Southeast Rowing Championship Weekend

We had the best time with Luke over Mother's Day weekend, when we traveled to Sarasota, Florida for the US Rowing Southeast Regional Championships.  We flew in on Thursday night and had the morning on Friday to explore and have some beach time.  This was our first visit to the gulf coast of Florida, and we wanted to check out Siesta Key, which is rated the #1 in the US for its white, soft sand and beautiful beach.  Our Shibumi Shade was able to fit into our carry-on luggage, and was a great asset for the weekend:

Luke promptly fell asleep on the beach (less than an hour after waking up for the day, as only teenagers can do), while Mark and I took a long walk:

I've never seen pelicans so close before.  They were just hanging out at the surf line, catching breakfast:

We walked to Siesta Key Village for lunch and ate fresh seafood at the highly recommended Siesta Key Oyster Bar:

Oysters Rockefeller for the Win!

After we dropped Luke off at afternoon rowing practice, Mark and I explored St. Armands, which contains the cutest boutiques, restaurants, and galleries.   John Ringling (the circus magnate) designed and planned this European-inspired, open air setting, and St. Armands circle and its surrounding shops have an Old World charm and tropical feel:

We had a team dinner on Friday night and then it was off to bed to prepare for Time Trials on Saturday:

Luke raced up a division and competed in a Men's Double race with his friend, Hagan.  A sweet story about these 2 boys is that when we moved to NC over Christmas break of Luke's kindergarten year, Hagan was the first friend that he met at his new elementary school.  I walked Luke into his classroom that January, and a tiny voice exclaimed, "You can sit beside me, Luke!".  Hagan's mom and I became friends and volunteered at school together, and the boys' social circles continued to overlap periodically even after we left Summerfield Elementary and moved into our house in Oak Ridge later that spring.  Last year, Hagan and Luke reconnected when they both joined the competitive team at NCRC and I just love this photo collage of them together:

Although the boys had a great race, they missed moving on to semifinals by 1.9 seconds.  This is amazing, considering that they were racing against rowers who are 2 years older than them!.  Since Luke & Hagan are both sophomores, they still have 2 more years in this age division, and we can't wait to see what they will do next year!

Luke also rowed a single for the first time and competed in the U17 Mens Time Trials.  He fell short of advancing by 2.5 seconds, but he raced well and this was a great opportunity for him.  Luke works so hard at rowing and we feel so grateful to have found a sport that he loves:

On Saturday evening, the team met for dinner at the cutest beachfront restaurant on Anna Maria Island:

We ate outside during sunset and it was a gorgeous setting for photos:

After dinner, the kids changed into swimsuits and went night swimming.  We love this team and families so much, and regatta weekends are always so much fun! 

On Sunday, it was back to the race venue to cheer on the 2 NCRC womens quads that made it to finals.  Meanwhile, the boys had some serious relaxed Sunday vibes:

We spent a beautiful afternoon at Lido Key Beach with teammates and their parents before catching flights home that evening:

 I told Mark that this was one of my favorite Mother's Days ever.  What a gift to spend time with our teen, watching him do what he loves, and seeing him so happy.  We are so grateful for the incredible work that Coach Scott and Katie do, pouring into these kids.  They instill values of teamwork, build strength and character, and are wonderful, positive role models and mentors for the youth.  Thank you for an awesome spring season and such treasured memories! 

April 2024

 

Easter fell on March 31 this year, so technically it shouldn't be included in this April post, but it is close enough!  We celebrated with a gorgeous day and Easter Sunday church service:

In the afternoon, L&L did their annual egg hunt in our yard (sponsored by Mimi!) and we hosted Easter dinner with Mimi, Aunt Molly, and Uncle Dick:

April weekends = rowing regattas.  We traveled to Elizabeth City, NC to watch Luke race only to have it canceled at the last minute due to high winds.  However, it was still a fun weekend, as Bean and Poppy came to their first regatta and we spent the rest of the weekend in Williamsburg with them:

NCRC Youth Team

Meanwhile, Leah was attending the Southeastern District's Middle School Youth Weekend with a group from our church, and we joined them in Colonial Williamsburg:

Millie was thrilled to be included in this weekend of travel, too, and still doesn't quite understand personal space:

Passenger Princesses.

Leah had not one, but two field trips to Carowinds in April.  Mark and I chaperoned the first one, as our middle school band and chorus performed in the Festival of Music.  We had the best group of kids to chaperone, and I rode all the roller coasters with the kids while Mark served as logistics manager/bag holder:

Love these sweet girls and their friendship.

Carowinds is in both North Carolina and South Carolina.  This line goes through the park marking the divide between the 2 states.

It was a great day with these kids, and Leah returned exactly 2 weeks later with the entire 7th grade for their spring field trip to Carowinds.  She told me that we were only allowed to chaperone one of the two days, and I know that she enjoyed not having to pose for my photos on her second field trip!

In other April news for Peanut, she got braces!  Her teeth really were quite straight beforehand, but braces will help line up her bite properly.  She is handling the initial discomfort like a champ and is milking it perfectly with extra ice cream and McFlurries for "comfort".

Luke was the only student in his high school to make All State Band this year, and the 3 day clinic was held at the end of April at UNC-G.  This is a HUGE honor, and Luke was the 4th chair tuba selected for the 9/10 North Carolina All State Band:

And in other big news, Luke celebrated a milestone birthday this month! 

Our baby boy is 16!  Luke was anxious to get his driver's license, but his birthday fell on a Saturday (and the DMV is closed on the weekend), so Mark took him to a walk in appointment at 7:00 a.m. on Monday.  Luke passed his road test, and we now have a licensed driver in the house!  Luke also had his first day of work on his birthday.  He'll be lifeguarding at our town pool this summer, and he had his first work day to set up chairs and clean the pool deck.  Driving and working seem like such grown up things, and he has physically grown and changed so much this year.  We love you, Luke, and can't wait to see what the future holds for you.  Happy 16th birthday to our favorite boy!