Celebrations!

In the chaos that comes with the end of the school year, I didn't have a chance to post about our Memorial Day weekend celebrations in Virginia.  We visited Bean and Poppy, who took L&L to Busch Gardens for a fun-filled day at the amusement park.  This Busch Gardens trip proved to be one for the record books, as Luke insisted that he wanted to ride a "real" roller coaster.  He chose "Verbolten", in the Germany section of the park, and Poppy attempted to call Luke's bluff by agreeing to ride with him.  As they waited in line, Poppy was pretty sure that Luke would chicken out... He even told Luke that "Verbolten" means "lose your lunch" in German.  However, Luke was not to be deterred and as grandfather and grandson inched closer to the front of the line, Poppy realized that there was no turning back, and that it would be the first time that they were going to ride this roller coaster.  Both boys survived, and now we have a new roller coaster lover in the family (and I'm pretty sure there is one grandfather who will never ride one again)!  Luke was beside himself with excitement and has since bragged to anyone who will listen about how much he loved Verbolten!  

Bean and Leah (being of more sensible minds) rode Oscar's Whirly Worm with Luke, and Bean also willingly joined the kids on Apollo's Chariot (which is the same ride that nauseated Mommy and Daddy when we visited BG for Christmas Town this past winter):

The kids also splashed in the water area and had cups of nectar to feed the birds at Busch Gardens:

It was certainly a fun day, and was followed by a very special celebration on Saturday, as we traveled to Richmond for Bean and Poppy's 50th anniversary party!

Bean and Poppy's anniversary party was a wonderful celebration, with food, fun, and family.  There were games, wedding trivia, and special gifts/cards from the grandchildren:

Leah with her doggie cousin, Scout.

It was such a joy to celebrate B&P's golden anniversary with them.  Cheers to 50 years!

Summertime

We're two weeks into our summer break and have packed our days full of fun.  We celebrated Father's Day weekend by going to the Par 3 golf course last Saturday morning.  Our little golfers were adorable and the weather was perfect!

Love this one!

Daddy the Caddy.

The following two photos perfectly capture our children:

Sweet Leah holding the flag for Luke as he putts.

Luke taunting Leah with the flag, pretending to poke her with it.

Love the blue skies, adore their golf attire, and cherish our special family time together!

On Saturday evening, we camped out on our screened porch.  "Glamping" (AKA "glamorous camping") is totally our style.  No tents, no bugs, and potties a few steps away.  The kids watched the Minions movie and Winnie guarded the sleeping bags.    

Everyone was excited for our overnight adventure, and 4 out of the 5 of us made it through the night on the porch (Daddy decided to call it quits around 2 a.m., as he doesn't quite fit on the air mattress).

We gave Daddy his Father's Daddy presents on Sunday morning and made him breakfast before church.  We spent a great afternoon at the pool and went out to dinner to celebrate our special guy.   Here is my favorite Father's Day picture this year:

Last week, the kids and I saw Finding Dory in 3D.  We went on Opening Day, and I wasn't sure if the theater would be packed, but shows ran every 20 minutes and we felt like VIPs when we received First Showing Commemorative Tickets.  We all loved the movie, and it was a special treat to go to the cinema:

We also went bowling.  How we love the annual summer Kids Bowl Free program!  It's such a perfect indoor activity on a hot or rainy day!  

This week was Science Camp week.  Leah and I attended Wee Love Science camp which was held at a friend's house and taught by a mom who is a science teacher.  The preschoolers did fun experiments, went on a nature walk/scavenger hunt, made an ocean in a bottle, and concocted slime.  

There were test tubes and beakers for all the little scientists! 

Creating a scientific reaction by combining milk, food coloring, and dish soap.

Making slime!

Soda/Mento rocket! 

Leaf rubbings. 

Meanwhile, Luke returned to Lego Camp again this summer at the Greensboro Science Center.  This is his favorite camp each year, and this summer, it was even more special as his two best buddies joined him.  The theme this week was Mars Mission, and the Brick Engineers built autonomous robots using Lego NXT bricks. They learned programming basics as they programmed their robots to tackle obstacles on a challenge mat which simulated the surface of Mars.  I drove the boys to camp each day and was astounded listening to their conversations about programming and robotics.  Such an awesome camp for these Lego/computer lovers! 

Luke's Robot.

Luke, Aiden, and Maxim:  The Three Musketeers.

We explored the Science Center on Friday afternoon after the conclusion of Lego Camp.  Here is what a selfie of three 8 year-olds looks like, as they pose in front of the penguin exhibit, while Leah looks on:

The Sci-Quarium is always our favorite part of the Science Center, and we had a great afternoon there:

It's been an action-packed first two weeks of summer, with lots more fun ahead!  

School's Out for Summer!

Above is the happy face of our new third grader!  Friday was Luke's last day of second grade, and we celebrated with an afternoon at the pool and evening pool/pizza party with our friends.  The last week of school was full of fun and games for Luke's class, including a Luau-Themed End of Year party at the Town Park on Thursday.  Luke is now halfway through elementary school, which seems like another big milestone for our family.  Here's our big boy on his last day:  

And my annual comparison picture, which takes my breath away.  Every. Single. Year.

Second grade was a great year for Luke.  He had two very special buddies in his class (Aiden and Maxim) and we adored Luke's teacher, who gave him many enrichment opportunities.  Luke thrived in his weekly advanced math group, Book Club, and Chess Club this year.  The Chess Club held an End of Year party to celebrate their inaugural year, and the 60+ students who attended on a weekly basis posed with their principals (the White Queen and Black King).  This club was such a wonderful niche for Luke this spring, and Mark enjoyed the opportunity to volunteer (since the Chess Club meets at 7:00 a.m. before school/work starts):   

Since the boys in our family play chess frequently, Leah has been watching and learning as well this year.  Families attended the End of the Year party along with the students, and during the festivities, one of the students asked Leah if she wanted to play chess.  I think he was looking for an easy win, and was NOT amused when Leah had him in checkmate in 4 moves.  The photographer at the party took this picture right after Leah's winning moment, and we can't stop giggling at both players' facial expressions:

I see Chess Club in Leah's future next fall!

Leah and I spent the last few days of Luke's school year doing some special activities.  As always, Krispy Kreme was a perfect Mommy/Daughter morning outing: 

We also met Daddy for one last lunch date with his girls, and chose a special location:  Deacon Tower at WFU's football stadium!

We didn't waste any time kicking off our summer vacation after the last day of school, and visited Grandpa in Myrtle Beach this weekend.  The waves, sun, and surf were just what the doctor ordered, and we are so excited that Grandpa is now a full-time resident of MB!  

While we were in Mrytle Beach this weekend, we also explored Brookgreen Gardens for the first time.  Brookgreen is a huge property that lies on four former rice plantations and consists of a zoo, wildlife preserve, trails, and sculpture gardens.  We focused on the Lowcountry Zoo at Brookgreen during this trip, since it is currently featuring a traveling Lego exhibit called "Nature Connects".  There are 12 giant Lego sculptures displayed throughout the zoo this summer, and this is right up our alley!  Here were some of our favorite Nature Connects sculptures: 

Leah poses below a huge Lego Garden Spider!

Lego Bee/Flower Sculpture. 

Love this Lego Turtle!

The Lego Hummingbird appeared to be suspended in air and was amazing.

Leah in the Lego Ant Hill.

Lego Dragonfly.

Mommy's favorite:  Lego Butterfly and Flowers.

We also participated in "Mother Nature's Cafe" at Brookgreen, where we walked through the zoo with a zookeeper as he fed the animals and provided educational information about their behavior.  We weren't sure how the kids would do on the hour-long tour in the heat (it almost 100 degrees by the afternoon), but the stars aligned, and L&L absolutely loved it!  We had front row seats to observe the feeding sessions, and our very favorite was the aviary, where we were literally among all of the birds as they were fed.     

We cooled off with lots of beach and pool time that afternoon, and had such a fun weekend in Myrtle Beach.  What a perfect way to start summer break!