The first day of school looked a little different than in year’s past. Avery and Emerson were off to 7th grade! New school and new schedule, including a 7:30 start time! That equates to a bus pick-up at 6:39 am!
Emerson has been looking forward to this day for years!
Avery was nervous and had some tears the morning of orientation; I was nervous the first day would be a repeat; it wasn’t!
Umm…what happened to having to crouch down in the first day of school pictures?
Harper is now the sole Maddy at OES. My sister, Gabriel, and the boys were at our house the first morning of school, so I don’t think Harper quite experienced what a normal day would look like for her. Tomorrow will probably feel a little quieter.
Noah joined us for the bus stop breakfast!
Twenty-five kids ranging from kindergarten to fifth grade.
Avery and Emerson got home at 2:43, not much after I finished lunch! They were smiles off the bus. Harper said she had a great day, loved her teacher, and the fact that all four of her besties are in her class.
We celebrated my Grandma Adele today. A small, beautiful celebration of her life. A fantastic, wonderful life filled with great friendships, family, and experiences.
My memories of my grandma start when she was in her mid-50’s; I knew my grandma in five decades of her life…her 50’s, 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s. First of all, just wow. Second of all, I knew her 45% of her life; that too is crazy considering she lived 95 years. At the same time, there were 52 years of Adele before my time. She was always my grandma; grandmas are supposed to be loving and caring; grandmas aren’t necessarily supposed to be young and beautiful. I wasn’t privileged to know my grandma during her younger years; looking at pictures in her youth and early motherhood give just a glimpse into how stunning and glamourous she was.
At her celebration of life, I shared what I had written Grandma a few months before she passed. Several pages of fantastic memories that I easily thought of in less than 30 minutes. Even now as I write this, I realize I forgot to include SO many other memories that I have with her and Papa. There is no shortage. I am truly blessed to have known my grandma and been so close with her for 43 years. She hadn’t remembered Sol for quite some time; not only am I sure she remembers him now, but he was waiting for her with open arms (okay, an arm and a half) and I can vividly see them greeting each other with minimal words, just great big smiles and a soft “hi honey”.
August is always a busy time in our household…beach vacations, birthdays, and the start of school.
Aug 4 – Avery and Emerson’s Birthday
Leaving for the beach August 5, meant that Daddy and I had to work Friday more than we would have liked. We spent a leisurely morning opening presents and eating pancakes. Emerson spent the day with Papa and Grandma, while Avery stayed home since she wasn’t feeling well. Us ladies (Mommy, Grandma, Avery, Emerson, and Harper) enjoyed watching the Barbie Movie at The Boro theatre. Afterwards, we enjoyed tacos from Fish Taco and cupcakes from Expo; eating them at Papa and Grandma’s and singing Happy Birthday with Daddy joining us via Facetime.
Aug 12 – Harper’s birthday was on the day we were driving home from the beach. We had a little celebration at the beach Friday night with ice-cream and mini-cupcakes.
Then another one the morning of her birthday with an assortment of mini pastries and fruit, followed by a Pollo Peru birthday dinner celebration with Papa, Grandma, Lauren, Gabriel, Noah, and Elias.
Sunday we celebrated the three of you with a joint party at Watermine. Each of the girls had several friends; they all got along great and had a fantastic time. Noah, Elias, Lauren, Gabriel, Grandma, and Papa even joined us this year. It was hot and sunny; perfect day for 4 ½ hours of waterpark fun!
Five fun honkey-tonk filled days in Nashville. I seriously think all us Maddys have a little country in us. I personally felt like I had a constant smile on my face from the second we arrived in Nashville.
January, the American Nystagmus Network announced the bi-annual conference was going to be in Nashville, TN, we knew not only were we going to attend, but also that we were going to turn it into a mini-family vacation.
The girls were psyched! I pulled out my pre-kids cowboy boots and we were off!
Music:
The Station Inn – I researched and researched and researched the best places to hear live music. Many of the suggested places were 21 and over or tickets sold out within minutes. The Station Inn, in the Gulch area, was a 10-minute walk from where we were staying. There was a show the Tuesday night that we arrived that I wanted to go to; tickets were only sold at the door and started selling at 7:00, an hour before doors opened for the 9:00 show. Part of me wanted to line up at 6:00 to make sure we got into the show, but everyone was hungry so we opted to go get dinner first. We were going to chance it when dinner was over. Thankfully, we ate fairly quickly and arrived at The Station Inn before it was sold out. Seats were limited, but there was a section of folding chairs to the left of the stage that were open, right next to a picture of Dierks Bentley of all people! The Inn was pretty much The Vienna Inn with live music and only subpar pizza. Thankfully, we have read the reviews about the frozen pizza and opted to dine before the show. We enjoyed live music from The French Family Band; leaving at intermission though as the girls were exhausted.
The Listening Room – The Listening Room was such a different experience than The Station Inn. It was three artists whom I had never heard of; as it turns out, we had actually heard some of their songs as they were songwriters, who wrote for many famous artists including Luke Bryan and Keith Urban. Josh Kerr, Marynn Taylor, and Erin Kinsey put on a fantastic show, and it was heartwarming to hear the stories behind the songs. There was a $75 food and beverage minimum so we indulged in drinks and pretzels with beer cheese.
Restaurants:
Adeles – We were lucky to get a table being that we didn’t have a reservation. No kids menu, but we were able to order enough to share that the kids enjoyed. A delicious and expensive dinner. We ate here before heading to The Station Inn.
Luke Bryans – It was a fun experience to be able to check out our Lukey boy’s restaurant. All the current country music artists have their own restaurant right in the same area downtown on Broadway. The food and beer is okay; the first floor music is the draw. We ate here the before heading over to The Listening Room.
Moto Cucina – Also in the Gulch area. Nice ambience and good food; though service was very slow so by the time we got our food it was close to 9:00. Our waiter brought us some meatballs on the house, which was appreciated, but again by the time we got our dinner, we had lost some of our desire to eat a nice meal.
TailgateBrewery – We stopped in due to nothing more than proximity. At just after 11:00, it was an early lunch for us. It was just us and one other table. Beer selection was fantastic; I enjoyed a flight of IPA’s. Lucky for us, Wednesday was half price pizza day, and the pizza was surprisingly pretty darn good.
Assembly Hall – Generally I am not much of a Food Market type person; everything looks amazing at food markets, but I can never decide what I want. SO many options at this one, and we made the decision that this was going to be lunch so we all found something to eat….tacos for Emerson, Avery, and me, and Tennessee fried chicken for Harper and Daddy. We even tried some cute donuts for fun.
Activities:
Gulch Photo Shoot – The reviews of the Iconic Gulch Photoshop were great; I knew I wanted Instagram worthy pictures of the Nashville hotspots with all of us. I rationalized the photo shoot by deciding those pictures would take the place of our bi-annual Fall photo session. I’m glad we did it; the pictures were good, not great. And the session gave me reason to wear my cowboy boots, the ones that were so old the insides started disintegrating on my legs.
Broadway – We explored downtown Nashville and Broadway Street. We were there a few times earlier in the day and the area was packed. I can’t even imagine the rowdiness and the crowds on a weekend night! I wore my boots and a Nashville worthy outfit and felt right at home. Avery and I had a fun time taking mirror selfies. We stopped in a few of the restaurants/bars each day we were downtown and enjoyed the vibes and the music.
Country Music Hall of Fame – We purchased tickets to the Country Music Hall of Fame and explored for a few hours one afternoon; it was a great escape from the 90-degree plus heat of the day. As with any museum, it’s hard to read and look at each exhibit; everyone enjoyed something.
Stays:
920 South Street –Our first three nights we stayed in a 2 bedroom/2bath Airbnb, which was a 10-minute walk to the popular Gulch area. It was spacious and a good spot for our family of five.
Gaylord Opryland Inn – We stayed here for 2 nights the last part of our trip as this was where the conference was held. It was five of us in one room with two full beds! We made it work. We arranged for a cot; the springs were so uncomfortable, so Avery moved the mattress to the floor. Emerson and Harper shared a bed and Justin and me; Justin got to snuggle a little closer to me than normal, which I am sure he loved!
ANN Conference:
This was by far my favorite Conference for a few reasons. Our primary reason for going these days is the networking of other kids and people who have nystagmus. Avery made a few friends at the last conferences, and she was really looking forward to seeing them and I was really looking forward to furthering those relationships and others.
Apparently, the girls think I am an extrovert. This came up at our dinner out at Moto and I thought they were nuts….well fast forward to the ANN Conference and I was able to see exactly why they thought that. Justin joked I was running for mayor!
Nashville was fantastic and we will definitely will be back!
Eight dances, two full on dress rehearsals, three recitals.
So proud of my Avery.
Watching her onstage is such a joy.
She gives it 125% on stage and her facial expressions express her own joy and love of being onstage.
This year she performed three dances in Mini CDC – “Crazy Little Thing Called Love”, “Blackbird” and “Boogie Fever”. Jazz 1 she performed “Welcome to the 60’s”. Pre-teen Jazz she performed “Supermodel” and Modern she performed “Rhapsody”.
Schools out for summer! Oakton Elementary School (OES) is out for Avery and Emerson! Seven years at Oakton Elementary. Seven years since I unexpectedly broke down in happy tears as they climbed the steps to the school bus on their first day of kindergarten.
Avery and Emerson are ready for seventh grade. Emerson especially had a particularly tough year with three different teachers and has been ready since early this year to be at Thoreau. Harper has been going to school with her sisters since kindergarten…it’s all she knows. It will be four years again before they are all at the same school. In time, I think she will not only be fine, but also like being the sole Maddy at OES. The majority of her friends are in a similar situation having older sixth grade siblings.
They say you should celebrate your successes and graduating 6th grade is certainly a big one these days.
Graduation at Oakton High School.
Emerson was selected as 1 of 3 students out of 133 total 6th graders to deliver a commencement speech. Her speech and her delivery were outstanding! She was both excited and nervous to get on that stage; however, she not only kept her composure, but also delivered like she had spoken to 1000 people at once previously.
The girls both took the stage to accept their 6th grade graduation certificates; Emerson also received an award in Academic Excellence.
Look at these two I seriously can’t believe how grown up they look!
Family pics!
A 6th Grade Party was held at OES to celebrate; an event Avery and Emerson had been looking forward to for some time and had to have the perfect dress to celebrate; and a second dress….the same dress that they had worn just two hours prior at the graduation ceremony would not suffice.
Last day of school…Avery and Emerson look so grown up to me….it’s like overnight they look like middle schoolers!
The obligatory last day of school neighborhood group picture was last minute and for the first time ever, all the kids couldn’t wait to get to school!
The afternoon last day activities didn’t disappoint with water gun balloons, super soakers, and new this year Kona ice!
OES has truly been a great experience; Avery, Emerson, and Harper have grown academically and socially; it is a joy being their mom and having the opportunity to be on this journey with them.
While my grandma had been speaking gibberish for the last year or so, she sometimes made complete sense with a statement saying “I love you”, “where are you going”, “I’m listening”, “I remember”, “how are you”, or “he is handsome” in reference to a soap opera character.
Three months ago, I knew her time earthside was winding down and I wanted her to know she was loved, and it was okay to let go. I went with my mom, Avery, and Harper with the intent of reading her a letter I had written; Emerson joined us later coming from 643 (softball) with my dad. Upon seeing my dad in her room, my grandma looked at him and said “he’s the penis”. While I am pretty sure that is not exactly what she meant to say, she clearly knew it was my dad or a man and those are simply the words that came out of her mouth; the girls and I certainly got a chuckle and asked ourselves if we heard what she said correctly!
Below are the words I read to my grandma, to which several times, I said to her, “Grandma, are you listening?” when I felt like she wasn’t with me and she responded back “I’m listening” or “go ahead.”
******
Grandma –
It’s been awhile since we have had a real conversation. I’m not sure when the last one was…5 years ago probably and I am sure you were asking about the girls and what they were up to. You loved to hear about them!
Anyway, I got to thinking and I wanted to share with you…share with you some of the hundreds of memories I have that involve you, and Papa during my childhood. So in no particular order:
Walking the wagon across the street to the beach
Bobbing in warm lake like ocean every summer
Going to Hollywood beach and picnicking at the picnic benches
Hanging out at the pool for hours and watching the boats go by.
Hanging out in the lobby, checking the mail in the lobby, and riding the elevator to the 8th floor.
Getting the beach chairs from the storage unit.
Doing kicks in front of your hallway mirror…and checking myself out constantly.
Your kitchen wall phone cord and you always having conversations with your friends.
Your twice a year two week visits to Virginia…every March and September like clockwork.
Going to TCBY as much as we could when you visited!
Driving back to Florida with you and papa after one of your visits….stopping at rest stops with our cooler of sandwiches to eat our packed lunch.
You and Papa taking me to Disney World…me wanting to see the fireworks, you not knowing where they were, going on the Dumbo ride instead only to realize that the fireworks were over Dumbo.
Driving with you to run errands especially Publix and ordering cheese at the deli counter which was sliced each piece separately.
Listening to Taylor Dane in the car
Going with you to your aerobics class…I love watching you through the window in your leotard with all the other ladies. I remember your sweat head band.
Waking up every morning and you and Papa would always be at the dining room table, paper spread out, reading the paper or some crossword puzzle action, eating breakfast, drinking coffee. The small kitchen Tv on too!
Always a jam-packed fridge.
Having a sit-down lunch daily and discussing at lunch what was for dinner that night. I always thought that was so crazy and yet I totally get it now!
Your delicious dinners….peppered steak, some type of chicken, white rice, and salad for you and papa that consisted of iceberg lettuce and a slice of radish. Oh salads back then!
Oh and the yellow cushions…they were old and I remember some of them were in better condition than others…how old was I when I finally stopped sitting on them. Why did we sit on them? Was it for height or was it so we didn’t spill anything? Probably the former since they had holes in them!
Going over the bridge to visit Grandma Molly…walking around the bay at Grandma Mollie’s house, eating Grandma Molly’s rugelach and star cookies. Why did we not get the recipe?
Talking to you long distance weekly and always ending the conversation with “I love you”
Going out to dinners in Florida and Virginia with you, papa, mom, lauren, and me…you always making sure everyone brought a sweater…since you thought every restaurant was freezing….you complaining of your food always being served cold at restaurants…oh how that drove mom and Stuart crazy!
Going to the movies….always with a sweater!
Walking around the Aventura Mall when we visited.
The time we went out for Chinese Food at House of Mandarin and Papa and Mom split the check in half when they were arguing who would pay it (literally ripped it in half)
Going out to eat at The Rascal House…eating lots or rolls at The Rascal House.
Eating a tuna sandwich as takeout from The Rascal House before heading to the airport back to Virginia
You and Papa coming to see my graduate high school
You and I talking about our Weight Watchers experience
Coming to visit you on my spring break with Robyn and you and Papa taking me and my friends out for dinner
You giving me some of your white seashell necklaces in Santa Barbara at Jason’s wedding
You coming to my wedding and being so happy for me…you and I both walked down the wrong aisle!
You coming to visit alone after Avery and Emerson were born.
Me always sharing something to indicate I was the coolest and you and Papa always absolutely agreeing.
These are just some of the memories…you and Papa were such instrumental part of my childhood…I always felt so much love from you both. I am so fortunate and blessed to have grown up with both you being active in my life. 26 years Papa was in my life…43 years you were in my life…incredible. And you not only met, but you knew and loved Justin and my three girls.
Papa and you were a great pair…you lived almost 17 years without him, which truly seems hard to believe. He didn’t live to see any great grandkids and here you are with 16! 3 kids, 3 daughter/son in-laws, 7 grandkids, 16 great grandchildren.
Its time…go be with Papa….he left that letter for you…its time that you meet again.
I LOVE YOU GRANDMA!! THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING.
Our Wedding Rehearsal DinnerNursing Home Visit – Mother’s Day 2018Nursing Home Visit – Mother’s Day 2018Nursing Home Visit – Mother’s Day 2018Avery and Emerson’s 4th Birthday (August 2015)My last visit – February 2023
Avery, Emerson, and Harper have been looking forward to the 3rd Annual Neighborhood Baking Challenge hosted by the Goldmans since arriving home from last year’s event. Although it’s a much-anticipated event, the girls generally don’t decide on their entry until the week of the event.
Avery – This year she decided on Oreo Dream, a chocolate cake with Oreo buttercream. It was delicious, beautiful, and professional looking. She nailed it and I, along with several others, honestly thought she would win first place.
Emerson – Emerson decided on a lovely sponge cake with orange buttercream frosting. I’m not sure Emerson has ever had a sponge cake, but that is what she decided. The sponge cake was good, though sponge cake in general is nothing special. However, it was light, fluffy, and paired with the orange buttercream it was truly a lovely tasting and beautiful dessert. Emerson used Justin’s suggestion of Orange You Glad I Didn’t Say Banana Cake!
Harper – Harper decided to ask Bob for the Norwegian Apple Pie recipe that came from his stepmom. Harper devoured it when Bob and Cindy brought it over last year. She also made it with Bob and Cindy last year as part of her Baptism gift. The recipe was simple; the dessert absolutely gorgeous coming out of the oven with the sugar and cinnamon topping.
Avery, Emerson, and I went to the actual event as Harper had a soccer game at the same time (Justin took her). Kids and dessert were present in abundance. All the kids did a fantastic job and I know they made the judges decisions hard. Emerson won the Best Looking Dessert….it was said her cake was so beautiful and you could take it anywhere and it would stand out. I knew she would get some award! Avery to my disbelief did not place. I really thought she along with Emerson and Harper would receive an award. The first-place prize went to Harper! I thought Harper’s was fantastic, but I wasn’t expecting a first-place prize for her (sorry Harper when you read this). When she got home, Avery and Emerson told her she didn’t place…she quickly realized we were joking with her and was ecstatic when she ran up to her room and saw the first-place trophy on her bed!
The girls are looking forward to next year….though I think they are thinking about switching it up some for next year!
