Another silver medal!

Emily skated in her 3rd competition of the season and she brought home another silver medal! This was her first timing skating in a higher level and with a new scoring system and she did amazing. I have such a hard time not buying every photo they take because I am so proud of her and her beautiful skating! Well done, Emily... You did an awesome job!

Back to School

The 2026-2027 school year has officially started and we have a freshman and a senior in the house! 

There is a lot to accomplish in your senior year of highschool!

Before the first day of school, the seniors get together to celebrate their final year with a special sunrise breakfast!

Everyone gets to "Chalk their Spot" for their parking spot for the year, and Emily is becomig quite the artist!

During senior year, you get to have fun wearing a Kindergarten-like backpack to finish up your elementary, middle & high school years, and everyone had fun with it!

We didn't get many pictures of Ben's first day of highschool... but it was a great first day for him, and we're looking forward to seeing all he accomplishes these next 4 years! Good luck you two!

NCSU Sophomore Year Move-In Day!

It's hard to believe that summer is already coming to a close, and it's move in day at NCSU for Abby already! For her sophomore year, she is so excited to be living in an on-campus apartment with 3 of her friends! However, a bigger space means a lot more stuff, so the whole family helped this year!

We were the garbage and recycling crew...

Emily was the kitchen organizer...

Ben was the keeper of the living room chair after his job of hauling stuff up from the car...

When we left, there was still a lot for Abby to do to set up her space, but she was up for the challenge!

She sent some updated pictures of her room, and it's so pretty that it makes me want to stay there!

She had a great first week, and shared with me her little project she's working on for herself... This is the very beginning of her very own avocado tree that will produce fruit in about 10-15 years! College students are also pretty creative, as she used plackers to hold it up since they didn't have any toothpicks! This girl is going places!

We hope you have an AWESOME year this year, Abby! We miss you already... Go Pack!!!!

 

Summer Fun

Summer has flown by at the Beach house, as we've been busy with working teenagers, hanging with friends, and enjoying some family time together.

Abby spent the summer working at American Eagle/Aerie:

Emily is NEVER home anymore, as she's either skating, hanging out with friends, or back on the ice teaching classes as "Coach Emily". The kids LOVE her, and she absolutely loves her job and skating community! She's even had a few social media shoutouts for the rink!

Fun at summer concerts!

One of her good skating friends even took her to Carowinds amusement park one day and Emily braved ALL the roller coasters for the first time and LOVED them!

Ben celebrated his 15th birthday with an annual trip to Egg's up Grill, and some family time... Happy birthday to the tallest guy in the house!

This summer has even been too hot to go to the pool, but Brian and I made it there once at least!
We need to do better next summer...

I've enjoyed a few special hangouts with friends this summer too...

The girls' bathroom has become a full-service salon for the neighborhood girls who want Emily to dye their hair... If coaching ice skating doesn't become a lifelong thing, she might have a career as a hair stylist someday- she's really good at it!

Abby is also an awesome salon assistant!

Forth of July in the neighborhood was great as always!

Ozzy and Luna both celebrated their birthdays this summer (6 & 5 years old), and while we may have forgotten about the days a bit and didn't get many pictures, they were celebrated as always... 

Petco and special treats to pick out for the win!

Ozzy's favorite treat is ice cubes, so we got him some dog ice cube trays! Best present ever!

Hope y'all had wonderful summers too! I'm ready for some cooler weather though!