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! 

Daddy daughter trip

So last Christmas I gave Dad a trip with just me and him- we were going to Harry Potter World (and Disney)!!!! I had been twice without him and I knew he really wanted to go so I talked to Justin and made sure he would take care of the farm and mom and asked if I could steal dad for a long weekend and I planned away!   I was lucky enough to get off Friday and Monday. We had a super early flight 7:40 am so wake up time at 4- feed the critters and then dad picked me up at 5!!!

We landed after 9 and went straight to the hotel. We dropped our bags changed into shorts and headed to the parks! We started at Epcot for no other reason that the bus dropped us off there!! Our trip started wonderfully there, we had old tickets from 2002 and there was still a day on there and it never expires...so cool! Dad had never done Mission: Space and I drug him there straight away! It's a really cool ride it makes you feel like you are taking off in a spaceship!! He loved it and it was a great way to start the day! 

Then we went on to test track which they changed a ton since I went on it- you now design your own car (but we didn't have time because the line was so short) then the ride tests your designed car against the other cars people designed riding with you and the best car gets a prize at the end. 

We both remembered figment from when I was a kid but that one was totally different now too. I love that they continue the same rides and characters but upgrade frequently to keep it new and different. We took a break and went into the Land and did Soarin- I never did this ride because the wait times are always stupid long. But the nice thing is there are trivia questions while you wait to make it not seem so long. That was a really awesome ride. You are sitting it what feels like a hang glider and it then puts you right up against a huge screen- you fly around the world - they even change the scent when you go certain places! They do such a. Good job! While e were there we took the boat ride through their greenhouses. Every time I eat salad now in Disney I wonder if it was grown there! 

We then headed over to magic kingdom on the monorail!

You always forget how many kids there are but we passed the castle and kept walking to the Snow White mining ride. Since I have never ridden it (it's always too long because it has always been new every other time I went) we decided a 90 minute wait was doable. During the wait I introduced dad to Snapchat :) 

After that we decided we were stinking tired and headed back. After catching the bus back we decided we wanted to get some good dinner. Luckily our hotel is within walking distance to some great restaurants. We walked down there with dad smoking his cigar and met a guy that worked at the restaurant half Spanish and half Italian and said it was the best food. So we are there! And low and behold our waiters name was Heinz...and he was German....from Swabia....no way! So we chatted and had just about the best veal Marsala dad and I ever had. We split it and still had no room for dessert. Such a great first day!!!'