Cheers to the Weekend, Hello Spring??? Edition

Friends, I have one question: Where is Spring?! Ugh! You guys - one of the (many!) reasons I love living in the South is the beautiful, sunny weather we get to enjoy during the Spring and Summer seasons. But it has decided to delay it's arrival this year. Fashionably late, Spring? We're ready for you. Feel free to show up now. Bleh!

Anyway, I am SO glad it's Friday!!! Remember how I mentioned this was going to be an especially nutty week 'round these parts? Well, it's because my hub spent most of the week flying to and from China. Yes, back to Bella's roots. And get this: he flew all the way to the other side of the world, to Beijing specifically, for...a three hour meeting. Yep. Three hours. So, I was flying solo with my Lu Crew this week. His flight landed back in Charlotte at 7:00 am yesterday. And of course, he had to bring the kids back a few China souvenirs. Here's what he brought for this littlest lady: 

She was SO excited, as were the rest of the kiddos for their China loot. :) 

Anywho, my hub was able to get a little work done yesterday and see the kids before heading back out of town last night for the big P200 race I referenced in my post earlier this week. So, he is currently, literally, running to Charleston. He'll be back sometime tomorrow night. 

Meanwhile, life doesn't stop just 'cause things get busy, right? On top of our usual weekly schedule, and Clay being out of town, Banks had two (make that one after last night's game was cancelled due to poor field conditions) baseball game, Bella had two evaluations at our elementary school, I had lunch with a dear friend, LifeGroup, etc. SO, I am very much looking forward to my couch time tonight (aka falling asleep on the couch before 9:00 pm - ha!). 

Finally, now that all that blabbering is out of the way, here are some things we're saying CHEERS to this week/end:

St. Patty's Day/Spring Fling. Happy Belated St. Patrick's Day, y'all! Harrison and his sweet friends had a fun preschool party at school on Friday, and then we celebrated as a family by donning our green and heading out to our sweet town's Spring Fling. But ohmydearLord. It was a ZOO. Interestingly, last year, I went to it alone, as my hub was on a guy's weekend and my parents took my (then three!) kiddos for the weekend. I leisurely strolled around the Spring Fling, sipping a glass of wine, enjoying a nice book, and visiting each of the booths supporting local entrepreneurs. I was expecting the same sort of low-key time this year, albeit with my whole Crew in town to enjoy the festive fun. But it was NUTS. Probably 10x the amount of people as were there last year. So, we met up with family and friends, roamed for a bit, and then got the heck out of there, bribing our kids by promising our first stop of the 2018 year at Pelican's for a Snow Ball. It was fun but man, was it chaotic!

 Pumped for the preschool par-tay!

 Afternoon Shamrock Shakes with his sweet friend

Spring Fling time!

 Had to snap a pic with Elsa at my sister's orthodontic practice's booth

My beautiful, ridiculously adorable niece <3

 We love Thomas Leitner Orthodontics...and our friends do, too!

Happy St. Pat's from the Lu Crew!

Barre3 fun. Last weekend I got to take in two special Barre3 workouts: one being my hundredth class and another being a special "Unbreakable Core" workshop by a talented trainer who specializes in helping post-partum women strengthen their core muscles. Loved it all! Especially when I get to workout alongside sweet friends and instructors. :)

Seamless. Our couples LifeGroup started this new study last week, and y'all? It is absolutely FANTASTIC!!!! One of my favorite studies I have ever done, and we're only two weeks into it. Already I can tell you that I couldn't recommend it any more highly! So, so, so good!!! (And don't let the pink cover fool you - it is awesome for women AND men).

Baseball madness. Banks had his first baseball game of the season this week, and while it end in a loss, I just love watching him out there, playing his heart out. And, while y'all know I'll be a hardcore Clemson fan until the day I die, I was proud to boast some A&M wear to support his team, the Aggies! Two more games next week - let's see if we can pull out a W! Go Aggies! (and thank you, dear Melissa and fam, for letting me raid your Aggie closet). :)  

FMES love. I absolutely love where my kiddos attend school - the York County school system was the primary reason we chose to move to, and live in, our sweet town when we left Atlanta 5.5 years ago. And after this week, I love it even more! 

First, this week, author Jerry Pallotta, well-known for his children's series Who Would Win...?, visited the school. AND Banks' class won a school-wide contest, resulting in Mr. Pallotta coming to their classroom for a special visit. Y'all. You would have thought Banks was lunching with the biggest A-list celeb on the planet. He bounded in my room at 6:00 am sharp, dressed for school (in a shirt "with animals on it, Mom! Because his books are about animals!"), and holding the 12 original books Banks has created himself, also of the Who Would Win...? variety. He was PUMPED! And then, he got Mr. Pallotta to sign his books. Day.Made.

And then, yesterday morning and this morning, Bella was/is being evaluated by the district preschool program at our very own FMES to determine her eligibility for specialized preschool placement this year. It just felt so neat to walk her into our beloved FMES for her evals, knowing we are working collaboratively with her psychoeducational team to get a good plan in place to help her achieve her potential. <3

And that's that, friends! Like I said, I'll undoubtedly be snoozing moments after my kiddos hit the hay tonight, in anticipation of a weekend filled with baseball team pictures, teeball practice, a birthday party, a baseball clinic at the high school, church volunteering, and LifeGroup. Oh yeah, and cheering on our Tigers tonight as they take on Kansas in the Sweet Sixteen (Go Tigers!). Luckily, only one more week until our Spring Break begins and we will finalllllllly have a few days off from school to rest up and recover! Have a great weekend, all!