Daddy's Girls

I never expected that we would continue to homeschool past this one year, but I am really looking forward to next year. So much has started back recently after Covid but it’s all right as the year is coming to an end. When a lot of people hear “homeschooler” they think “hermit,” but that couldn’t be further from the case. Shreveport/Bossier actually has a huge homeschooling community with tons of events and you could meet up with groups several times a week if you look for them. Today was one of those days and the YMCA hosted a Field Day and I think it was bigger than they expected. It was the 3rd annual but homeschooling has increased by about 50% this year and there were literally hundreds of kids there.  There were all of the typical events and they both had a blast. Lillian didn’t really even want to go but I think she ended up having the most fun. She was saying bye to groups of girls by the end. 😉 She said she was sorry they were homeschoolers and not Benton kids because eve...

The girls had the best time at a sleepover at Heather’s last night. We have only had 3 nights away from each other (2 with Yaya last fall and 1 with Hailey over spring break) in almost a year so I’m sure they needed friend time without us as much as Matt and I needed a night to ourselves. 😊 They’ve never been really big on sleeping at other people’s houses but since they’ve been with me 24/7 for 14 months, I think they were ready to go! And they loved it. (Although they were definitely ready to be back home after it too) I heard there was a slip n slide, movies, lots of junk food and giggling and very little sleep. Exactly the way a sleepover should be. So glad it’s summer and stuff like this can happen all the time!

We had to cancel not one, not even two, but THREE beach trips last year because of Covid. Matt and I were supposed to go to Mexico in March, just the two of us, to celebrate our 15 year anniversary a little early. The McCormick trip was canceled because we were all social distancing. And my Dad also booked a beach house for the first family trip in 5 years and we decided not to go even though he, Janet, Ryan, Jen and kids did. So we definitely felt like getting our toes in the sand was long overdue!  We drove down to Dauphin Island the day after the wedding for a 5 night trip, just the 4 of us. We had a 4 bedroom, 3 bath house with a private pool on the bay side of the island. (We did that because it was the only pet friendly place I could find and I couldn’t leave Gypsy twice in 3 weeks. ❤️)  It was still a nice place to park for a few days and the best part was we probably only saw 5 people the whole week. The first afternoon and next day were nice. It was a little windy but...

The wedding may have been the highlight of the weekend, but we had two whole days of family fun. Friday night we met everyone at the hotel most people were staying in for pizza and pool time. The rehearsal was a luncheon so even the groom got to be there.  On Saturday, Dad made breakfast  And then took the kids to the pool while Janet and I walked that morning. Then we met a lot of the family at George’s for lunch. It was my first time eating inside a restaurant and the first time I’d been inside, unmasked with strangers so it was kind of weird at first but quickly got over that.  We went to visit Nana at her place to check out her new apartment. She’d moved next door to a two bedroom to give her some more space.  The only downfall is she no longer has a patio with a private entrance so kids can’t go inside anymore. KatieJane was a little sad she didn’t get to visit with her much for the weekend (no kids at the wedding and too busy swimming Friday night) so I came up...

When the kids were babies everyone would tell me it goes by so fast. Of course it’s different with my own babies but I’d already watched kids I love grow up right before my eyes and I knew to savor every moment. One of those kids (my cousin- Jimmy and Theresa’s son, Nic) I used to babysit as a teenager got married on Saturday and it was the sweetest ceremony. I didn’t think I would cry but they wrote their on vows and that went out the window But the best part of the whole night was the family reunion that went along with it. I hadn’t seen Holman and Brandi since January 2020 and for Kelly it had been almost 2 years. We had the best weekend getting to catch up and have already made plans with dates on the calendar for them to all come see the new house this summer. We stayed until about 10:00, which was not long after the glow sticks came out. I looked at my cousins and said y’all realize this is a sign the party is starting and it’s time for old people to leave and that includes us no...