inn in Santee, SC where I made two dozen trips to the breakfast buffet the next morning.  I know the other guests thought I was a complete pig but other than a cup of coffee and oatmeal, none of it was for me. Drew and David were hungry and dig a buffet breakfast.  It was an easy drive to Jacksonville where George dropped the boys and me off at the home of our dear friends, the Hubbell's.  I worked with Nathan and Cristina at the Hornets years ago where we all became friends.  Their two girls, Sophia and Julia, are sweet as pie and the four kids got along great.  Drew and David didn't mind their pink rooms and baby dolls one bit and after playing inside awhile, the kiddos changed into their swimsuits and played with some toy sprinklers in the backyard before we went to the neighborhood pool.  That evening, we had pizza (and wine), watched a movie, and then I got to visit more with Cristina while the kids went to bed. 

After a sad goodbye, we headed to our hotel in downtown Jacksonville on Saturday morning to enjoy the pool for a bit before getting ready for the game.  The boys thought it was so cool that the pool was on the roof.  And it was cool until David accidentally threw a water ring over the rail.  The boys were amazed that we could see it lying in the street below and begged to go retrieve it.  Believe it or not, we did see it later that night coming back from the game and other than being black instead of its original yellow, it was surprisingly in tact.  After some swimming, David took a quick snooze and then we met George's boss, Rad, and his family for a boat cruise before the game.  The weather was ideal for it and stayed perfect for the game too.  The boys loved Rad's boat and the root beer, popsicles, and other snacks that came with it.  I was hoping the boys would be a little more tame on the cruise but discovering bunk beds and hidden bathrooms aboard was just too exciting.  They did enjoy long turns at the wheel which they loved.  We were dropped off at a dock near the stadium and it was just a short walk to the entrance.  One of my favorite parts of the trip was seeing all of the patriotic fans.  We thought we were pretty festive in our red, white, and blue but proved to be pretty lame amidst the American flag attire, painted chests, and inflatables.  A group of guys that must have been partaking in some serious tailgating, sang "God Bless the USA" while parading to the gates.  Good stuff!  The game was great and the good guys won.  The boys were pretty mesmerized by it all so despite us being prepared to spend loads of cash at the concessions, they only asked for peanuts and cotton candy.  We stopped for dinner post-game and then hit the sac, we were all pretty worn out. 

We were having such a great trip and hated to see it end so decided to veer off to Savannah for a couple of hours on the way home on Sunday.  We had lunch, took in some history - and a thunderstorm - and got back on I-95. 

We crammed in a ton of fun in three days, that's for sure!  Love my road-tripping family! 

 

 Sweet, happy kids!

 Cristina let Sophia and Drew ride in the back to the neighborhood pool. 

They thought they were big time! 

 Giggling over snacks. 

 After much begging (I think the word "fair" was used a time or two), the little ones got to ride in the back on the way home. 

 Cristina makes it in a pic!

 Showered and ready for a movie.

 Breakfast the next morning. 

 Drew and Julia were buddies. 

 So thankful for this friendship!

 Almost game time!!  I posted this pic on Instagram and was shocked by how many people liked it,

I guess it is pretty cute!

 Pre-game on Rad's boat. 

Drew driving up top. 

 Lousy selfie. 

 The captain was so kind to let the boys take a turn at the wheel. 

"Slim" after dropping us off at the stadium. 

USA USA USA!!!

 

 Blue teeth from cotton candy. 

Post game

 A stop in Savannah in the way home.  

David was so excited to climb these steep stairs.