Farewell to Fifth and First!

"The days are long, but the years are short." Oh my, that's a true statement if I've heard one.

Here we are again at the end of another school year.  

Eliza Grace and Will on the first day of school, July 9, 2012:

(Will hadn't lost his top two front teeth yet.)

And here they are today, May 31, 2013:

(Will's top two teeth are FINALLY growing back in!)

They're both a couple of inches taller, EG's hair is a couple of inches longer and they're still just as cute!

 

 

My 6th grade, Middle schooler (in 5 weeks)!

Here's to long, fun summer days, until we begin the adventure again!

EG walking into Salem Elementary
for the last time as a student!(She's blowing me a kiss!)

Field Day 2013!

It's field day at school for the kids today, which explains why both children were fully dressed in swim gear by 6:45 AM this morning.

Fun+water+sunshine+no school work = the ultimate motivator!

Every year I volunteer to be on the field manning one game or activity for both the morning and afternoon sessions.  Yes, I'm crazy.

The field at Salem Elementary School is ready!

Will and his wet buddies showing off their Salem Salamander tattoos.

Eliza Grace and best friend, Melissa after they spent a lot of time dunking their teachers!

5th Grade Finale

Eliza Grace waiting her turn to accept her Elementary School certificate of completion!

She thanked her teachers, especially Mrs. Gray (seen here), the school principle, Mom and Dad and even her little brother.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: the teacher makes all the difference.  Mrs. Gray helped Eliza Grace way beyond the classroom education.  She made her feel special, loved, and wonderfully appreciated.

Sweet angel with her certificate and her lovely smile.

Congratulations to our darling girl!

My Judgmental Shoes

I was reading a "Mommy" blog last week. 

The writer was talking about how she had to provide a tardy note for her child because halfway to school she realized her child had left the house without shoes. 

As I was reading, my immediate thought was,"Now really, what kind of Mother heads out of the house without making sure her children are wearing shoes?" I think I added a, "For goodness sake," in there for good measure.

Fast forward to today when we are about 30 minutes from home on our way to the beach and Scott asks me, "Did you pack shoes for Will?"

To which I responded, "No, he can just wear his flip flops."  

Then I paused a second and asked, "Will, you did put your flip flops on before you left the house, right?"

Well, I'm sure we all know the answer to that question.  

And let's not even talk about the fact that Scott noticed Will get in the car without shoes but did not think to ask about it for 30 minutes.  

No, let's focus on Miss Judgmental who recently wondered what kind of Mother would let her child leave the house for a trip somewhere without shoes.

It always comes back to bite me.

When will I learn to cast off that judgmental hat and veil myself in humility.  

Seriously, when will I learn.

On the bright side, Scott brought two pairs of shoes, so I wore his flip flops (which were ginormous, see picture above), Eliza Grace wore mine (because her foot is almost as big as mine!) and Will wore Eliza Grace's Crocs. This shoe shuffle kept us from having to go into a Wing's and spend $5 on flops for Will :)

Saturday...in Pullen Park

Pullen Park, Raleigh, NC.

First, we climb.

This is the girl who used to have a huge fear 

of heights.  OT + maturity = bye bye fear!

"Look Mommy!  I'm a fly caught in a web!"

 

 Then we get sandy and wet.

See that little girl to the left of EG?  Oh my, what a little bossy pants!  You can see it on her face.  Thankfully, Eliza Grace just ignored her :)

 Then we patiently wait to spin.

 Will chose the pig.

 EG chose a cat.

Then, even though I told them they were waaaay too old, they did the boats.  They're now convinced they are too old, since both of them had trouble fitting in the seats!

  Lastly, we ride the train.
 Definitely a Saturday well spent at the park.

25 Years Ago This Week, the InX Was Born!

Shortly after finishing my two-day Disney "Traditions" orientation in advance of starting my job at Walt Disney World, I pulled my 1978 Carolina Blue BMW onto Villa de Costa Drive in Orlando, Florida, walked up to apartment #7025 and asked to speak with a guy named Scott Hughes.

It was the third week in May, 1988. 

Little did I know that I was asking to meet my future husband and father of my children.

As well as meet what would quickly become some fabulous, lifelong friends!

 

 
 

It was, without a doubt, the best summer of my life.  

I have to smile at God's infinite wisdom when He chose to put such an amazing group of people together in the same place at the same time for the sole purpose of forming amazing relationships with one another...with the side benefit of pushing an old Bronco through sand :)

Happy 25th anniversary, InX'ers!  

Love y'all more than my luggage!

Mother's Day 2013

I've had a lovely weekend.

North Carolina's weather seems to have fully committed to Spring and we have had both plenty of rain and warm sunshine.

On Saturday evening, I took a quick drive over to Winston-Salem to have dinner with my Mother and my three sisters so we could celebrate Mother's day together.  

Mom, Dawn, Heidi and Me in a blurry iPhone pic.

We forgot to take a picture at the restaurant and when we finally remembered to take one, Kelly had already left :(  

Trey was too far away to join us but he was there in spirit! 

We had good food and lots of laughs, which was just what we all needed.

Mother's Day Sunday began with breakfast in bed, which was very nice, despite the fact that Will and Eliza Grace ate my toast and Chewie nearly upended the whole thing when he jumped on the bed.  Scott's omelet was divine, as always.

After church I used my "1 hour nap" coupon given to me by Eliza Grace.

Heavenly.

Scottie made his fabulous bread and grilled steaks for dinner.  I prepared a salad straight from our garden and we had watermelon for dessert.

And just when I thought the day couldn't get much better, I was told it was time for the show.

Eliza Grace had written a song for me and got her brother to run the props.

Will had prepared a little something as well.  My shy guy offered something short and sweet.

Definitely feeling the love today.