Winter Storm Gianna

Did you know winter storms have names just like hurricanes? After finally recovering from an ice storm that kept the boys home for two days, we were notified to prepare for Winter Storm Gianna, with forecasts originally calling for up to 10 inches of snow!

Our family waited and watched in apprehension. Brent was scheduled to head to Germany on Saturday, and we weren’t sure what to do. As the forecast totals settled down, Brent opted to move his flight up a day - leaving out of Charlotte - which was the BEST choice as Charlotte ended up with over 12" of snow that Saturday!!

It was just humorous how everyone else in North Carolina was getting snow and there was a great divide for Wake County!! Even our beach property was getting snow!! 

Our snow FINALLY started about 9pm on Saturday night. 

A good 2 1/2 snow cover!

Moose put on his winter jacket and explored the backyard with a little more snow than the night before!

After some breakfast, I ran around the house gathering all the snow gear - Brock wore Brent's snow jacket, snow pants, and boots! Kade wore an "older" pair of Brock's snow pants - size Adult Small! 

It may be a bit big on everyone, but they were warm and dry! 

Moose came out with us for the first hill, but did NOT like the boys going down the hill - he kept trying to jump on them/the sled to get it to stop! Never got it on video because I was holding him on the leash (plus gloves!). I think he liked being with us regardless. 

The boys had fun playing in the snow, but both agreed the previous weekend was better—the ice made for much faster trips down the hill!

Moose was way too smart for me - he absolutely refused to sit on the sled - and every time I picked up the rope in the front, he would hop off! He would not sit on my lap either - he knew what we were thinking! 

We brought Moose inside and tried our luck at a different hill in the neighborhood. No pictures of that as we were FaceTiming with Brent in Germany. I know he very much appreciated watching the boys sled in the neighborhood!

We headed back to the house as the boys had other winter activities on their mind! 

Haha Kade's snow angel! Yup, and there's the grass! 

Brock opted for just rolling down the hill. 

I offered Brock a job to earn something extra - giving him the option to do half for 25% of the total or the whole driveway for the full amount. I was very proud of him to see that he took on the whole job! 

That worked well so I could help Kade build a snowman! 

We used up a lot of the snow in the front yard for this snowman!!

Kade's snowman included a carrot nose, blueberry eyes, stick arms & mouth, and a nice hat! 

We all warmed up with a nice lunch and the boys started their big Lego builds for a nice indoor activity!

Thanks to this wonderful winter storm, the boys were out of school on Monday, had a remote learning day on Tuesday (which felt more like a joke than schoolwork), and two-hour delays on both Wednesday AND Thursday. (Friday, thankfully was a full day!) We are all ready for some warmer weather!

Once on This Island

Kade was beyond excited to be chosen for the semester-long Theater Production elective! Washington Elementary’s production of Once on This Island gave our family a behind-the-scenes look at the incredible amount of effort, collaboration, and talent it takes to put on a show.

As a longer elective, students have been working since September, practicing songs, dances, and monologues, along with participating in numerous after-school rehearsals. Two electives combine to bring this elementary production to life: Theater Production students perform on stage, while the Behind the Scenes elective handles stage decorations, lighting, and music, making the show a true team effort.

Finally, the students were ready to show off all their hard work with FOUR performances! On Wednesday, they performed in the morning for Kindergarten and First Grade, and again in the afternoon for Second and Third Grade. Then on Thursday, they took the stage for Fourth and Fifth Grade, followed by an after-school evening performance for parents. Amazing!!

Kade had two roles = Daniel's Father (with a mustache and white shirt) and one of the peasant people (where he wears a tan shirt). 

Kade is on the far left in the shadows in this scene. 

The main character is in the blue skirt with purplish sash and she was amazing - so many lines to remember and sing! I told Kade to get her to sign his yearbook at the end of the school year - this girl might be a big actress one day! 

The two main characters - "Daniel" being one of Kade's friends. 

Finally - Kade's big part - Confronting Daniel that he can't be with that peasant girl!! 

Kade actually had a really quick third part - as Daniel's son sitting under the tree that Ti Moune, the main character, eventually turns into. So quick that he was practically standing back up by the time I got my camera out! 

Alas, it was time for the bow out! I love their little synchronized arms! 

"And this is why we tell the story....." It was super cute, but I think a little hard to follow the story if I didn't already know the story. :) 

So, so, so, so incredibly proud of Kade. He was a mixture of excitement and nerves, but he did an amazing job! We were also so glad that my Dad and Phyllis were able to come watch him perform. I think they were truly impressed by Washington GT Magnet Elementary School—and they even got to meet some of the wonderful teachers who helped guide them to the Media Center!

Brock's 13th Birthday

A Wednesday birthday for Brock meant he got to celebrate ALL week! We started on Sunday night as Brent was unfortunately scheduled to be out of town for work on Brock's actual birthday. 

A Carvel Ice Cream Cake in the middle of January - why not? 

I surprised Brock with his big number balloons for his birthday. Numerous people asked me whether we were celebrating 13 or 31 at the store - do people still get number balloons for those birthdays?? 

Brock chose Red Robin for his birthday dinner, but he did not want anyone to sing to us!

Brock received some pretty awesome gifts!

He loved this creative experience gift from Uncle Brian and Aunt Nancy - he is so looking forward to his week in Charlotte this summer! 

The immediate Saturday following his birthday, we had originally scheduled a fun sleepover. The weather had other plans so it ended up being a full afternoon/evening birthday instead so everyone could get back to their homes. 

We still had fun - bowling with three of his best buddies - can you tell they are all swimmers?

Brock is actually the youngest in his friend group - the last to turn 13. Look at these boys doing what teenagers do! (They are all playing a game together with various electronic devices!)

Papa Johns pizza followed by homemade cupcakes! I made the "mistake" of putting all 18 cupcakes down at the table and between the five of them, they DEVOURED every last one! 

We all woke up on Sunday to an icy winter wonderland! The streets were all frozen and the grass had a light dusting of sleet. 

Thankfully Monday was already a teacher workday, but this ice resulted in two days of remote learning and two days of 2 hour delays! Brock thought it was a wonderful extra birthday present! 

Happy 13th Birthday Brock!!

Ranger Rookie Wrestling Tournament

Kade has been working exceptionally hard at this new sport! Practices are one hour long, three times a week and he is SORE when he leaves. The wrestling club we joined in September seems semi-new - the coaches were all former college wrestlers and working to grow their business.  Triangle Wrestling Academy meets in a rented warehouse/office space with new kids joining each week; they are finally expanding the facility in the Spring! 

Kade said he was ready to compete so we signed him up for the Ranger Rookie Wrestling Tournament! This was all new to me, but Brent seems to be in his element! 

Weigh-in's started at 7am (an early start for all of us!) and then we could sit and have some breakfast. When Kade was mostly digested, it was time to warm up. Brent helped ease some nerves and started the warmups with him. 

I love that Brent loves to give his little wrestling advice. It's adorable to see these moments. 

The team met at 8:30am to properly warm up - running, stretching and shooting drills and then finished with a group huddle. 

Kade was awarded a bye in the first round, so we had to sit awhile before his first match. But here it was! And I was so enthralled, I was so focused on the video - I took no pictures! 

Kade used a half nelson to pin his opponent! Just amazing!

I thoroughly enjoyed re-watching the video and watching his coach really go through the motions and yelling directions to Kade. I also loved how Kade looked up mid-hold, had enough power to hold his opponent, and then followed through! 

Now we are getting the hang of it! One wrestler wears red around the ankle and the other green so the referee knows whom to score points. 

The next opponent was a little more of a challenge. 

Kade did fight really hard in this match. I so wanted to reach out and give him the extra boost of power to help!

He made it to the second period of this match before succumbing to a pin. 

The third match was a surprise - he was paired against another TWA (Triangle Wrestling Academy) friend. I think it put both boys at a disadvantage because the Coach could not help either boy and simply told them "Good luck boys" before the match! 

The boys were very evenly matched though and they took it through all 3 periods before Kade finally won on points. Tough match!

As this was all new to us, we assumed we would be done at a certain time, however that was not the case and we were still there waiting for Kade's final match well after lunch! We were all exhausted from the loud crowd and sitting around - and Kade was physically exhausted. 

After his opponent was a no-show at match time, Kade had to wait and watch two other matches until he finally arrived. We definitely saw a difference in "first/second-match-Kade" to fourth-match-Kade." Poor guy wasn't completing his attacks which left him vulnerable. 

Neverthless, Kade had a great first tournament winning two and losing two, earning him a Third Place finish! 

Kade scooped up his Bronze metal and posed for a picture on the podium. Great job Kade!!