Tomorrow is my last day of Summer. Well, technically, my last day of "summer vacation". I've had the past 6 weeks off with the kids. Tomorrow, I return to work. New job. New routines. I've had the best Summer. It took me the first few weeks to warm up and to get used to the idea of being home. Next Summer, I'll be more prepared. Of course, I will have more time. But I will also know what's important. And be able to use my time better. Nonetheless, we had so much fun. I know the kids enjoyed it. It started off with a trip to High Point, NC, for a baseball tournament. The kids (and especially the parents) had so much fun. We made memories you can never replace. (That'll be a whole nother blog entry). The first week was a lot of laundry and cleaning and just enjoying being at home. No schedule. No worries. No pressure. Jackson slept in. Every day. Til like noon. Seriously, this kid sleeps. He's a growing boy. He has grown an inch this Summer. Plus, he's practicing with a basketball team twice a week; and he went to O.D.U.'s annual basketball camp earlier in August. Basketball is his life. And I love it. At the beginning of my break, I worried that we weren't getting enough time at the beach. I mean, after all, it's Summertime, and we are beach folk. Towards the end, we made up for it. We learned that both Bella and Cam love to boogey board. Bella is not afraid of the ocean. Or the waves. And we learned that Jackson can sleep anywhere. Our family vacation this year is going to be at Disney; but we still got a little Hatteras in there. We spent 3 days with Honey and Pop Pop. We love being there, and can never get too much sand and salt air. It's just different down there. And we got spent time with our cousins. Family is very important to us. A new beach game, "low tide toss", required a lot of prep. Which, surprisingly, the boys loved and took great pride in. There might have even been a leaf blower involved.... Days were lazy. Best thing ever. Sometimes we had friends over. Sometimes we never got out of our jammies. Or our bathing suits. We went bowling. We went to the grocery store. Played in the pool. Played in the driveway. Nerf guns and PlayStation. And we probably watched Home Alone 1,061 times. Thanks to Bella. My cousin, John-Michael, tied the knot last weekend. It was such a beautiful ceremony. I was so happy to spend long overdue time with family and some very old friends. Getting dressed up and leaving the kids at home. It was a great time. Can't wait for next Summer. Let the countdown begin. (Now I know how teachers feel).
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You still like to collect shells. And give them to me as gifts. You were so proud of this shell you found on the shores of Hatteras Island this past weekend. You love going to the beach, to the "beach house" for family vacations. The more, the merrier. You don't mind just going to the beach every day. You seem to like just having us all together, no schedule, no matter what we do. You love playing games at the beach. This year, the favorite was Pop Pop's "low tide toss". We only stayed for 3 days this summer. As usual, you had so much fun; you didn't want to leave. (This shell sits on your dresser in your room. You were so worried I had forgotten it when we got home.) This summer, you have learned to boogey board all on your own (no longer needing Daddy's push). And love it. Every time you came in, you would look to me and Daddy to make sure we saw and give us the thumbs up. On the drive down to the Outer Banks, you brought up a memory. "Dad, remember that time we came down here and stayed in the two story house? And we had to stop at the park to wait for our house? And me and you and Kaleb played catch at the park?" The sweet, little things that you remember. Those little things at the time, I don't realize you appreciate. Or that you are even going to remember it. Or that you are having the time of your life. It makes my heart happy that you love being with your family. We are moving up to kid pitch in baseball. You keep asking Daddy to practice pitching. Sometimes the two of you bump heads, but you're getting older now, and more mature. And you're starting to listen to what he tries to teach you. You can be very stubborn at times, especially when you're embarrassed. But when you figure something out, the smile on your face just lights up my heart. You are growing like a weed. Again. You're still in the 90th percentile for both height and weight. You are very proud that you weigh 82 pounds. You've loved having me home with you for the second half of the Summer. And I've loved it even more. I'm looking forward to next Summer. You are such a good big brother, and cousin. You are really good with the little ones. I think you take pride in being older than them. When you're not tormenting Bella (which I would be surprised if you didn't give her just a little grief), you are her biggest fan. Sometimes she gets annoyed when you try to parent her, but I know you are only doing your big brother deed. She's just as stubborn as you. Third grade is just around the corner, and it's a big turning point from little kid to big kid. I'm excited, and a little nervous, to see how you handle it. Jackson will no longer be at school with you. Even though you love having him there, I think the separation will be good for your independence and growth. I know you will do great in school; you always have.
Love, Mom XOXOXO {34/52}: At 4, Jackson was infatuated with Spiderman. For Cameron, it was Batman Legos. Girls are way different.
This is what she got for her birthday. She loves (pretending) to put on my makeup so I thought this would be perfect for her. She's got a lot to learn. It usually looks like she has a black eye. Or a really bad sunburn. We go every year to our favorite camping spot in Frisco, N.C. The first time we ever went camping as a family (back when there were only 4 of us), we went to Frisco Woods. And we loved everything about it. I'm a creature of habit. And I love tradition. Plus, I'm afraid of trying out a new spot and having a miserable time. Stick with what you know and love. It was another great year. With great weather. And great people. The kids had the most fun this year. They really look forward to camping now that they are older and can remember how much fun it is. Plus, they get to go with their closest friends. Jackson was upset that we couldn't stay a whole week. I, on the other hand, decided 3 nights is one night too many. Next year, we will probably go back to 2 nights. There's just too much sand. And I never sleep good in tents. And even though they have showers, it just isn't the same. (Which, by the way, my boys didn't shower the entire weekend). Bella was in absolute heaven hanging with the "big kids". She absolutely adores the them, and they are so good with her. They even took her to take showers with them. And on walks around the campsite. Bella with Sydney, Hailey, and Josh. Hailey helped her catch minnows in her net, and she was so excited to hold the tiny fishy in her hands. The first night, we had walking tacos, and they were a huge hit, especially among the kids. Our last night there, we had our traditional seafood, steaks and shrimp. We do it up. Jodi and I had tuna steaks marinated with butter and garlic. They were amazing. We had enough chips and snacks (and marshmallows) to feed a small army. And we went through some drinks. And quite a bit of alcohol as well. The boys entertained themselves, and it was the first year we let them wander the campground by themselves (but they had to stay together; I kept telling them, "there's strength in numbers"). They went crabbing with nets on the sound. They dug holes in the sand and climbed trees. They played football and paddle ball and practiced their pitching. And when they didn't have enough paddles, they improvised with cardboard boxes and boogey boards. We had 14 kids ages 3-16. Everybody got along great, too. We had a good beach day. We shortened it this year since most of us were sunburnt from the previous day just sitting around the campsite. It was an eventful day, however, when Cameron's new friend, Trent, broke his arm teaching Cameron how to skim board. Bella has finally gotten over her fear of water and was ecstatic when we got to the beach. She ran in and out of the waves like a champ, fearless. She even fell and went under a few times and got right back up. She is officially a beach bum. Aside from the beach, the campsite also has a pool. And, of course, there's the sound. The kids spend a lot of time in the water. They like "crabbin" and catching minnows in their nets. And we flew kites. For some reason, Bella liked playing in Jodi's tent. Some of us girls might not have known how to start charcoal. Yes, I actually read the directions. And you can't go camping without s'mores. Lots of s'mores. And roasted sticky marshmallows. And the reason why we come here every year and stay in the exact same spot.....
{33/52}: So I decided we needed to get out of the house and just go somewhere different. I wanted to take some pictures so I made sure they were dressed decent. We ended up in downtown Norfolk, had lunch at Jackson's favorite, Subway. It was very crowded and with all the traffic, Bella was making me a little nervous. So, we were about to leave and headed back to the car. I could tell the boys felt sorry for me; they knew how much I wanted to get some pictures. Cameron even suggested sitting down in front of these flowers and willingly smiled (which, if you know Cameron, he doesn't like for me to take pictures and often makes terrible faces). I got a few more gems, too, and then we left. All in all, it was very successful and the photos I got turned out great.
{32/52}: "Don't you wish you could take a single childhood memory and blow it up into a bubble and live inside it forever?" - Sarah Addison Allen, Lost Lake
She turned 4 this week. And grew up overnight. She had the best girly birthday party ever. |
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November 2018
AuthorMy name is Kaci. I am a working mom of 3. Wife to Josh. Mom to Jackson, Cameron & Isabella. My life is dinner, homework, baseball, basketball, grocery lists, laundry, middle school, wine, video games, and schedules. I started this blog because I love taking pictures, and I needed a place to document our life. I wanted a place to write it all down, to remember little details so easily forgotten in the mad rush that is the life of a family of 5. Through my photos and words, I endeavor to capture our story. Categories
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