September!

September was very nice! Bob spent the first four days in Hilton Head for a work trip. It was his first trip since his injury and surgery, and it went well. He rented a car and drove himself, and drove Tom and Hannah back with him in his comfy rental minivan! We girls were busy with school, work, and the usual activities. Anna had her first cat-sitting job for new neighbor Fat Louie, and it went well. Gibbons had an away football game in Durham on Friday, so Anna and Bella opted to go shopping and visit Erin at work instead. Erin had been recovering from a cold that week, and Anna was under the weather on Sunday and Monday, but it worked out well because she didn't have school. Bob and I had a nice afternoon on the boat on Sunday while Erin worked. Monday, Erin and I got flu shots and then enjoyed a nice afternoon watching Maria and the Gibbons flag football team in their first jamboree at Willow Spring High School. 

Tuesday was back to school, but with some fun for homecoming spirit week! Here's Erin for "Little Me" day:

Thursday the 10th was the homecoming football game, which was a bit of a nail-biter at times, but Gibbons emerged victorious! 

They had a pep rally that afternoon where Joe was a part of the homecoming court. Erin helped set up a surprise birthday tailgate for Maria before the game as well. Friday, we watched a much better Wolfpack game than the first one of the season. Saturday the 12th was the homecoming dance! Erin had 5 friends come over to get ready, and Anna and Joe hung out here as well before meeting friends in Cary. Both reported that the dance was fun with the usual interesting music. 

Sunday, both kids worked while Bob and I went to the lake. I enjoyed a fun quick trip to Morehead City with my friends Erin and Molly on Thursday and Friday. We took Molly's boat out on Friday, parked on an uninhabited island in the sound, and saw 2 beautiful wild horses run right by us! Amazing! 

Bob helped prep for StMM's Oktoberfest on Thursday evening and worked the event on Friday. I had 2 pet-sitting jobs over the weekend while Anna finished up her final shift at FRESH on Friday. She enjoyed working there, but the two weeknight shifts per week plus 1-2 on weekends was just too much with her school courseload. She was leaving the house at 7:10am and not getting home until 9:45pm. It was a good experience, but for now she's going to stick with babysitting, petsitting, and focusing on school. Maybe she can find something more flexible and closer to home soon. She babysat for the Lemons on Saturday evening. 

Bob went up to NYC from the 21st-23rd after some drama with airport ground stops on Monday. He had to change to a Breeze flight to New Haven, CT, where he caught a commuter train to the city. It went fine, and he was able to fly back as planned on Wednesday. Anna and I visited Joe at UNC Children's Hospital on Wednesday evening, where he was undergoing a 24-hour EEG. Anna enjoyed seeing the inpatient setting and got to watch them give him a test with a strobe light. I had a fun time at adoration at Gibbons on Thursday, followed by lunch with Dawn and Laura. We then had back-to-school night that evening where we enjoyed meeting the girls' teachers. While we were there, Leslie and Ansley came up to stay before they toured NC State on Friday morning. They liked it and took some very cute photos in our neighborhood on Thursday evening!

Anna and Joe celebrated their one-year anniversary that evening with dinner and milkshakes in Cary. Erin worked on college applications. Saturday and worked. Bob, Finley, and I had a lovely afternoon at the lake. It was a little warm in the sun for Finley, but we rigged up some shade with towels for him. 

Anna studied hard for her AP chemistry test, and we watched a narrow Wolfpack football victory that evening. Sunday, Bob headed to Montreal via Burlington, Vermont and driving over the border. Anna and I went shopping for junior year attire, Erin worked, Anna went to Joe's house, and I helped with a clothing sale for CPO. 

I was back to Duke on Monday for the kickoff for this year's application cycle. I'm excited to get back to it! Erin had a prep meeting for a Service Beakers trip the following week, and she was excited to have lots of students participating! I enjoyed a shift at the school store on Tuesday, and lunch with neighbor friend Melissa on Wednesday. 

It was a great month, and we were so happy to get a taste of cooler weather. We are looking forward to more fall fun in October!

August

We had a busy and productive month of August, including healing for Bob's hand! We started out on the 1st with a wild and fun day of Erin and friends going to Wrightsville Beach. I ended up driving her and her friend Marley where we met up with 8 other friends for the day. The wild part of it was that there was absolutely zero parking to be had. Dawn and I circled the island for awhile, went off the island to Harris Teeter for lunch, then back where we ended up parking at a restaurant and sat there for 4 hours.

 Elena's parents had a similar experience, but we enjoyed catching up with them as well. Somehow, one of the girls who drove found parking fairly easily, but another one looked for a spot for 1-2 hours. Anyway, the weather was good and they had a great time! 

Anna was Bob's nurse/assistant for most of the day until she went to work. Monday, Erin gave tours to the new teachers at Gibbons as a part of her new role as Admissions Ambassador Cohort Leader. She is taking her leadership role seriously and is enjoying getting her group up and running! Anna spent a few morning babysitting her friends the Lemons that week, watched Luna the cat for 4 days, and had a few work shifts at FRESH. I helped at CPO twice that week, and Erin had piano and some work. Bob and I had a nice dinner at Osha in Holly Springs for our 21st anniversary on the 6th. 

We also enjoyed catching up with our friend Praveen over breakfast on Friday morning. 

Erin spent 3 days at a Kairos senior retreat from the 5th to the 8th, where she really enjoyed getting a break from daily life, connecting with some fellow seniors, and reflecting. She had a wonderful experience! While she was away, we had the forbidden breakfast for dinner.

We tried to go to Joe's football jamboree in Cary on Saturday evening, but it got canceled due to weather and moved to Monday the 10th. So, we returned for the make-up on Monday and had a great time watching Gibbons beat Millbrook (who was a #1 seed)! Erin also got a haircut earlier that day, and both kids had a work shift. Anna went to the eye doctor on the 11th where she had a slight change in one eye, got new contacts and glasses, and is good to go for another year. Bob had his 2-week surgical follow-up that afternoon, where they took more x-rays and removed his stitches. Everything looked good, so the plan is to hopefully get the 3 pins in his pointer finger out on the 31st. He also upgraded to a bottom-only plastic molded splint, which is much lighter than what he had before, but is less comfortable because it requires his fingers to be more extended than what he had before. The OT also gave him some exercises to do, and everything is going well so far. 

It was Anna's turn for a hair appointment on the 12th, and then she met up with her friend Juliet. She then had her Junior Welcome Day on Thursday the 13th where she got to meet her teachers briefly and had mass with the entire junior class. Meanwhile, Erin went to a fun senior party at her friend Lea's house, where they painted jeans, memory boxes, and their cars! She had a blast! 

Friday was the big Senior Sunrise and Welcome Day, after which Erin went to an impromptu double birthday party for two friends at a park nearby. Anna worked in the afternoon and then had a fun evening with Joe's family watching another jamboree, this time in Wake Forest. Bob and I worked together to rotate tires and change oil on the Accord and the Rav4, which I found to be quite a workout, especially in the heat! Both kids worked both days over the weekend, and Bob and I had a nice dinner with Liz and David on Sunday evening.

Both kids helped at Freshman Welcome Day bright and early on Monday the 17th; it's a really fun tradition where hundreds of older students cheer for the freshmen as they arrive at school for their first day. They had their first actual day on Tuesday with everyone there. 

I went to CPO and got my hair cut. Anna had another babysitting job for the Lemons that evening. Both kids worked after school on the 19th. The first home football game scheduled for the 21st was moved to 1pm on Saturday due to rain, so Joe came to our house instead. 

The 22nd was very busy, starting out with both kids taking the SAT. They had some compatibility issues with their school computers and the site Wi-Fi which didn't happen to Erin last year, but the site (Fuquay-Varina High School) was so nice to find them some loaner computers to use for the exam. Other Gibbons students at different sites had to go home and reschedule. While they were doing that, I caught up with my friend Denise at a coffee shop. Then, we all went to the Gibbons football game, which was quite humid, but they won easily. After THAT, Anna went straight to shadow our friend/fellow StMM & Gibbons mom Dr. Griffin, who works at the WakeMed Children's ED. Anna saw a lot over the 4 hours that she was there! She doesn't see the ED in her career path, but she was glad to be able to see and learn a lot that evening.

Anna and Joe had a fun afternoon on Sunday, going to the pool and then out to dinner and ice cream. Bob and I went to dinner at a different place at the same time while poor Erin was working. I had fun at book club on Monday evening, and the rest of the week was pretty much routine, trying to get back in the routine of school. The kids are doing a good job of sorting out the driving schedule so far and being fair about it. They had an all-school mass on Thursday the 27th with the bishop presiding! Both worked a couple of evenings, and both had club meetings. We are back at it! 

Saturday was the long-awaited and much-hyped Keep Pounding Classic football invitational in Charlotte. Gibbons was playing in the 8pm game, and we (minus Erin, who had to work a lot this week) went! We stopped at Grandma and Grandpa's on the way and admired their beautiful new painted interior, had a yummy Mexican lunch, enjoyed some cousin time, and took Ansley to the city! We got some pizza at Mellow Mushroom and walked over to the stadium after. It was a really fun experience seeing the team on the NFL field, though the game itself did not go our way. It was a blast! 

We rolled back in to town at 1:30am and spent Sunday working, going to church, and getting ready for the week. Monday, Bob went to the orthopedic doctor and got his pins removed, as well as started his next round of occupational therapy, twice weekly visits and a daily exercise regimen. He's getting there! He needs to keep the brace for at least the next 3 weeks until he sees the surgeon again. Everything is healing up well. 

So, it was a wild month, but all went well! We are looking forward to fall fun, homecoming, Erin's birthday, lots of football, and more in the months ahead!

July!

July ended up being a little more wild than expected, but it all ended well. We started out on the 1st by getting Erin's senior yearbook photos taken at a studio in North Raleigh. It was quite a busy place, but went smoothly. Anna and I helped at CPO on Thursday the 2nd while Erin worked. We had a fun day on the 3rd with the McGees coming over to swim (their grandma came too but didn't swim) and had a feast for dinner, complete with patriotic themed food! 

Saturday the 4th, both kids worked, but we all (plus Joe) enjoyed a shrimp boil dinner at home before attending the Holly Springs fireworks on the evening of the 5th. They were really good and it was a fun time with live music and lots of food trucks! It had rained earlier in the evening, so it was a little cooler.

The week of the 6th was pretty uneventful with the kids working, Anna babysitting, and Bob and I enjoyed an evening at Pints with the Pack at a new brewery near our house. 

Leslie and Logan came up on the evening of the 9th for transfer student orientation (yay!), and we got to hang out with Leslie that evening while he stayed in a dorm. Erin had her first-ever eye doctor appointment on the 10th, just to make sure that she's all good, and she was. Bob, Erin, and I had a really fun time at Elliott's birthday pool party on the 11th while Anna had to stay back and work. 

Bob and I had a nice afternoon on the boat on the 12th while Erin worked and Anna and Joe went to see the new live action Moana movie.

Anna's summer of fun continued on the 12th when she headed to Concord (we met Ansley in Asheboro) for two says of hanging out (shopping and pool) and Megan Moroney concert on the evening of the 14th! They had a blast! 

I had a nice book club meeting on the evening of the 13th. The rest of the week was pretty uneventful until our impromptu college reunion with friends on the evening of the 17th. Rolando was in town, stopping through Raleigh on his way back from a work trip, so we, Liz and David, and Josh and Kati, all met him for drinks and dinner in Fenton. It was a blast! He ended up staying over at our house that night, and we all met back up for breakfast on Saturday. Then, the guys had a day of sightseeing/fun, touring campus (on scooters for part of the time), lunch, axe throwing, and hanging out at a bar/game room. It was very spontaneous and lots of fun! 

Sunday the 19th, both kids worked in the afternoon. Anna also finished her 4-week psychology program through Wake Forest; she did a great job staying on task and keeping up with the assignments. She went from that straight to a 5-day SAT prep class, but thankfully Lyla took the class with her so it wasn't all bad. She got off of work for the week and was able to relax in the mornings. Anna's car also had a recall that required an overnight stay at the dealership. Bob and I had a quick trip to our friends the Rays on the 20th to help them get their computer network up and running again (Bob did all of the work while I petted the dog!). I had a fun dinner out with Dawn and Laura at the Nightingale on the 23rd. We checked out a few homecoming dresses on Saturday morning and then had a fun family outing at Drive Shack!

 Bob and Anna also enjoyed a ramen dinner that evening. Sunday, we ladies hit the road for a fun tour of the University of South Carolina. It was great and is a contender for both kids!

Before that, we had the excitement of Bob hitting a slick spot on a bridge on his bike Sunday morning and taking a tumble, resulting in breaking bones in 3 of his fingers on his right hand. Ouch! He drove himself to the WakeMed ED, where they gave him a nerve block and relocated the pointer finger joint. They took x-rays and thought he would be good to go with immobilization, but another orthopedic doctor reviewed the x-rays, asked him to come in on Tuesday, and explained that surgery would be better because there were multiple breaks. If it had been any one of the three, surgery probably wouldn't have been necessary. So, after 3 days of intense pain, he had his first-ever surgical on Wednesday at WakeMed. It was a great experience, super nice nurses, and was right on schedule. We arrived at 9:40am, procedure was at 11:40am, and we were home around 3:20pm. They did a nerve block in pre-op and gave him propofol in the OR. He had no after effects from anesthesia and has been comfortable at home every since. The doctor placed (very tiny) pins, plates, and screws in his third and fourth fingers and cleaned out the joint that was dislocated on the pointer finger. 

He will have a follow-up on August 11th, then he will start finger PT and will probably have to keep the splint for 8-10 weeks. It has been exciting for sure!

Other than healing and kid jobs, we finished up the last couple of days pretty quietly. Anna caught up with her old friend Annie on Thursday and Erin went to hang out with Elena. Erin has been busy getting college application info together ahead of the big application season. We are all looking forward to and getting excited about school starting in August. It is going to be a BIG year!

June!

We had a fantastic month of June! It was a great transition from school to summer. Anna started out the month with training at her new job, FRESH. Local Ice Cream in Apex, where she is working. So far, it's been going great! She enjoys serving ice cream, and the co-workers and managers are very nice. She's learned a lot and has done a great job managing her schedule and getting herself to and from work.

 While she was training on the 1st, the other three of us went to Concord for a fun afternoon visiting with Grandma and Grandpa (Bob completed an internet wiring project for them) and then attending Ben's Confirmation that evening. It was so nice! 

Tuesday, I went to CPO, Erin worked, and Anna babysat. Erin and I had a nice piano check-in meeting with Ms. Cheryl, and I went to book club. Wednesday was the dentist for the kids and lunch with a neighbor friend. Thursday, Anna was back to the dentist to get a couple of sealants replaced. Friday, Bob and Kevin enjoyed a nice afternoon on the lake while Erin worked and Joe came over to hang out with Anna. Saturday, both kids worked at different times and I picked up BBQ from the Knights' event at church that Bob was working. We were back to the lake on Sunday afternoon with Joe in tow and had a blast swimming and tubing!

Monday the 8th, Bob headed out bright and early to San Jose for his 3 weeks away (one of which was vacation). We ladies stayed busy with trip prep, work, piano, CPO, haircut for Anna, hangout with my friend Denise, and a Joe day. Friday morning, we headed out to the west coast to meet up with Bob, see the Ambrosini cousins, and enjoy a few days in Cabo! The trip post can be found HERE. 

Upon returning the night of the 19th, the girls had cat and plant sitting jobs for the neighbors for 3 days, both were back to work, and Bob and I hit the lake for a few hours on Saturday. Sunday was a quick Father's Day before Bob headed off to Munich for the week. We continued recovering from the trip, going to work, piano, dentist, shopping, and CPO. Joe also came over on Monday after football and my dentist appointment. Erin went to school on Wednesday to have a college counselor review her college application, which got his stamp of approval. Thursday, Erin ended up hosting an impromptu gathering with 4 of her friends, which was lots of fun! 

Anna and I headed to Wake Forest High School that evening to watch Joe in a 7v7 tournament, which was also lots of fun and full of action. Gibbons ended up winning the tournament portion of the event, and Anna got to meet Dexter Lawrence, nose tackle for the Bengals who is from Wake Forest! Friday, Anna went over to Lyla's with Bella for some shopping, pool, pickleball, sleepover, and seeing Toy Story 5. 

Erin and I had a fun outing to Mi Cancun and Target that evening. 

Bob made it home later that evening; he enjoyed getting to experience the huge two-level Airbus A380 from Munich to Dulles. 

Saturday, Erin worked and Bob and I had a great evening in downtown Raleigh, meeting up at Crank Arm Brewery with his co-worker Michelle and her husband, Corey, who were house-hunting in the area. After that, we had a fun dinner at City Market Sushi and got ice cream from Anna's competitor, Goodberry's. 

Sunday was church where we said goodbye to our pastor Fr. Mike who has been reassigned to St. Mildred's in Swansboro, more work for the kids, pool for me, and some errands. Monday, we ladies finally checked out the new Super Target in Fuquay that opened in March. It was huge and basically amazing. Bob, Erin, and I went to Gibbons that evening for Father Luke's final mass on campus, as he has been reassigned to a school in Canada. We are very sad to see him go. We went to dinner at Bibibop and got froyo with Dawn and Olivia after the mass. Tuesday was a chill day with Erin joining Finley and me on Tuesday Morning Adventure at Bass Lake, followed by some lounging and pool time.

We had a wonderful month! Additionally, we had several visits to Anna at work, I visited Erin at work once, and generally have enjoyed having more time together. Bob is looking forward to a break from travel in July, but all went smoothly in June. July should be laid back with a few short trips (Elliott's birthday party, Anna going to Megan Moroney in Charlotte with Ansley, and a girls' trip to tour USC) and knocking out some school work. Let's do this!

California and Cabo!

We had the most fun week in California and Cabo! Bob had been in San Jose the week before for work, so he hopped on a quick flight to LAX on the morning of June 12th, and we ladies met him via a 7am flight from RDU to LAX. Both flights went smoothly, and since Bob arrived an hour before we did, he picked up the rental car (a very comfortable Tahoe!) and circled back to get us at the terminal. We hit the road and headed south, straight to the Ambrosinis' house! After a nice tour for Bob and Erin who had not been to that house before, we got into our Airbnb early, unpacked, and got some groceries. Our rental was in the vicinity of their house, but was in a newer section of the neighborhood, about a 10-minute drive from them. It was a 3-bedroom townhouse and was very quiet and comfortable! After that, we had planned to all meet up at the Lagoon pool near our house, but it was closed due to broken glass, so we went to the Rienda Plunge pool instead and had a really nice time there. We swam for a couple of hours, then everybody got showers and we all met up for a really delicious dinner at Coyote Grill in Laguna Beach. After dinner (and watching part of a World Cup game), we ventured down lots of steps to Table Rock Beach, which was definitely worth the steps! It was beautiful! In the time that we were there, we witnessed 2 wedding proposals and a graduation photo shoot. After that, we all headed home and slept great after a very long day.

Saturday, we got up and Bob, Erin, and I took a nice walk around the neighborhood where we spotted 2 Basset Hounds. We all then ventured to Target in San Clemente for a few "essentials" (aka things we forgot), then met up with Dale, Cole, and Vinny at the beach for some Bear Roast Coffee, a walk down the pier, and then a half mile walk south and back on the Beach Trail where we met 3 more Basset Hounds (totaling 5 Bassets that day)! It was really fun, and the beach was hopping on a Saturday morning. 

We then met Maria and Cooper (who were at a football uniform fitting) at Los Molinos Beer nearby for lunch, which was really delicious. We enjoyed the food and a fun Uno game there! After lunch, we met back up at South Swell ice cream on the main drag in San Clemente (after a parking challenge) and had some amazing ice cream creations! 

We window shopped for awhile after, then most of the guys headed back to the house while the girls and Cooper continued shopping for awhile longer. We met back up at their house, dropped off the girls for some hangout and pet time while Bob and I got showers. Dale and Maria made a super yummy dinner at their house - smashburgers, green beans, salad, and watermelon! Yum! We watched the Knicks win the NBA championship (love the early game times on the west coast!) and played a little hacky sack. 

Sunday, we visited Holy Trinity church, the closest church to their house. It was very nice. 

We then picked up some food for lunch from Albertson's nearby and met everyone at the Lagoon pool for a few hours. The weather there just can't be beat! Then it was time for showers and mini golf at the brand-new Salty Turf near their house. The course (one of two that they have) was beautiful, challenging, and lots of fun! 

Dale and Maria picked up pizzas from the place in their neighborhood, and we had dinner at our place and watched the Hurricanes win the Stanley Cup! What a big sports weekend! We fit in a few rounds of Pit during the hockey intermissions. Then we said goodbye to the cousins and packed up for our early morning on Friday. 

Friday, we hit the road to LAX and had a smooth flight to Cabo after a short delay due to a maintenance issue. We enjoyed some time in the United lounge while we waited. The Cabo airport is maybe about the size of Raleigh, and after a quick run through the arrivals to dodge sales pitches, we met our prearranged car and rode about 30 minutes to our resort, the Casa Maat at the JW Marriott. It was a little east of town, which was very nice and quieter than the places in town probably were. We got quickly checked in and unpacked in our rooms. The resort was so quiet, peaceful, and beautiful! Bob and I went straight to the pool and partook in snacks and drinks while the kids relaxed in their room. We met back up for dinner, which was salad, chicken tortilla soup, and chicken with mole sauce, rice, and fried plantains. The chicken was incredible! Oh, can't forget the tres leches cake for dessert! Yum! 

Tuesday morning, we got up, had breakfast, and Erin and I did a salsa dance class at the fitness center while Bob worked out. We then set up camp at the pool and enjoyed the view for awhile. 

The kids got beef tostadas and chicken tacos for lunch while Bob and I snacked on the complimentary ceviche and guacamole, yum! We headed up for showers and went to a cooking class at 4pm at the neighboring property where we made a fried crab and jicama salad. It was fun and easy! 

We then lounged for awhile and went to dinner, which this night was salad, tomato soup with mini grilled cheese, grilled fish with risotto, and Anna's favorite item of the week: coffee-flavored creme brulee! Each dinner night had a theme from "Around the World", and we enjoyed trying to figure out which country each one was (this night was the most perplexing). Wednesday morning, Bob and I worked out and we spent the midday portion at our pool (repeat lunch from Tuesday) until the winds got too high and they had to take the umbrellas down. So, we decided to check out the pools next door, which were great! We liked the narrow infinity pool with beach view, the swim-up bar pool, and the large family pool with a hot tub and volleyball net. 

We played volleyball for awhile. They also had an adult-only pool with hot tub and a kids' pool and splash pad. None of the pools were very crowded and were lots of fun! We showered and did a few photos before dinner. Tonight was a different salad, corn chowder, beef ribs with mashed potatoes, and sweet potato pie. It was so good! Thursday was yoga class for Erin and me while Bob worked out, breakfast, and a final day at the pools. Lunch was the same as the previous two days (they had a big lunch menu, but the kids stuck with the same things each day).

 Tuesday's ceviche was tuna, Wednesday's was white fish, and Thursday's was shrimp. They also had amazing petit fours each morning before lunch. Mid-afternoon, we went back to the neighbor pools for more swim-up bar and volleyball time. Our final dinner was black bean soup and our choice between fish, pork, and birria tacos with toppings, and flan for dessert. They were all amazing!

Friday, we packed up and met our driver at 8:30am to head to the airport. The Cabo security was speedy and we actually managed to get on a half-full 10am flight to Houston (scheduled for 11:30am). There were no other connections from Houston to Raleigh, so we just had extra time for immigration/customs and lunch. We ended up having more extra time in Houston due to storms, but it only held us up for a little over an hour. We made it home around 12:30am and were happily reunited with Finley, who did very well with Camden, Kellie, and Emilie all week.

So, it was a fantastic trip with lots of sun, family time, and checking out a new place! We really enjoyed both parts of the trip and found the resort in Cabo to be wonderfully quiet and clean with delicious food and outstanding service. Success! We'd go back to Cabo and would want to explore more of the area. 

May!

We made it through May! Really, it was an enjoyable (but busy) month. We started out with one of my last two volunteering shifts at the school store, followed by Erin's final Musicians' Meet Up for the school year on the 1st. 

Bob headed to Zurich on the 2nd after spending a rainy morning at Peak Fest with the Knights. Erin worked in the afternoon and Anna babysat that evening. Anna and I enjoyed a fun day in Harrisburg on the 3rd, celebrating spring birthdays, Mother's Day, and seeing Aunt Diane who came through on her way to Florida to pick Grandma up. Anna had her final youth group meeting that evening, which was a fun ice cream party!

Anna had her final soccer practice on Monday, followed by their playoff game on Tuesday the 5th. Sadly, it did not go their way, but the team played very well and had a great season. Anna enjoyed being a part of the coaching staff! Anna had her first-ever AP exam on the 7th for World History. She thought it went well, but she won't get a score until July. Erin had her first official meeting that day for the trip that she's taking with school to Costa Rica in February! She is really excited about this opportunity and seeing a new country with her friend, Marley, who is also going on the trip. Saturday the 9th was a big day for Erin: her piano recital AND girls' night out to dinner and the DPAC for The Great Gatsby with the McGees! She did an amazing job in the recital which marked the end of ten years of piano lessons!

Anna had a fun afternoon and evening with Joe's family. We had a belated birthday celebration for Bob and I had a nice Mother's Day on the 10th. 

It was Erin's turn for AP exams the following week with AP Music Theory on Monday and AP Environmental Science on Friday. She also felt that they went well. A bonus to the AP exams was that they got the rest of the day off of school, which they enjoyed! 

Bob had a quick trip to New York on the 12th and 13th. Saturday the 16th was Anna's Sweet 16 birthday celebration with friends! It started out with an escape room in Cary, followed by getting ready for dinner/having snacks at our house, then on to downtown Raleigh for a rooftop dinner at The Willard. It was a beautiful evening, and they had a blast! 

The festivities continued on Sunday with family plus Joe going to the Drive Shack. Monday was her actual birthday, the highlight of which was passing her driving test that morning! 

She has thoroughly enjoyed the freedom so far, and driving is going well. The rest of that week was the final regular week of classes for the year. Anna had a job interview at Fresh Local Ice Cream in Apex on the evening of the 20th; she was invited back to shadow on the 26th, and has since been offered a job! Yay! She officially begins on June 1, and she's excited about it. Lyla works at the same place, so they're hoping to be working a lot of the same shifts this summer. Erin was presented with a Perfect Attendance certificate in class on the 21st; she was one of only 11 students out of 1600 who earned that this year!

Bob and I enjoyed a quick trip to New York on the 22nd-23rd for his coworker Brandon's wedding. Grandma and Ansley came up on Friday to stay with the girls, and they had fun shopping, going out to dinner, and hanging out. We did a little sightseeing: went to the Google office upon arrival, then walked the High Line park and toured the Morgan Library and NYC Public Library (main branch) prior to the 4pm wedding on Friday. It was at a wedding venue in Brooklyn and was done in English and Mandarin since the bride's parents didn't speak much English. We enjoyed a delicious dinner and Brandon's band's performance at the reception, complete with guest singer Bob! He did great! After the reception, a few work friends went to the very old McSorley's bar, dating back to 1854! Saturday, we got breakfast and wandered around Freeman's Alley (street art), then checked out St. Patrick's Old Cathedral, and subsequently joined in on a cemetery and catacombs tour that was very interesting! From there, we grabbed our bags at the hotel and took a subway to a bus to Newark Airport, getting there just in time. Thankfully, security was much shorter than what Bob had experienced there the week before. Our flights were uneventful, and all went well!

Erin went to her friend Sadie's birthday party on Saturday evening and had a blast! Sunday the 24th, we all regrouped, started preparing for exams, and Erin worked. It rained, so we couldn't go to the lake as originally planned. Monday was a rainy Memorial Day which we used to get some things done around the house. Tuesday through Friday was exam week, meaning the school days were shortened. No complaints here about that! We celebrated the end of school and Anna's birthday with a dinner with Grandma and Grandpa F. on Friday. Saturday, Bob and I had our first visit to the lake for the season; it was a beautiful morning! Anna made her first solo trip to Clayton that afternoon to pick Joe up, and they visited our pool. Sunday, we went to church, did some chores, and then went to a Salamanders game. It was a great day!

That was May! It was full of work and fun. We are looking forward to a change of pace in summer with some more free time and a fun trip coming up in June!