Life on the Road Less Traveled: Recap of 2019

In May, we (finally!) finished the soccer season. I was glad to have Saturday mornings free again. Soccer overlapped just a week or two with the start of swim season. Summer swim team is an intense 8-9 week season, but at least it's weekdays. Zoe was able to practice with the team and while she didn't get to compete in any meets (except a final one in July), she did get comfortable in the water and got to swimming about 10 meters on her own by the end of the season. We also enjoyed the warm (but not too hot) weather, which was good for boat rides on Bond Park lake and to watch outdoor concerts at the Bond Park amphitheater. Living on a greenway adjacent to the park has been amazing and we always comment on how lucky we are to live in such an amazing area. For Memorial Day weekend, we celebrated with an annual Myrtle Beach trip with my parents. We always enjoy staying in a beachfront hotel with pools and this year did not disappoint.

Rose skating on Mother's Day 2019

Enjoying a Friday evening Bond bites, boats, and bands event

My very challenging 3-year-old team look so cute. But boy are they tough to coach!

Zoe starts swim practices with the summer swim team

In June we got Zoe re-tested for her food allergies. The doctor told us the tests at age 3 would help predict if she would grow out of them. Unfortunately, all her tests came back positive. She's still allergic to white fish, tree nuts, sesame, and sunflower oils. June also meant full-on swim team with nightly practices and weekly swim meets. We made it a family event and Rose excelled this summer. She won several first place ribbons in the 15 meter breaststroke in the 6 and under age group. Not bad for a 5 year old. The big event that took place in June was the end of Rose's preschool journey. She had been at Sounds and Colors 3 years (and at another school for 2 years before that). We celebrated both the preschool graduation ceremony and her last day of school. In June we also celebrated my dad's birthday. To finish out the month, we joined our family (Colin's brother-in-law, sister-in-law, niece and nephew) in Virginia Beach the final weekend of the month, just before the 4th of July.

Confirmation that Zoe is still allergic to several foods

Girls playing dress-up at home

Sounds and Colors preschool graduation on June 7, 2019

A Father's Day hike at Umstead State Park

Listening to Bluegrass at the Bond Park Amphitheatre

Saying goodnight to the ducks after listening to music at the amphitheater

Heading out to the paddle boats at Pullen Park with my mom

Rose and Zoe doing Swamp jacks during swim team warm-up

Rose keeping up with the older kids - "Eat my bubbles"

Proud of her 1st and 2nd place ribbons - a growing collection!

Rose's final day of preschool

Swim team photo - Rose and Zoe are bottom left in the picture

Rose riding the waves in Virginia Beach the final weekend in June

The main event in July was Rose starting Kindergarten. We have chosen the year-round school option in the county (kids can go either year-round or on a traditional Aug-June calendar). We are on track 2, which means Rose starts a new grade the week after July 4th and has 3-4 week breaks around late August, November, February, and May. July was also the end of summer swim team. Zoe got to participate in a swim event and Rose improved in all three events (freestyle, backstroke and breaststroke). Rose's backstroke has always been her weakest event and we saw her improve the most in that stroke. July was not as hot as other summers have been (though we did celebrate our anniversary on a day when the car temperature read 112 degrees!). For the 4th of July holiday break, we spent a few days at my parent's house in South Carolina and hiked to some waterfalls in western NC. Colin celebrated his 40th birthday in July and we celebrated 13 years of marriage.

Another visit to the Museum of Life and Sciences in Durham, NC

Silly on the big chairs at the Museum of Life and Sciences

Watching July 4th fireworks on the lawn in Morrisville, NC

Hiking Linville Falls between Asheville and Boone, NC

Playing with sparklers for July 4th in South Carolina

Hiking Turtleback Falls in Gorges State Park, NC

Silly faces at Turtleback Falls

Swimming at Turtleback Falls

Rose taking the bus on her first day of school - June 9, 2019

Zoe competes in her exhibition meet as a Swamp Pup

Rose competes in her final breast stroke of the season

Neighborhood kids cooling off on a hot day

Braving the 112 degree day to celebrate our anniversary with ice cream after going out to lunch

Face (or arm) painting at the Maple View Farms ice cream shop

Zoe plays independently and sings "Baby Shark"

Checking out the sunflowers replenishing the landfill at Dorothea Dix park

In August, we flew up to Albany to celebrate Rose's first track out and enjoy summer upstate. We had some challenges with our evening flight to Albany when our flights got pushed back from their 4:30p departure and finally got canceled around 7p. We decided to fly out the next morning, so we had consolation ice cream in Brier Creek (near Raleigh airport) while we waited for bags to come back out in the baggage claim. Everyone got to spend one extra night in our beds at home before having an uneventful flight to Albany the next day. I spent two weeks in NY with the girls and Colin flew back to work just 4 days in between the two weeks. In those two weeks, we traveled up to the Granby Zoo outside of Montreal and spent the night in Montreal, and we spent a couple of nights in Plattsburgh, NY on Lake Champlain. The girls had their cousins on both trips, so they had a blast. I enjoy Granby Zoo, with its zoo, amusement park and waterpark. This time, Zoe fell asleep in my arms as we waited to go on the carousel, so I had to sit out most of the amusement rides while she napped in my arms (thankfully while I sat on a bench). But Colin and I got to go on a few water slides on our own while the girls stayed with my sister-in-law. We also got to enjoy delicious pastries in Montreal. I walked with the girls to the pastry shop, which ended up being a farther walk than I thought. We had to call Colin to pick us up! Unfortunately, Colin had to be in NC when we went to Lake Champlain. We had two beautiful days on the lake, but the third day was so windy that the water was as rough as the ocean. I mainly sat on the beach hanging out with the girls, but did get to go kayaking and take a trip on the boat one day. The girls had a blast, even on the windy day. In NY, we celebrated Colin's 40th birthday with one of his friends and Zoe's 4th birthday. Colin's birthday bash was a fun event with his high school friends and our family all joining the party at a friend's house. Before leaving NY, we made a day trip over to Boston to visit my brother, and we celebrated Colin's parent's anniversary with Zoe's family birthday party. The day in Boston was a bit dreary, but we got to enjoy some of Boston Common and lunch at Mooyah Burgers. The girls liked taking the train into and out of the city.

The other big event in August was Rose receiving the kindness award at school. Her award coincided with Zoe's preschool focus on kindness. Since Rose was a recent graduate, the school posted her picture in the hallway. I also got to spend some time in Rose's class, getting to know some of the kids and the teachers. The state offers us community service leave and we can get up to 45 hours of leave per year to do literacy programs. I volunteered a few weeks throughout the summer and fall to do "literacy lunches" where I read to 4 kids in their classroom during lunch. The kids get to spend the lunch hour with me instead of in the lunch room. Rose gets to pick a friend and the teacher assigns two others. Rose's class is small (ish) with 18 kids, but 1/3 of the kids have IEPs (Individual Educational Plans) and very few had ever been in organized instruction before starting kindergarten. Having done literacy lunches a few times, I have gotten to be with some of the more challenging kids. I have always appreciated teachers, and the literacy lunches are a constant reminder of the work they do each and every day.