April!

April was a great month with a very enjoyable spring break! We are now heading towards the finish line of the school year. Spring break started on Thursday the 2nd, which we ladies spent touring NC State and having lunch at the new Raising Canes on Hillsborough Street. The tour was great, and we even ran into our friends the Griffins at the info session! 

Bob had a quick 2-day trip to NYC over the 2nd and 3rd, so he wasn't able to tour. Thankfully, he's already been to NCSU a time or two ;) Friday, we ladies ventured east to Carolina Pottery in Smithfield and had a lot of fun picking out and assembling flowers for Erin's friends for prom! 

We dyed eggs and the Easter Bunny came early on Saturday evening. 

We all had a nice Easter in Concord on Sunday. Monday was final trip preparations and piano lessons for Erin and me. Tuesday through Saturday was our wonderful trip to Marco Island!

After getting back, we got caught up at home on Sunday, picked up Erin's finished prom dress, and went to mass/youth group. Monday the 13th was back to normal, including soccer, a church meeting, CPO volunteering, and school meetings that week. Friday, the girls had a half day of school so juniors and seniors could have time to get ready for prom! Erin had a blast at photos, dinner, and prom with her friends. They all looked so beautiful, and I really enjoyed meeting a few of the parents who I had not met previously. 

Erin was back to work on the 18th and 19th, and Anna did some homework and other chores. Anna also began a marathon cat-sitting job for neighbor cats Louie and Lilly on the 20th which has been going well. I hosted book club on the 20th, and Anna had another full week of soccer, which is now winding down. We are excited about the conference tournament next week, as her team has a very good chance to win!

Friday, Ansley came up (by herself for the first time!) for Anna's Confirmation, and the 3 girls took themselves to see Lyla at her ice cream shop job while I was at dinner right down the street with friends Dawn and Laura. Saturday, Grandma and Grandpa A., Aunt Leslie, and Elliott drove up early for the mass, and it was beautiful! Congratulations to Anna and sponsor Ansley! After the mass, we had a taco lunch and cake at our house. It was a very nice day.

The last week of the month was more of the usual, including Erin's final Service Beakers school visit for the year, to The Raleigh School down the road from Gibbons. Coach Anna's soccer team had their last regular-season game on Tuesday and earned a playoff berth next week. The 17-day cat-sitting job continued and went well. Gibbons had their first-ever Mission Day on the 30th, so the kids stayed after school for those festivities, as well as Erin manning a table for her club. Erin has also been busy working on college application materials (essay draft and brag sheets for teachers/counselors) and is also applying for a scholarship as well as a leadership role within Admissions Ambassadors next year. Both kids are preparing for AP exams coming up in the first two weeks of May. After that, the school year will be nearly over! Erin is excited to only have 3 actual final exams due to having projects and AP exams in some classes instead.

So, it was another busy month with a very nice break for our trip. We are looking forward to the academic home stretch and a few fun things (including 2 birthdays!) coming up in May!

April!

I’m calling April the “new May” because it is just so busy!  We enjoyed the month, though.  It started out with our super fun spring break road trip (post HERE) that ended on Wednesday the 3rd.  The kids were off school the rest of the week, so we mostly recovered from the trip, went to piano, and Anna had a cat-sitting job.  Bob, however, had a really fun trip to Phoenix from Friday to Sunday to see the Wolfpack in the Final Four!  Sadly, they fell to Purdue, who then fell to UCONN, so Bob and friend Dave returned on Sunday.  They did get to have a quick meet-up with the Ambrosini cousins who also went to the game!  

Erin and I enjoyed a Wolfpack softball game on Saturday before the big basketball game, and Anna and Gracie hit the mall on Sunday to get away from the basketball madness.  The Wolfpack women also made it to the Final Four but lost to South Carolina, who ended up winning the whole thing.  We had a partial solar eclipse here on the 8th, and Anna watched the neighbor cats for a few days.  The week of the 8th was the usual, plus Erin had a fun advisory service day on Wednesday where her 14-person advisory worked with kids at a local daycare, got lunch, visited the cathedral, and also toured Method Road historic site.  Anna and I enjoyed seeing her school’s production of Beauty and the Beast on Saturday evening, and she had a fun friend sleepover at Lyla’s after the show.  Bob headed out on Sunday afternoon for a week in Seattle, and Erin and I celebrated the last night of youth group for the year.  We made it!

Anna helped at the NJHS induction, where she faced her fears and read the closing prayer, and did a great job.  

Erin had an early release from school on Friday, and Anna had a great time at the annual spring festival at her school!  The weather was good for a couple of hours before it started raining, but we were good to go by that point anyway.  Anna and I enjoyed her soccer team’s time at the Miracle League on Saturday morning followed by a quick shopping trip.  Erin and I then had a night on the town with her friends getting dinner and then seeing “Rock of Ages” that her friend Luciano helped with at his school.  It was great!

Erin had two dress rehearsals during the week of the 22nd to prepare for their dance concerts on Saturday the 27th. Anna had two more soccer games (most weeks in March and April, she had 2 games and 2 practices).  It was a busy season and they didn’t win a lot, but they sure had fun, and the girls were all so nice and supportive of each other.  Friday night Bob and I went to another Wolfpack softball game where they had an amazing comeback but could not quite defeat #5 Duke.  Saturday, Grandma came up for Erin’s dance show, so we had fun visiting with her and then attending the afternoon show.  Anna then went to an NC Courage game with her soccer team while Bob and I went to the evening dance show.  Between all of that, Bob helped with a shrimp boil event that the Knights put on at church.  That was a busy day!  Anna also watched neighbor dog friends over the weekend.  

Monday and Tuesday the 29th and 30th were very busy, including me helping with the StMM annual golf tournament, then cafeteria duty.  I tried to volunteer about one day per week this year.  Tuesday was Anna’s 8th grade diocesan mass, where all of the 8th grade classes across the diocese attended a mass at the cathedral with the bishop.  Following the mass, they went back to school for a picnic.  Anna also had her last-ever soccer game after school.  Her team played really well and ended in a tie!  It was a good way to end the season.  They also honored the 8th graders after the game.  Bob stayed until the end of the game, while I went over to see Erin’s dance choreography showcase where the dancers performed their small-group choreography projects.  Erin’s small group was also chosen to perform in the weekend show, so she got to have a little extra stage time in the concerts!  After all of that, Bob headed to DC for a quick 2-day trip.

So, whew.  April was wild, but we knocked out a lot of things that *should* make May a little more bearable.  Soccer will be over, as will the dance performances.  We are looking forward to Erin’s piano recital, and then Anna’s graduation!  It will be a month full of celebrations, including Bob’s and Anna’s birthdays, too.  Bring it on!

April!

April was busy, but it doesn't have anything on May!  We enjoyed a nice break in the middle of the month, which was really great.  The month started out with a pretty quiet weekend, followed by a fun week.  On Tuesday the 4th, the 8th graders participated in the annual living saints wax museum.  Erin and her classmates did a great job each researching a saint, writing an essay, creating a poster display, and designing an outfit to go along with their saint.  Erin chose St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, founder of the first Catholic school in the United States, and she also played the piano!  Erin did a wonderful job! 

Grandma A. was able to come up to see the wax museum, as well as Anna's very toasty soccer game that sadly did not go our way.  

They had a half day of school on Thursday the 6th, and then a couple of days to rest and relax over the Easter weekend.  We had a really fun day in Concord on Easter with a yummy lunch, egg hunt, and kickball game!  

Then, it was back home for a couple of busy days for Erin with a doctor's appointment, 2 piano lessons, and dance class while the rest of us got ready for the trip.  Wednesday the 12th was the first day of our super fun trip to Puerto Rico, which you can read more about HERE.  

We got back without any trouble on Sunday the 16th, and it was back to the grind the next day.  We were super busy that day with picking up our new car and also the roof replacement starting, both of which ended up happening ahead of schedule!  We got the car before Bob headed out to London that afternoon for a 4-day work trip.  Whew!  

From London, he added on a few bonus days checking out Budapest with his friend Justin who was there for work that week too!  We girls had a busy week with the usual activities, plus a very fun schoolwide spring festival on Friday afternoon!  Now that these kids are older, they had more fun serving snow cones and drinks and running the cake walk than actually playing at the festival.  

Anna had 2 friends sleep over that night, and we also dog sat for our friends Tornado and Scout that weekend, too!  

Erin and I enjoyed going to neighbor Megan's baby shower on Saturday afternoon as well.  Bob returned on Sunday evening.

The week of the 24th was calmer, thankfully!  On Tuesday, all of the 8th graders in the diocese attended a mass at the cathedral with the bishop, followed by a nice picnic lunch.  Anna's soccer season is winding down; they had 2 tough games that week and are currently at a 7-7 record, which might not sound great, but it is way ahead of where they were last year!  Anna attended the 6th & 7th grade dance on Friday, which was a fun time for everyone!  

While Anna was dancing and I was chaperoning, Bob and Erin had a nice dinner out.

Erin had her final piano meet-up for the year on Saturday, then Anna and Caroline hit the Y to get their volleyball arms going again.  Bob worked at the biannual shrimp and crawfish boil at StMM on Saturday.  

So, it was a really great month!  We have been busy, and also looking forward to lots of big events in May, including Bob's and Anna's birthdays, Erin's 8th grade field trip, Erin's piano recital, Erin's graduation and everything assocaited with that, and a fun mother-daughter trip that we are taking with 3 of her friends and their moms.  It's going to be a great month!

April!

April was a great month, full of spring fun, busy-ness, and a fun trip!  We started out with Anna's soccer game on the 2nd while Erin did a landscaping service project at school.  The girls altar served on Sunday, and the week after was very busy with all of the usual activities.  Erin and I registered for next year's dance classes on the 9th, Olivia hung out with us, and we all went to watch Anna's away soccer game.  After that, Erin, Olivia, Anna, and I went to the Daddy Daughter Day at school and served ice cream to the little girls and their dads.  Since we were there anyway, we went to 5pm mass and then Mexican dinner out.  That was a busy day!  

The week after was a shorter one with a half day of school on Thursday and then 10 days off of school (including weekends).  No complaints here!  We did some work around the house that weekend, planted flowers, and had a nice Easter on the 17th.  The bunny hid our baskets this year per Anna's request!  We went to outdoor mass, much to our chagrin.  

That afternoon was a little more yard work and we attempted to make a bunny cake.  

We had a family walk/bike ride that evening.  Monday, Anna and Sofia went to paint pottery.  Tuesday, we did some shopping (I think), Erin had piano, and Anna had Y soccer practice.  

Wednesday morning, we all loaded up in the car, including Finley, and headed to Hilton Head!  We had a good trip down there, total about 5.5 hours with some stops.  We got into our townhouse, settled in, hit the grocery store, and the Summers and Grandma arrived shortly after!  They rented a condo nearby.  We all unpacked, picked up our rental bikes, and then had tacos for dinner at our place and hit the beach.  Thursday was biking, Starbucks, walking, beach, lunch, pool, mini golf, burger and hot dog dinner, and back to the beach.  Busy but fun!  

Friday, we girls biked back to Starbucks only to find that we couldn't go in (the dining area was closed), so we went to Kroger instead and then back to the Palmetto Dunes General Store.  Then it was more beach time, lunch out at Captain Marley's, yet another shopping stop (so much shopping with the girl crew), and back to the beach before pizza dinner/birthday celebration and another walk on the beach.  Saturday we had to leave early to get back for Erin's piano mock recital, so we had to sadly pack up and head out by 8am.  We got Erin to her mock recital with 20 minutes to spare, whew!  It was such a fun trip and Finley really enjoyed being a part of it!

Sunday was recovering and preparing for the week ahead, and then it was back to reality on Monday.  We had a good week, though, and the countdown is on - 4.5 more weeks of school!  Anna had 2 school soccer games this week and her last regular season Y game plus a fun team party on Saturday, but they'll be playing in a tournament the weekend of May 14, so Y soccer continues.  

She's got 3 more school soccer games - the school team is much more intense than the Y, and the 6th graders don't play as much, but she's had a lot of fun with it and has learned a lot too.

Erin participated in her 6th piano recital today - it was so nice and she did such a great job!  We are very proud of her!

Bob has some excitement starting today: he's going to Australia and New Zealand!  The Sydney part is for work, but the New Zealand part is for fun.  He is super excited - it will be a big adventure!

April!

April has come and gone, and it does seem like the Covid mess might be improving a little bit.  Bob and I are both now "fully vaccinated", which means that we have passed 2 weeks from our second doses of our vaccines.  There is a single-dose vaccine also available, but it became available after we had started our series. 

Anyway, Finley had his checkup at the vet on April 1st and passed with flying colors.  Surprisingly to us, he weighed in at almost 57 pounds!  That's 15 pounds more than Bella's average weight, yet he seems smaller to me.  Maybe it's because he is taller...?  Anyway, he had a good checkup.  April 1st was also the girls' last (half) day of school before Easter Break.  We were ready for a break!  

The Easter Bunny came through the neighborhood on Saturday morning.  

We spent Easter weekend at home - we ladies had a great time at Ms. Karen's house on Saturday, dyeing eggs and enjoying some snacks.  We enjoyed some yummy treats from the Easter Bunny (found via egg hunt! and also a rocking (and somewhat chilly) outdoor Easter Mass.   

Monday, Erin had piano and we mostly relaxed. 

Tuesday, we headed to Fort Lauderdale for our beach vacation!  We flew direct on Southwest and stayed at the Grand Pelican resort.  It was very nice and relaxing.  We enjoyed the lazy river, pool, and beach.  Tuesday night, we took a walk to Walgreens to pick up things that we forgot/needed, but otherwise mostly stayed on the resort.  We had preordered some groceries via Instacart that arrived at the hotel right after we did, which was great!  Tuesday night, we got pizza delivered and the kids got gelato from the hotel.  Wednesday for lunch, we ate at the hotel restaurant, and Wednesday evening we ate at the hotel next door's restaurant, and both were very good!  Thursday for lunch, we got food to go from the hotel bar, and Thursday night we had Italian delivered via door dash.  We took Lyfts to/from the airport, and otherwise just played and relaxed!  It was an easy trip and lots of fun.

After we got back on Friday, we picked Finley up at the Pooch Pad, and he got a good report.  That weekend, Anna had a soccer game and Erin altar served.  Then it was back to school on Monday the 12th.  That week was fairly routine with the usual activities.  Anna had a soccer game on Saturday again, and Bob cooked and served the meals as per usual.

The week of the 19th was about the same!  Anna played another game on Saturday the 24th.  The week of the 26th, the kids got a day off on Wednesday, sadly due to the passing/funeral of the father of one of Erin's classmates.  They had a reception on Wednesday and Erin and I went to that.  I also had my religious book club via Zoom that evening.  We finished the month with a fun and busy weekend with Grandma A. and Ansley here!  

They helped us bake the weekly 200 baked goods (brownies that week) on Friday, and we also made cupcakes on Saturday for the fun family spring birthday party at Morrow Mountain State Park on Sunday.  Alas, that happened in May, so you'll have to wait for that one!

So, it was a good month.  The weather was nice - we had the yellow snow of pollen, but it seems to be over now.  Covid restrictions continue, but one small step in the right direction was the lifting of the mask requirements outdoors as of April 30th.  Other milestones include finalizing our trip out west this summer (yay!), and starting to look at redoing our back porch/deck.  We are hoping for a further return to normalcy as soon as possible, and are looking forward to the last month of the school year.  What a year it has been!

April!

Well, we had the oddest April in the history of Aprils for us.  It was entirely spent in "quarantine"/"social distancing"/"virtual learning".  We never knew what these words meant until now!  We have adjusted as well as possible to this situation, and now, by the end of April, only have 4 more weeks of virtual school!  The girls were off of school from Good Friday through April 19th, which was nice to get a little break from all of the video conferencing and keeping track of each assignment.  We had Easter mass at home and a ham lunch and lots of outdoors time.  One good thing about all of this has been the gorgeous weather!  The weather really has been wonderful.  We have gotten loads of house projects done, including cleaning windows, power washing, replacing the living room ceiling fan and entry light fixture (which required renting a super tall scaffolding...scary!), various Suburban-related projects, and lots of cleaning out of stuff.  Another highlight has been Anna learning to ride a bike!  She LOVES it, and Bob especially has been loving riding with her on his new early birthday present - a mountain bike!  Bob has also been busy on the weekends handing out meals to people in need, and we ladies are helping by baking 200 or so desserts every Friday for them to distribute with the meals.  We are keeping in touch with family and friends virtually, getting takeout for dinner once a week or so, and are trying to keep grocery store visits to once a week.  It is unnerving to go to the store and see so many empty shelves, but it has made us get creative with food.  Finley is mostly loving all of the time with us, but he is very tired!

So, while it hasn't been all bad, it definitely was not the spring we had planned.  We are making the most of it and are thankful that school and piano can continue relatively uninterrupted, and it has been nice to feel less rushed.  However, we are ready and waiting for things to get back to normal!  Last we heard, statewide stay-at-home restrictions may be lifting as of May 8th.  There are 3 phases involved based on how many people have been diagnosed with the virus or something.  Anyway, we have not yet decided on our Banff trip in early June, but as of now, borders are closed at least until May 31st, so that doesn't sound good.  Maybe we can at least do our rescheduled Aruba trip in late July, and we REALLY hope that Erin's ballet camp in July happens as planned.  Fingers crossed!

Here are Anna and Laney catching up through the fence:

Ice cream making lab for states of matter:

Coloring Easter eggs:

Happy Easter!

Strawberry picking:

Cold water!

April!

April was a great month of spring/pollen before the heat sets in!  The first week was fairly routine with Bob going to Boston and the usual schedule for us ladies (and Finley).  Anna went to the zoo on Monday the 1st, and I was able to go as a chaperone.  It was a gorgeous day and we had so much fun!  We had the last fish fry of the season on Friday the 5th, and it was delicious as ever.  Everything seemed to run smoothly as well!  Anna had a play date on Saturday morning, and the girls had a mock recital for piano and voice that afternoon.  We had a fun dinner with Olivia’s family here on Sunday.

The next week was more of the same, plus one of my book clubs and we ladies went to the school spring musical that Friday night in a crazy downpour while Bob worked at a crawfish boil at church.  The show was really great and both girls are planning to take the musical theater elective in middle school so they can participate too!  Saturday, we had a fun visit from Grandma A., plus the annual piano/voice recital that evening.  The girls both did a wonderful job, and it is always so much fun to see the kids perform.  I love watching the high school kids who have been training for years and have such incredible talent.  We all tried out a new restaurant near us, the Eggs Up Grill, for lunch after church.

Monday the 15th was the 4th grade Spanish Fiesta, which was lots of fun!  The kids performed some songs in Spanish and we had delicious treats that families made and brought in.  We had made pink sugar cookies which were yummy too!  Anna had a Charlotte’s Web party on Wednesday the 17th which involved a pancake breakfast while the kids watched the movie.  Thursday was a half day of school, followed by Anna getting her feet washed at the Holy Thursday mass.  We spent a stormy Good Friday at home and worked on a 1000-piece puzzle that Grandma let us borrow.

Happy Easter on the 21st!  The bunny managed to get by Finley and brought some candy, books, and gift cards for everyone.  The girls were off the week after Easter, but we still had activities and had the puppy to contend with, so we didn’t go anywhere.  We stayed busy with puppy class (graduation!), walking Murphy, play date for Anna at Defy trampoline park, voice lesson, ballet for Erin, Caroline Manning over to play, my piano and Erin’s piano (all lessons this week were at Ms. Margaret’s beautiful new house!) a fun visit with Enzo and Luke, book club, sleepover for Anna, and a fun day with Sarah on Friday including an outing to the dance store, Moe’s, and Goodberry’s!  It was a very fun week and we enjoyed having some down time together and a taste of the summer ahead.

The last two days of the month were just the usual, and that was it!  May is heating up already and we are looking forward to a busy month with birthdays, recitals, and end of year madness!

April!

April proved to be busy as expected, but all went well and it was a great month!  We started the month out right with Easter...the bunny made an appearance at our house and left some treats for everyone.  Otherwise, we had a fairly quiet day.



Monday the 2nd was the long-awaited day of Anna's Glasses Pickup.  She was pleased with them and has been wearing them ever since!  So far, we have only managed to lose them temporarily a few times, and they have not been broken or scratched (knock on wood).  She says that she can see a lot better in them and has never had to be told to put them on.  Also that day we had a load of mulch delivered and the girls helped me spread it.



This hard work was followed by the baby pool inauguration for the season.  Anna also had tennis that day, and I went to my book club that evening.  Tuesday the 3rd, we met Olivia and Audrey's families at Duke Homestead for a little outing.  None of us (except for Olivia) had been there before, and it was pretty interesting to learn more about the history of tobacco in NC.  There was a museum, video, and guided tour.  We also had a picnic lunch, which may have been the high point for the kids!  Wednesday, we didn't do a whole lot that I can remember other than await the arrival of our new dishwasher.  Anna's friend Sarah came over to play on Thursday, and Friday we went to play at Enzo and Luke's house and then the girls and I tried a petting zoo/farm that afternoon.  I think the girls enjoyed a week at home with some fun but also some quiet time at home.



Sunday the 8th, we went to watch Olivia play soccer and ended up seeing three other families from school at the field too!  Small world.  The girls were back to school on the 9th and Sawyer was still tracked out, so I had the dream week and got a lot of things done.  I was able to do some extra volunteering at school, planted flowers, cut the grass, met Bob downtown for lunch, made dinner for a neighbor friend who had a baby, and worked on the school's spring festival advertising, plus my usual trips to the Y.  It was a great week and it was so nice to catch up on some things.



Anna and I went to her communion retreat on Saturday the 14th while Bob and Erin handled ballet class and went on a hike.  Then the girls and I went to a neighborhood egg hunt that afternoon where they stocked up on some more candy (perfectly timed since they had just finished their Easter candy).

We had neighbor dog friend Ruby come stay with us for 3 days starting on Sunday, which we enjoyed very much!  Monday the 16th, I got to accompany the third grade to the zoo for the day!  It was a perfect zoo day - cloudy and cool.  I was only responsible for Erin and Olivia, and we had the best time seeing nearly all of the animals, eating lunch, hitting the gift shop, and seeing a really awesome "birds in flight" show.  I was so tired after the trip that I don't know how our 83-year-old priest managed the day.  Yes, he went along too!



Sawyer was back on Wednesday the 18th, so we resumed our normal schedule for the last quarter-year with him!  He also started swim class on Wednesdays, so that keeps us busy on those mornings.  We had communion rehearsal on the evening of the 19th...it was nice to again have a small group at our mass.  Friday the 20th was the school spring festival which I helped promote again this year, and it was another perfect day and awesome time.  We had a crew of kids with the girls, Sawyer, and Olivia and Josie with us for a couple of hours, but everyone was good and had a great time.  Bob helped flip burgers for the delicious Kof C concessions!





Saturday the 21st, we were getting ready for the big event the next day, Anna's First Communion!  Ansley and family came up that evening for a big fun sleepover, and everyone else came the next day for the big event...including special guests of honor Grandma and Grandpa Harvey!







The First Communion went well, and we had a fun pizza lunch at our house afterward to celebrate that, along with all of the April/May birthdays.  The following week was somewhat calmer except we got to have an unprecedented mid-week sleepover with Olivia on Wednesday before her sister Josie had an early procedure the next morning.  I went to my other book club on Thursday evening after missing the past 4 months due to various reasons.  We enjoyed being a part of neighbor friend Helena's (formerly known as Laney) First Communion at the new cathedral on Saturday the 28th.



And, we rounded out the month with Bob venturing overseas to a new country, Denmark with a side trip to Sweden, on Monday for a week-long conference.  It sounds like he's had a great week and was able to do some sightseeing.

So, that was April.  It was great!  We are looking forward to some big birthdays in May, as well as Erin's ballet recital and the end of the school year.  We are all feeling the slide here in the home stretch, but we can get through these last 4 weeks before summer fun begins!