Georgia, Graduations, & British Virgin Islands!

June was quite the eventful month! I kicked it off by going to an internal conference in Scottsdale, AZ for directors and above at our company called Lead/Xceed. It was quite an honor to be invited to this and was something that just comes with the territory since my promotion about a month or two ago! During this meeting, they really cultivate the leaders of the company to be more inspiring, empowering, and collaborative with their teams. I definitely took away some great nuggets of knowledge. From there, I flew straight to Atlanta, rented a car, and met Trent and Brayden in Athens for her UGA orientation (Terry and Fran watched Hanleigh back at home…thank you!). Before it kicked off, we made our traditional pit stop at the Trappeze Pub for a delicious dinner. The next morning, we walked around campus and before things kicked off, we were lucky enough to stumble upon Kirby Smart giving a pep talk to a bunch of middle school football campers on the 50-yard line at Sanford stadium! How cool! Brayden’s orientation was very surreal, but so much fun and informative. They assembled all the kids and parents in one large ballroom, gave us some high-level information and then the kids broke off into individual groups to go learn about the UGA experience on their own. We learned everything about academic advising, how this is a time of change, student success academic dishonesty and engagement, basic needs, how to support our child, housing, and so much more. Then, we were able to select our own breakout sessions that included learning about things like study abroad, certificate programs, and Greek life. We learned about the many resources such as student care and outreach, the university health center, counseling and psychiatric services, recreational sports, and well-being hubs. They even taught everyone how to do the bulldog cheer! We made a visit to the bookstore for some last-minute shopping before heading back home. It was an amazing experience and further validates the fact that Brayden is definitely at the right school for her! 

Hanleigh had her eighth grade dance while we were gone and had an awesome time hanging out with her close girl and guy friends! They all cleaned up so nicely and looked so great! Both girls came home with their school yearbooks and it was great to see Brayden’s senior ad in full effect, forever to be imprinted in that edition! High school graduation parties also became the norm this month. Brayden went to no less than 23 different parties, including those hosted by: Kelly, Ayse, Hannah, Kate, Sanah, Michelle, Emma, Sofia, Mason, Kenzie, Alex, Macy, Ava, Ethan, Sejal, Caroline, Ellie, Evie, Layla, Maci, John, Claire, and Aditi. Talk about a social butterfly! She had a blast celebrating with all of her friends! I really don’t think hosting graduation parties was a big thing when I was her age. Good for her!

Trent and I went out on a date night with Andrew and Kendall to Taco Boy, followed by watching a ’90s cover band, of which they are friends with the lead singer, at Goldie’s. They had never been before and it’s such a fun music venue! Hanleigh had her eight grade promotion ceremony, which was emotional. There are so many rites of passage for us this year and it’s crazy to know that our little baby is going to be entering high school. The ceremony was really nice and the speeches given by fellow students were very impressive. Later that night, we had a celebratory family dinner at Zinicola. We were sat in a private room and had a great time being silly and and causing lots of antics, particularly Abby who went around surprising Kyle and Aunt Patty by grabbing their throats to see if it bothered them. She knew to stay away from me! Hanleigh looked beautiful and was really happy. Now is when the real work starts in high school! The next night, I took her to dinner for a mom/daughter date night. We ended up at OMB and had an awesome time outside chatting. I look forward to many more of these times together. The next day, she spent time on Lake Norman with a bunch of friends for Riley’s birthday and kicking off her summer break. That evening, Brayden had her graduation rehearsal.

The Mazzolas came to visit us for the weekend and I took Leslie to Jia Foot Spa, which she absolutely loved! Meanwhile, Emilia and Brayden hung out with a lot of her friends and that evening, all of us converged for a delicious dinner at North Italia. The next morning, we got the house completely ready for Brayden’s graduation party. We hired a chef, bartender, and a few other helpers to help make the day that much more enjoyable for us. We rented some cocktail tables and placed them around the pool, had the girls help us make some balloon arches, and decorated the house with a lot of pictures of Brayden over the years! There was definitely a black/red UGA theme, too! It was so special to see so many people from our lives come together to celebrate such an amazing occasion! The food was incredible and everyone was raving about it. Since it was the day before GG’s 96th birthday, many of us joined in by singing happy birthday to her. It was very special! We then followed that with a slideshow that Trent put together, which included a bunch of sentimental songs. I knew what I was doing when I recommended them, but let’s just say there were a lot of tears flowing. Brayden, Kendall, Leslie, and I sat at front of the room holding hands. It was extremely special!!! Brayden spent the afternoon opening her gifts and is so incredibly thankful to everyone who gave her a present. Thank you to everyone who shared in this special day with us. We love you all! We celebrated Father’s Day the next day as well. Trent, we are so grateful for you and all that you do for the family. 

Brayden sent her final transcript to UGA, which is great because she concluded the year with straight As once again. On Tuesday, June 17th, she graduated from Audrey Kell High School, in a class of over 800 students. That morning, Hanleigh helped her get ready by curling her hair, which was incredibly sweet of her. As I flipped through the program, I noticed all of the accolades that Brayden had obtained over the years: CMS Academic Scholar, North Carolina Academic Scholar, North Carolina Global Language Endorsement, North Carolina College/UNC Endorsement, North Carolina College Endorsement, National Honor Society, National Mathematics Honor Society, and National Spanish Honor Society. All of these honorable accomplishments were also represented via colored cords around her neck. As the processional began into Bojangles coliseum, I found myself somewhat shaky and nervous. It was kind of like an out-of-body experience. I couldn’t believe this was actually happening. When she walked in, she made eye contact with us, smiling from ear to ear, and waved at us with this incredibly large grin. She was so happy! We watched as as the choir sang a song from The Greatest Showman, the salutatorian and valedictorian gave their speeches, and the diplomas were handed out. It was awesome knowing so many of her friends and getting to witness them walk across the stage as well. But, when it was Brayden’s turn, that wave of emotion came over again. It was actually happening. Our firstborn child was now closing the chapter on so many years of education to begin a new (and very exciting!) chapter in life. My heart grew so big. Just watching how elated she was. Proud parents and sister, for sure! Congrats, Brayden! Here’s a video of the ceremony that her high school put together. That night, we had a small family dinner at Burton’s to celebrate her accomplishment! 

Hanleigh had a bunch of her girlfriends over the house one evening for a get together and I had dinner with Julia at Flower Child…all of this before we took the absolute best trip ever in the entire world: sailing around the British Virgin Islands on a 47-ft catamaran!!! This is a trip that we have been planning with the Mazzolas for three years to celebrate Brayden’s graduation. We arrived in St. Thomas on Friday afternoon, took the ferry over to Tortola, passed through customs, and checked into our hotel while we waited for Joe, Leslie, Emilia, and Chase to arrive. That night, we went to Pusser’s for the original painkiller and some conch fritters, two items that would become regular staples throughout the trip (we had to figure out who made the best ones!). We had a delicious dinner at Bamboushay’s that night and the next morning, after eating a delicious breakfast at Island Roots, made our way over to the catamaran, which was called “Say Yes” (the dinghy was appropriately named “F-no”! Ha!). Leslie and I went to the grocery store to provision, while everyone else unpacked their bags and the guys went to the liquor store. We met Captain Jason Geyser, who would be with us throughout the duration of the trip. He was so knowledgeable, friendly, and had some amazing stories. After getting settled and hearing the safety briefing, we quickly changed into our bathing suits, started playing some jams, grabbed a tasty beverage, and off we went! Our first anchorage was at Cooper Island where we jumped off the top of the flybridge, got cleaned up and headed over to the Cooper Island Beach Club for an amazing sunset dinner, followed by drinks at the Rum Bar.

The next morning, we made our way to the baths at Virgin Gorda where we hiked to the top, enjoyed some painkillers, hiked back down and navigated our way through the huge granite boulders. The kids loved getting some awesome Instagram-worthy pictures there as well. We then made our way to an anchorage at Saba Rock, which was the perfect day to arrive there as it was a Sunday and that’s a big party day in the Caribbean. There was a DJ and great cocktails, and Leslie and I danced for a long time. We made our way back to the boat and got cleaned up for a delicious dinner back at Saba Rock. The restaurant is incredibly beautiful as you dine alfresco, but the portion size is quite small for the amount of money you pay for a dish. We decided the next time we go there, we probably would skip having dinner there because of that. However, after dinner, we did place our “Boats ‘N Hoes & 2.0s” sticker on the telephone booth on the dock.

The next morning, Brayden, Emilia, and I went scuba diving. The visibility wasn’t that great, but we saw a couple unique things that had we had not seen before like a pod of squid, grouper, lobster, puffer fish, lionfish, and a ton of jellyfish (although, those were not as exciting to see as we were constantly trying to miss them, so it made it a little bit stressful). I always love scuba diving with those girls. It’s really special. While we were doing that, Trent, Joe, Chase, and Hanleigh all tried e-foiling. It was such a unique experience and they had a blast. Afterward, they did cold plunges. Brrr! That afternoon, we made our way over to the Bitter End Yacht Club for lunch and sat at the boat on the beach. This is one of our favorite places and so nostalgic (lots of great memories there!). Later that afternoon, we moved the catamaran just around the corner to a very quiet cove where we did some snorkeling and Captain Jason pulled the kids and Leslie around on the paddle board while they attempted to stay on as if they were surfing. It was so much fun watching them! Every night, the kids were in charge of setting the table and creating the centerpiece. Louise Ann and her new friend, Botano Jr. (BJ for short), became a dynamic duo throughout the trip. You had to be there. During this trip, we did not hire a chef, so we ate all breakfasts on the boat, a couple lunches, and three dinners. It was just the right amount of meals on board. That night, we shared an expensive bottle of Caymus that I had brought on the trip to celebrate. 

The next day, we sailed to Scrub Island, where we had rented a marina slip. On the way they are, we were going to try to snorkel at the Dog Islands, but there were no moorings for us to tie up to, so we attempted to snorkel across from Scrub Island and while it was some of the clearest water and the most beautiful snorkeling I had seen, it was also infested with jellyfish and not just the cute “moon” kind that are harmless. Needless to say, that didn’t last very long, so we made our way over to Scrub Island, where some of us worked out in the gym (which needed a lot of maintenance!), and then went and relaxed at the infinity pool that overlooked the property and the ocean. It was stunning! We slapped another sticker at the bar and went over to Marina Cay for a cocktail. It was time for another dinner on board with the kids cleaning up this time.

The next morning, we all took a very steep hike around Scrub Island where some of us turned around because it was a bit strenuous. The view from the top was absolutely gorgeous and after soaking it all in, we made our way back down. We left Scrub Island and made our way to Cane Garden Bay after passing by numerous deserted, gorgeous beaches on the North side of Tortola. None of us had ever been to Cane Garden Bay and it was awesome to see someplace new. We did some snorkeling and saw a turtle and Brayden practiced her free diving. After a delicious charcuterie board-style lunch and some time splashing around in the ocean, we headed ashore for some cocktails at Myett’s before taking a casual stroll along the beach during sunset. 

The next day, we made our way to Jost Van Dyke, where we anchored in the bay where Foxy’s is. We actually were lucky enough to meet Foxy, who is an older man who tells dirty jokes. He was definitely a character! We even spied the t-shirt that Craven cut off of himself and donated (in exchange for a captain’s hat!) three years ago (on our adult trip there) by stapling it to the ceiling. We stopped by Corsair’s for a few minutes to sit in their funny bar stools before hopping on a shuttle to White Bay, which is where the infamous Soggy Dollar bar is. We spent a few hours there enjoying painkillers, throwing the football on the beach, swimming over to an open boat (just like an open house), and relaxing. The water and beach there are just so perfect. Brayden even met a girl who is going to be a sophomore at UGA, so they exchanged information and I’m sure will see each other during rush. We headed back to the boat, spent more time in the water, and then made our way to Foxy’s to party at night. It was definitely lively and we even got to witness a couple dance competitions, which were absolutely hilarious. Then the DJ cranked up the jams and we danced for hours. Everyone had such a great time! We even contributed another sticker right above Craven’s t-shirt. Can’t wait to see it there the next time we come back. 

The next day, we made our way toward Norman Island. We wanted to snorkel at the Indians, but the current and seas were just too strong, so we anchored at The Caves instead and spent about 45 minutes snorkeling. We wanted to explore more in the caves, but alas, more jellyfish were there. The four adults went on land and hiked to the top of Norman, which gave us an amazing view. Unfortunately, I got stung by a bee on that hike, something that I don’t think had happened to me in probably over 20 years. Crazy! We then collected everyone else and made our way over to the infamous Willy T. This is a pirate ship boat that is notorious for having a party atmosphere where people jump off the top deck into the ocean. All of us took our turns doing that and then made our way back to the catamaran where we continued the party with some karaoke and heckled anyone that rode by our boat on their dinghy. It was such an amazing afternoon! We enjoyed sundowners on the flybridge and then went ashore for our final dinner of the trip at The Pirate’s Bight restaurant. As always, it was delicious! We all shared some of our highlights of the trip over dinner and of course, I got teary-eyed knowing that it was coming to an end. However, the party was not over yet: we donned our amazing shirts and made our way back to the Willy T for a little bit longer to see what the nighttime vibe was. And it was wild! There was a half-dressed woman at the bar with zero modesty, and all kinds of crazy things going on. It was just as it should have been. That place definitely lives up to its reputation. We made our way back to the US the next day, suffering from probably one of the biggest vacation hangovers I’ve ever had. It was so sad that the trip had come to an end. There are a few people in this world that you can spend an entire week with in such small quarters where everyone gets along, is helpful, the laughter is endless, and the energy that everyone brings creates the most perfect memories ever. Our family and the Mazzolas are those people and this is what life is all about. We cannot wait to do it again!!! BVI, you are so incredibly special and you have our hearts. 

Brayden wrapped up the month by watching some of the rush videos from the 20 chapters at UGA, of which she needs to pare down to her top 14. Hanleigh took her last six hours of driver’s ed behind-the-wheel classes so she can get her permit when she turns 15… another rite of passage. Seems like that’s the theme of the month.

View June Photos | View BVI Photos

View June Video | View Graduation Slideshow | View BVI Video