Carson's 10th Birthday Celebrations

 The night before Carson's birthday we headed to the movies!

Then Carver stayed up late to help me fill Carson's room with balloons.

Birthday breakfast!

About a week after Carson's birthday we headed to Tennessee to celebrate! We took the boys and Josh to the Nascar racing place and then out to lunch. It was a perfect day!

May (2022) Phone Dump

 

Herc came for a visit.

Eating on the porch swing.

Snuggles with Bentley.

Gifts for the baseball team.

Bagel breakfast date with Carson!

The absolute sweetest gift from Carver for Mother's Day.

The End of Homeschooling

 May of 2022 brought our homeschooling journey to an end. To say it was bittersweet would be a great understatement. I was both ready, and heartbroken for the school year to end.

We made the decision to send the boys back to school (outside the home) for the 2022-2023 school year. And it was the absolute best decision (more about that in another post). But ending these two years of having them home and teaching them and learning together was incredibly hard for all of us. 

We loved homeschooling. Absolutely loved it. Some days were indescribably difficult. There were a lot of tears and a lot of complaining. But there were also science experiments, field trips, adventures, slow days, academic breakthroughs, themed days, cooking lessons, life lessons, and so much more. It was, without a doubt, one of the best decisions we have ever made as parents. I will always, always, cherish those two years. What a gift they were to me. And, I think, to the boys as well.

To end our school year, like the year before, we headed out to lunch at Mellow Mushroom and spent the day at the Catawba Science Center in Hickory.

Florida Trip! May 2022

 A very great benefit of homeschool is getting to choose when to travel! The boys and I headed down to Florida in May (between the Spring Break and summer crowds). Taking the boys to Florida will forever be one of my favorite memories I have made with them over these years of their childhood. I love taking them home, and doing some of the things we did as kids (like Disney!).

The time we flew down and stayed for about a week. As always, we had the best time. And stayed super busy :) 

On the airplane! They really love to fly.

The first outing was Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa. Seeing this koala was definitely a highlight of Carson's year.

The second event was Legoland! I'll be sad when they outgrow Legoland one day...

Carson is a rock star at the Ninjago ride.

We spent one day in Bartow, feeding the birds, hanging out with the dogs, swimming, and just resting before heading to the final big leg of our trip!

I really wanted to go back to Fort Wilderness and into the Magic Kingdom so we made it happen! My mom rented an RV and we stayed for a few days. I LOVE Fort Wilderness. It is one of my favorite places.

For our day at the Magic Kingdom, my dad and I took the boys and we spent the whole day there. It was really, really, perfect.

A highlight of the day was definitely that my boys got to meet my sister, Kayle for the first time! I loved seeing her again after many years.

Gem mining at Fort Wilderness.

We did lots of swimming.

And had the best meal at the Trail's End Restaurant.

Making s'mores.

Campfire and movie night!

Picnic :)

And, back to Bartow before flying out the next day.

Carson has a really sweet bond with these dogs, especially Bella 💖

Carver is obsessed with eat at Catfish Country. We usually go more than once because he loves it so much.

I can't wait to go back. Every trip to Florida is better than the last 😀