July! (Erin wrote)

 Erin typed the blog this month! Thanks, Erin! 

July was a packed month with so many fun trips, hard work, and some relaxation time as well! On the 1st, all of the Callaway's painted the bonus room a different color! We are chose to paint it from light green to light gray, and it looks stunning!! We got it completed in one day, which was awesome! 

On the 2nd, we did a morning speedboat with the McGee ladies from 9-1pm, which was a ton of fun! We swam for a while, then Anna and Josie went tubing on our old tube for a long time as well! Then, we had some additional McGee girl fun on July 4th! We went to our neighborhood pool while Bob cooked steak and chicken on the grill, and made additional sides. Olivia and Erin also practiced and performed 2 piano/flute duets: "Ophelia" and "Let Her Go", which were so beautiful! The Callaway girls headed out Wednesday afternoon to Mrs. Karen's condo at Indian Beach! There were two main parts in "The Ocean Club" (where Mrs. Karen's condo was) and we went to the pool for a while in the part that her condo was not in, as well as the beach, and we toured Beaufort for a little bit on Thursday! 

On Friday the 7th, Erin and Gina swam in the sound near our condo we stayed in, and ate lunch. After that, we left Indian Beach in the afternoon, and made it back around 4:30pm for dinner, Erin and Anna going to meet the Weir cats, and adjusting back to our normal routine. Saturday was a big day for Erin and her friends! They went to conquer an escape room in North Raleigh, had dinner at a local brewery in the area, and got froyo afterwards at Sweet Frog! 

Anna and Bob went to help his friend with a computer thing, then went to Mass at 5 while Gina and Erin were at the hangout! Erin and Gina then watched Olivia play the flute at the 11 o' clock Mass on Sunday. Erin had choreography camp at the dance school the following week, then Anna and Gina were off and having fun in California from July 12-16th!! You can read all about their amazing family time in Southern California here. 

While Anna and Gina were in California, Erin finished up her dance camp, Bob and Erin went to Mass at 5pm and did some church stuff, and made pork carnitas for when the Cali girls came back on Sunday evening! On the week of July 17th, Erin had drivers ed! It was Monday-Friday each day from 8:30-2:30 pm, for 6 hours each day to make the 30 hours needed for the classroom portion of driver's ed. There was a local driving school located in Holly Springs, so a proximate drive back and forth. She got to do it with Ella in our neighborhood, along with a few others that she knew there too! While Erin was learning so hard about how to drive, Anna had to babysit two younger boys in the neighborhood on Wednesday, and Anna and Gina helped at a new kindergarten event on the playground, as well as selling used uniforms. Anna finished out her week with Morgan coming over on Friday, then all of us went to a very hot, but fun Salamanders baseball game on Friday night! We had a morning boat reserved on Saturday morning for all of us to recharge and relax at the lake! 

The week of July 24th was a more relaxing week to end the month on a good note, including seeing all of the cousins in Concord on Thursday the 27th! It was a ton of fun, with some crafts, yummy taco lunch, and Five Crowns. We really had a great time seeing everybody! 

We mostly relaxed on Friday-Sunday, and Bob went to New York for work, not fun on the 31st, and ended the month with Erin having her last ballet class at HSSOD before transferring to Cardinal Gibbons for dance classes and other opportunities. Erin said that dance inside and outside of school was going to be too much for her, but had so many teachers throughout the years. Don't worry, she'll keep doing piano and fun clubs at school for her extracurriculars! 

     

California Trip!

Anna and I had the most wonderful time in California this past week!  We had planned a trip for just the two of us because the days that worked out the best were days that Erin had already scheduled a dance camp (and she had drivers' ed starting the day after we got back, as well).  This way, also, we could stay at the cousins' house and keep it easy.  So, we left out of Raleigh around 8am on Wednesday, July 12th, and had a smooth and on-time arrival at LAX.  We found the rental car place without any problems and hopped in our car (a Genesis sedan that was very nice) for a short drive to a shopping area that Anna had researched ahead of time.  Since Dale and Maria were working that day, we were not in a big hurry to get to their house.  This place was called "The Point" and is technically in El Segundo, CA, not far from the airport.  

We checked out a few stores and had a yummy lunch there.  Then we made a quick coffee stop nearby and drove the rest of the way to Rancho Mission Viejo, about 50 minutes away.  I was very proud of myself for navigating the roads there (we were not able to sync our phones to the car, so we rigged up the directions straight from the phone), but really it was not bad at all.  The traffic on Wednesday was much worse than the return trip on Sunday morning, but both were manageable.  We could use the HOV lanes since there were 2 of us in the vehicle.

After getting to their house, we had a fun time hanging out with Cole and Cooper, as well as Olive and Glow, for awhile!  We played some hide and seek, got a house tour of their beautiful new house that we had not seen, and hung out inside and outside.  Once everyone else got home, we went to a yummy Mexican dinner at Morena's near their house.  Then we made a quick stop at Rite Aid for ice cream and then back to their house.  Thursday morning, Dale made a yummy pancake breakfast, then the kids and I went to a couple of parks right near their house.  

Cole was excited that the zipline was working that day, since sometimes it's broken.  The parks there are wonderful!  After that, Cole, Anna, and I went to the San Clemente Outlets for a little shopping.  It was fun to check out a new place.

We also had lunch at Panera there and then stopped at Target on the way back.  Then it was back to the house to hit the pool with Dale and Cooper too!  They took us to the new Lagoon pool in the newer section of the neighborhood, and it was HUGE!  We had a blast there and were surprised at how cold the water was compared to our pools here.  

They said that only recently has the sun really been out and the air warmer.  Then, it was back to their house for a yummy sausage and pasta dinner and then a walk/scooter ride to the sports park nearby for some playground time while Dale, Cole, and Cole's friend practiced baseball on the field.  

We stopped and cooked s'mores at the neighborhood fire pit behind their house on the way home.  

Friday was Disneyland day!!!  We were up early and out the door by 7am to make the park opening at 8am.  Everyone except Dale and Vinny went that day.  We had no issues parking, and they were happy to see the tram running from the parking deck to the park entrances.  The tram was not running the last time that they went in 2021, and they had to walk a long way to/from the park.  

We got right in and hit the rides!  I think the rides we rode were (probably not in this order): Astro Orbiter, Buzz Lightyear, Space Mountain, cars (Autopia), Matterhorn, Teacups, It's a Small World, Big Thunder Mountain, Chip and Dale roller coaster, and Astro Orbiter again.  We also saw the Lion King show and the parade!  We ate pretzels, pizza for lunch, frozen lemonades, popcorn, and frozen ice cream bites (and Cole got a giant pickle).  The kids each got a souvenir.  It was hot but bearable, and it was nice in the shade.  We stayed until about 5pm and really had a wonderful day.  

When we got back, we took a break and then Dale grilled some really good chicken on the grill.  After dinner, the kids watched a few shows and the adults enjoyed the beautiful weather on the patio.

Saturday, we were up and all went to watch Cole's first of two baseball tryouts that day.  He did a really great job!  From there, the girls and Cooper went to Cooper's tae kwon do class, which was definitely a workout!  He was awesome!  The 4 of us got smoothies after all that work.  Then it was back to the house for a quick change and to meet up with the other guys, and then we all headed to the beach!  We had subs in the car on the way and found a parking spot at Doheny State Beach without too much trouble.  It was a little hazy, which I think is perfect to not be right in the hot sun.  Turns out that the water was pretty cold, but I was able to walk to a surf shop nearby and rent Anna a wetsuit, so she was able to boogie board with Cole, Cooper, and Maria!  

We had a blast at the beach.  After 2-3 hours, we went home so Cole could go to his second tryout of the day while Anna and I went to church (Holy Trinity, just 10 minutes away).  Then we all went to watch the end of Cole's tryout and then on to Pizza Port in San Clemente for dinner, which was super crowded but super delicious!  Then it was back to the house to pack and go to bed.

Sunday we were up and out of the house by 6am and had smooth sailing back to LAX, gassed up and dropped off the car, and had no wait at security.  So, we waited for awhile because I had thought we'd have at least one holdup, but we did not.  The flight was delayed about 30 minutes for a maintenance issue, but we were not very late landing.  We got home around 7:45pm.  I would fly direct to LAX anytime - it was busy, but we had no issues, and it was only about 30 more minutes' driving than flying out of John Wayne with a connection, so I think this was faster overall.  Anna was SAD to leave, but we had such a wonderful time and really enjoyed seeing the people and the places!  Thank you, Ambrosini cousins!