I think I've set a personal record in the longest time to pass between posts and while I don't love it, I've got a pretty good excuse. In March, I started full time as the Principal Secretary at our middle school. I said I would never go back to work full time, but after subbing in the building and realizing our kids don't quite need me as much during the day, I decided to apply when the job was posted. I have really enjoyed it and actually think that having been on the teaching side of education is really helpful for the position. I got to spend time with Mellany in her last few months in the building and next year Johnny will enter the middle school so I will get three full years with him as well as Charlie! The job is super flexible and the principal is so understanding knowing that John travels often so when I've got a sick kid (or two) or appointments, etc, she tells me to "just go" and I don't feel guilty about it.
But now that summer is here, it's time to catch up on what our spring looked like! Hint: it was busy and it was definitely a bit of an adjustment for all of us.
The boys participated in the cub scout pinewood derby and came home with 1st and 3rd place! They were ecstatic.
When we were at home, Winston soaked up every bit of us being there...
The boys set out all their old paw patrol toys for our friend's little boy to play with when they came over for lunch one day. I'm not sure who loved the toys more!
Last car line selfie!
Mellany had one of her most artistic years yet.....this piece was submitted for the "Bug Bowl" and won honorable mention.
And she worked really hard on this mural with some friends.
Her Japanese inspired piece was also exhibited in an art show (and then eventually won a HUGE award in May!).....(see May 2026 post for info on that!)
Dance was in full-on competition season in March and our girl was nailing it on the dance floor.
First day of work for me! The boys get on the bus at 7:45 and then Mellany goes to the school with me (until it gets warmer and she can walk, or she rides with John). I may have cried once the boys got on the bus and gave me the most excited waves good-bye. They were happy tears of course, but it was so bittersweet-just yesterday we were all at home just playing playdoh together.
The Dance Team made it to state dance, so all of the Raider Nation schools came together for the State Send-off. Such an impressive group of dancers. Mellany is on the very far right.
Binge watching Gilmore Girls is definitely a favorite activity when it can happen.
Officially official on the corporation website!
Making the rounds in the school building gives me perks like this ....seeing these talented girls working on their mural.
State Dance! Our girl did an amazing job! Again, I may have had a few tears watching her routines, knowing this was the end of her middle school dance years.
Her pom routine was so early in the morning, that the boys didn't come down to Indianapolis until her hip hop routine.
Found this selfie on my phone.....taking selfies during the hours before school starts.
After a couple of weeks back at work, dancing and scouting, it was time for Spring Break!!! This year John had a conference in Nashville for a couple of days so we tagged along with him for that and then decided to head over to Gatlinburg for the rest of the week.
While John was in his conference, we explored a bit of downtown Nashville. We found a super cool Predators mural on the way to eat at Pucketts.
And then enjoyed some good food at Puckett's
After Puckett's, we ventured to the Country Music Hall of Fame and met John there. On our journey, the kids got to experience a bit of Broadway and thought it was pretty cool.
The Country Music Hall of Fame did not disappoint. The kids really loved it and I'm so glad because John and I loved it when we went the first time.
Mellany almost walked out with these boots but eventually decided on something else for her souvenir.
There is a Dolly exhibit at the HOF right now so Mellany and I were major fan-girling. It was fantastic.
The boys especially loved the cars....specifically Elvis' car
Our visit was complete with a duck selfie to win a prize at school. :)
After our visit to the HOF, we were hungry and wanted the kids to experience some live music in Nasville, so we walked to Blake Shelton's bar Ole Red. We had food and fun drinks and live music and the kids declared it the best part of Nashville.
The next morning we headed out of Nashville to Gatlinburg. A stop at Buc-cees is always required and whenever I can get a pic of our 3 babies all together, I will take it!
Before getting into Gatlinburg, we wanted to our the Tuckaleechee Caverns. It was so cool!
In Gatlinburg, the boys went to the knife shop and the girls got dropped off at the outlet mall. When the boys came back to pick us up, they found this sitting spot and insisted on a picture. :)
The "big" thing we decided on doing in Gatlinburg this trip was Dollywood. The weather was perfect, the crowds weren't huge and we were able to ride everything everyone wanted to ride. It was an amazing day!
John and I even got to ride in a car ride, just the two of us. Mellany and Charlie rode in a car together, Johnny wanted to ride by himself, so that meant John and I have reached peak parenthood and rode together! It was amazing!
The train ride was a hit too!
I love a good photo op in the park!
The day after Dollywood, we walked downtown Gatlinburg a big and then had tickets for the Stampede. John and I had been several times to the Stampede in Branson, and Mellany went when she was maybe 1 or 2, so we felt like the kids really needed to experience it! They really loved it and Charlie even got chosen to chase some chickens during the show!
We headed out of the mountains the next day and back home to have a full day at home before going back to school and work. Spring Break is always such a tease for me......I love it when everyone is home all together and I'm so ready for summer break at this point!
