a birthday and baseball

We had a typical summer week and then a weekend full of baseball.  Jason normally celebrates his birthday at VBS each year.  Now that school gets out earlier, VBS is over before his birthday.  This year however, Bryce had an out-of-town baseball tournament on his birthday.  We got up early on Saturday morning and had cake for breakfast before hitting the road!

We had heat advisories this weekend but luckily we had shade and a breeze for the games on Saturday.  Emmy tagged along to spend the day with her daddy, but she stayed home for today's games.   

I told Jason that celebrating a birthday at the ballfield may be more relaxing than at home because you're forced to relax with no distractions!

Bryce went to a concert Saturday night, but Emmy and I took Jason out to dinner and shopping.  

Saturday's games were in Farmville and then today's games were in Lynchburg.  We had a later start time today so Jason and I had brunch after we dropped Bryce off to warm up.  

Jason had to do lots of driving over his birthday weekend, but hopefully he enjoyed the quality time with us and some good food!

Florida 2024

We did something we've never done before and drove through the night to Florida!  Bryce had a baseball tournament and we weren't sure when we'd leave for the trip.  Saturday ended up not being a great day for wins and our Sunday schedule was less than ideal for travel, so we decided to hit the road when we got home from baseball on Saturday night.  I took the first shift and drove us to Bucee's and then Jason took over at 2 AM, yawn!

We made it in record time and we were on the beach with everyone by 10:30 Sunday morning.  We went out to dinner and caught the sunset on our first night. 

 Monday was a gorgeous day and we took advantage of it.  Lots of beach time during the day and pickleball at night. 

The kids walked to the Kooky Coconut for lunch most days.  It's a hole in the wall beach dive that we love!  It was PaPa's favorite for daily ice cream!

Jason had a fishing trip scheduled for Tuesday.  It was also forecasted to be a washout on Tuesday.  They were able to get in a successful trip while we had a little outside time before the rain set in.  

A rainy day at the beach isn't a bad day because that means we go to Skyline.  We enjoyed lunch and some shopping and then the rain cleared in time for $1 night at the Thresher's game. 

We went on a beach walk that night and stumbled on a HUGE sea turtle.  It was just taking a quick walk on the beach before heading back to the ocean.  No nest in sight.

Wednesday was another beautiful day. 

Bryce was very focused on his tan and I'm pretty sure he came back 100 shades darker. 

Of course the kids had to play a round of putt-putt before the week was over. 

We cleaned up nicely for dinner on Thursday night and had to capture a family photo. 

After dinner we went shopping at a local tourist trap.  

The kids enjoyed one last lunch at Kooky Coconut on Friday. 

Jason found some Pit Vipers in the ocean and Emmy was excited to commandeer them.

We stayed on the beach until the last minute on Friday evening before heading in to pack it all up until next time. 

It was a wonderfully relaxing week away.  As I sat on the beach listening to music with Bryce one day I really reflected on how these trips are so so different without PaPa and how much he would have enjoyed this phase of beach days with the grandkids.  These trip just aren't the same without him.   

summer is here

We had a low-key Memorial Day after a fun weekend.  We celebrated Nana's birthday on Tuesday.  Bryce had a late exam, so he was able to join us to take Nana to breakfast.  We all went to the pool when the kids got out of school and then we went to dinner and did dessert at our house. 

Both kids' last day of school was Thursday.  

Bryce looks so different without all his hair.  This year was a learning curve and while Bryce ended the year with his first "B" he did an amazing job and learned a lot about his learning style.  

The first year of middle school was a success.  

While I think Bryce has changed a lot this year, I've gotten so many comments about how much Emmy has changed this year.  

Emmy and her friends celebrated the end of the school year at the pool!

Bryce played golf on his first day off on Friday and we had a fun day with Emmy because the weather was beautiful.  

We enjoyed a walk around Maymont. 

Then we got ice cream and did a little shopping. 

The weather has been perfect, so we've been enjoying the deck.  Bentley had the best seat in the house. 

I would consider tomorrow our first official day of summer break.  I have no idea how I'm going to entertain them all summer, but here we go!