2024

2024 was quite a year!  We worked hard and played hard, and had some great and memorable experiences.  You really can’t ask for more than that!  Here are the highlights by month:

January - Got new carpet, Summers visited and we went to Logan's robotics meet.

February - Went to Dancing with the Stars Live, Anna tried out for soccer, did some volunteering.

March - Anna was accepted into Cardinal Gibbons, Anna’s soccer games started, Erin participated in the YAA piano competition, and we had a great Spring Break road trip out west!

April - Erin was in her in spring dance shows!

May - Erin had her piano recital, Anna's birthday, visit from Uncle Tom and Aunt Lillian, Anna went to Lake Norman, boat season began, Anna's 8th grade dance and graduation.

June - Topsail Beach trip for Anna and Gina, Erin began summer volunteering at the library, Erin piano camp, Bob and Anna bike race.

July - Europe trip (Italy, Switzerland, Taylor Swift in Zurich, and Germany), Hilton Head Island week!

August - Back to school, Anna started high school.

September - School, Anna went to Busch Gardens, homecoming game/dance.

October - Buddy Walk in Concord, Erin's 16th birthday, Halloween!

November - Erin got her driver's license!  Also, end of lake season, Bob and Gina went to an NCSU football game, and Thanksgiving.

December - Erin was in her fall dance shows, midterm exams, Christmas!

In addition, Bob had many trips for work (including 2 to Europe, 1 to Australia, and 1 to Brazil), Erin practiced driving, Anna did a lot of pet sitting and babysitting, both girls had very active social lives, and we all enjoyed lots of fun on the boats at Jordan Lake!  It was truly a great year, and we are looking forward to another wonderful one ahead!

December!

December was, as always, super busy and fun!  It was extra busy for Bob, who spent the first week of it in Sydney for his regular work trip that happens twice per year.  While he was gone, we ladies worked on Christmas decorations, book club, school, volunteering, a very cold tournament football game for Anna and Bella (they won!), and my seasonal job reading scholarship applications for Duke/UNC which kept me busy between everything else for about 6 weeks.  In addition to all of that, it was Erin's fall dance show week!  She had rehearsals on Monday and Tuesday for 3 hours, then a show on Wednesday evening and 2 shows on Thursday.  The theme for this show was seasons, beginning with New Year's and ending with Christmas.  Her class did a really awesome (possibly the most-talked-about; she said kids at school were talking about it the next day) Halloween/zombie-themed dance, and she was also in the Christmas finale!  It was a really great show, and she enjoyed being on stage.  She had special guests, the McGee girls, watching her on Thursday evening!

We had a busy day on the 7th, starting with Anna babysitting and Erin driving herself to her piano meetup while I helped at church.  

Anna and Bella then went to see the Wicked movie that afternoon while Erin and I enjoyed seeing Luciano in The Crucible at his school.  After all of that, Bob got back from Sydney at 11pm after a wild time navigating some flight delays and cancellations.  Sunday, we did some shopping and Erin lectored at youth mass before youth group that evening.

The week of the 9th was a little less crazy, but still very busy.  Anna had a cooking club meeting on Monday, then Erin and I went to Olivia's band concert on Tuesday evening (it was awesome, and Olivia was in a quartet!), and we went to the final football game on Friday night.  The weather was better than it was the week before, but the outcome was not.  We lost in the final 4, and the team that beat us ended up losing in the state championship.  It was a good game, though.  

Saturday, Erin drove herself to church for confession while Anna and Bella hit the books, studying for exams at the library and then Bob and I enjoyed a fun night out at the Angus Barn with Liz, David, Josh, and Kati.  It was so great to catch up!

  

The week of the 16th was midterm exams.  They had up to 2 exams per day from Tuesday-Friday between 8:30am-noon.  Erin didn't have any the first day because of her flex period and dance class not having exams.  Anna got to leave early on Tuesday because of PE, and got to go in late on Friday for her flex period.  They all went well, and now Anna has her first round of high school exams under her belt.  After finishing on Friday, Erin had her 16 year old checkup which went very well, and Anna had a blast at her friend Stella's house for Friendsmas!  

Saturday, Anna babysat her friends the Koesters in the evening while Erin and I had a blast at her Friendsmas, hosted by Luciano and his parents.  

Between all of that, Anna had a few pet-sitting jobs, and we got some baking done!

The girls went to Concord on the 23rd; Bob met Chris in Asheboro to hand them off.  They helped Grandma get the lasagna ready, and Erin went to volunteer at the homeless shelter with Grandma that evening!

While they were gone, we took Finley on a nice hike and watched a movie.  We went to Concord on the 24th for a super fun Christmas Eve!  

After getting back that evening, we had a blast at the Tierneys' annual Elf Party, complete with yummy food and super fun games.  Christmas was great, including going to church at 10am that morning.  We also had a nice ham dinner that evening.  

Highlight gifts include a new phone for Anna, and some money that Erin is required to spend on something fun (not put in her bank account!).  Bob got a nifty tabletop fire pit, and Gina got some comfy stadium seats for our football games.

Anna got talked in to taking the 30-hour drivers ed class over break, which meant going to the place in Garner from 8am-2pm for 5 days straight (the 26th-30th).  It was not fun, but she was a trooper and got it done!  We presented our annual 2025 trip proposals on the 27th; the final decisions are being made now.  We had a great visit from Grandma A. and Ansley from the 28th-30th, including watching a sad bowl game for the Wolfpack and going to a happier women's basketball game on the 29th!  

For New Year's Eve, we are mostly hanging out here, and Anna is having Bella over to sleep over. 

So, that was December!  It was wild as always with a couple of extras (dance show and driver's ed), but we got it all done, everyone stayed healthy, and we really enjoyed the extra time with family and friends.  We are looking forward to a great month and year ahead, and hopefully a little snow!

November

November was full of so much goodness!  We started out the month with possibly the biggest event:  Erin got her driver's license on the 1st!  She had an appointment that morning at the Cary DMV (the same place that she got her permit) since they were off school that day.  It all went smoothly, and she passed her road test!  So exciting!  She's been gradually getting used to driving alone, and is doing a great job and starting to feel more confident.  We are so proud of her.

We went to mass for the holy day that evening.  We took a cruise on the lake on Saturday morning while Anna babysat and then went ice skating with her friends.  

Erin worked at the Gibbons open house on Sunday, and Anna and I hit some stores while she was there.  The week of the 4th, everyone was here, and we were busy with the usual things.  I enjoyed going to a Hurricanes game with my friend Molly on Thursday evening.  Saturday the 9th, Bob and I cashed in his birthday (?) gift and went to the Wolfpack/Duke football game!  It was a beautiful day and we had a blast, other than the outcome not going our way.  The Pack fought hard, though.  We had a quick little tailgate and had a fun shuttle ride over in an open-top party bus.  Nothing but style for the Pack!  

Meanwhile, Anna went to Friendsgiving and a sleepover at Lyla's house with her new crew of friends from Gibbons.

Bob headed to Salt Lake city on Sunday for a work event.  We ladies had a busy and productive week, ending with attending Jeff's fall play, The Giver.  It was so good!  We caught up on things on Saturday, and Bob headed to California on Sunday morning for another work event.  We girls enjoyed Ms. Karen's annual apple cider-making party, then Erin lectored at youth Mass before youth group that evening.

The final week of school for the month was another busy one; teachers were trying to get final tests in and projects wrapped up, plus Erin is preparing for her fall dance show the week of December 2nd.  She also visited her alma mater, StMM, on Monday the 18th with her Service Beakers club, where they taught a science lesson to 4th and 5th graders after school.  Erin got to present the lesson to the group!  I had a kitchen consultation on Tuesday; we are considering renovating it, as well as the master bathroom.  I'm already concerned about all the decisions associated with that!  Erin also went to lector training at church on Wednesday evening.  She has been a busy bee lately!

Bob got back on Wednesday evening for a solid 8 days at home!  I had a busy week making dinner for 3 families - Vera had ACL surgery, Heather T. had surgery, and a family from church had a baby.  We ate better because we had the same things!  Anna babysat Friday night while Erin and I enjoyed a dance performance at Meredith College to fulfill her honors requirement for her dance class.  Saturday was pretty laid back, and Sunday, Erin and I had a blast at her Friendsgiving/Olivia & Luciano's 16th birthday party!  Monday, I took Olivia hiking and to lunch as her confirmation sponsor; we ended up doing a pretty intense 4 mile hike along the Haw River, but the weather was beautiful and nobody got hurt!  Tuesday, Erin and I worked at CPO on what was advertised to be a crazy day but in reality wasn't bad at all.  Erin did a great job and enjoyed it.  

Bella came over to hang with Anna that afternoon.  Wednesday, we girls headed to Concord for a super fun 2 days with the family!  The girls went shopping in the afternoon, then helped Grandma make pies and cranberry salad that evening.  

The California Ambrosinis arrived late that evening, and we all had a super fun sleepover!  Bob drove down on Thursday morning.  Thanksgiving was a great day, too, with family portraits, an awesome meal, football for the guys, and lots of fun family time!  We headed back that evening.  

Friday, Bob set off again, this time to Sydney for his bi-annual trip there.  He had a marathon travel schedule:  RDU to O'Hare, then to Houston, and THEN the 17.5 hours to Sydney!  He's still in the air as of writing this.  Jeff came over here Friday afternoon, and he and Erin played games, baked, and made dinner for us!  Anna managed 3 pet-sitting jobs that day, too.  Saturday, Anna is planning to shop with Bella while Erin is at Hadestown at the DPAC with Jeff's family, then she and I are going to see Pentatonix tonight!  We cannot wait!

So- November was full of lots of work, but fun too.  I've been working on the Duke/UNC applications again this year; 'tis the season!  We are so thankful for our health, family, friends, and all of our blessings!  Bring on December!  It's going to be condensed and jam-packed!

October!

October was, as always, very busy!  Bob started out with a quick trip to Washington DC for a work meeting with the federal government.  The kids enjoyed Spirit Week at school with fun dress days before the homecoming football game on Friday, plus dressing up for an all-school Mass for the feast of St. Francis.  Erin did a make-up piano lesson on Friday because of a cold on Tuesday, then she and Bob met us at the football game that evening, which was a lot of fun for everyone!  The parents and Finley enjoyed a nice morning on the boat on Saturday while Anna babysat.  

Sunday was fairly relaxed with youth Mass/youth group that evening.

Bob headed across the pond to London the following week for some work meetings from Tuesday-Friday plus travel.  Erin went to the Service Beakers club Mass after school on Monday the 7th. We got a peek at the Northern Lights in North Carolina on the 10th.  

The rest of the week for us was fairly uneventful, until a super fun time on Friday night for Friday Night Lights, the Gibbons football event for middle school families.  Erin worked hard helping with the egg and spoon race station for a few hours.  Erin and I did some yard work on Saturday while Anna babysat, then Bob got home that evening.

Bob, Gina, and Erin had a great afternoon at the lake on Sunday, trying to get in as many warm days while they are here!  

The girls were off on Monday the 14th for a teacher workday, so we used that time to go to the dentist.  We also had the excitement of having our water heater replaced with a tankless unit.  Nothing was wrong, but the old tank was 10 years old and we wanted to avoid the emergency situation that happened 10 years ago when one of our previous tanks sprung a leak.  The installation went smoothly, and we are enjoying having "fast" hot water now!

Both kids took the PSAT on Tuesday the 15th and were able to go home after, and then they were off again on Wednesday while the juniors took the PSAT.  For them, it's mostly for practice and also to help with course placement for next year.  I had a nice long walk with my friend Priscilla that afternoon as well.  I went to vote early on the 17th between my shift at CPO and picking the kids up from school.  I definitely underestimated the wait time on the first day of early voting, but thankfully the kids could hang out at school and wait for me and I don't have to pick them up right at 3pm.  

We had a super fun trip to Concord on the 19th for Erin's birthday and the Buddy Walk!  

Bob also helped with the fish taco night at StMM and Anna had Bella sleep over at our house that evening. Erin lectored at the youth Mass on the 20th and the girls had youth group after the youth Mass. 

Erin went on her annual advisory service trip on the 22nd, where they went to a food pantry to help sort food, make hot meals, etc. and went to Short Journey (the retreat center that Gibbons owns) for lunch and time for reflecting/games. I hosted book club that evening where we discussed a historical fiction book about the lawsuit between Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse, which was surprisingly interesting!

Erin had an amazing SWEET SIXTEEN on Wednesday the 23rd, and you can read about that here!

Bob traveled to New York for two days and Gina volunteered at CPO on the 24th. I've been going every Thursday since early September and am really enjoying getting to know the other volunteers and helping assemble carts of groceries for the families that we serve and load the food into their cars.  The last Gibbons home football game of the season was on the 25th, so Anna and Erin went to that with some friends. Erin had her "monthly hangout crew" come over to our house on the 26th for a murder mystery party! You can read more about Erin's friend party in the Erin is 16! blog post. 

Anna babysat her usual Saturday morning crew (Bryce and Charlotte) and also babysat for some new clients, the Riegners, that evening. Sunday the 27th was a relaxing day with church and recovering from the party.

Bob went to the Bay Area from Monday evening until Thursday evening. On Monday, Anna went to the Gibbons girls retreat and enjoyed it, and Erin helped with an Admissions Morning event at school, where she helped distribute name tags to the parent visitors. I went to my first meeting for this season's round of reading for the Robertson program.  I'm very excited to get to review the applications again!  I went to a Gibbons meeting Monday night to hear about their strategic plan, and, of course, their need for financial support. Otherwise, we had a chill week, with Gina helping at the Gibbons school store and going to a Confirmation meeting on Wednesday. Anna had Bella over trick-or-treating in our neighborhood on Thursday, and Erin went trick-or-treating at Jeff's house with him and Olivia; she had a great time at his house. 

Yes, we know that the day after Halloween is November 1st, but that day was so special and Erin wanted it to be included in this blog post. Erin got her license on the 1st!!!!!!!!!!!! She had an appointment booked in Cary for 10:30 on Friday morning, and everything went smoothly. We waited a little while to get her documents uploaded, and then Erin was off to successfully pass her road test! She went into a small neighborhood to do a 3-point turn, drove in reverse for a bit, and then made a couple right and left turns and parked into a parking space. Her driving examiner was very nice and funny! After she heard the big news, she called some friends/family members on the way home (she wasn't driving 😀 ).  We are very proud of her for completing all of the training and supervised driving hours.  It was a bit of a rush to finish the 10 night hours, but she got it done in time!

So, whew!  That was October!  It's always so busy but so much fun.  We loved celebrating Erin's big 16th birthday.  I am personally looking forward to my favorite month, November, with perfect weather, beautiful leaves, a bit of a breather, and Thanksgiving!

Erin is 16!

Happy SWEET 16th birthday to Erin!  She has completed a busy and exciting year, and has another one coming up ahead of her!  She had a full week of celebrations, beginning on Saturday the 19th at a fun lunch at Grandma and Grandpa's house, followed by the Buddy Walk in Kannapolis!  We had Bojangles and cupcakes, then walked them off together on a beautiful day!

On her actual birthday, Wednesday, Erin had a very busy day at school, including hosting an 8th grade shadow student for the morning (giving him a tour, taking him to an orientation meeting, and taking him to two of her classes) and taking a math test.  After school, she relaxed for a bit, then we enjoyed a nice ham and noodle casserole dinner (her request) and chocolate-chocolate cake from Publix together, followed by presents!  She was so excited to get tickets to the Pentatonix concert in Raleigh at the end of November.  

The grand finale was her murder-mystery dinner party with her friends on Saturday evening.  She invited her "monthly hangout" group of friends from middle school, and all seven of them were able to come!  Olivia came over early and the two of them made a delicious and beautiful cake together.  Everyone else showed up at 6pm and had pasta and salad from Cristo's near us.  Most of the friends' moms stayed too, and we had a very nice time sitting on the porch and visiting!  After dinner, the game began.  Erin had sent them their characters ahead of time, and everyone came with costumes!  We got a murder mystery game kit that was easy to print out clues for each of the three rounds.  We took the simplest option for the game and cut out all of the extra parts to keep it easy.  They did a great job of divulging their clues to others and getting info from each other.  At the end, they all took turns guessing who they think was the killer...which nobody got correct!  So, I think it was enough of a challenge for them.  After that, they enjoyed the amazing cake!  Erin, Jeff, and Olivia even got to work in a wild game of Pictionary after everyone else left.  It was a really fun evening, and Erin enjoyed it so much.  

So, 16.  Erin is truly a remarkable person.  She works so hard every day and always does her best.  I like to joke that she makes me look disorganized (and I brag about being organized myself)!  She has tried so many new things recently, in addition to all of her continued activities:  taking on a leadership role within her Service Beakers club, becoming an Admissions Ambassador at Gibbons (giving tours, answering parent questions, hosting shadow students, and more), doing a few extra things at piano (participated in a video about practicing and is doing the ensemble festival in January), and...DRIVING!  She has completed more than 60 hours of driving, including 10 hours of night driving, and has done a really good job.  Driving is complicated, and she has learned how to manage all of the parts of it at one time.  

She has a good group of friends, both the "monthly hangout crew", and also some girls that she's met at Gibbons.  Her friends love that she is always so supportive and kind.  She has been to four football games this year and enjoyed hanging out with her friends there.  She also had a blast at the Homecoming dance!  College is on her radar, and she's taken it upon herself to attend college rep visits at school and suggested our day of seeing several campuses back in September.  She is excellent at communicating with teachers and managing her schedule, things like: scheduling make-up quizzes, attending office hours, coordinating projects, etc.  Teachers love her and compliment her on her participation in class.  Her classes have gotten a lot harder this year; she's taking 4 honors classes compared to 2 last year (chemistry, math, Spanish, and dance) and is doing wonderfully in them.  I could go on and on, but basically, we are so very proud of her and the amazing daughter, student, sister, and friend that she is.  She never gives up when things are hard.  Her teenage life is busy and complicated these days, but she is handing it so well.  We love Erin!

September!

September was busy!  Bob started out the month with a fun evening at the NASCAR race in Darlington with Chris, Logan, Doug, and Sean.  The weather was great, and he had a lot of fun!  Meanwhile, we ladies had a fun shopping outing at Crabtree mall for homecoming dresses.  I enjoyed a nice dinner out with neighbor friends Tara and Angie, who I don’t get to see as often as I would like.  We miss the days of hanging out while our little kids played together!  The next day was Labor Day; Anna went shopping with Bella, and all of us had a nice Mexican dinner with Liz and David.  Tuesday was back to school, and the rest of the week was back to the usual routine.  Anna got her hair done on Thursday, but thankfully it was a much shorter appointment than the last one she had in May!  Friday the 6th was the first home football game of the year, and it was a good one!  Anna went home with Lyla after school to get ready, and then we all met back up at the game.  The student section theme for this game was “Hawaiian”, so they all had fun dressing for the theme!  

Saturday, Anna had her regular morning babysitting job, then we enjoyed a nice afternoon at the lake before watching the Wolfpack get beaten badly by Tennessee that evening.

Sunday the 8th was pretty laid back, except for getting our flu shots against some people’s wills.  Monday, Bob headed out for his nearly 2 week trip, beginning in New York for work meetings until Thursday evening.  From there, he flew to Reykjavik, Iceland, where he spent 4 days and 3 nights exploring!  He rented a camper van (it sounds like that is more commonly done there compared to here), which was a Land Cruiser SUV fitted with a queen-sized mattress, cooktop, cooler/refrigerator drawer, dishwashing sink, and heater.  He traveled around the southern/western part of the island and got to see the northern lights, waterfalls, geysers, hot springs, geothermal hot springs, beautiful black sand beaches, snow, and so much more!  He hiked quite a bit and had a really good time.  His pictures are amazing!  From there, he flew Monday night to Vienna, where he attended a conference until Friday morning, when he flew home.  It was a good trip, and he utilized the Frankfurt to Raleigh flight on Lufthansa again.  

While he was gone, all went smoothly at home.  Anna had a 16-day cat-sitting job for her friends next door, which went fine.  The girls attended some club meetings and sporting events at school.  I had a few meetings for school, youth group, and book club, in addition to the regular piano and Y visits.  One of the meetings was Back to School Night at Gibbons, where I got to visit the girls’ classes and meet their teachers.  It was great!  We had a lot of rain early in the week, which worked out great for our yard reseeding that Thursday.  I am so excited to have started back with volunteering at the Catholic Parish Outreach food pantry in Raleigh once a week!  My first day was on the 12th, and my job was “running” the carts of groceries to the families’ cars.  The next two Thursdays, I’ve been assembling the carts, which is also super fun.  I am thoroughly enjoying being back there after a 16-ish year hiatus (I helped there when I was in nursing school, before Erin was born) ;)

The kids were off school on the 13th for a teacher workday, which ended up being a rainy and relaxing day.  Erin had a dermatology checkup, which went well.  We continue to treat her eczema as it flares up.  We watched the Gibbons football game online that night because it was so rainy (they lost, sadly).  

Saturday the 14th, Anna had a fun trip to Busch Gardens with the freshman class.  The weather was good and she enjoyed going somewhere new!  She rode some rides, but wasn’t quite up for some of the biggest roller coasters.  While she was gone, Erin and I had a spontaneous college tour where we checked out 4 schools in the Greensboro/Winston-Salem area.  First, we stopped at Elon, where we were invited to join a tour group that was starting at the same time.  It was awesome to get the guided tour and learn more about the school.  Elon is a medium-sized school (about 7,000 students) on a beautiful campus.  I was personally surprised at how much it’s grown since I was looking at schools!  

From there, we walked through UNC Greensboro and snuck in to the music building (it was awesome) and had a lunch break.  Then it was on to Guilford College (very small, but nice), and Salem College (even smaller, but also nice).  It was a great day, and a great idea of Erin’s to go!  

The following week was fairly calm.  We got a few quotes for a tankless water heater, which will be installed in October.  I helped in the school store one day, which was as fun as usual.  Bob got back without incident on Friday afternoon.  The girls had their homecoming dance on Friday evening, and had a blast!  Erin went to her friend Mady’s house to get ready and eat dinner.  

I think they were tired all weekend after the big night out!  Saturday, Erin, Bob, and I went to Logan’s cross country race in Cary.  That was a huge event with 11 races, and he did a great job!  

After that, we watched the Pack lose to Clemson, and then Bob cooked at the church jambalaya event while Anna babysat and Erin and I went out for Japanese food.  

Bob and I had a nice morning on the boat on Sunday while the others slept in.  We all went to the first youth mass of the year on Sunday evening (the 22nd), and the ladies stayed after for the first youth group meeting.  It wasn’t too bad (as far as youth group goes).  This is the year that both kids will go; Erin will be confirmed this April, and then she will be finished.  Anna is just starting the 2-year program.  The week of the 23rd was busy but routine with some club meetings, piano, and Anna watched her friends’ field hockey game on Wednesday. We tried to watch our away football game in the rain on Thursday on TV, but had some technical difficulty.  Gibbons is currently 3-1, which is better than NC State’s 2-2.  They got a day off on Friday for Hurricane Helene, which thankfully only brought about 2” of rain and some wind, but no power loss, to us.  Bob cooked at Oktoberfest at church on Friday evening, and Anna had another babysitting job.  

The plan for Saturday is for Anna to have her morning babysitting job and the rest of us to clean up the yard from the storm before watching the Pack hopefully beat Northern Illinois, and then hitting the lake in the late afternoon.  Sunday will just be church and prep for the week, and Monday after school, Erin gets to go to her first school visit this year for her Service Beakers club, and it happens to be at St. Mary Magdalene!  She is looking forward to seeing the kids and teachers there.  Next week is also spirit week at school before the homecoming football game on Friday.

So, it was a busy month with lots of rain and lots of events!  We are thankful that all went smoothly, and we are looking forward to a special event next month:  Erin’s Sweet 16!  Can you believe it?! 

Hi - Erin :) <3

August

August is in the books!  It was a great month with the long-awaited beginning of school.  Before that, though, we started out with Erin's weekly volunteering at the library and a fun night of neighborhood bunco for me on the 1st, followed by a day of shopping for Anna and Bella on Friday.  We enjoyed a quick afternoon on the boat on the 3rd before a storm rolled in.  

Anna had a few friends over to swim at the pool on the 4th, and, thankfully, the weather was much better!  

We enjoyed some mini golf at the ParTee Shack with Pam, Jimmy, and Danny on the 5th.  Anna had a very busy day on the 6th, starting with her academic onboarding day at Gibbons, followed by a fun time at Annie's birthday party at Rush Hour Karting where they went go karting and played some other fun games!  Their class schedules came out that day, which involved lots of discussions with friends.  Bob and I enjoyed a very nice dinner at Sullivan's for our anniversary that evening, thanks to a gift card from our friends Tim and Gina in exchange for a Suburban loan to them!  

Erin and I were back at Gibbons on the evening of the 7th for the freshman parent gateway, where she was a group leader.  Anna had her annual eye doctor appointment on the 9th and got a clean bill of health.  That weekend was fairly quiet; we couldn't go to the lake due to high water levels from Hurricane Debby, which was not a huge event in our area, but we did have a lot of rainfall that affected rivers and the lake and closed the lake for 2 weekends.  Erin's friend Jeff came over to play board games on Saturday in lieu of our scheduled boat day.  We ladies had a fun furniture shopping outing on the 11th, gathering information for Anna's bedroom.  Erin had a meeting at school on Monday, followed by her last session of the 4-night teen group on the 12th.  She did a great job this summer, practicing some social skills.  We are proud of her!  Bob served as an usher for our friend Steve Veno's funeral that evening as well.  The 14th was back to Gibbons (warming us up for the commute with all of these trips there in early August), including Anna attending a freshman retreat and Erin having her welcome day, followed by a retreat for the Admissions Ambassadors program that she's going to be a part of this year.  We all felt a little nostalgia on the 15th when we attended the StMM school mass for the feast of the Assumption.  We ladies enjoyed our last official day of summer with a nail appointment on Friday the 16th!  

Erin had a fun time at her monthly friend hangout on the 17th, where they did an escape room and then swam at our pool.  Anna had 2 babysitting jobs the same day, both for new clients.  The morning job is now a running weekly gig, which is great for income, but less than ideal for sleeping in!  Anna, Bella, and I had a blast checking out the Right Meow Cat Cafe in Fuquay on Sunday the 18th.

Anna had her welcome day on the 19th, followed by a club expo at school.  Erin helped with the beginning of the welcome day, which is basically a huge parade where the older students get the freshmen out of their cars with the band and cheerleaders there, and give them a big welcome to Gibbons!  I went to book club that evening.  The rest of the week, the girls had their first 4 regular days of school, and they went well.  Erin participated in the optional dress-up day for all-school mass on the 20th. 

Erin had her last session at the library on the 22nd.  She did a great job working with school-age kids and supporting the adult instructor and the themed programs each week. 

 Anna did a great job learning her way around school, including a long haul from the auxiliary gym to her math class on "A" days!  

Bob, Erin, and I had a nice morning on the boat on Saturday while Anna babysat.  Otherwise, we just rested and did some house stuff that weekend.  The week of the 26th was back to school and adjusting to the new routine.  Erin had a club meeting on Monday, I got to help in the school store on Tuesday, Anna had a club meeting on Wednesday, and I participated in monthly adoration on Thursday, where Erin's theology class showed up!  Erin also had her first piano club session of the year on Tuesday, and she said that her group this year will be another great one!  This is her 9th year of taking piano lessons!  We enjoyed watching a more-stressful-than-expected Wolfpack football game on Thursday, which did end up in our favor.  The plan for Saturday is another boat morning while Anna babysits (she says it's ok for us to go without her; we finally got an afternoon time slot for the 7th), then go to 5pm mass and dinner out before Bob heads out on Sunday for the NASCAR race in Darlington!

Erin has also been working hard on her driving and is doing a great job.  She's currently got 50 of the required 60 hours, including 3 of the required 10 night hours.  

September looks like a great month ahead with fun, football, and school!