June

 June was a busy and fun month getting summer started off on the right foot!  The first day of the month was Anna’s last day of school, which she stated was one of the first years that she wasn’t sad to be ending.  I’m not sure if we should attribute that to her age or if it just wasn’t her most favorite year, but regardless, she (and Erin) did a great job this year academically, socially, and just all-around!  We are very proud of them!

That evening, Erin had her dress rehearsals for her dance recitals the coming weekend.  We lucked out by getting both classes’ rehearsals on the same night, albeit with a 2-hour break between them.  We ended up going to get Mexican for dinner nearby with Tara and Ella, so it was wonderful to catch up with them!  

Friday the 2nd was Anna’s 13th birthday friend party, which was a blast!  She invited 7 girls over for a taco bar lunch and cake (which Anna decorated herself), and then we all ventured to Jordan Lake for an afternoon on the boat, swimming and tubing!  The girls had a great time, and Bob and I were worn out!  

Saturday and Sunday were Erin’s dance recitals: Saturday at 1:30pm was her ballet class recital, and Sunday at 4:00pm was her contemporary ballet recital.  Both performances were beautiful and she did a terrific job!  After the Sunday performance, we checked out the Morgan Street Food Hall for dinner, which is sort of a glammed-up food court, but was very good (even though several of the options were closed on Sundays).  

Monday began our super fun week in Hilton Head via Concord.  There’s a separate post for that HERE.  Upon returning on the 12th, Bob headed to the airport to go to NYC for work after a quick stop at home to do laundry and re-pack.  Erin went to her first summer ballet class.  We mostly recovered on Tuesday, then Erin and I went to help organize the storage hallway at StMM while Anna had her first weekly summer babysitting job.  Anna had her checkup at the eye doctor on Thursday, and I enjoyed seeing my friend Tina for lunch on Friday.  Saturday, Bob, Erin, and I took a relaxing pontoon boat ride and then Bob, Anna, and I went to a really fun NC Courage (women’s soccer) game that evening.

We had a fairly laid back Father’s Day, including Anna holding down 2 simultaneous cat-sitting jobs (plus 2 more over the course of a couple of weeks).  The week of the 19th was Erin’s morning dance camp at Gibbons, and Anna decided to try the StMM girls’ basketball camp in the afternoons.  It was a little complicated to manage the driving schedules, but we got it done and everyone had fun!  The dance camp put on a very nice performance at the end of the week.  

Saturday the 24th, Anna went to Morgan’s house during the day and Bob and I then cashed in my dog-sitting gift card at Chef’s Palette for dinner - not sure why we always forget about this nice little place that is so close to us!  Sunday, we went to church and then met our StMM buddies the Kavanagh’s at the lake and took them out for an afternoon on a deck boat.  Their kids really liked swimming and tubing!  It was a great time!  Erin and I (and Finley) saw a beautiful rainbow that evening as well.

Anna decided last-minute to join the Gibbons volleyball camp in the mornings during the week of the 26th, which ended up being really great!  4 of her friends from school were there, and it sounds like they had a great time working on their skills before the season begins.  Each day, they focused on a different aspect of the game.  While she was there on Tuesday, Erin and I ventured to the Catholic store in North Raleigh, but sadly weren’t able to find the stickers that she was looking for.  On Wednesday the 28th, Erin had freshman orientation at Gibbons where the goal seemed to be getting to know each other and the school.  She had a good time!  Her friends Olivia and Vera came home with us after the orientation for lunch and hanging out.  Thursday, Erin and I went back to StMM to do more cleaning of the hallway while Anna was at volleyball.  Friday was Anna’s checkup and a more relaxing day.  Anna also had 2 cat-sitting jobs over this week as well.  She has been making lots of money this summer!

So, it was a busy month and it’s always got some adjusting to the summer routine (or lack thereof), but we had a great time - had some lake time, pool time, relaxation, a fun beach trip, activities, a little work around the house, and more!  We are looking forward to some more down time in July, plus a couple more trips thrown in.

Hilton Head!

We had a fantastic time in Hilton Head last week!  We really love going there, and it's even better with family there, too!  Ansley's confirmation ended up being on the first day of our week-long rental, which we didn't know at the time that we booked it, so the 3 girls made a detour to Concord on June 5th for that, while the guys (Bob and Finley) headed to Hilton Head that day to get checked in.  The confirmation was really great, and we were happy to be there!  

Tuesday morning, we loaded up and headed out with Grandma with us and had a great trip down, stopping in Orangeburg, SC, for lunch at McDonalds and gas and dessert at the new-to-us Spinx, where we got giant ice cream cones and shakes for a very low price!  We rolled on to the island around 2:30pm and were reunited with Finley and Bob.  Bob and I hit the Kroger while everyone else got settled in.  Then it was off to the beach while Bob started making spaghetti, garlic bread, and salad for dinner.  We were entertained by the tiny sand crabs that were on the beach, but they didn't bother people.  After dinner, we took a beach walk.  Dogs are allowed on the beach after 5pm until 10am during the summer.  He LOVED being out there and even started splashing around in tide pools by the end of the week, which is major for a dog who doesn't like water at all!

Wednesday, we got up and packed for our boat day...the plan was to leave Finley at the house, but we heard some very sad (and loud) howling as we were leaving, so we ended up taking him.  The Palmetto Bay Marina was less than 15 minutes from the house, and the Freedom Boat Club setup there was very nice.  We got on the tritoon that we had reserved for the day, got a few quick instructions, and we were off!  

It was a very nice morning, and we really enjoyed cruising around the island and seeing it from that angle.  We parked in the sound near Bluffton and the kids and I briefly got in the water, but it was cold!  Erin managed to stay in the longest.  

We made her hold on to a rope the entire time in case the current tried to carry her away.  We had made subs for lunch and enjoyed those on the boat while cruising down the west side of the island all the way to the Harbour Town light house!  As we got closer to the end of the island, the bay widened and water got more rough, so some of us (me) requested the return trip to be on the narrower side of the sound, along the coast.  The best part of the boat day for me was seeing the dolphins!  There were so many of them, and a few were very close to our boat.  It was great!

After getting back and a quick rest (and facetime call to friends for Erin), we headed out to the beach.  It was a short walk from our condo to the beach, probably about a quarter of a mile.  Anna and I were the first ones there, and as soon as we got there, the lifeguards were getting everyone out of the water due to thunder and lightning.  Then it started raining, but it wasn't raining too hard, so we just waited it out and scored a good beach spot since most of the other people had left!  Everyone else came out to the beach soon after, and we had a great time.  Then it was back to the house for BBQ pork sandwiches.  After dinner, everyone except Finley and I went on bike to get ice cream at the Frozen Moo in Coligny Plaza, while he and I walked on the beach.  

Thursday morning, Grandma, Erin, and I were up and out by about 8:30am for our tour of Savannah!  We got there (which included driving over the super high Talmadge Bridge, which was completed in 1991) and found our trolley for a 9:45am departure.  We were on the trolley for about 90 minutes and really enjoyed seeing and hearing about Savannah!  It is such a beautiful city with a very interesting history.  We rode the entire trolley ride, then got off and back on for 4 stops to a part of town that we wanted to check out on foot.  By the time we reached the cathedral, it was closed for noon mass, so we then found a local burrito place, Burritos Pantano, where we had a yummy lunch and were entertained by the dumbwaiter bringing food down from the second floor kitchen.  Then it was back to the cathedral to check that out, and we walked around town and back to the trolley origin point with a stop in a gift shop for Erin.  

It was a really great time touring a new city for Erin and me!  While we were doing that, Bob and Anna biked to mini golf, got burritos of their own, and then did a little shopping.  

We hit the pool after getting back, then had leftover spaghetti for dinner and walked Finley for awhile.

Friday morning was a trip to the grocery store before more walking/bike riding and waiting for the cousins to arrive, which they did around 2pm!  

After checking out the pool briefly, we hit the beach for awhile before dining on Erin's chicken wraps with corn on the cob, chips, and watermelon for dinner.  Then it was back to the beach!  

Saturday, Bob and the girls were up with the sun to watch the sunrise at the beach.  

We all biked to Starbucks later in the morning (via a stop to exchange Erin's bike that kept losing its chain - the new bike was wobbly and squeaky, but the house had some WD40) and also visited our favorite Village Fudge Shoppe, then had lunch at the house before hitting the beach for a few hours!  

It was a beautiful afternoon, and we were able to find a spot on the beach approaching high tide, which was a little bit tricky on the weekend due to crowds.  

We packed it up by 3:30-4pm and all got showered and over to Holy Family Catholic Church for 5pm mass.  The church was very convenient to our house and it was a nice mass, but felt very slow.  We were also a few of the youngest people there!  After church, we had dinner at Wayback Burgers, then one car went to Kroger to get ice cream for everyone, another car went back to walk Finley, and the third car shopped at the Salty Dog T-shirt Company store.  We met back up at our house for a wild and fun game night!

Sunday was more biking/grocery store/Starbucks (for Erin and me, Boba tea for Bob, Ansley, and Anna) while everyone else took a longer bike ride to the Harbour Town lighthouse/Sea Pines area.  Elliott was a superstar rider and also had lots of fun at a playground near the lighthouse!  We had lunch at the house and then hit the beach for another afternoon of fun with more wind and waves, which made it even better!  After showers and debating dinner, we ended up at Kind of Blue, which was very good!  Then, we hung out at the house and did some pre-packing before getting up and out Monday morning with smooth trips back for everyone. 

It was a really fun week, and we enjoyed every minute!  This 2-bedroom AirBnb was in Shipyard Plantation, which is closer to Coligny Plaza than Palmetto Dunes.  The cousins' (minus Ansley, who stayed with us) place was also in Shipyard, but was a little further back and in a quieter area.  Ours was nice in that it was close to the beach, and it had a larger kitchen and eating area, which was super helpful.  The place itself was great, and we had no issues at all!  We really love coming to Hilton Head because it has so much more than many other beaches that we've been to...the shady biking paths are wonderful, the weather is fantastic, and there are more things to do in general.  We love it!