Oak Island 2026

 

This year we planned to be part of the race action in Oak Island! We signed up in September and the boys (Brent and Brock) have been training hard for the 5k! 

The Oak Island race markets itself as one of the flattest courses around! 

I was surprised at how many people were "running" the 5K. I use that term loosely.... people were walking right from the beginning - totally fine, but they should move towards the back or at least walk to the side to let the runners pass! 

Kade and I found an ideal spectator place and kept our eyes out for our two runners! 

Finally we spotted Brent! We yelled for him, but he probably didn't hear us with all the commotion and his music playing in his ear! 

He told us afterwards that he was able to pass that guy in the neon yellow shirt! Way to push yourself all the way to the end!

And I had just about finished my sentence of "now let's spot Brock" when we saw him coming up the way too! 

Happy to be done! They were both pretty sweaty, but oh so proud! 

Here are their stats - not bad at all for Brock's first 5k!!

A close-up of the cool 5k medal! 

Everyone was a bit tired after the early morning start - obviously more so Brock and Brent. After a second breakfast, we turned on our favorite vacation channel - The Price is Right, the Barker era - playing 24 hours a day! Awww - same year as a favorite Uncle was born! 

A lazy Saturday for all - napping, foosball, board games and I got to start AND FINISH my book! 

Of course we trekked over to the beach on this gorgeously sunny day! 

Oh Moose! 

Look at how calm that water was! It was like a lake! 

Happy boy!

Brock wanted him to dig, but not hurt any crabs - perfect to do in the day.

Kade was happiest right by the water's edge building a wall. We reminded him the water is pretty cold - he still got his hands and feet in it. 

Beach hair! 

After a filling Sunday breakfast of french toast and sausages, we went out to the top porch to watch the marathon runners. 

Moose very much loved keeping an eye on them! 

Kade and I really wanted to go to the beach one more time and even though it was cloudy, the radar looked clear, at least for a bit. 

No one out on the beach with us and it was eerie and amazing! Kade played in the sand and I hunted for beautiful shells..... and then the bottom fell out. We ran back to the house - and saw that Brent had come to rescue us!! Alas, we were only 3 houses down, so opted to keep going. It made for a fun memory of being totally drenched and laughing with Kade, then coming inside for a nice warm shower! 

We ended our day with our annual foosball tournament and a visit to Southport for yummy dinner of lobster ravioli, burgers x2 and chicken tenders - I'll let you guess which of us had what! 

Thank you so much to Brian and Nancy for allowing us a weekend stay in your amazing beach house! Alas, we cut it a day shorter than we usually do as Wake County schools took away our President's Day holiday for a makeup snow day. A short stay, but a memorable one!

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!