Beech, Blitz, Brisk Running & Crazy Beaches

We kicked off March with an awesome weekend away at our dear friends, the Whitcombs, Beech Mountain home for some relaxation and skiing. We got there on Friday night after work and had an awesome time just chilling out. The next day, we got up and headed to the slopes with the 10, including the Farrells as well. It couldn’t have been a more beautiful day. There was snow on the mountains, the weather was in the ’40s and it was a bluebird sky day. We enjoyed some cocktails at the top of the mountain and the kids did an awesome job of skiing as well. We capped off the night by playing card games and acting silly. Everyone was exhausted and we headed back the next morning. Thank you again, Heather and Rob, for being such gracious hosts. Brayden’s annual non-sanctioned, high-school event, Blitz, kicked off again. This year, I’m not sure she was feeling it as much at first, but once things kicked into gear, she embraced it. It’s so incredible how sneaky these kids are about finding out information about their targets’ work schedules and day-to-day routines. Of course, their downfall is that they trust too many people and divulge information to those who end up sharing it with others. For example, Brayden shared her work schedule with a girl who was working one weekend when she was home from college. That girl told the guys (who were trying to get her) when she was getting off work. So, this meant Trent and I were now accomplices in helping her escape and get home safely. There are two entrances to her work and there was one time where we both drove separately to pick her up: one of us parking at the employee entrance and the other parking next to another restaurant. She was able to escape, but we were on high alert to make sure there weren’t kids hiding in bushes. Later that week, we caught two of the boys on video in our driveway and walking down our street. They were dressed in all black and had water guns in hand, just waiting for her to get home. Apparently, they’re not allowed in someone’s garage, but they can stand at the edge of your garage. Long story short, Brayden was going out of town one weekend and so she decided she would see if the boys were open to paying her money in exchange for spraying her and eliminating her from the game. Ultimately, they sprayed her and took off (what a couple of weasels!) and then went to try and get her partner. This was her last year of participating in this amazing game and we can’t wait to see if it is a “thing” at Hanleigh’s high school. 

We had a lovely dinner at Amy and Greg’s house one evening as well. Brayden asked Trent to take pictures of her in the backyard so she could use one of them as her profile picture on the UGA Instagram account, which incoming freshman use as a way to find roommates. Basically, they post a few pictures on the Instagram account, which has to be approved by a moderator of the site. Then they write a description about themselves, which usually entails details like if they are committed to that school, if they intend to rush a sorority or fraternity, whether they are social butterflies or like to stay at home, and what other activities they may be interested in, such as travel, concerts, etc. Hanleigh took online driver’s ed classes, spread out across all four weekends in March, and did great. It’s very time intensive, requiring about six hours, across two days, and spanning four weekends. The next step will be for her to take six hours of behind the wheel instruction, which likely won’t happen until July. I’ve been talking to a counselor recently for some other stuff I’ve been dealing with and this is my first experience doing so. It’s going very well and I’m pretty impressed with the process and feedback. I highly recommend it for anyone who needs it. We interviewed some neighbors of ours who dog sit and this could be a possible option for us when we go away for the weekend and just need someone to stay at our house and watch the dogs. I think the wife does this as a full-time job and the husband will help out as well and will actually stay at the client’s homes and work. This is a very good option for us considering that Charlie has to stay in her crate if we are not there (because she will eat anything!), and if someone was with her in the house, then she could be free-range and not cooped up in her crate. They also also charge about the same rate as taking the dogs to a boarding facility, so that’s convenient as well because we don’t have to go anywhere and the dogs can stay in their natural environment at home. We had Mom, Terry, and Fran over for dinner one evening, which was really nice. 

I attended the annual Itron Inspire planning meeting, this time at the JW Marriott in Orlando Grande Lakes. The hotel was absolutely stunning and shares property with the Ritz-Carlton. This is always an exciting and fun meeting where we get to plan our conference for the fall, plus I get to see some of my favorite co-workers. Hanleigh’s track meets kicked off with the first one against Community House. Her events are the high jump and 4×200, which means that four teammates run 200 yards each, which is half the distance around the track. I’ve never been involved in track meet before or attended one, so it’s quite interesting because you do a lot of waiting around for just a short amount of viewing. But when she’s running, it’s super exciting. It’s also awesome to see her interested in a sport. She has even talked about trying out for it in high school!

As a gift for Brayden once she decided where she is going to college, I ordered her two brand new pairs of Adidas sneakers. She has basically stolen my shell toes that I wore in college and has adopted them, so I figured it’s time to get her a pair of her own. Of course, when I was shopping, I found another pair that was just as cute with all red suede. Needless to say, she ended up keeping both. Trent and I had dinner with Christel, Aunt Patty and Uncle John, and GG at Chapter 6 in uptown Charlotte. What we failed to remember was that it was during St. Patty’s Day weekend, which meant we were among all of the 20-year-old young professionals who were partying their faces off. Mimi sent me the sweetest thank-you text saying how it was a great meal, but probably the last time she’ll go to South End. It’s definitely not like that all the time, but Trent and I did have to create a barrier around her to get her safely out of the building when dinner was over. There was a lot of activity going on! 

We met with Joe and Leslie virtually to continue our BVI trip planning. A lot of detail goes into this kind of a thing when you rent a catamaran for a week. There’s the itinerary, provisioning, ferries, dinner reservations, merch, and much more. We want to make sure it is the best trip ever and we know it will be! Only a few months left! Trent ended up hurting his left arm and so he has been going to physical therapy to get it all sorted out. Hopefully it feels better soon. He’s been very diligent about his exercises, so that’s good. Hanleigh had her second track meet against South Charlotte and it’s great to continue seeing her make progress in her events! 

Brayden made her way to Chapel Hill one weekend to visit her dear friend, Ella, and experience a bit of college life. She was in her element and had such a great time. They went to fraternity parties, a sorority brunch, and meandered through campus. Of course, these trips are not without the requisite parental pep talk about safety, having a buddy, watching anything that you are drinking, and just making smart choices—all while having fun. She managed to do all of that and make great memories as well! Meanwhile, while she was out of town, so was I! About every four or five years, a group of us from college that were in the same sorority/dorms get together. There are a total of 11 and while not all of us can make each trip, this time eight of us were able to go, which is an amazing showing! We call ourselves the Crazy Beaches and are spread out across the country all living lives with our families, but we have such a great time that we make it a priority to plan a trip together. And we have to start planning over a year in advance. Trying to nail down a date where all of us can attend is nearly impossible, but we make it happen. This year, we went to Kristy’s house in Boca Raton and had a blast! We kicked things off with dinner Friday night at the Boca Raton resort, which is super bougie and awesome. There was a band and we danced to some old-school jams. Kristy’s mom even joined us and it’s always great hanging out with her. The next day, we went to Deerfield Beach to soak in some sun and had some snacks at JB’s On the Beach, which seems to be a tradition for us. We went back to the house and chilled out for a little bit and enjoyed some Veuve Clicquot champagne that Kristy’s boyfriend had bought for us to celebrate our group being together again! That was so nice of him. That evening, we had the most delicious dinner at Yolo and at the end of dinner, a woman approached our table and asked if we wanted to go to the club next door to have a private table with champagne next to the DJ. Who would say no to that? So, we ventured over there for some dancing and then made our way to Howl at the Moon where Kristy was chosen to stand behind one of the pianists and hold his harmonica while he played Piano Man. It was hilarious and she looked so cute on stage. The next day, we went to a more remote beach to lay out and then had dinner at Oceans 234, which was also extremely delicious. Over the last 29 years, we have all taken numerous trips together, but I think this trip was my most favorite. It was a perfect balance of relaxation and partying coupled with deep conversations and endless laughter…all of which filled my bucket to no end. I can’t wait for our next trip! 

From Boca Raton, I flew to Dallas for an annual industry-related trade show that I helped plan. We had an invite-only customer event, our exhibit was the biggest and had the most traffic, I had meetings with partners and media, filmed videos, got to hold some really adorable puppies, and it all culminated with our marketing dinner in which our vice president gives us all a big thank you for all the work that went into planning the event. Another great Distributech in the books! After being gone for nearly a week, it was finally time to return home. Hanleigh had her third track meet against Crestdale and did great! Keep up the awesome work! It is such a joy to watch you run, girl! Our little Charlie celebrated her third birthday as well! She brings so much joy into our life and is either sleeping or on full blast and all over the place acting crazy. We wouldn’t have it any other way! 

After all the crazy travel, I treated myself to a massage at Urbana, and Trent and I went on a date night to Orosoko Sound Bar for some delicious food, followed by tasty drinks at Vinyl, a place I have been wanting to try for a while and we thoroughly enjoyed it. I capped off that weekend with a nice walk with the dogs and Hanleigh (although, she may tell you that it was a little too long) and then she had YMCA orientation as she will be volunteering as a counselor this summer!

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