The First Day...!

Today marked the first day of the 2022-2023 school year for the girls.  We officially have an 8th grader and a high school junior.  How?  I say it every year, but I can't believe that the girls are already this old!  

Quinn - 11th Grade

Sullivan - 8th Grade

Someone else was insistent that she get her picture taken today too.  She sat pretty and waited while Quinn and Sullivan got their pictures taken and thought it was her turn next.

She was also insistent that she escort the girls to school today to ensure they made it safely.  

Both girls came home with smiles on their faces.  Each said the school day was great, they (for the most part) like all their classes and are ready to go back tomorrow.  Here is to an amazing last year in middle school for Sullivan and an amazing junior year for Quinn! 

Summer Lovin'...

As much as we have all loved summer and we have soaked up as much of it as we can, it's that time of year.  Summer is out, school is in.  

We have shopped for school supplies...

Packed our bags...

And visited our schools and teachers during Open House nights...

Sullivan and Quinn are ready for a great year and are excited for their new classes.  They are not ready for the alarm clock to come tomorrow morning, but such is life.  Here is to a great 2022-2023 school year!

Big Changes Ahead...

 A little something happened yesterday...

Quinn got her Level 2 NC driver's license.  That means that she is allowed to drive by herself without an adult to supervise.  There are a few limitations as far as number of passengers and times of day, but overall she is on her own.  That's a good thing since she officially got a job this week. More to come on that soon!

A New Phase Begins...

 As of about a week ago, this happened...

Quinn is officially a college student! She even has the school ID and parking pass to prove it.  

She is enrolled in pre-calculus as part of the school's dual enrollment program.  It is all online (minus testing that is done on campus).  Classes started about a week ago, and so far, so good!  She is excelling and enjoying it.  Here's to many, many more college courses in her future.

While We Were Away...

Sullivan managed to keep herself busy (and even have loads of fun) when we were in California.  She spent the week in Indiana with her dear friend, Maddy.  Maddy was beyond the moon excited for Sullivan to be there, but she might have had stiff competition for was most excited.  Maddy's siblings were just as excited to have Sullivan time.  That's when you know you are loved, when the siblings love you as much as your very best friend!  

The girls met some friends for smoothies...

They all went to Urban Air, where they bounced and jumped and bumper car rode for 4+ hours...

Sullivan spent the day at the pool with Maddy's siblings while Maddy had dance practice...

They did all the meet-the-teacher nights at all the schools because Indy started back to school early this year. While they were at the intermediate school for Maddy's brother, they found their old pictures from 5th grade hanging on the wall.  Turns out that in all of the 600+ students, they were right on top of each other in the picture spread...

If you thought the siblings liked Sullivan a ton, Grandma Sue came to town (twice) to take Sullivan and Maddy shopping and SPOIL them rotten.  Grandma Sue loves Sullivan like she is one of her own grandchildren.  

They couldn't miss an opportunity to get their nails done and to be twinsies.  

A little bit of baking was done...

Lots of laughter, chill time, and soaking up every minute together....

Our time in California went fast, but it went even faster for Sulla.  She was sad, sad to say goodbye to the whole fam and more specifically Maddy.  She will hang on to these memories until next time!!

The Last of California...

 On another day in California, we went to Warner Bros. Studio and did a behind the scenes tour.  

We saw buildings and sets and props and all the places our favorite TV shows and movies were made like ER, Friends, Big Bang Theory, and West Wing, plus more!

On the Backstage of Warner Bros...

I am forever amazed at how they can make one set look so different for many TV shows and movies.  This one spot is where Hard Knock Life from Annie was filmed.  It is also the same exact space Toby Maguire hung upside in Spiderman and kissed Mary Jane.  And finally it's where the cover of Prince's Purple Rain album was shot.  Three very different scenes in one location.

We explored the Friends experience and saw some of the replicated sets...

Ryan reenacting the recliner scene from Friends.  If you know, you know.

We got to sit on the Friends couch...

The Friends fountain...

And The Big Bang Theory couch...

Ryan sat in Sheldon's infamous spot...

Quinn got to even hold a REAL Oscar.  

She commented on how heavy it was, and was told it weighed just over 10 pounds.  

Ryan with all the Batmobiles...

While the entertainment was fun in Cali, Quinn also had a request to try a few restaurants in California that we don't have in NC.  

We tried Del Taco with high hopes that it would be like Taco Johns or better.  

Meh.  It definitely doesn't beat Taco Johns, but I think we all agree that it beats Taco Bell.

Quinn also wanted to make it to In-N-Out Burger.  We had tried it before in Colorado, but it was a must have since California has oodles of them. 

It never disappoints.  

Finally she wanted to try Raising Cane's Chicken.  They are starting to branch out across the country, but we are yet to get one in our neck of the woods.  

The meal didn't disappoint.  Good chicken, Texas toast, fries and amazing Cane's sauce. And apparently we like loads and loads of ketchup with our chicken.

Our trip to California was amazing.  We had loads of fun seeing all that it had to offer from amusement parks to the film industry to the ocean and more.  We missed having Sullivan with us, but enjoyed our time with Quinn and her belated 16th birthday!  

Cali (Continued)...

Aside from the Disney Parks, we kept ourselves busy in California.  We ventured over to Venice Beach one afternoon.  

We took in the skateboarders, the surfers, the beachgoers, and boardwalk.  

We dipped our toes in the ocean as well...

That evening we ventured an Angels game, which officially ticked off stadium #18 for Ryan.

It was probably one of the best games we've been to in a long time, if ever.  It was fast moving, full of action and a great ending. 

The company wasn't bad either!

On another given day, we visited the Funko Pop store in Hollywood where they have all sorts of Funko Pop figures...

They not only sell small action figures, but have loads of gigantic Funko Pops to pose with.  Here is Quinn with some of her faves...

We traveled up the Hollywood Hills to see the most amazing views of LA...

If you look really far in the background (and maybe squint your eyes), you can see the Hollywood Sign...

We traveled over to Beverly Hills.  Quinn wanted to see what Rodeo Drive is like.  She didn't want to walk it, so we just strolled down the street.

The insane amount of money that is spent on this street alone is crazy.  There were three Louis Vuitton stores in the matter of two blocks.  Wow!

The Beverly Hills Willshire Hotel - the one made infamous in Pretty Women...

We definitely had fun times at Venice beach, at the baseball game, and in Hollywood.  There is one more Cali post before the fun was over and it was time to go home to NC.