Family Fun Filled Weekends

Great weekends are my thing.  I love being productive and prepped for the week but I also love some really good fun time.  Mike was joking with me the other day that I have every weekend planned out and if he wants to come up with something he needs to book it for August.  Not exactly true, but I do love having something to look forward to so that I can be motivated and excited through the week.

This past weekend we had some good family time.  One of my sisters came into town so we celebrated Mothers Day early with a delicious brunch.  We also went to the annual crawfish boil that family friends of ours host.

It was a fun easy weekend.  The weather was gorgeous out which always puts me in a good mood.  Weekends with family time and fun activities sure do make my weeks better.  I love that I had time to relax and catch up with my family. 

What is something that you love to do which gets you through the week?

24 Hours of Booty

Location: Booty Loop | Charlotte, NC

Outfit: CLT Hat | Tank Top | Shorts 

Recently, my dad did something so impressive.  He cycled for 100 miles in a 24 hour time frame after raising money to fight cancer.  With my late Aunt Cathy at the forefront of his mind, who lost her life way too soon to this awful disease, my dad set a goal and exceeded it!

Every year, in Charlotte, the Booty Race brings bikers from all over together to ride for 24 hours straight and raise money for the 24 Foundation, which partners with LIVESTRONG.  Now, some of you may be wondering why this is affectionately called the 24 hours of booty.  Well, the almost 3 mile loop in the heart of Charlotte is called the booty loop.  Named for it's hilly course and the incredible amount of bikers and joggers you can find on it any day working for dat booty!

Mom, Mike, and I went to the start of the race to cheer on dad.  The whole event is incredible.  Some riders set up camp and literally stay the night.  Everyone signs up with a team and your team has a rider on the course at all times. The neighborhood surrounding the loop is wonderfully supportive, they host fundraising parties in their front yards to cheer on the riders.  During the event there is food provided for the riders, complete with a midnight pizza party! We stayed for a delicious dinner - burgers and grilled veggies - while dad took his first fuel break!

Y'all, I can't even begin to describe how proud of my dad I am for doing this race.  He is the sweetest person I know.  Once he puts his mind to something he accomplishes it, 100 miles and over $800 of it! Total the event this year in Charlotte raised over 1.7 million to go toward cancer research and continuing to fight for a cure.  Together we can make a huge impact and definitely kick cancer in the booty! Thank you to all who donate and work hard against this disease each and every day.

Tell me about your experiences with awesome fundraising events! 

Outer Banks 2017 | Beach Living

Location: Avon, North Carolina [Outer Banks]

I have been hyping up summertime and my beach vacation here so much; and now I am back in Charlotte after the best week.  Going to the beach was the perfect way to start my summer off.  It was my first week off of school so being near water completely helped me hit the reset button.

My priority for the week was to create some healthy habits that can sustain me throughout the summer.  I don't know about you but I do a lot better with a routine because then I am prepped for what is to come.  But I want to be healthy and flexible at the same time this summer!  Now that I am back and reflecting on this trip I definitely accomplished what I set out to do. See my post I wrote for how to stay healthy on vacation for some of the tips I followed!

Our family rented a house in the Outer Banks in Avon, a town near where my sister lives on the island! The house was so fantastic.  Beach front property for the win [shout out to mom and dad & my sis for being the best property manager at Hatteras Realty]

We had a week full of sunshine, family board games, trips around the island, fishing, boating, driving to the point, kayaking, walks on the beach, night time fires and star gazing, delicious food, catching up, and a week full of making amazing memories.

What I love about being on the island is that time just kind of slows down.  There isn't a lot of things to do around but that is perfectly okay.  I like it better actually.  I am such a beach bum that my whole day is spent outside.  Being able to just go with the flow, slow down, relax, and not have to rush or worry about going out at night either was exactly what I needed for this vacation.

Have you ever been to the Outer Banks? What is your favorite part about beach vacations?

Currently | June

Location: Vintage Charlotte Market at Camp North End

It's June, y'all.  I am in my last week of school.  It is the craziest week of the year, with field days celebrations, and talent show performances.  I have been running around school making the most of my days by spending quality time with students.  I am linking up with Anne and Erin for this months edition of Currently - which if you notice I am in summer mode full force.

planning: Summertime adventures.  I am lucky enough to not be working at the school over the summer.  So I am using my summer to do blog work, teach swim lessons, and take some fun trips to get some much needed R&R before next school year.

wishing: For sunny days.  It has been storming lately here which is definitely the norm for Charlotte in the summer.  But a girl can dream for sunny summer days, lighter hair, and a tan; right? 

learning: About myself and my career choice.  This year was my first full year as a school counselor and it has definitely been formidable for me.  I have so much to reflect upon from this past year so that I can start planning how to improve upon the counseling program for next year.  

browsing: Summer outfit ideas.  Living in the mountains for as long as I have; I didn't really have need for summer clothes so my wardrobe is pretty lacking.  I am loving all the cute styles for this summer and can't wait to share as I build summer clothes. 

going: To the Outer Banks in a week to visit my sister with my family.  I couldn't be more excited.  I have talked about it on here for a few months now.  I am in need of a beach vacation and family time. 

What are you currently up to?

Ode to Fathers [especially mine]

It's now June which means Fathers Day is coming up! I have been so blessed with such a wonderful, caring, giving, and hardworking father.

My daddy has always been there for me and my family.  He works tireless hours then comes home to  make sure the house is in tip top shape. My dad is the kind of father who was around to play with us girls, put up with our endless drama, and always be the receptive person at the end of those "dadddddyyyy" phone calls when we are in peril. I always took that for granted until I started working in schools and learned the hard stories of many children.

I feel so blessed to have a Dad who has been there physically and emotionally for me throughout my whole life, and still is [who do you think has helped me build furniture and transport heavy items on my many moves from apartment to apartment?!]

Now I know that all families aren't exactly made up the same way mine is, and that's okay.  Learning about peoples daily lives fascinates me; it also fills me with so much gratitude for being brought up with parents who stay together through it all.

So cheers to all the fathers out there raising their children to be strong and humble and to do the right thing.  The world needs more involved fathers.  I have seen first hand what a positive male role model does to students who seem to be helpless otherwise.  Thank you to the men who stand up and stick together and cultivate a positive family life.

How are you going to celebrate your father this month? 

Weekends are for Festivals and Charlotte Adventures

A few weekends ago the weather was the strangest in Charlotte.  On Saturday it was almost 90 and there was not a cloud in the sky.  Then Sunday came and it was rainy and cold!  The extreme shift didn't stop us from having fun adventures both days, though.

I love planning fun things to do on the weekend.  It gives me motivation and something to look forward to for a long week.  I made myself a promise that I would get out more and try new things even when I am tired from work and maybe even get a little crazy and do stuff on the weekdays.  That weekend there was so many fun events going on in Charlotte it was really hard to pick and choose what to do.

My bestie got us tickets for the Moo and Brew Fest.   This was the third annual festival but the first time we got to attend.  They had restaurants food trucks there competing for the best burger in Charlotte, samplings of local beers, and bands playing for a fun outdoor concert.  It was such a gorgeous day.   We had so much fun being out in the sun and running into friends and catching up with lots of people.  Mike and I are huge fans of any beer festival!

On Sunday, with my family, we attended a crawfish boil.  We have family friends who have been hosting this for years.  They are originally from New Orleans and fly the crawfish in fresh from Louisiana.  This is one of my favorite events all year long.  The running joke of all the family friends is that my sisters and I plan our social calendars around this event.  This was the first year I took Mike - he met all the Charlotte family friends and got to experience an authentic crawfish boil.  Such a fun time and the crawfish are so delicious.  I can't eat anything for days after because I am so full of cajun seasoning and crawfish.

This weekend was one for the books.  So many things to do, people to connect with, and fun times to be had.

What is your favorite way to celebrate the weekend?

Strawberry Sweets

 How cute is it that my ice cream matched my shorts?! The Saturday before Easter my family and I went on a fun outing for some strawberry ice cream.  There is this cute little farm market out in fort mill by Springs Farm.  This farm has pick your own strawberries this time of year but the market sells all sorts of seasonal fruits and veggies as well as baked goods with the fun produce.

They also make their own strawberry ice cream.  It was a hot sunny day.  We mostly spent the weekend roasting on my parents back patio so a fun drive to a farm and some ice cream was definitely in order.  This little market has picnic tables out front so you can sit and enjoy your sweet treats.

That weekend reminded me so much of summer adventures.  Typically fall is my favorite season but there is something about the warm weather, sunshine, and dreams of beach life that has me loving spring so far and looking forward to the lazy fun of summertime.  Cheers to warm days, ice cream, no plans, and seeing where the day takes you.

How do you like to treat yourself? 

Peru Trip 2015 | Tacna: Part One

In honor of my sister finally traveling back to the states in 10 days [!!!] I decided to do a fun series on my trip to Peru.  My family and I had the wonderful opportunity to travel to South America for about 2 weeks at the end of last year. I spoke a little about my time there over Christmas here in this post.

Before I go into all the ins and ours of our trip, you may be wondering; why in the world is your sister in Peru in the first place? I actually get that a lot.  Me a blonde haired blue eyed Counselor in Charlotte who took French in high school because I didn't want to be like everyone else - has a sister who could actually pass as a Peruvian native and is [thankfully] fluent in Spanish.

My sissy has been living in Tacna, Peru for a little over two years now working for the Jesuit Volunteer Corps.  She teaches at a school there as well as serves in the community.  The volunteers all live in community, there are 4 girls in the house where she lives, and then each volunteer has a host family.  The host families are their fill in families while they live in the country.  My sister lived with hers for the first month she was there to get acclimated to the country, as well as having weekly  dinners over there, using their wifi, and doing life with that family.

Can I just say I am incredibly proud of my sister for truly being brave and surrendering to God and dedicating her life, or rather the past two years, to service abroad.  While I try to leave each and every day by those ideals and love to travel, I am definitely a homebody. I love being close enough to just show up at my parents house for a meal and conversation.  Everyone serves in their own way.

Because the volunteers are so intertwined with their community that they serve the first half of our trip was spent in Tacna.  We got to explore, visit with families, really get to know the people Em has spent her life with, and best of all eat home cooked meals.

The first days there we were jet lagged and culture shocked.  I didn't really know what to expect from just hearing stories over face time with my sissy.  Tacna is a completely different climate than I am used to - it was summer there for one and two this area is a huge desert!  We got to see my sisters house.  She toured us around her neighborhood, took us to her church and the school she works at.  We checked into our hotel and walked around the city some more. Ending our first day with a lovely meal cooked by Emily's host mom.

Check back soon for more installments in the Peru series!

Christmas Traditions

Last year, at this time, I was in South America for the holidays.  My family flew to Peru to visit my sister for Christmas.  Celebrating in a country where I only know a few basic words of the language and it wasn't even cold outside was such an interesting experience.  It was a wonderful one though.

I soaked up as much of the culture, the language, and the traditions as I could.  I absolutely loved how Christmas is celebrated in Peru. The community there just captivated me. We went to mass on Christmas eve, then had Christmas dinner, then at midnight fireworks are set off all over the city - it was amazing! Everyone was in the streets at midnight watching the fireworks - I mean our 4th of July didn't even compare to this.  While the fireworks are blazing through the city everyone is wishing each other Feliz Navidad, hugging, kissing, and celebrating the birth of Jesus.  It's only after this display that then the gifts are opened.  The celebration is a whole evening affair.

Being there and experiencing something completely new got me thinking about traditions. We have always traveled for Christmas because family lives far away.  We have done different things depending on if we were in Jersey or staying in the Carolinas but we try to bring the foods and the culture of all our family together each year.

Christmas Eve is with Mom's side of the family where we blend an Italian & Polish meal together. We have the whole family come together for a huge meal.  We exchange the oplatek or a polish wafer along with well wishes for the new year to every family member.  Some time during the evening one of the men always seems to disappear with indigestion and the magically Santa comes to visit! He brings us all of our KK [kris kringle] gifts for each other to exchange after desert.  

Then my immediate family will head out to mass and drive across the state of Jersey to visit Dad's side of the family.  Everyone always gathered at my Grammy's house.  She always had cookies baked for us and the most delicious meals in the oven.  Her house is the house I dream of having when I grow up.  The back door was always open to guests who knew to come in that way.  People just seemed to gather there.  There was always someone just stopping by to say hello. She built a family and a community that I will always admire. 

Things look a little different now though.  My parents are in a new house.  My sisters both live far away.  More of our family on Dad's side is in Georgia now - or spread around the world.  Traditions are lovely ritual that keeps us fulfilled. Blending now some Irish, American, Peruvian, Polish, Italian and even creating some of my own is something that brings joy to my heart.  

One thing will always be true.  Jesus' birth is the reason for this holiday.  Reading the Christmas story from the bible, attending mass, finding a way to incorporate my faith to really cherish this time with friends and family is what it is all about.  Oh and a Christmas cookie or two :) 

What are some of the Christmas traditions you celebrate and hold dear?