Well...
It's been over three years since I posted and I doubt there will be many more - thanks to instagram and chatbooks :)
What have we been up to? Well, Max and Claire just turned 12! All three kids are at a new school, Thales. We adopted a dog! She is a mastiff/rottweiler mix named Pearl!
Max (12)
Max is 5'7 and 117 lbs! I still have a 1/2 in on him... but not for long. He is continuing to stay off the charts! He is wearing a size 11 shoe!
He loves all sports. In the summer he is on our swim team. Last fall he played his first season of tackle football! It was a learning experience, but his is ready for more! He is great at flag football! He is playing on a travel basketball team and getting more confident as time goes on. We also just signed him up for rec soccer!
After covid - we decided to switch schools, so they are at Thales. It has been a good experience, even tho he doesn't love it. We decided to switch campuses so he can be with his best friend, Nolan, and it will feel more like a real middle school.
He enjoys playing all sports, being with friends, fortnite, rocket league and madden.
Claire (12)
Claire just turned 12 and is 5'2.5 and 119 lbs. She is wearing a size 8 in women's shoes! Claire is staying busy with competitive cheerleading and strength training at the gym. She has caught on quick to the workouts and is doing a great job. She loves being with her friends! Her and her friends have been all into skincare and makeup. She probably does a better job than I do on skincare :) haha. Claire has a good head on her shoulders and I can always count on her. We def butt heads when it comes to being mouthy and keeping her room clean, but that is pretty typical at this age. She just started babysitting!
She is doing pretty well in school. Switching to Thales has been a game changer for her. The structure and smallness of the school help with that. The only thing they don't love about school is wearing a uniform!
Kate (7.5)
Oh, Kate! My little punky. Kate is in second grade and loving her class! She's doing pretty well in school. She got really behind and is doing a good job catching up. Most of kindergarten was virtual and wearing a mask....thanks a lot corona virus. Her best friend at school is June, which is convenient bc she has al older brother that is in Max and Claire's class. Her best friends out of school are still Ben and Avery. Kate is in her second year of cheerleading. Watching her team compete is the best! She isn't sure if she wants to try out next year yet. She has also started playing flag football and is pretty good! She has signed up for a second season and will be on a team with a lot of her friends.
She enjoys playing outside with neighbors, watching YouTube videos (not a fan!), playing with makeup, and driving Max and Claire crazy. She is a good friend and pretty good at home. She def has some sass and keeps us on our toes and laughing all the time!
She is very petite! She is about 50 lbs and still can wear size 5/6 clothes and tiny little feet around size 13.
The rest of us
Justin's dream came true and he started his own drywall company, Fortis! Not surprisingly, it has been a huge success! Him and his partner, Walt, started it during Covid (9/2020) with plans to expand to Greensboro at the end of 2023! I am super proud of him and his dedication to our family and his work family. He is a great leader. Another cool thing is that Grandpa has been working as their CFO and was a big help the first year! (and still is)
I started making cinnamon rolls in 2020! One of my best friends, Robyn, suggested I sell them around the holidays... so I did and it has been a fun side gig!
I have also been subbing since the kids started at Thales! It's fun to see them in action at school.
Last April, I started working part time at Omnia Paratus Health Training, a gym my friends opened. It has been a great learning experience and love the team I work with!
Pearl (2)
In May 2021, our friends let us "dog sit" a foster they had for the weekend.... well we know how that usually turns out. We adopted this beautiful mastiff/rotweiller mix in June 2021. She was 5 months old and had the name "Claire"! Obvs. we had to change that! haha. We called her a lot of names before finalizing on Pearl. We call her Pearl Lucifer Fredrick.
The kids and I instantly fell in love with her..... She is still trying to win Justin over. She is a handful. We put her in a two week training camp with high hopes. For the most part, she is a great and well behaved dog. However, she likes to counter surf and sleep in our bed.... we are trying to break that habit, bc 95 lb dog doesn't fit well. She also tore her TPLO or ACL and had to have $urgery! That was no fun.
I am her person. You can always find her by my side or being a lap dog on anyone that sits on the floor!
Aunt Darcy had a baby Sept. 2021, Stella! Everybody is smitten with her and ready to meet baby Collins #2 this March!
