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!