Cheers to the Weekend, Hello June Edition

Hi friends! And Happy Friday! It felt like a quick, short week, probably because it was our first full week of summer and because of the Memorial Day holiday on Monday! We are shifting gears and getting into our summer schedule, which looks a lot like swim team practice every morning for Banks and Raleigh, baseball practice three evenings a week for Banks, three hours of therapies for Bels, and making things *interesting* for the rest of us a la Harrison (and by that, I mean boycotting needed naps; throwing tantrums left and right; causing mischief, and being all things 4-year-old, entertaining boy ;) ). Nonetheless, we are loving this break from school and even though our schedule is fuller than previous summers right now, we are having fun and enjoying our time off from the even fuller school days. A few things we're saying CHEERS to this first Friday in June: 

Fripp Trip 2018. This was our third year kicking off summer be sneaking away to the beach for a long weekend with two of our favorite families. The first year we went to Dafauskie Island and the last two we went to Fripp Island. We LOVE Fripp! We all (all as in six adults and nine kiddos) pile into one rental house and spend our days switching between playing on the beaches and in the pools, cruising around and taking in the gorgeous scenery on the golf carts that come with the rental, and taking advantage of the attractions the family-friendly island offers. We had a great time, with the most perfect beach weather the first two days! 

This was Bella's first EVER trip to the beach. Actually, it was her first ever time seeing the ocean. And this sweet baby brought me to tears. I put her down at the top of the long, flat beach and she did her signature Bella waddle allllll the way down the beach, beelining straight for the water. She plopped down and just laughed and laughed and splashed and splashed. I will NEVER forget it! 

It's hard to narrow down from the many :0 pics I took, but here are a few of my faves from our weekend away: 

Memorial Day. We drove home from Fripp on Memorial Day and were greeted with gray, gloomy skies. BUT that wasn't going to stop us from attending our favorite pool party of the summer! Sadly, it did stop most others from attending - usually this party is PACKED and LOUD and FUN and this year, not so much. It was definitely not pool friendly weather. Nonetheless, we stayed for a couple hours and were able to chat with a few friends who also braved the ugly skies for a little poolside fun. :)

Supporting Lakeside Audiology. Earlier this week, my s{quad} and I were absolutely thrilled to support a dear friend, who just so happens to be our audiologist and the owner of the one and only Lakeside Audiology. Drs. Block and Jensen were being featured on a big ol' news segment, and we thrilled to take part in a little slice of it. All four Lu Crew kids ended up getting on the news, and I was able to participate in a short interview about how amazing Lakeside has been with identifying and treating Bella's hearing loss. We love Lakeside! Local friends, young and old, this is the ONLY place you need to consider for your audiology needs - they are the BEST, and we absolutely loved supporting them as part of this awesome experience.

Camp Dabo. I am so pumped for Banks! Tonight, he and his dad will head to our beloved Clemson so that he can participate in Dabo Swinney Football Camp all weekend. And I mean ALL weekend: it starts just after 8:00 am tomorrow and goes until 10:00 pm! And they'll do the same thing on Sunday, although ending at 4:00 pm so the campers can make their way back home. I am jealous of my big guys who will get to spend the weekend in Clemson but can't wait to hear all about every second from my football-lovin' Bankster!

New orthotics. We started with our new physical therapist recently, and he took one look at the orthotics Bella has had for the last 8-9 months and immediately decided she needed better ones. I am so thankful for his expertise and opinion! So, we went and saw a new, much better orthotist in Charlotte earlier this week (you rock, Level 4 Orthotics and Prosthetics!), who took quick casts of Bella's ankles and feet and is working as we speak to create new ones for her. I am hopeful they will help her continue to grow sturdier and steadier on her feet and improve her gross muscle tone. Fingers crossed!

And with that, we welcome in the (hopefully sunny!) weekend. I'll be holding down the fort with Raleigh, Harrison, and Bella while Daddy and Banks spend in the weekend in Clemson for football camp. Bright and early tomorrow morning (as in, 7:00 am), Raleigh will participate in our swim team's mock meet. I can't wait to watch her swim! Tomorrow evening, I have a sitter coming so I can head out to a fun neighborhood event for a couple hours. And then, we'll welcome home our big guys Sunday night and prepare for the week ahead. Hopefully, there will be some pool time thrown in and some relaxation thrown in and some adventure thrown in. I hope your first week of June is a great one, too! 

My hub and I are headed to Mexico next week, so I'll be taking a little time off from the ol' blog to prep for the trip before we say adios for a few days! Be back soon, though. Have a great week/end, y'all!