Sharing our life - all our adventures and bumpy rides. Family of four with two young boys - moved back home to allow them the similar experiences and opportunities we had living in North Carolina. Come explore with us!
Brock's swim team was invited to swim at the 2023 Carolina Aquatic Team's Valentine Splash in Hillsborough!
Brock swam two events on Saturday - 50y Breaststroke and 50y Freestyle and two events on Sunday - 100y Freestyle and 50y Butterfly. He did well on Saturday, lowering his time in 50y Breast - placing 3rd out of 56 with a time of 45.65!!
He really shined on Sunday!!! After swimming his longest event (cutting 1.36 seconds in his 100y Free - coming in 6th with a time of 1:14.37!), he only had 20 minutes to prepare and rest for his 50y Fly!
With an entry time of 38.11, he dropped to 36.15, placing FIRST and securing a spot in the state age group championship the following weekend!
A new personal best, a new team record, and a new entry for Brock on the board!
The state championships were held in Charlotte the following weekend - no time to waste - back to practice all week to prepare!
It was a quick trip to Charlotte on Saturday, February 18th. No spectators allowed at the Mecklenburg Aquatic Center unfortunately - and the boys had planned to visit the Huntersville crew - but a few of them were out sick. Brent and Brock conquered Charlotte in one day.
Brock was incredible!! He dropped his time even more! Brock was up there with the best and did amazingly well for only swimming in one event! He warmed up and then had to sit for almost two hours waiting for his event.
Dropped more time with a final 35.80! Great, great job Brock!! (above video from his coach) 39th out of 52 of the BEST swimmers 10 & under in the state.
The third annual Vision Taekwondo Kick-a-Thon took place on Saturday, February 4th. We raised some money for cancer all in the memory of his Grandmother (as written in on the sleeve of his shirt).
This year, the kick-a-thon was held in the gymnasium of Salem Baptist Church. Although a much bigger space, the acoustics weren't the best and we couldn't hear everything Master Beddow was saying.
Kade was all business though - he wouldn't let me take a video of any of his rounds because I might drop the kicking sheet or lose count - and he HAD to get as many kicks as possible!
Nailed it! After 10 rounds of kicks and a very tired right foot, he more than doubled his kicks from last year with a total of 900 kicks!! One proud boy!
The following weekend, Kade competed in his very first chess tournament. This was a big one! The North Carolina K-12 Chess Tournament was held at the Raleigh Convention Center the weekend of February 11-12 - yes, a TWO day tournament.
We got there early Saturday morning and it was interesting to see how this was all configured. Rows and rows of chess boards - ordered by grades and boards paired by similar ratings.
All the parents were welcome to help their child find their board, but then had to leave before games began. No spectators while playing happened - we had to wait patiently outside in the lobby to see how our child did!
Kade's first game started at 9am - with three games to follow that day and three total games on Sunday. It did not matter if you lost, you continued to play in the tournament. Your ranking just fell, but you were also paired with a lower ranked player.
The tournament itself was actually organized really well and once I understood how it worked and how he was paired (each game's pairings were only announced about 30 minutes before next game), it went really well - my only complaint was how much time was between games. I understand that they need to allow time for every single player's game to end (and the tournament included high schoolers), but most of Kade's games were done in less than 20 minutes - which meant two hours until the next game!!
He was happy to have some Washington Elementary buddies joining him - made the time between games pass a little quicker when he found friends to play with.
But yes, there was a LOT of time spent in the lobby of the Civic Center!
We had to pick up a shirt to commemorate this occasion! (A full roster is printed on the back of the shirt - split into two groups because of how many kids were at this event - we took the first half of the alphabet so his name is printed there!)
Sunday, Day two - we did not arrive as early as the previous day! Glad Kade had made some friends and was talking "best chess moves" to some other second graders.
And we came prepared this day with our own chess board to practice!
Sunday was special - after an event with Brock, Brent surprised Kade, bringing us lunch and to cheer him on! (Also treated Kade to this bigger chess set with flexible mat so he could practice just like the tournament)
Last game - finish strong!
Kade did really well for his very first time. This was a big event - and the fact that it was such a long day (two days!) really took a toll - on him and me!! He won his very first game, lost the next two (round 4 we asked for a bye since it was my birthday evening and Brent and I had dinner plans!!), lost the first two on Sunday morning and ended with a Draw for his last game.
Sidenote - Washington Elementary did take home the second place trophy for second graders! His other four friends scored high enough to secure that title!! Yay Wizards!!
Entering the event, Kade started with a 200 rating (because he did not have an actual rating, they assigned a rating 100/grade level) - after tournament, he currently has a formal chess rating of 196. This is a game that requires so much skill and he loves to be challenged. Thankfully, Kade is not deterred by his losses and has continued to watch chess videos, play chess and talk about chess! I am so excited to see where he goes from here!
We booked a nice long weekend at Brian and Nancy's beach house in Oak Island. A little January get-away we were all very much looking forward to! On the way to pick up the boys (early) from school on Thursday, a rock flew up and cracked my windshield. Not a good start!
A little 3 hour drive later and we made it to the beach house! Brought our stuff in, let Moose have a little run in the fenced-in area, and we headed off for an early dinner at Shagger Jack's. The great thing about going to the beach in the winter - no wait at restaurants!
The boys' favorite activity was the foosball table! Many games played!! We did end up doing a foosball tournament the very last night..... I'll give you a hint who the winner was... she also had this very same foosball set at her house and played many times over her childhood... ;) (Hey! I couldn't go easy on them - Kade doesn't go easy on me for chess - nor Brock for swimming!)
When it was my turn to play, I noticed how scratched up the board was - not dirty, just scratched. So I tried giving it a little elbow grease. This set is over twenty-five years old - it's doing pretty good! (Apparently Brent thought it hilarious and wanted to snap a picture)
We let the temperature get a bit warmer, so after lunch we made our way down to the beach. Moose was so excited!! The boys too!
Not too many waves that day, but it was still a little cold with the ocean wind.
Who was pulling who?
Shagger Jack's presents the children's meals on top of a frisbee - Kade was excited to bring his out to throw on the beach.
All my boys!
Photo credit to Brock. I guess Moose was tired of posing for pictures and decided digging for shells/crabs was more exciting!
Kade was determined to build a sandcastle - no matter how small nor with any tools!
Oak Island water tower in the distance.
Brock, my little aquarian, had to at least touch the water.
Friday night we headed to Southport for a nice dinner. We were planning to eat at the recommended Fishy Fishy Cafe, however they were closed for renovations (or something for a week), so we walked over to Edgewater 122. It was really good - highly recommend. I had grilled flounder and it was cooked perfectly! Brock said his burger was really yummy too! Brent stayed on the land lovers menu and opted for the 16oz ribeye. He said they cooked it pretty good for a fish restaurant. (Nothing compares to his own cooking)
It was gorgeous. We sat on the deck, enclosed with vinyl flaps so you can still see the water and boats - and right under the heater. A million dollar view in the summer!
After dinner, we walked around just a bit to get a better view of the water and sunset.
Ah, we attempted a night picture.
The next day, we wanted to do something a bit different. Brent and I were sitting outside on the 3rd floor deck sunning ourselves and threw out a few options. I suggested we weren't too far from Wilmington - and Brent decided he wanted to give us a little UNCW tour. Brent attended the University of North Carolina at Wilmington in 1991-1995 for his undergrad. There were many more buildings than from when Brent was a student, but the dorm buildings were still there - and the boys loved seeing which window was their dad's!
After lunch at PT's Olde Fashioned Grill (Brock's third hamburger of the trip), we made our way down to the riverfront..... and spotted a Grandpa doppelgänger! Brock spotted him first - but we all agreed!
I've got to give kudos to Brock - he's becoming an amazing little photographer! And yup, I'm balancing my purse on my shoe.
Here is Brent giving instructions on where we're headed and what we're going to see!
Two people were getting married right beside us during the taking of this picture!!
Back to the house - Moose was guarding while Brent went to pick up pizza.
Caught the last of the sunrise after dinner.
Brock playing chess on his computer.
Last day of our trip - Brock and I walked over to the beach one more time. I think he's ready for summer so he can really jump in!
I will comment too - there were some amazing seashells along the shore! They are not picked over from all the tourists visiting!
