Bald Head Annual Trip

 Bald head has become our magical home away from home.  Mom and dad first took us when I was in college and honestly back then I thought it was boring.  But now it is the amazing combo of relaxed with no people, no agenda, and no noise!  We packed up our new minivan and both dogs and we fit all 5 of us with our totes and drove down!  After we missed the 3pm ferry by minutes we had to wait 1 and a half hours. After a minor break down I remembered I was on vacation and needed to relax. (Favorite Bluey episode insert)

The trip graced us with immaculate weather with only a little rain as we left on the ferry but thankfully I had a new shirt to put on! This was probably the most successful fishing trip I can remember but also the trip I fished the most.  Blues were running and we caught 6-8 a day and kept somewhere between 3-4 each trip out.  I convinced Dad to teach me how to filet blues and I learned the trick was to cut the fat off.  If I do say so myself I became rather good at it and really enjoyed it. 

The one night Dad and I caught two beautiful Drum (Justin had one but it broke his line in the surf)  Dad had some back luck. It was the first fish hook of his life which he promptly drove directly into his thumb. We learned that night a few valuable lessons 1) those don't come back out without making a bigger hole 2) there is always someone at the bald head island fire department if you go to back door- if you call 911 it involves alot of paperwork 3) the last ferry in off seasons is at 9:30 4)Seatow will take you back and forth 24/7 if not for a pretty penny.  So Dad and I went back over to Southport and had a lovely experience at the ER.  Then a lovely Seatow trip back. I can report all is well with his thumb and he made a full recovery.  I now have Lidocaine and a surgery kit placed into the fishing gear so I can take care of it if it every happens again!  

The rest of the trip was beautiful beach walks, reading 4 books, and fun fishing adventures.  Justin also read a book which I jokingly told him was only the 3rd book I've ever seen him finish :).

I am grateful to my Dad for showing me how to filet a fish and I think I can bring his expertise now forever with me and be able to filet a Blue and make it taste amazing. Mom then taught me how to make them taste amazing with her recipe that can be molded any which way!

So thankful for our yearly trips to such an amazing place.

First summer between grades

We are ending Max's first school year summer. It has been jam packed with different camps and a vacation. Different camps = different schedules every week. It's interesting too most camps do NOT have the working parent in mind. So after I made a calendar with pick up and drop off times every week and if they ran all week or only to Thursday we started the summer! 

Max started off with a HMF music camp. Drop off continued to be a challenge. Firstly it was at 9 neither me nor Justin could easily do that the first few days because of our schedules so BIbi stepped in. We thought with a new person drop off would work a bit better. Wrong. She was made to wait 10 min 3x and give hugs in between. There was lots of tears. Grumpa was the unlucky one the next day and tears tear grumpa up. (I'm surprised he don't just pack him up and make him not go) Well I had Wednesday and it didn't get much better. But as we found out he loved being there and he was sad when it was over! 

The next camp he had was at our science center. 

They start in the morning. With playtime in the exhibits and then each camp has a theme which they then do focused activities and projects about that theme. He did astronaut camp, the wonder of the earth, water works, and book camp. He brought home a cool model of the earth which was cut in half with a magma core and everything. After the themed activity it was off to afternoon adventures. Day 1 was play in science center and they had free rein bc it's closed to the public that day, day 2 was picnic at the park and the library, day 3 movies, day 4 the YMCA pool (which ended up being his least favorite surprisingly) and day 5 was a themed play day. He seemed super happy with the camps. 

Preschool let's their kiddos come back the next year. So we picked two camps where his preschool buddy James was also going and signed him up for those. It was great to see all the teachers but it didn't seem to be his favorite.

The hit for the summer was Stretch and Grow. The teacher was Ms Hillary who did all his baby and me classes from when he was 2/3 until he started preschool. She is so amazing with the littles and EVERYONE loves her. Also to make it better his best friend Carter was there. The biggest downside was the hours for parents. It's def more of a mommy morning out camp. So we had to get creative with pick up and drop offs. Nate came in handy and then Grammy came one week to hang with him in the mornings as the camp wasn't until 1pm. But it was def the favorite of the summer. 

I can't believe the summer is already over but Justin and I do know we will be planning camps super early this year! 

Jellystone annual trip

This is the second year we've gone with great friends to Jellystone! We all have kids very similar in age and all get along great. Justin both years has joined us the end of Friday but we take a long weekend and go. Max's favorite place is the lake now and he also wanted to explore the creek! 

First night the boys always go hard- Max had a sleepover with Carter and then both ended up in bed with me. It makes for some meltdowns Friday and some alone time but it's a fun way to kick off the first day. 

Sarah cooked her infamous wings and we only had 5 left over needless to say they were taaaasty. 

The second day we had a cabana which we thought was going to be for the sun...but it actually was for the rain and 20 degrees temp drop! Drizzle didn't keep us away from the lake but the temps made the splash pad really cold! Dinner was my night tenders salads and chips for win. S'mores were made before the rain got bad and we played lots of games while the boys played in the woods. The next morning we were met with more rain but got our group picture. Of course Max had tears and already was planning the next trip as we were leaving. 

Max is 6!

So as it is too late to go back and recap everything we will start with where Max is this summer. 

He finished his first year of elementary school after being in Kindergarten with Ms Hunt. He loved her so much although she was a "strict" teacher. Those kids listened although she never yelled or raised her voice. I joked I would put her voice on record to help him at home! 

Reading had difficulty but he finished the year right at (or above) grade level. He is solidly into Minecraft and loves the Nintendo switch 2 he got for his birthday! 

I can't believe my little man is 6!! Super smart but michevious. Justin recently told me a story where Max got the rubix cube from the backseat and asked what is was. Justin explained he had to get each color the same on the sides. He then looked back and Max was peeling off stickers 🤣🤣

He rode his first loop-de-loop rollar coaster -although he isn't ready to ride it again quite yet! 

More summer fun to come :) 

Back to blogging

It's been many years but yesterday while thinking of a way to stop the mindless scrolling I have decided to continue blogging. This will be a way to chronicle our adventures as a family to look back in later and also keep these memories together for Max! 💓 

Many things have changed but no need to recap will just jump in here in the middle of life! 

We just came back from Myrtle Beach to pick up Max where he spent the week with Grammy in the camper. He is now a camping guy for sure!! 

The rest of the month is filled with adventures which made me think to set this blog back up! I'll chronicle adventures as well as day to day to keep a more healthy media presence while on the couch at night 😵‍💫

I found out I am not an RV park kinda girly but they did have great activities for kids and it was a super safe environtment. 

Blogging Hiatus - Henry River Mobile Vet grew!

During a horse show this season I got an email from the owner of Veterinary House Calls of Hickory. He asked if I would be interested in buying his practice. You guys- I was like ummm no thanks super busy no can do.  Then I thought about it and I thought to myself wait this could be the golden opportunity to help HRMVS grow and eventually hire another veterinarian.  I have long grappled with the idea that I DO NOT want to give up my business and large animal but that I want to be able to have a family and feel like a mom that is actually around and not just working all the time.  Large animal still tends to be very seasonal- spring and fall I'm running around like a chicken with my head cut off and summer and winter I'm looking for work.  After a few meetings it was obvious that we got along great and that I would be a good match for his clients.

Puppies all day long! (I wish)

So the deal went though end of August and it is now middle of September and I can say that I am enjoying it. There were some growing pains- calls to get get boxes of heartworm prevention were solved by opening an online pharmacy and paper records were put digitally with long tedious hours of my amazing parents scanning in documents and creating patient files.

I have also now hired a tech and she starts next week- I can't wait to see how having help every day changes my daily life and actually gives me some free time! I can actually imagine it because currently I have a great student and we have had so much time in the evenings because she keeps me organized during the day!

Don't worry he is still my main tech! 

Here's to growth and hard working days paying off for a happy fullfilled life!

Aireanna the wonder mare! Last year recap

So last year I was terrible about keeping up with blogging (again)! Rea and I had three recognized shows where we were able to start working towards our bronze medal!! We continued this year but a quick recap of last year.

The first show in Raleigh we debuted at Training level and did their level challenge. We ended up winning the training challenge and also getting our first 1st level score towed my medal! What a great first show!!!!!!

Thanks so much to Britt Gillis Design who was there taking pictures of the monumental weekend!

Then it was off to Tryon international equestrian center. Guys we were treated like royalty!!! There we did training and first again and had a fantastic show! Megan Jornigan came to cheer on and also take amazing photos.

Mom also brought Ace for a fun-filled weekend of horses and mother daughter time!

It was an amazing venue with some really big names- I felt like a tiny fish in a big pond. 

The last show was dressage championships at Carolina horse park- what amazing competition. I qualified both at training and first level and both of those classes were huge! I ended up middle of the pack in both classes getting 5th and 8th- very respectable and loved ending my recognized show season at that show!  After that season onward and upward in terms of levels. Second level here I come!