Summer 2019!

Every summer goes by quickly, and this one was no exception.  In fact, it seemed to go by a little quicker since we were so busy!  The first 3-4 weeks are always spent in town with Preston playing baseball, and the rest of us watching him.  Then we tagged along with Steve to a conference he had at The Grand in Fairhope, AL.  We were only home a few days, before we packed our bags again and went to Brian and Shannon's lake house for a week!  We all had a ball, and my mom was in town too.  We came back on a Friday to do laundry, and get repacked.  Sunday, we dropped Walker off at Myra's, the kids off at Camp Cosby and Steve and I drove to Atlanta.  The next morning, we boarded a flight to Grand Cayman Island. Once we got home, we grabbed our boss baby, and then picked up the big kids the following morning.

Can't wait to watch her smile transform over the next 2 years!

Walker at VBS "To Mars and Beyond"

After doing over 10 loads of laundry (for real!), Steve was off on another work trip for several days, while the rest of us stayed in town for 6 days for Trinity's Vacation Bible School program, to get braces on Bennett, and to have a play date with our cousins!  It was a busy week, but everyone had fun.  Bennett always like to volunteer at our church VBS, Walker attends, and for the first time....even Preston volunteered to help out and had fun!

Taco Mama, Icees and a movie (while Christian was away at camp)

B with church friends on mission trip

Steve returned just in time to take care of Walker, and safely get Bennett off on her first mission trip!  She volunteered through Trinity, and stayed inside Birmingham city limits, but spent the night at a church every night for 5 nights,  She painted houses, and served the Lord!  So proud of her and her desire to serve others.  She loves doing things for others, and had a blast!

Meanwhile, Pres and I flew to Peoria for a quick trip to visit Nene and Poppy.  Once we returned, Steve departed again for another work trip (fishing in NOLA).  He returned for the weekend, and then flew out again Monday morning for a work hunting trip in San Antonio.  He has been "working" hard the past couple of weeks, but came home with a ton of redfish, an Axis deer mount, a couple of pillows made from deer hide along with a ton of deer meat.

Steve with his first Axis Deer (one shot to the neck)

Pres with Boone Aycock, Harris Buck and Luke Serotsky

Bennett's locker is ready for 7th grade!

Lastly, we headed off to Highlands, NC for our last hurrah before school started.  It was the
perfect destination to escape the humidity.  We all (yes, including Beckham), had a blast!  We drove back just in time to find out who the boys got for their teachers and which friends were in their classes.  Both were happy with the results, and we are optimistic that they will both have a great year at SCE (for their 100th birthday year)!

We ended our last few days of summer with a day at Splash Adventure and a weekend with friends!  Now reality is here, and it will hit us hard with a full week of school and football practice at night!  Lots of prayers for a great year, good teachers and new friendships!

Boss Baby is Off to Kindergarten!

Walker, day 5

Some nights when I am rocking Walker to sleep (because yes, most nights he still lets me hold him until he falls asleep), I just look at him and think of him as a tiny baby.  We prayed, along with so many friends and family, for this little guy.  He brings us all so much joy, and a little frustration, but he has totally fulfilled our family.

The past 5.5 years have been quite the blur, so having boss baby start kindergarten this year is still shocking!  We have been talking about Shades Cahaba a lot the past several months.  In fact, Walker got to go and check out the inside officially in May.

May 7 - Kindergarten Preview

As the beginning of the school year approaches, Walker is becoming a little nervous, primarily because the big kids have scared him about homework and lies regarding punishment, but he is excited and ready for this next step!  In fact, a couple of weeks ago we were heading to the pool and noticed a little surprise in the yard...

The infamous "welcome to SCE kindergarten" sign

Meet the teacher with Mrs. Letson

Walker is thrilled that it is finally his turn to go to big school (heck he already thinks he is 10 yrs old).  He doesn't have any super close buddies going to SCE, they are all at Edgewood, however he knows a ton of kids and is a friendly boy so I am not worried about him.

After we returned from Highlands, we found out that he received Mrs. Letson as his teacher, and he knew a handful of kids in his class.  Things are already pointing in the right direction for this kid!

100 year birthday for Shades Cahaba Elementary

Thursday, Walker went back to SCE to meet Mrs. Letson, check out his new classroom and even meet a couple of his new classmates.  He handled it like a champ.  That night he returned to the playground for the kindergarten popsicle party (where each kid comes and grabs a color-coordinated necklace so he can meet other classmates).  He settled right in and became fast friends with Beckham Wilson.

I can't wait to see how this year goes for Boss Baby!!!  I have been praying for a smooth transition, lots of new friendships, learning to read and wonderful memories!

Cheers to the Class of 2032!

Splash Adventure

Upon returning from North Carolina, it became real that summer was quickly coming to an end.  The kids found out who their teachers were, and had only one free day before they were meeting their teachers, decorating their lockers and going to bed at reasonable times in preparation of school.  So several of us decided to take the kids to Splash Adventure for the day.

There were four families that agreed to go together, and we were all happily surprised to see several other Homewood friends there.  We arrived shortly after they opened, and hit the water park, then the amusement park, then the water park again!  We ate lunch, played, snacked, played, rested, and played some more.  We finally left as they were closing.

It was a long day, but a fun one!  With Walker being taller and a little braver - he was able to ride more slides and had a blast doing it.  Overall it was a fantastic way to end our summer!

Ada McElroy, B, W and Anne Siegel

Ada and B with Kate, Jane and Anne Siegel

The Last Hurrah of Summer 2019

fishing in the stream on our property

Every year, we try to do something new so this summer we planned our inaugural trip to North Carolina (for me and the kids).  We have heard so many wonderful things about the Highlands area, and decided an extended weekend there would be the perfect trip away from the humidity of Alabama in August.  After doing some research, we realized that the area is very dog friendly, so we rented a house and brought Beckham with us.

We left Thursday morning, and arrived that afternoon in time for all of the kids to fish for awhile at our rental house while I got us unpacked and settled.  Of course, Steve had to be there to help Walker with bait and casting, but they had a blast, and even had some luck!  Beck enjoyed running all around the property, and playing with the neighbor's newfoundland, Samson.  That night, we drove into Highlands and had a great dinner at Wild Thyme (all of the kids tried calamari for the first time, and liked it!).

Friday morning, we woke up and had a lazy morning sipping coffee and relaxing on the screened in porch.  After breakfast, we hiked Glen Falls at the foothills of Highlands.  It was beautiful, and a little challenging considering the second mile was uphill!  After our workout, we drove towards Franklin, NC to hit a gem mine that got great reviews from our friends.  The kids each got a bucket of sandy soil, and were taught how to mine and tell what stones were worth keeping.  At the end, they each chose one of their best stones and had something made.  Bennett had a cross pendant made from a rose quartz, and the boys both got arrowheads made from tourmaline.  After that adventure we drove into Cashiers and had a very late pizza lunch.  We then returned to Highlands to hit a couple stores.  When the kids were settled and happy with their ice cream snacks, Steve and I escaped to Old Edwards Inn for a cocktail on their porch.  All parties were pleased with our first full day in NC, and it wasn't even over.  We headed back to our house, where Steve took the boys fishing again, while Bennett and I relaxed on the porch.

showing off their loot!

Walker found a caterpillar

On Saturday, we got up with a plan to get wet!  We first went to Silver Run Falls.  It was a short hike off the road to another great waterfall with a small pool of water that the kids could get in, if brave enough. There was no doubt the water was freezing, but Pres was the first one brave enough to jump in, with Walker to follow and even Bennett waded into it!  The stones all around the waterfall had silver flecks in it, making it quite pretty.

Since the kids were already cold and wet, we loaded up and drove down the road to Sliding Rock.  There was quite the crowd already there, but the kids quickly got in line for their turn. They even convinced Steve to go down!  It was pretty cold from what I understand (I was a baby and didn't venture into it).  After drying off, we went home to get the kids changed and drop off Beckham since it was raining and we couldn't leave him in the car with the windows up.  We then drove back into Highlands and ate a late lunch/early dinner at Ugly Dog Pub.  It was a low key night for our family that night.

Sunday, we got up and headed to the Aerial Park for some new adventures!  The big kids and Steve did
some ziplining, and Walker did the Brave Indian course with moving bridges, platforms and two smaller ziplines.  I watched from below, but seeing how much fun everyone was having made me regret not being apart of it all.  Walker started off a little timid, but got braver and braver, and ended up doing the course faster than when he started and did the ziplines without hands.  After they all finished, we headed back to the house to eat lunch and pick up our furry friend.

We then ventured towards a couple of waterfalls that we hadn't stopped at yet, Bridal Veil Falls and Dry Falls.  Both were pretty, and ones that we could go underneath, but Dry Falls was pretty spectacular.  Since it was raining some, we hit the stores in Highlands again to escape it until it stopped.  Before heading home, we went back to Glen Falls to hike a different trail.  It was more like a jungle, and NO ONE else was hiking it, so we let Beck off his leash.  We went about a mile out before we turned around, and boy were we all muddy.  We all needed to shower, including Beck, and after we did, we cuddled on the sofa and watched a movie together.

Look at his smile!

Bridal Veil Falls

Side view of Bridal Veil Falls

Dry Falls from afar

Dry Falls (from the side)

Selfie in the jungle

On our final full day, we wanted to do something different.  So after a little research, Bennett and I decided to go horseback riding on top of the mountain in Glenville.  About a mile away, was a great lake where the boys could go fishing (it was in fact the highest lake east of the Mississippi).  Though B and I had some rain, we had a blast!  The boys caught fish. and Walker even learned to cast by himself!  The boys and girls each had time to bond so a win-win was had by all.

After we all finished, we decided to try hiking a new area that we had heard about - Whiteside Mountain!  Since we arrived later in the day, and the parking lot was fairly empty, we tackled it with Beck off a leash.  We heard it was a 2 miles, and everyone successfully did it without complaining!  The views from the top were gorgeous, and it was a wonderful trail that we would definitely repeat.  With all of the fun that we had, we worked up an appetite.  Since we had Beckham with us, we needed another dog-friendly place, but we found yet another restaurant that loved on our puppy while we had a great meal, Bistro on Main.  Since it was raining, they allowed us to even sit in the bar with Beck, and he was a perfect angel who slept under our table. 

That night, we watched a movie and just relaxed before heading back home.  We all discussed what we loved, and decided that we will definitely need to return!  Thank you Highlands/Cashiers for another memorable family vacation!

Put the bait on by himself, casted it and caught a fish!

Wonderful view from the top of Whiteside

Beck had the time of his life!