We had a great lowkey Easter at home. Hayley said she figured she was too old for an Easter basket but she’ll never be took old in my book.
Then we headed to the beach with my Mom, Stepdad and Aunt Cathie. It really was a wonderful trip. we got a fantastic beach house and just relaxed! Hayley spend an afternoon as an aquarium assistant down at the NC Aquarium, helping with feeding.
To round out our welcome to spring, we hit the UNC spring football game, a post-game party called The Bash and then back to campus for the 35th anniversary show of the Clef Hangers. We had our neighbors with us and for most of the day, the two kids Hayley babysits. Long but great day!
Hayley with Mason and one of the kids she babysits Alex:
Hayley with Coach Fedora at The Bash:
The Clef Hangers – 35 years of gorgeous acapella music!
Hayley won her school science fair and advanced to the state regionals again this year.
She tested how effectively antibacterial/antibiotic bandaids were vs regular bandaids. Short version – antibacterial/antibiotic are MUCH better.
Her teacher said One of the EPA judges got his PhD in microbiology and was extremely impressed with Hayley’s project. He was a big advocate, not that she needed it. Overall, she was a shoe-in for 1st place. Beautiful display, excellent work all around.
You can see the judge comments on the form which include keep up the good work, you were born to be a scientist.
We went to Boston for a week a couple of months ago and had a great time. It had been years since we had been back and my cousin Nicole’s wedding was the perfect excuse to catch a plane headed north. While I was raised in Chapel Hill, I was actually born in Boston where my father Tommy is from. I still have a lot of family there and this trip back was a really special time. The wedding was gorgeous and it was wonderful to spend time with everyone. I’m such a sucker for the city of Boston and its suburbs. It’s packed with history and great stuff to do. My family has such a long history with the area. With my obsession with genealogy, it made it extra fun to see some of the buildings that my family’s construction business built as early as 1895 that are still being used today. Oh and real italian food, thank goodness for that!
There were so many photos I’m going to do this in batches.
First pile, some of the aquarium photos and video clips. Hayley did a special program where you learn about the Harbor Seals and then get to work with a trainer and the seals in their enclosure. It was really amazing. Marine animals have such a special place in her heart so we were thrilled she got this chance. Of course no trip to an aquarium is complete without more photos from Hayley of whatever animals she loves – this time jellyfish and penguins.
Release the white smoke – Hayley finally picked a HS.
In the end while she had a great year at Kestrel, she couldn’t turn down the spot at the STEM charter HS in RTP, Research Triangle HS. Getting a slot there was hard and they only take kids as 9th graders. Needless to say, Jeff and I are THRILLED as this was our first pick all along. Go Raptors!
It’s the same team that founded Raleigh Charter HS, one of the best HS in the country. It’s a STEM focus, which means Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. With her science fair wins and love of animals, it seemed like something with a great science curriculum, especially a hands-on one was really important. 100 kids a grade, flipped learning – so your homework is more about watching the lessons the teachers record for the class and then your in-classwork is more focused on labs, applying what you’ve learned and collaborative projects. No textbooks, everyone has laptops – check out their presentation from their Open House. They play most HS level sports except football and are even joining the NCHSAA in the fall.
I’m catching up on photos slowly but surely! As some of you know, I don’t like being in photos but the fabulous photographer Graham Morrison came up from Charlotte so I couldn’t resist.
Hayley and her friend Kiah went to the Justin Bieber concert in Greensboro. My dad got her tickets for Christmas. It was funny, my first concerts without parents were at that same Greensboro Coliseum (Prince on the Purple Rain tour, Police on the Synchronicity tour). My dad sat out there waiting and this time, I did the same – he even waited with me. I just had no urge to see that show – Bieber is fun but the hours of screaming for him, Cody Simpson and Carly Rae Jepsen (aka Call Me Maybe) were too much for me to contemplate.
They had great seats – lower level 10th row from the floor
Girls there.
View from their seats (they didn’t take this)
I love these videos because you can hear screaming like a crazy person, lol.
We had low-key New Years but we always do. Between the holiday and football, it’s definitely a time to relax and enjoy friends. This year we had a murder mystery at the house for Hayley and her friends who were sleeping over again this year. We’d never done one of those murder mystery kits, thank goodness for a patient group of teens and some goofy adults – oh and a box of silly stuff to wear especially mustaches. But everyone was a good sport and it was a fun way to pass a lot of the evening.
In the end while she had a great year at Kestrel, she couldn’t turn down the spot at the STEM charter HS in RTP, Research Triangle HS. Getting a slot there was hard and they only take kids as 9th graders. Needless to say, Jeff and I are THRILLED as this was our first pick all along. Go Raptors!
