July 4th Fun

 We welcomed July in the mountains.  Our annual Fourth of July in Beech Mountain did not disappoint.  We spent our time enjoying the 4th festivities, our friends from Charlotte, and our family.  We also snuck in a trip down the rapids.

The Damien Whiteman crew enjoyed 4th of July fireworks, hiking and gem mining with us.  We were so happy to spend time with them!

Outlet Shopping and Superman Ice Cream... exhausting experience for a Mama!

Penny Dive!  We are improving our scores!

Boat Building.

This year, each child entered a boat. 

Dylan rocked it.  Apparently weighing the least, knowing how to swim, and having a water proof boat is key.  Second Place win for the Clark Family!

We learned that Edge of World has the same script year and after year for the bus ride. 

We had a blast going down the rapids.

Enjoyed dinner at the club.

On the way out of town, we met Nana and Howard for a picnic and the kids enjoyed their favorite creek in the whole world. 

Ali enjoyed it as well!

June 2017

 Isn't summer great?  Or at least the first week or two is so blissful, right?  The kids spent June enjoying the beach, camps, swim team, friends, and family.

 Let's talk about this guy! Ellison walked into the elevator at Hacienda and found herself face to face with a crab.  She came running and screaming out of the elevator.  Mr. Crab was so alarmed that by the time I got there, he to had rushed out of the elevator. 

 Ellison finally got to pursue her love of swimming by joining TPA for the summer.  She loved it!

Fun with friends!

Enjoying lazy afternoons with Reid.

You can dab in the bath too!

End of School Year 2017

 Right before the end of the school year and the start to the summer, we spent the weekend in West Palm visiting our newest cousin (my newest niece), Audrey.  She is adorable and the kids are smitten over her.

 During our West Palm Beach trip, we stopped to hang out with our favorite family of 6, The Whitemans!

 Ellison had the opportunity to play a distressed sea turtle - nailed it!

Back to Maitland for our last day or school!  Can you tell they are ready for summer?

One more year until Double Digits... oh my!

 Ellison just turned 9!  I am not sure where the time has gone and how we got here, but here we are.  At nine, Ellison is a compassionate, artistic, and funny child.  I would say that over the past year, she has become more self-confident, created wonderful friendships, and continued to impress us with her kind heart.

This year, Ellison did not want a big party.  She just had a few girlfriends over to the beach.  While "chaperoning", I was struck by how lucky she is to be turning "9" and be surrounded by so many awesome friends.

So at age 9, Ellison still loves tacos, turkey subs, and hummus.  She has expanded though from Subway to Jersey Mikes... thank goodness.  This past year, a few highlights:

• Art was displayed at the Winter Park Art Festival
• T-shirt design was selected for the Green Team Shirt and member of Green Team
• Volunteer mentor in the UCF Childhood Shyness program
• Raised funds to save Tigers
• Top 3 fundraiser in Third Grade for the Be a Chief Fundraiser
• Top 3 fundraiser in Third Grade for Jump for Hoops Heart Fundraiser

We are very proud of our girl.  Not only does she impress us with her accomplishments, but she blows us over with her kindness.  We love you Ellison!

Busy, Adaptation, Failure... and Life

What have I been up to? Well everything and nothing.  I am not sure what happens to my days, hours, and minutes, I just know that I can barely remember what I did yesterday.

I remember feeling busy in my 20s, then busy with a newborn and lawschool, busy trying to navigate having two children and a career.  Something happens as your children grow, you are not only juggling your own schedule, but you juggle their schedules.

Don't get me wrong, of course as littles, they had a schedule - eating, nap, playtime.  However, it mainly revolved around my life and their school's schedule.  Now my kids have a schedule that does not revolve around my needs and my schedule.  Its sports practices, play dates, phone calls with friends, and homework.  My job is to get them places and make sure they are ready to succeed at school (harder then it may appear).

As I adapt (and I will admit I am not always the best at adapting)... my blog has dropped off my radar.

Since I can barely remember lunch, I am going to attempt to remember to blog. Afterall, its my way of looking back on my awesome life.  Yes, its busy, but its a great busy.  I leave work to watch my kids amaze me with their reading skills, shoot baskets, listen to their stories, and occasionally listen in on their conversations with friends.

So here goes... a quick catch up on the end of 2016...

Karate took over my life.  Well that is an exaggeration. Two days a week, I do my best to take Dylan or beg someone to take Dylan to karate.  What I thought would be short lived is looking to have a long shelf life. 

Winter Park Christmas Parade was a blast with Easton and our long lost pal, Iliana. 

DYLAN READS! Its crazy, but he just took off. 

Enjoyed Happy Elf!

We attended the Very Merry Christmas Party at Disney. We had a wonderful time.

Basketball season success with our friends.

We love to babysit Reid. 

One of our besties, Margaret.

Enjoying an afternoon at Crayola.

Florida snow... its the worst. 

Sea World with Grandma. We tried to get them all smiling and looking in one direction. Impossible.

 

Scary!

New Years Eve with friends.

Dylan's main girl always, Parker.

Three parties in and we were are ready for 2017