Fireflies, Field Day and Friends

We were so excited for Thursday to arrive. A little while back, I registered for lottery tickets to see the fireflies at Congaree National Park. It's an annual even where the fireflies blink synchronously and thousands of visitors flock to the park. Well, this year with Covid, they took precautions by doing a lottery system to limit how many people could enter. I was shocked to find out later that they only let 25 cars in per night for the lottery! Usually there are over 2,000 people each day. So we were extremely fortunate to obtain tickets. This has been something we've always wanted to do, but it means a late night as the park is 45 minutes away and the best time for viewing is between 9-10PM. 

Armed with our red flash lights we arrived at dusk and walked the boardwalk for a good ways until we came to a spot we had overheard a park ranger talking about. There were a couple of funny looking tents set up and it turns out a scientist was collecting fireflies to see at what density they would start synchronously blinking. It was pretty cool to talk to this PhD candidate from Colorado who would be going to the Smoky Mountains in four days to check out their fireflies. 

Soon enough we started spotting them and located a really densely populated area. After several minutes, sure enough, they started blinking in unison. It was like watching tiny fireworks close to the ground. We all really LOVED it and pretty much had our spot all to ourselves. Slowly we made our way out to get some tired people to bed. Probably one of the coolest things I've ever seen. 

Paige wasn't too tired for her field day the next day. I was so excited the kids were able to participate in some fun after their crazy school year. They did a lot of relay games and generally had a blast. Paige was gushing about it afterward. Nothing like some good old competition to get her excited. 

Then we headed over to a friend's pool for the afternoon. Despite the pandemic we've managed to make friends with another family in the neighborhood. Their daughter Brantley hangs out with Anna and Caroline and these three amigas have lunch bunch together every Friday. They have a son Jonathan's age too. We've enjoyed outdoor birthday parties and walks with the Soongs this year. So when we heard they were putting in a pool this backyard, we were thrilled. Anna quickly volunteered to watch it while they are gone for vacation. Ha! In any event, we had a chance to take a dip on Friday afternoon, being the first friend gathering for their new pool. It was sweet to watch the kiddos play and catch up with the mamas pool side. 

And not to be left out, Teddy has had a big week with multiple playdates with his pal Lettie. Erin is out of town this week and Scott did not want to walk Lettie, so Teddy was invited over to have some backyard play time every evening. He sure lived it up! Check him out on the car ride over. Goofball.  

Weekend fun

The countdown to the end of school has begun in earnest. We have three more weeks! I feel like all I keep saying is "finish strong!" 

Meanwhile, we've had some weekend fun. Anna and Patrick went to the state cross country meet to cheer and help at the long jump pit. The girls team came in 5th place, but was only off by 2 points to finish 3rd. The heat was so bad this weekend that it definitely killed the long distance runners. Anna would have placed 5th! But she had a great time hanging with her friends and cheering on the team. Her banquet/awards ceremony is next Tuesday and then we'll call it a wrap. 

Paige and I decided to take Teddy downtown to Soda City, our outdoor market on Main St. We went early to beat the crowds and the heat. I was thankful we did because with all the sights, sounds, textures of sidewalk and grates, we discovered Teddy is NOT a city dog. He did really well, but was definitely tentative, especially over the bumpy sidewalk portions right before we crossed the street. It was fun to grab a popsicle and some local honey at the market. Next up we took Teddy to walk around USC. I showed Paige the Horseshoe and where we lived when we were on campus. Teddy mostly chased squirrels. It was a quite morning walking down memory lane. 

That evening, Patrick and I celebrated our anniversary of 17 years by going out to dinner at Bonefish. We had a gift certificate and were able to sit outside which made me feel better. Just not ready to do in restaurants yet! Patrick surprised me with earrings and we enjoyed some yummy key lime pie cake. The girls hung out with the Powells so after our dinner, we chatted about our UT plans and figured out which places we could meet up for some hiking and hanging out. We're really excited!

After church on Sunday, we joined the Currys for a 10 mile bike ride on the Timmerman Trail which leads to the River Walk. It's a great, paved trail in the shade with minimal hills. The kids all did great and Paige and I managed to do pretty well with our bikes, neither of which have gears. This was the first time we got to use the new hitch and the new to us bike rack handed down to us from the Currys. I can see many more biking adventures in our future.

Randomness: 

Teddy has been enjoying his solo mom time. He can always be found right at my feet when I am sitting and working on my computer. He got his haircut today which was perfect timing for the hot weather we have in store this week. 

Paige is has been helping me power wash the driveway. We're working on it slowly but surely. At least it's fun!

She also captured this picture of some eggs in her blue bird house. We're thrilled that they found it acceptable and can watch them go in and out from our back porch. I kinda loved watching her drag the plastic kids table over, hike herself up as tall as possible and then reach her arm as far as it would go to get this shot. It was just sweet to watch her figure it out. 

And of course, she's also a bit of a goof. So here's a picture of Paige doing her triumphant sprinkler pose. 

Friends, State Qualifier, Soccer, Recital

You name it, we finished it this weekend! There was so much to celebrate and be excited about as we wrapped up spring activities. Here's the recap:

First up, I invited two of Paige's buddies over after school on Friday. These three amigas enjoyed the half day running around our backyard, playing games and generally loving life. I'm so glad as things start to lighten up, we can enjoy friendships at our house again. 

While Paige was playing with friends, I dropped Anna off to catch the bus to state qualifier. She pretty much spent the entire day there and didn't run until 7pm. Paige and arrived later after dropping off her buddies. Then we waited in the very long (and overly priced) t-shirt line to get her a state qualifying t-shirt. She made it into the top 32 in the state for both the 1600 and the 3200! That's pretty impressive!! She scratched her 1600 because she wanted to save her legs for the 3200 where she had the most chance to actually qualify. Fortunately, the knee was feeling good and she looked pretty settled. It was a really fast race! She came in 8th in her heat but whooped up on a girl that beat her pretty good in the cross country season. She even did sub 6 minutes in the first mile, hanging in there with the fast girls. It was a perfect race for her and a great way to end the season. Only the top 8 make it to state, but I am pretty stoked to say she's the 16th fastest 3200 runner in the state!

On Saturday, we wrapped up Paige's soccer season with one final game. She played great defensively, once again. They moved her to offense mid way through the game and that's when the other team scored. At one point she was sitting on the sideline, yelling loud enough for the parents on the other side of the field to hear her. She was coaching it up while her actual coach just laughed at her taking over his job. I think it went something like this: Come on Jake! Run! This isn't Girl Scouts! This is soccer!! One of the parents asked me if she was always this intense. I said yes and he looked like he had a mix of awe and terror on his face. I made sure to tell him it was also good too. At the end of the game, every kid got to kick a penalty kick for fun. Paige's went straight on in and she was pleased with herself. We look forward to hopefully seeing her play in the fall. 

Monday night wrapped up Anna's viola performances. She's been doing a program where a senior at the high school organized private lessons for middle school students given by high school students every week for 12 weeks. The student put it together for her senior project and happens to be in Patrick's AP class, so she totally nabbed Anna as her student. While very upset that we were making her do it at first, Anna quickly discovered how much she enjoyed it and worked hard at learning her piece. I can tell she's grown so much from the experience. The whole thing ended with a recital last night and it was so neat to hear all of the students, including Caroline who plays the cello. I've heard Anna play her piece many times as she's been practicing at home, but is sure sounded even better at the recital. Her mentor has said Anna is pretty good and I just shrugged it off, thinking that's a nice thing to say. Last night I realized she does have a knack for playing and I sure hope she continues. 

So that was all our extra curricular fun this past week! Both girls are back in school and this is my first full week with them gone since last March, over a year ago. So crazy to think. I've got errands and lunches lined up. And of course, I'm working on our final preparations for our big trip out west. Yay! I'll leave you with Teddy pics because he's a goof. 

Teddy and his bff, Lettie