Nothing says back to in-person racing like a full day in the rain. And  not just a little rain... a lot of rain. All.Day.Long. Knowing what it was like for me to support him all day from under a soggy tent, I can't even imagine how he ran from sun up to sun down. 15 hours in the rain & mud. His feet & body carried a few extra pounds of water & mud, that's for sure.

This is the endurance run that he won two years ago. That day he logged 86.4 miles, today he finished with 63 miles in a little less time. He got to a point where he was just done. Quite a difference. The 3.5 mile loop was taking him almost an hour to complete because of the amount of mud & sliding he was doing. Just crazy. The nervous Nelly in me was most worried about his arm. It's been a long 10 weeks since he broke it & I didn't want one fall to ruin all his healing progress. Needless to say, I arrived with the brace & he put it on. With the help of Jeremy & Chris after 2pm when they were allowed to pace him, he got it done & finished second and got his honorary watermelon. He did great! The warm car & dry house felt amazing after a really long, cold & wet day. 

This morning when Maeve went outside she came running to the door so excited to see the rain gauge had 4 inches in it! So much rain, it was no wonder the race was a mess. I swear the rain seemed heavier a little south where we were too. I had to place his trophy right next to the gauge for a picture. 

Another run in the books. Let's hope the rest of the years races are a little drier! Finger crossed. xoxo

Happy Father's Day to the best dad around. We love you & hope you have a day full of fortnite and relaxing. After we have brunch with the Kings! 

After a full year of no Mother's Day or Father's Day brunch with the Kings we were back this morning. Gary & I prepped and baked 4 quiches for the group that we enjoyed with mimosas on the deck. A few bottles of champagne later, we were all ready for a mid-day nap but it was a great morning.

In the afternoon we went to my parents for dinner & some time with my grandparents. I almost made it through the evening without a picture of Gary and the girls. Bonus, grandpa hopped in. 

Gary bought himself a new Garmin watch for Father's Day & we also ordered him some new David Goggins merchandise. His favorite. We love you GB! xoxo

 Writing from home today. We made the drive back & the sleep in our own beds was pretty great. Our last full day we decided to let the kids sleep in & rest while the adults went to do a long hike. 6 miles to the top of Mount LeConte was too much for the kids after days of hiking. Although it was long, we really had a great time & enjoyed the hike. 6 miles up meant 6 miles down so in the end we were just short of 12 total miles that morning. It took us over 4 hours but we enjoyed every second of it & our legs were tired. Quiet without the kids too! 

After the hike we headed home for lunch with the kids & some time in Gatlinburg. That evening the whole crew minus myself, Maeve & Bhodi went zip lining. So much fun for them. They all really loved the adventure.  

I was so proud of the girls for being so brave & soaking it all in.

Margaux even volunteered to go first. No fear at all. It was a fun experience for them all. I would have loved to have gone but there was no chance I was getting Maeve to go. She was terrified. She & I went into town & had a nice evening together shopping/exploring.

Yesterday morning was our last sunrise from the balcony & it was beautiful. Wonderful week, it was hard to leave after all the fun that was had.

Tired kiddos slept a bunch on the way home. The car ride is the worst part for me. This is the first trip I swapped seats with Marin for a portion of the ride. Maybe a little less anxiety from the back seat... maybe. 

Looking back through the photos brings a smile to my face. Love all these adventures & memories we are creating together. New for all of us, 1st time in the Smokies for Gary & myself too. Can't wait to see where we head next. Slowly checking things off our list. For now, we are happy to be home & excited for our summer. xoxo

Happiest of Birthdays Maeve! I just love this photo of her from this morning at Clingmans Dome. She looks so big & that big dimple smile is just so sweet. She was so excited for her day. I did not haul her presents along so she purchased a big stuffed bear today at a Anakeesta gift shop & the rest of her presents will be waiting for her when we get home. Her only request for her birthday was no hiking or zip lining! haha Their legs are tired. We have done a lot over the past few days. So we compromised with her & worked Clingmans Dome in first. Very easy hike & she agreed. And absolutely no zip lining... today at least.

She woke up & had pancakes on her mom-made "special plate" & after our short hike we visited our favorite picnic spot as a little surprise for her. She was so happy that we returned. It was a beautiful spot that we all really loved. It was a great spot for the kids to explore in the water & Maeve's favorite... collect rocks. We also surprised her with an oreo cake for lunch dessert.

She worked hard to create a little rock stack & collected another full bag of rocks with Bhodi. After lunch we visited Anakeesta. It was like a small slice of amazingness on top of a mountain. The park was so great & so well made. We all agreed that we felt like we were at Disney.

Anakeesta also had a great sky bridge area (Maeve was not a fan. So high up & really quite shaky on the bridges) and so many great views from the park. We also saw bears up there too. At one point Maeve was taking a photo with the mascot Willow & they were spraying a bear behind her. Bears everywhere!

After a few hours at Anakeesta we surprised the kids with our first & only dinner out at Dicks Last Resort. It is a restaurant where they are rude to their costumers. The kids caught on pretty quickly & really thought it was funny. Lots of laughs for all. 

And as if that was not enough, we ended the night with a round of mini-golf under the lights on our way back. By far our latest night away from the cabin but it was such a fun day. Maeve had so much fun & we loved celebrating her all day long. xoxo

 Another successful day in the mountains. Today we are tired! The temps went up & it was in the 90's. Luckily our kiddos were troopers & we still got a full day of fun in. This crew rocked it again today!

And they all fought us on taking a pic to match the forward facing photo from the Tetons two summers ago, but look at how cute they are?!? All growing up so fast.

More beautiful hikes today & even bigger falls. The water felt amazing after the steamy hikes.

The Chimey Top hike was a doozy. 100% hard elevation combined with the heat & we were all dying... but we did it! So proud of them all. It was hard. Maeve stopped completely & told us all that she was done and not going any farther. That lasted about 30 seconds until she realized that none of the others were stopping. haha She kept going & did great.

When we were about 1/2 way up the Chimney hike we hit this sign that said we had almost a mile to go. The kids were so mad. They asked if they could "flip off" the sign & we hesitated but ended up letting them do it. They thought it was so funny & the photo is pretty hilarious. Their faces were priceless. Maeve the rule follower of course couldn't do it. 

So far the Great Smoky Mountains have not disappointed. We've had pretty great days. On the hikes we are having a lot of conversation about where our next trip will be. Lots of ideas... Niagara Falls, Grand Canyon & Bora Bora. haha 

Today is also Maeve's birthday eve. We are so excited to celebrate our 10 year old tomorrow! xoxo

Let the summer begin, we've arrived at our home-away-from-home for the next week & the view is beautiful. 

We've decided we could live in the mountains & get used to waking up to this view every day...

We arrived Friday & spend the entire afternoon/evening here at the cabin. It is so nice, the kids are pretty excited. Three levels of balconies, all with this great view. The kids balcony has a hot tub so they are thrilled. Wendy & I prepped all the meals at home so we are set for the week. It has been so nice to do hikes & sightseeing during the day & relax at night at the cabin. Yesterday was our first full day & it was a little rainy so we decided to visit the aquarium. The kids really enjoyed it. Pretty cool aquarium. 

After the aquarium we walked around Gatlinburg & explored. So much to see & do. The kids wanted to do lazer tag & mini golf so we fit that in as well. Busy day & the weather came around too.

Today we got back to our normal agenda & did some hiking. Our plan for this trip was to stay off the beaten path & mainly hike/explore the national park. The views are just breathtaking & the waterfalls did not disappoint. 

The kids have gotten to be pretty good hikers. I think the adults have it down as well. Backpacks with water, snacks, candy, bug spray, sunscreen & a towel for wet feet. It was fun to be able to take their shoes off & get in the waterfalls along the way. Also a great way to break up the hard, long hikes we were doing.

One thing we didn't expect was the bears! We were not in the cottage two hours Friday & there was one walking right by the cabin. This morning Gary attempted a run & came running in frantic that there was a bear. Sure enough, walking right past the cabin again. Between the daily cabin visits & the bears we saw on the trails, we've seen so many! We even moved the chairs on the balcony to face the way they walk through & now have a bear watch spot.

Morning coffee on the balcony is so peaceful. We've got a great system down already. Coffee, pack lunches/backpacks, hike, picnic lunch, hike some more, head back to the cabin early evening for relaxing, dinner & cocktails on the balcony. No complaints here, we are loving this! xoxo

 Last Day of School for Marg & Maeve today. One last elementary bus stop pic for Maeve. The next 2 years she'll ride to school with me every day. She is so excited! I'll miss these adorable bus stop pictures though. They are always so darn cute!

She is so lucky to have so many close friends just doorsteps away. Maeve's class got Ice Clouds as a last day of school treat. She was pretty excited.

They also celebrated by having a 4th grade graduation parade in the morning. Unfortunately Gary & I both had to work so Katie, Sloane, Fitz, Acre & Grandma went to the parade. Their poster they made for Maeve was so cute, even decorated the car. 

Look how cute she looks with her little grad cap. She had such a fun last day of elementary school. By the end of the day she was so upset when it finally hit her. Hard to say goodbye to the place you've called home for 5 years & the amazing teachers she's had. My heart was breaking for her. The off the bus treats & reminder that she gets to go to school with mom were a great distraction for her at the end of the day. All smiles now. 

Margaux also had a hard time at the end of the day. She too has grown so close to her teachers & classmates after the two year looping. Lots of tears. These girls have such big hearts. She too will love her next school & all the new adventures I just know it. We snapped one last selfie at school this week. I'll be sad to not have her with me next year, Maeve's turn to hang with mom at school.

Margaux had a great last two days. Her team won all their kickball games & the championship game!!! They were so darn excited, it was so fun to watch. Her class won the 6th grade championship AND the overall school championship game. Two golden kickball trophys.

Such a fun way to end their two years together. They were so fired up, even had black under their eyes. Obviously the heat & water got to Margaux's a bit. She didn't mind. 

After the big win they celebrated with some much needed ice cream. The past two days have been HOT. The kids even dumped the ice bucket on their teacher after their big win. So fun.

And that's a wrap on the 2020-2021 school year. One that these kids will never forget. It's been a very odd year for us all due to all this covid craziness but they made it. I've said it before but our girls did so well with the changes in schedule (virtual school) and mask requirements this year. It was not ideal, but we are so proud of all their hard work & cooperation. Really hoping next school year looks a little more normal for them. But until then, we'll soak up every minute of our summer. Starting with a trip! Can't wait to leave for the mountains tomorrow! xoxo

Another milestone for Marin today... 8th Grade Graduation.

As of today she's officially done with her 8th grade year. No school tomorrow for her. She & her friends celebrated Sunday by getting dressed up & taking a few pics together. They really wanted their photo taken in front of the high school so they could take the same pic in 4 years when it is time to graduate. Cute idea & they all looked so nice. After pics they went to dinner together to celebrate.

Tonight we went to Finlan's to watch the virtual graduation. They recorded the graduation at school last week & due to covid guidelines it had to be streamed. Fun to watch them walk across the stage. Lots of laughs between the 3 of them, such fun friendships.

We just love these three. So many years watching them grow up together. After the graduation we celebrated with cookie cake & bubblr. Their 2nd favorite after Starbucks.

We're excited for them to start high school & see what adventures it brings. Congratulations girls!! xo

 At Margaux's school they are having a school-wide kickball tournament to end the school year. The games are all crammed into the last two days with the championship game in the afternoon on the last day. Marg's teacher decided to giver her group a little extra practice this evening by holding a parents vs kids game. Such a great idea & we all had so much fun. The kids played so hard & really wanted to beat the parents, it was fun to see their competitiveness.

We all really enjoyed the game & are hopeful for this fun bunch of kiddos. They've grown so close after looping from 5th to 6th grade. They're super excited for their games the next two days & even tie dyed shirts that read "Super Sullivan" for their class uniform. They look great. Excited that I'll be able to watch during my work day. xo

 Nothing says summer like a day on the boat. The days are definitely getting warmer & we are so excited for summer. Today the Warrens invited us out on their boat for the day. Marin was so mad because she had plans with Estelle & Jolie. Next time! We took a family photo w/o her anyways. 

93 degrees today. Perfect day to be on the water, although with it being so early yet the water was pretty cold. We got used to it eventually but our legs were pretty chilly.

First of many days on the water this summer. Heavy on the sunscreen since it's been a while. Thankfully we all managed to not burn! xoxo

 Maeve's turn for the 4th Grade Wax Museum project. So hard to believe that in just over a week we won't have an elementary student anymore. Crazy! Maeve was pretty excited to get going on this project a few weeks ago. She's been working hard on her report, oral presentation & backdrop. Weeks ago, she chose to do her research on Melinda Gates. She was sold as soon as she saw that she's been in the top 5 on Forbes most influential women list for 11 years. Pretty darn impressive.

Her backdrop looks amazing & because of covid & distancing expectations they held the event outside. All of the backdrops were hung in the windows of the classrooms & the visitors walked around the exterior of the school to listen to the kids presentations. It worked perfect! A little hard to see some of them in detail, but we got the idea. Maeve was such a stinker when we went to watch her. She was so nervous & wanted us to face away from her as she gave her speech. haha I had hear from everyone that she rocked it during the day, but for some reason she had a hard time doing it for us! 

Look how cute she is with Mrs. Wasilewski though! Love them, she is really going to miss her next year. Overall she did great & we were so proud of Melinda Gates. xoxo