Five On Friday: Celebrating Life Edition

It's Friday, y'all. Here are my five, starting off on a somber note:

[ONE].

Last week, my Granny, my dad's mom, passed away. Tomorrow we will be celebrating her life and all that she meant means to us. She was an incredibly special, loving, devoted woman who was passionate about family and will be missed more than I could ever adequately put to words here. One of my sisters wrote a beautiful piece on my Granny in her blog. There's nothing I could ever write that would describe her, and our memories together, better than my sister did. So. I defer to what she wrote. We love our Granny. We miss our Granny. Tomorrow, we will celebrate the 86 wonderful years of her life. 

[TWO].
Speaking of family, we had a ball last weekend with my brother, my sister "in law," and my precious niece. We ate, we drank, we pool-ed, we golfed, we played, we talked, we laughed. All in all, an awesome weekend!!

 
[THREE].

It's official: The resort stay is booked. The character meals are reserved. The park plan is in place. The Bammy babysitting has been scheduled. That's right. We are headed back to Disney World early next year!!!!!!!! Hooray! Yahoo! Fist bump! And all that jazz! We took Banks alone back in 2013, when he was almost 3.5 years old, and we'll be taking him again, along with Raleigh this time, to soak up all that Disney has to offer, while Harrison gets some awesome one-on-one time with his Bammy. To say that I am excited is the understatement of the century!!!!

[FOUR].

Whew. You guys. This week, my hub was gone from Sunday morning until late Wednesday night. That is a loooooong time for a momma of a 4-year-old, 2-year-old, and 3-month-old. But. I decided to make the most of the week, one of our last before school starts back after Labor Day. We were busy, busy, busy! On Monday, we picked up one of Banks' best buddies, whose momma just happens to be one of my best buddies. :) She just welcomed Baby #3 a few weeks ago; so, we decided to give her a little break by having her oldest over for a playdate. We played. We cake popped. We picnicked. We snow coned. It was fun!

On Tuesday, I took my trio up to Dan Nicholas Park in Salisbury, North Carolina, about an hour drive from our home. Y'all. Ohmygoodness. This park is AWESOME. It has a carousel, putt-putt, a train ride, a petting zoo, a nature trail, a sprayground, and gem mining, not to mention several playground areas for kids of all ages. And did I mention that it is super, duper cheap (think $1 or less per activity)? And did I also mention that one of my very BFFs, and her two handsome boys, met us there for a full morning o' fun? Awesome! I very highly recommend this park to all my local friends!

And then on Wednesday, that same BFF and her two boys traveled to the Mill for a playdate at my house. An absolute blast, I tell ya!

And finally, did I mention that Thursday was Open House at my kiddos' school. So, off we went to meet Banks' and Raleigh's new teachers. I think they are both going to have an AWESOME year!

Like I said, busy! Whew. This momma needs a nap.

[FIVE].

It should probably come as no surprise that I was in definite need of some "me time" once my hub returned to the Mill. Which brings me to last night, when I was able to sneak away with one of my good friends ('sup Christi) for a little margarita-momma-off-duty action. So needed and so fun!

And with that, I wish you the best of weekends. Please, keep my family in your prayers as we celebrate the life of a loving and devoted mother and Granny. <3