Sunday, August 25, 2024

Sweet Sixteen Birthday Trip

As Lorelei and I started brainstorming various sweet sixteen celebration options we dreamed big as well as came up with various options that were also not-so big. ;) When it came time to decide - no surprise her dad said - go big - this is a special birthday! SO Lorelei got to have a dream come true - she chose to travel to Maine for her birthday because not just one, but TWO of her friends live in New Hampshire. That meant a trip WITH friends. 

These three girls were SO appreciative of the entire trip and I'm so thankful Lorelei has these girls she can call her friends. I'll add a quick backstory for why in the world a Texas girl has two friends in New Hampshire... Anna is a friend she has had since Kindergarten in Nebraska. Anna's family moved back to New Hampshire a few years ago because her parents were from that area originally. Her mom joked her children are Midwest kids living in New England. (They were in Nebraska about nine years.) Micayla is a friend Lorelei met at HOPE Prep last school year. They enjoyed lunch together each week, as well as working on the yearbook staff together. Her dad took a job in New Hampshire, so they relocated. It just so happened to be very close to where Anna lives!

Now - on to the Sweet Sixteen Birthday Trip!

Off on an early flight!

Lorelei wanted to go to the beach each day.
They saw an amazing sandcastle the first day.


Divide and Conquer shopping trip.
The girls had SO much fun picking out their goodies.

Fitting it in the car with bags was an added challenge.

Rainbow on the drive.

They had movie night each night of the trip.

Our view. We all wanted to move in forever.

Reading while friends get ready.


This tree turned early just for me. ;)

All three girls are stuffed animal girls but said they know they can't get anymore.
We took a pic with the ones they wanted to get. :)

THE place to get donuts made from potatoes.
They tasted amazing.


Blueberry for me and chocolate for Lor.


Portland Head Light, the oldest lighthouse in Maine!








Lobster rolls for most of us.

All three loved any chance to see a dog.
This dog was waiting to get on a ferry.

Maine has 4,600 islands, so we decided we needed to visit one!
Only 4,599 to go!

Picnic Point


The ice cream was delicious.



Another furry friend.


Morning view.

Mom's cup o coffee.


Binoculars were a fun surprise find in the house.



Nature watching with Anna.

Birthday French Toast


"Can we please go to the bookstore?"
I mean, moms dream of such questions.
Yes girls, lets go to the bookstore.

Beach time!



Micayla's sister and mom joined us for this day.



Mainely Custard.
So. Yum.

Kayaking!


She loved it and can't wait to go again.


Loaded Popcorn

Sunrise.

So thankful for this time with her!

We couldn't resist putting a video together for this one. :) Enjoy!




Tuesday, August 13, 2024

Hospital Stay

Brad hadn't been feeling great, but didn't think it would be too serious when we went into a Care Now assuming he would get a prescription of antibiotics to kick the infection we realized he must have...only to be told to head over to the ER. He ended up with a one-week hospital stay and quite a process working to get over what ended up being what they call a collapsed lung/fluid in the lung/pneumonia. We were so thankful for the doctors and that they knew how to help Brad get better. He came home on IV antibiotics we had to administer at home, but we eventually got used to that added challenge.


Hospital room number made us smile.

Monday, August 5, 2024

Kicking Off The School Year - 10th and 8th

We are excited to spend another year learning together! We are absolutely loving our homeschool gig and so thankful to have this time together. This year we embark on another year of high school and our last year of middle school!