4th of July 2021

Happy 4th of July! What a gorgeous day it was! We headed out early for our Bojangles breakfast and drove up to Kerr Lake! 

We put the boat in at Ivy Hill in Virginia and meander along the Roanoke River towards Clarksville to go swim. 

My patriotic cover-up!

It's a little hard to have a race with a life jacket on!

A pretty hawk had stopped for a rest on a log. 

Brock and Kade were trying to explain a new game they had learned to play at summer camp. 

Brent cunningly bowed out, telling them to play the game with each other so they could show him how it goes. 

The coolest thing about Clarksville is a hopping 7-11 gas station with a Papa Johns pizza inside. Order pizza from the app, cruise over to the dock and walk up the steps to pick it up! Hot pizza on the boat!

These boys have a good life!

We found a really serene cove for next time too!

Someone was glad to see us return! Not sure if he was thrilled to be trying out the light-up necklaces... it barely fit his massive neck!

Brock was all hyped up for this year's fireworks. He told me later it was his favorite holiday because of swimming and fireworks! 

Haha - does it look like they are having fun?

Last photo drop - pictures from our family dinner out at the Angus Barn. I tried to make reservations for our Anniversary, but they have been booked solid. I finally got in for a random weekend night, so we all went!

What to do to pass the time waiting for the food - take pictures! We did all get dressed up!!

And Brock is eating his favorite thing at the restaurant! (We all agreed! Ha!) That's pretty sad the best thing we ate was the dessert at the most popular steak house in town!

Alas, we all felt a bit underwhelmed! It's no good if my husband can cook a better steak from Costco on his Weber grill than the Angus Barn can! We'll stick to the Peddler if we venture out for steak again. ;) 

Kings Dominion

Brock and I had a different trip planned, but ended up getting very sick the week before and had to cancel. I still wanted to take Brock to Kings Dominion, as that was part of the plan - so off we went!

We made it a little mini-vacation and drove up the day before - staying in a hotel very close to the park. We were there when the gates opened!

Our first rollercoaster of the day was Apple Zapple and it was a small coaster that packed a lot of punch - lots of tight turns that Brock did NOT like. He felt as though we were going to fall out at any moment. 

So, I decided to give the big swing a try.... this was no ordinary swing ride. This was a monster! Those chairs go up 300 feet in the air - it says on a clear day you can see as far as 18 miles! Brock wasn't a fan of the height here either - but he was proud he did it, so took the picture for me. 

We gave one more roller coaster a try - the wooden Grizzly - opened in 1982, it is 3,150 feet of track that mimics the layout of the now defunct, but famous Coney Island Wildcat. (a little trivia for ya!)

NOPE! Poor Brock started crying after this one. 

Let's slow this down... What a gorgeous day for a drive! 

He was a little apprehensive to drive the car solo, but I knew he could do it! I got a glimpse into my future when he'll be asking to drive the car everywhere!

It was HOT that day (sunny & 90 degrees). After an early lunch in an air conditioned building, we headed for the water park area! He is so in his element here - he told me that water slides are safer than roller coasters. We went on some doozies - one that even made me feel a little dizzy when I reached the bottom! We floated on the lazy river three times - thought of my mother every time. 

And oh, the wave pool. He wanted to keep jumping the waves and diving into them. 

Obviously my phone was secured away in a locker, but I got a few pictures of Brock in the water. He wanted to show me how tall he was - by reaching the top of this splash funnel! 

We decided to cool off with some Frozen Ice! Brock loves this stuff! I'm pretty sure this was the Kona Ice truck - cool because you could choose which flavors you want yourself. I advised him to get at least three! He got Lemon-Lime, Cherry, Grape and the Mystery flavor!

After a bit more water park, it was time to get back in our street clothes and see if there were any other rides we wanted to ride in the main park. Bumper cars! Look at my big guy driving all by himself!

We found Snoopy in the Planet Snoopy land (the kiddie land). 

Brock is so tall for his age, I sometimes forget too that he's still a little boy.... he felt more at ease doing this kiddie roller coaster!

And then it was time to hit the road! We left about 45 minutes before the park closed so we could get on the road and stop for dinner at Cracker Barrel. 

It was a long day - we didn't end up getting home until 10:30 at night! I remember those days my mother would do this as a day trip with three kids!! Where did she find the energy?

Kade's Taekwondo Summer Camp

 

We signed Kade up for 4 weeks of Taekwondo summer camp back in January. I had no idea what to expect, but these camps turned out amazingly. The very first week was themed "Jedi Training" - every day the kids would practice their forms (light saber routines) in preparation for the last day's presentation to parents. 

He was so excited to show off what he had learned - all with light-up saber and wearing brown Jedi robes! 

Silly me didn't capture it all on video, but not to worry - Kade practiced the routine over and over at home, so I very easily was able to catch him in action!

My little man even made the finalists group for best form during summer camp week with his practice saber!

The following weeks, "Zombie Survival" and "Bounty Hunters" themes were filled with obstacle courses made out of brown packing boxes stacked eight feet high and Nerf guns of all kinds. He came home with a legit tactical mask for his nerf gun battles. 

Kade has been working hard at taekwondo practice alongside the summer camps. 

He graduated from striped orange belt to his yellow belt!

Kade going through all the new moves from this session with his instructor. 

Thumbs up!!

At the end of June, his martial arts group offered a workshop where three Masters from around the USA came to speak to the older kids and break boards with the younger kids!

As per usual, Kade was up in the front row. 

And in typical fashion, Kade volunteered and was selected to demonstrate the paper breaking. 

The younger kids got in line to break the board and then got each of the Masters to sign pieces of the boards!

Here goes Kade - breaking a board!!

Final thought, what a nice treat to wear his summer uniform starting June 1st - ATA approved gym pants with a Tigers tee-shirt instead of the standard white uniform. 

Summer Swim Team 2021

Summer swim team at Lifetime is in full swing! We were all so happy to be able to enjoy summer swim team this year - a few big differences - all meets were virtual - which was fine by us! Less people in the pool area meant we actually had chairs, tables and umbrellas to sit under! Typically the visiting team gets the whole section and we are all crammed behind the diving blocks. Every Tuesday we know where the meet is held - semi-close to our home, so we don't have to drive all over Cary to get there! 

On the first Tuesday swim meet, June 15th, Brock busted out a very satisfying 18.22 on the 25m Free. 

His Butterfly looked even more impressive as most of the other 7-8 boys had just learned the stroke a few weeks prior! He started the summer season with a 25.28 on the 25m Butterfly. 

Brock looks all professional up on the block getting ready for Backstroke!

Cruising along, immediately putting a large distance between him and his competition (well, the ones we could see - racing the clock as far as the other team was concerned since it was virtual).

I love this mid-air action shot of Brock diving into the water. You can really see how far he extends his body!

Kade was always there too - cheering on his brother with a mouthful of Chick-Fil-A fries! (My Dad and Phyllis came to cheer Brock on a few times too!)

Brock showing off some ribbons from 2 swim meets. 

Brock in the middle with a blue cap, waiting for one of the relays to start. 

The 7-8 boys were always ready to go - thanks to the amazing "Kid Pusher" - aka Daddy! He got the boys in order, revved them up to do their best, and reminded them what stroke to swim. 

(Coach David crouching to the left of Brock, Brent right behind him in Captain America shirt)

Brock was on fire towards the end of the season - lowering his best time to 18.16 on the 25m Free by mid-July. 

He even has a great showing in Breast stroke. July 13th time was 26.94 for 25m. 

On the very last swim meet, Brock's final event was starting swimmer for the 100m freestyle relay. Since it made sense to use all the lanes to save time; next to Brock was the 9-10 Boys 100m and 9-10 Girls 100m relays. All starter swimmers happen to be the best swimmers in their respective groups. 

Brock ended up swimming his very best ever - besting both 9-10 boy and 9-10 girl - his segment was 17.40 - crushing his own personal best of 18.14 he JUST secured earlier that night in the 25m free event! The most amazing part - he gets out of the pool and is never out of breath! He's got it in him to swim even faster - it's up to him to make it happen!

Our little otter! :)