A Chance Meeting

 

On Friday morning, I heard from a Phi Mu sister that a sister at the USC-Columbia campus named Hailey Bordeaux had been tragically killed in a boating accident on Lake Marion. I am an advisor for my collegiate chapter at USC-Aiken and Facebook was blown up with posts from the USCA Phi Mu girls. Even though they didn't personally know Hailey, when a sister passes, you hurt. It's that special bond of sisterhood that you can't really explain but if you are in a sorority, you know what I am talking about. I felt so sad for her family, her boyfriend who was injured in the accident and for her sisters in the Columbia chapter. She was only 21 years old. She was an early childhood major who planned to be a teacher. She had her whole life to live.

 

On Saturday, a sister posted a link to article written in the State Newspaper about Hailey. As I looked at her picture, my jaw dropped. Here's why:

 

Back in May, when my dad first had his stroke, I took a Friday off work to go see him. I left the hospital and drove to Grouchos Deli to get us some lunch. Grouchos is in 5 points, which is an area very close to USC campus. After I ordered our food, I sat down in the waiting area to wait. Two girls came in and one of them had a Phi Mu shirt on. I told her I loved her shirt and that I was a Phi Mu alum from Aiken. She smiled and said "Awesome!" That was all and I soon forgot about her. But I didn't forget her warm smile. That girl was Hailey. I had chills as I looked at the smiling face in the article. Then, I had a good cry.

 

What are the odds right??? They are over 200 girls in the chapter at USC-Columbia. I only personally know one, my bestie Megan's cousin Taylor. I am not sure what God's purpose was for my chance meeting with Hailey, but I am glad I had it. I wish I could have known her better. RIP sweet girl.

 



Happy 4th!

Kennedy was told to "say cheese" and this is what we got:

Love it! Happy 4th of July everyone!

Summer randoms

 

 

Here's what we have been up to since we got back from the beach:

 

On Saturday, I went to my friend Cassie's bridal shower. Everyone was laughing because I dressed in her wedding colors and she didn't. :) I can't wait for her wedding next weekend! She is going to be a beautiful bride!

 

 On Tuesday, we drove to Columbia to visit my dad. He is making slow but steady process on his journey to relearning how to walk. He was really happy to see Kennedy!

 

 Columbia has a great children's museum called Edventure, so we took Kennedy  over there after visiting my dad. I was worried that Kennedy might be too young but she had a blast! There was an area called "my backyard" that was designed for kids 3 and under and she probably could have stayed in there until the museum closed if we had let her. They had this really cute treehouse and boat that the kids could explore. We were so busy playing and going down the slide in the treehouse over and over again that I forgot to take pictures while we were in that area. I think her 2nd favorite part of the museum was the little grocery store they  had. She loved pushing the buggy around and filling it up with food.

 

 Today we had a playdate with our friend/neighbor, Janna. The girls enjoyed a fun morning full of swimming, playing in the playhouse and a picnic lunch complete with popsicles! They play so well together and Kennedy wants to do everything Janna does which is super cute! We are so thankful to have a friend that lives close by.

 

What have you been up to this summer?



Vacation Recap!

We are back from our awesome vacation! Warning: lots of pictures ahead! We had so much fun and I don't want to forget anything. We started out our vacation in Pinehurst, North Carolina. We visited my Great Aunt Judy. She is my Nana's sister and she reminds me so much of her. My Nana passed away in 2007 and I miss her so much.  We also visited with my cousin Louise and her kids. Louise and her friend Betsy own a fabulous women's boutique in Aberdeen called Eloise so I also did some shopping while I was there too. :) This is Kennedy reading with her cousin Will.

 Trying on Louise's shoes.

 Family photo. The only person that's missing is Nick of course and Louise's oldest son, Jack. He is going to Auburn in the fall and he was there for some informal fraternity rush events. We missed seeing him!

 Louise and her husband Wayne are members at a fabulous country club in town so we took advantage of the pool while we were there. Kennedy really enjoyed their sweet potato fries.

 We also ate at a really great barbeque place called "The Flying Pig." They had cornhole and Kennedy had a blast playing with her cousins. I absolutely love any kind of restaurant that has entertainment like this for her while we wait for food, it makes life so much easier!

 After our visit in Pinehurst, we drove down to Myrtle Beach. My all time favorite beach is Isle of Palms, which is an absolutely gorgeous beach but Myrtle Beach comes in a close second because there is so much to do there. We stayed at the Breakers North Tower Resort, which was amazing! We got there around 11 and treated ourselves to some brunch at Flapjacks pancake house.

 

 Absolutely in love with Kennedy's coverup from Eloise! I have a matching one. :)

 We headed for the beach and just like last year, Kennedy loved it! We spent the whole afternoon there!

 That night we headed to the Family Kingdom amusement park. When I was a child, I used to come to Myrtle Beach every summer with my dad, stepmom, half siblings and some family friends. We would always ride rides at the Pavilion but unfortunately it has been torn down. I do remember us going to the Family Kingdom a few times though and riding The Swamp Fox roller coaster, good times! I can't wait until Kennedy is old enough to ride it.  We did ride some other rides though and Kennedy had so much fun! I was terrified to let her go on anything by herself but she did great on the cars! The swings she was not so sure about which surprised us because she loves to swing. She also loved the Merry Go Round and the antique cars.

 The next morning it was raining, booo! We headed over to Ripley's Aquarium but unfortunately, everybody had the same idea as us. It was PACKED. Kennedy really didn't get to see any of the exhibits except this moving shark tunnel because there were so many people there. They did have a play area for toddlers but really the only thing she was able to do was play with the wheels because there were so many older kids there.

 Later that day, the rain cleared up and Grandma, Paw-Paw, Uncle Jon, Aunt Rachael and Tristan came into town, yay! We headed to the beach for a few hours but Mommy forgot the camera.

 That night we attempted to take a family photo on our beautiful balcony but it was very windy. We headed to Planet Hollywood for dinner and then to Broadway at the Beach. Kennedy rode the cars again and loved them all over again. Mommy, Daddy, Paw-Paw and Tristan were also crazy enough to ride these insane rockets that go very high up in the air and spin you upside down, lots of fun!

 The next day we spent the entire day on the beach. Kennedy did go up to the condo from 12-2 to nap but Aunt Rachael had a headache so she stayed up there with her. I parked my chair in the water, put my toes in the sand and read my book for 2 glorious hours. Rachael called me when Kennedy woke up and I went and got her and brought her right back down to the beach. Kennedy loved every minute of it! Perfect beach day!

 

BTW, I was reading The Chaperone by Laura Moriarity and it is a must read! It is set in the 1920's and is about a woman who is a chaperone to a teenage girl trying to make it big in New York City. It is also about this woman's past and some secrets in her own life.

 That night we left Tristan and Kennedy with Grandma and Paw-Paw and had a "parents night out" at Broadway at the Beach. We enjoyed some daquris at Wet Willies and then ended up at a bar called Froggy Bottomz and watched an 80's cover band perform. Tons of fun!

 The next day was our last day. :( We checked out of the condo and headed to take a walk down the pier. We had an absolutely amazing trip. We are so glad that Kennedy loves the beach as much as we do! We can't wait for many more beach trips in the future!

 



Our Swimming Diva!

We wrapped up swimming lessons this week! Kennedy was so excited to get her certificate! This week she really started kicking her legs and splashing so I was very proud of her. :) We will definately be doing the "Mommy and Me" class again next summer!

 

I didn't do a "Five on Friday post" today because I have been packing like crazy!  We leave for vacation tomorrow. We are  going to spend two days with my family in North Carolina and then on Monday morning we are headed to Myrtle Beach for 5 days. I am so excited! Kennedy had just turned 8 months old when we took her to the beach last year and she loved it so I think she will have even more fun this year.

 

I will end this short post with a throwback to last years North Carolina/Myrtle Beach trip:

 This is is Kennedy with her Great-Great Aunt Judy.

 It was so windy this day and the waves were out of control but our brave little baby loved it!

 Kennedy looks so little!!!!

 

 

I hope everyone is having a great week! I will post about our trip when we get back. :)

 

 

 



Lora Ann's graduation/Happy late Father's Day!

This past Saturday, we drove up to Asheville, NC for Nick's cousin Lora Ann's high school graduation party. It's about a 4 hour drive. Kennedy is a pro at long trips but only if we have our secret weapon, the portable DVD player. She took a 2 hour nap and then was content with watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Little Einsteins DVDs. Kennedy had a blast at the party playing with the balloons and her cousins, Tristan, Tabatha and Marley.

 Nick's parents have 6 grandchildren and Tristan is the only boy. He does so well with it though and is really good with the younger cousins. Kennedy loves her Tristan!

 The beautiful graduate, Lora Ann!

 Love these pictures of the cousins! So sweet! Can't wait for many more memories of these girls growing up together.

 Kennedy was okay sharing Tristan with Marley but when Tabatha got in her space, she got a little upset. LOL. Also-funny story about the play phone Marley is holding. Marley kept saying that some "bad girls" were on the phone and they were hiding in the woods trying to ruin the party. She would go up to people at the party and hand them the phone and say "it's the bad girls! They are hiding in the woods!" My SIL Gretchen and I were laughing so hard we about peed ourselves.

 The first picture was about the best one we got of the whole Kaune family. I look ridiculous because I am trying to hold a very squirmy toddler. Posed pictures are about impossible these days with Kennedy.

 Austin, the family dog came and crashed the next couple of pictures. Not to mention, Tristan decided to be a typical teenager and make hand gestures.

Father's Day was very low key for us. Kennedy didn't get to bed until 9:30 Saturday night, which is 2 hours past her normal bedtime. She was up at 7:45 the next morning but was not a happy camper.  She is a lot like me, likes to be in a routine and likes her sleep!

 

We gave Nick his Father's Day present which was a card and a Cabellas gift card. We just got a Cabellas in Augusta and Nick has been dying to go so he was very excited. We ate breakfast at the hotel with Nick's parents then hit the road. When we got home, Kennedy napped and Nick and I unpacked and relaxed. We are very fortunate that our church offers a 5 pm service, so we headed to church later that afternoon.  It was an amazing service! The band 2nd Edition from Lee University led us in worship and our lead pastor preached an inspiring sermon geared towards dads. Sadly, I was a bad Mommy and didn't take ANY pictures yesterday of Nick and Kennedy. Probably because Kennedy was in a bad mood most of the day and I didn't even want to attempt. They did have a photographer at church who took some pictures but Kennedy was fussing in them.  Sigh. So here's a throwback to one of my all time favorite pictures of Kennedy and  her daddy. Kennedy was about a week old in this picture. I love how she is looking up at him! Melts my heart!

 Of course a Father's Day post  wouldn't be complete without a shoutout to my two wonderful dads! My biological dad and my stepdad Karl. My biological dad is home from rehab after having his stroke. He is still struggling with relearning to use his left side, so continue to keep him in your prayers. He will get in home therapy 3 times a week. He was able to get a wheelchair and two of his friends are building him a wheelchair ramp at home. I called to wish him a Happy Father's Day and he sounded tired but happy that I called. We are all coming to terms with the fact that he may not walk again but are trying to keep optimistic and encourage him not to give up. I hate that he is having to learn this hard lesson about what alcohol can do to your body, but he's my dad and I love him unconditionally and I know he loves me too!

 

I called my stepdad too and we mostly discussed all the fun things we are looking forward to doing in exactly one month when we take our trip to visit my parents in Oregon! So excited! Karl has been such an excellent father to me. He stepped up to the plate numerous times when my dad was absent in my life and I love him so much!

This picture was taken on my wedding day. I had both my dad (left) and Karl (right) walk me down the aisle. So special to have both of them give me away.

 

Hope everyone else had a great Father's Day weekend!