Blogtober day 3: Summer Recap

    Hi friends!

    Wow, it is the PERFECT fall day.  It's 63 degrees outside, sunny and perfect!  We haven't had the AC on since yesterday morning.  The windows are open and its wonderful!!  Today is Blogtober day 3, so today I'm reflecting on summer 2025!  It was a fun, full and exciting summer!

    We started in May with a trip to the bird park in Scotland Neck,  My Mom was able to go with us and we had the best time! The boys loved the birds!

Also in May, my girl started horse shows!  It was her first show and she came

home with a fourth place ribbon!

We also had some fun times with my nieces and nephews who came to visit!

My niece was in the Senate page program in Raleigh, and since we are just under an hour from there, I got to enjoy the week with some of my favorite kiddos!

And they got to celebrate my boy turning 16 with us!

Since 16 is a big year it was his turn for a destination birthday, so he wanted to go to the Outer Banks

It was a wonderful birthday and we got to stay at the Outer Banks Beach Club.  

This hotel is near and dear to us, as we spent a lot of time there when we were living in Columbia at my husbands first pastorate.  So my kids kind of grew up visiting the beach club and using the pool.  It is always a pleasant stay, and it was so nice to be there celebrating him turning the big 16!

In June we did senior pictures and celebrated my daughter graduating from high school with family and a cake!  We plan to celebrate with family in the mountains in November, but we didn't want to pass June without a cake!

Bible school was great!  We did the Wonder Junction Theme!  The play was awesome and 

my Hubby and our youth leader were the "Calamity Gang"- the kids LOVED them as the bad guys, and when they robbed the train with waterguns- that was a HIT!

We also had my daughter's senior piano recital.  It was bittersweet, but I'm so proud of her!  She's teaching piano now, so that's amazing to see her come into her own and love music the way she does!

My boys did their piano recital pieces as well, they are all very talented musicians!

My boys went to summer camp!  they visited Camp Caraway in Sofia, NC.  Hudson was a teenage chaperone, but they allowed him to get in on all the fun as well!

Hudson's favorite was the kayak

Sawyer loved the zipline!

Callie visited Williamston and won her first two blue ribbons in her show in June!

Not bad for her second show!  I was SO proud!

And our church helped with the Community Bible school at the local school this year,

it was so much fun and such a blessing!  It was a great turnout and all the volunteers did a great job!

My husband is a favorite among these kiddos- he's a very familiar face in the community and

so loved!!!  

Hudson helping lead music, since thats what he loves most!

Stephen and I also celebrated 19 years of marriage this year!!!  I'm so in love with this 

amazing man, and so thankful for the years we have had and all the years we have to come!

We spent some of the day by the waterfront in Washington, then ended up in Greenville to shop, then back to Tarboro for dinner.  It was such a nice day together!

Our little town knocks it out of the park for the fourth of July!!!  They have a GREAT

event!  Our church sets up a tent to give away water since its so hot, and we also sign people up for Upward football at this event, so its really successful and we get to meet a lot of people!  But most of all we enjoy celebrating Independence day with our church family!  

The second week in July I was able to attend the annual retreat for the 

NC Baptist Ministers Wives.  It was such a blessing!  There were so many Pastors wives there this year!  Last year I went by myself and it was a good experience but this year two of my dear friends went along with me, which made the trip even better!!!

These are my sweet friend and fellow Pastors wives that live lose by!  I love these ladies!!

After my retreat we had a fun beach day with my Mama

Then it was my daughter's turn to go to camp!  She went with our youth 

group to Camp Caswell this year, and she had a blast as well!

The day she came home from Caswell my oldest daughter called and was headed to the hospital!

So On July 18th, I became a Mimi!  

The week after my little guy was born, we had our family beach trip to 

Atlantic Beach..  it was such a blessing!  We had not been there in years, but its actually the closest beach we have, so we were excited to visit!

We loved Fort Macon now that my kiddos are older

And the aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores was great!  We even liked it better than the one at Roanoke that we visited in May...

Callie went back to Williamston in July and won a second place ribbon!

Then my sister and her family visited and we had the PERFECT beach day with cousins and my Mom!

And back to our favorite ice cream place!

Where they got to meet an adorable baby cow!

My youngest niece had her first birthday!!!

And Callie went to Oxford and came back with a bunch of ribbons again!

We've enjoyed flag football season

And ended the summer with a celebration of our three year anniversary here at our church!!!

Whew!  That was a long summer!!!  But we had a blast, and we accomplished a lot!!!

I'm ready for the fall, for school, slower days, cooler weather and getting prepared for the holidays!

Join me with Blogtober 2025!

*Join me in sharing with these fun linky parties!!!