July

July was hot, hot, hot! We started out on the 1st with Anna shopping with Bella, and I had book club that evening. Anna added a new babysitting client, the daughter of one of the book club girls, and had a fun evening with her. Erin and I went to CPO on Wednesday, and Anna joined me there on Thursday. Friday, the 4th, we had a fun evening at a Salamanders game, then home for sparklers with the help of the blowtorch. 

Saturday the 5th, Anna and I met up with Aunt Leslie, Logan, Ansley, and Grandma at UNC for a walking tour and lunch, then they came back to our house after. We all went to visit Erin at work, Anna and Ansley went to the pool, and we had dinner before they headed back. It was a really fun day!

 

Bob headed to Sunnyvale on Monday the 7th for a manager meeting, and he got to stay at the infamous Google-owned hotel on campus. Anna had her 3-year checkup with her cardiologist, Dr. Robinson, that morning. They did an echo and verified that the device is still in the correct place and all is well. She is good to go for 3 more years! Finley was back to the vet on Tuesday for bloodwork, which the vet reported to be "great", but said that he needs to continue taking the liver meds for 3 more months. After that, the girls and I checked out the NC Botanical Gardens in Chapel Hill, followed by introducing Erin to (newly-discovered by us on Saturday) Raising Canes for lunch, which she proclaimed to be in her top few favorite restaurants now. 

Anna drove me out to the country for a little driving practice that evening. Anna helped Bella's family move to their beautiful new house on Wednesday while Erin and I were back at CPO. Thursday, Erin and I returned to CPO while Anna recovered from the heavy lifting from the move. We tried to go to the lake on Saturday, but it was closed due to high water levels from runoff from Tropical Storm Chantal the week before.

Bob got back on Friday evening only to head back to the west coast, Seattle this time, on Monday. Finley had his long-awaited dental cleaning that day as well, and it went smoothly. 

Bella slept over on Wednesday, and I had a fun dinner with friends Diane and Michelle that evening as well. Anna and I volunteered at CPO on Thursday. We girls had a pre-beach nail appointment on Friday afternoon. Anna drove me to school on Saturday afternoon to scout out parking spots. Erin stayed busy with lots of work shifts this week, as well as all month long (when she was in town).

Monday morning, we all (including Finley) hit the road for our family beach week! We stopped at Buc-ee's in Florence, SC, and it was less intimidating than last time we went, perhaps because it was a Monday. We arrived in Hilton Head around 3:30pm, made a quick stop at Publix, and camped out near the house until it was ready just after 4pm. We all settled in, unpacked, and started our week of fun with cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents! It was a wonderful week! We enjoyed the pool at the house, the beach, rented bikes, took a boat ride on Wednesday afternoon after a rainy morning, and had lots of other family fun! We were in a 6-bedroom house, including 2 kids' bedrooms on the third floor. It worked out great!

We returned on Friday, got unpacked, and had a pretty quiet weekend other than Erin working. We tried to go to the lake on Saturday, but they were not allowing swimming due to increased bacteria levels due to runoff from the storm a couple of weeks ago. It was too hot to go if we couldn't swim! I visited Erin at work on Sunday morning. 

Anna had her 15-year checkup on Monday, and all went well there. Erin was back to work (6 out of 8 days!) that evening. She continued her SAT prep class on Tuesday; she has 3 more sessions before she takes the test on August 23rd. I volunteered at CPO on Thursday, and that pretty much rounds out our month! The last week of the month was another heat wave; it was even too hot to go to the pool!

So, it was a busy and also not busy month, but overall was a good one! Anna has been practicing driving quite a bit and is doing very well. We are looking forward to school officially starting on August 19th, but they each have a "welcome day" the week before. Class schedules come out on the 5th, so they are eagerly awaiting that. Otherwise, we are hopeful for some cooler weather on the horizon!

June!

We survived our first month of summer! It was a good month with lots going on! Anna and Bob spent the first week on their epic Australia adventure as a part of his biannual work trip to Sydney. They went to a zoo, explored 2 beaches, and tried some new foods in Sydney...On Wednesday that week, they flew up to Cairns for a Great Barrier Reef adventure! They took a one-day tour that visited 3 parts of the outer reef and had an amazing time viewing the reef and sea animals. Also in Cairns, they explored the town, enjoyed the resort, and did a little shopping. From there, it was back to Sydney for their return home. It was a successful and memorable trip!

While they were adventuring, Erin stayed busy with 5 work shifts in 9 days and also got her Level 3 driver's license. We both volunteered at CPO on Wednesday, and I went back on Thursday while she was working. We also supervised the finishing touches on our kitchen floor (the final step in the project), hit the pool and the gym a few times, and had a cat-sitting job. The travelers returned on the evening of the 7th and jumped right back in to reality with a fun 2-family dinner with the McGees at Colletta's on Sunday, celebrating Erin's and Olivia's Confirmation! 

Anna hung out at Lyla's pool on Monday the 10th while I had a nice lunch and catch-up with my friend Denise. Tuesday, Bob, Erin, and I had a really fun day trip to DC, where we toured the Catholic University of America! We took a 10am flight on American from Raleigh to Reagan, metro-ed in to town, had a nice Chipotle lunch across from campus, visited the Basilica of the National Shrine (adjacent to campus) prior to the presentation and tour of campus. The tour was great! It's a beautiful campus and seems to have great programs and facilities. After the tour, we hopped back on the metro for a quick walk through the Mall, Capitol, Union Station (here was where we discovered that our flight home was delayed, so we attempted to catch a train unsuccessfully), dinner, and back to Reagan for our flight that was a couple of hours late, but we got home by about 11:30pm. It was a really good day, and Anna and Finley managed just fine at home.

The girls volunteered at Gibbons Gateway on Wednesday and Thursday that week, leading groups of incoming freshmen through activities to help them acclimate to Gibbons. Anna had a 5-day cat-sitting job at the end of the week, I was back to CPO on Thursday, and Anna visited Sky Zone with Bella and her sister on Friday. We had a nice family dinner at Noodle Blvd on Friday after Anna came home raving about the ramen in Australia. 

Saturday the 14th, we hit the lake while Erin worked. Bob had a nice Father's Day on Sunday the 15th, including homemade tortellini by Anna and me for dinner.

Monday the 16th, Anna swam at Juliet's pool until it started storming. Bob and I cashed in a gift card to Outback for dinner, which was yummy! Erin started her 10-week SAT prep class via Zoom on Tuesday with her friends Olivia and Vera. So far, she's finding it to be helpful. Anna had a babysitting job on Wednesday and helped me at CPO on Thursday before babysitting again, this time for a new family, the Overtons. It went well! Bob enjoyed a night out at Topgolf with David and Josh that evening. Saturday afternoon was back to the lake while Erin worked again (sorry, Erin!). Sunday, Bella came over for some pool time, and Erin's friends also came over later in the afternoon after she got off work. They had fun hanging out at the pool and having some pizza and sides for dinner! She and Bob went to the Cathedral for 7pm mass that evening. Erin was very busy that day!

Bob headed to Denver on the 23rd for 4 days of work meetings. We had a girls' dinner at the new ramen place in Apex on the 23rd.

We ladies did more of the usual that week - Erin had her SAT class, Anna caught a movie with friends, I had a dentist appointment, and Anna went back to Juliet's pool on Wednesday. Anna started her 3-session AP World History prep class on zoom on the 25th while Erin went to Gibbons Gateway and led the presentation on Compassion. Both kids were back to Gibbons Gateway for the final session on Thursday while I was at CPO.  Bella slept over on Friday, and Bob took his friend Jeff M. out on the lake on Saturday morning. Saturday, Anna began her week of 3 pet-sitting jobs: Luna the cat for 4 days, the Hansen cats for 7 days, and a new pet, the Weaver bunny, for 8 days! All went smoothly. Erin and I tried a new mass, the 5pm on Sunday at St. Michael, as she's had a lot of weekends with Saturday afternoon/evening and Sunday morning shifts at Harris Teeter. It was great, and we all attended it the following week! 

That rounded out the month! Anna has been practicing her driving, and otherwise we are staying busy and also trying to relax and enjoy the summer. Bob helped me set up our supposedly squirrel-proof bird feeder. After some initial issues, we think it is now fully squirrel-proof. 

We are really looking forward to a fun week in Hilton Head with cousins and grandparents coming up in July!