Kicking cancer's ass - day 3991

The last time I wrote anything here was December.

DECEMBER.

Yikes.

Can I just say that Kelsie's senior year was crazy busy??? When you have a girl who is involved in everything at school, plus church, plus a job, plus a million friends, plus a boyfriend... the things to do and plan and buy and attend were ENDLESS. There is not enough space in this blog for the 3,418,943 pictures I have taken this year alone.

I don't have the energy to summarize the last six months, but let's just say Kelsie made the most of her senior year... that girl got more out of high school than anyone I know. She graduated with honors and a 3.7 GPA, and we are SO proud of her and all of her accomplishments.

So far 2024 has been the year of Kelsie. And this has especially been the SUMMER of Kelsie. Do you want to know what it's like to be in Kelsie's orbit? This is just a glimpse of the last eight weeks...

Graduation week was full of celebrations, including Grammie & Dana visiting and a combo birthday/graduation party for 30 of Kelsie's closest friends. ha ha   We rented out the pool area of a local AirBnB on the last day of school and I think everyone had a fabulous time. 

Watching Kelsie graduate was kind of surreal. When Justin graduated, I had a six month old baby, so I was a little distracted. When Jared graduated, the world was shut down due to COVID so nothing was normal about that and everyone was distracted. It was fun/sad/exciting to watch my baby girl get her diploma, but I still to this day say I'M NOT READY! Can we just turn back time a little bit????

After graduation we made our annual trip to Oklahoma City to watch the Womens College Softball World Series. It was extra exciting this year because the University of Texas was the #1 seed and they made it to the championship series (but choked) against Oklahoma.  

We usually don't go for opening day, but that was Kelsie's 18th birthday so we decided to go and spend the entire week. It was fun but exhausting, even though we mostly just sat around watching softball!

A week after we got home from OKC we hit the road again to see Parker McCollum and George Strait at Kyle Field (Texas A&M). It was my first time in Aggie land and it was incredible to be at a concert with over 100k other country music fans!

A week after THAT road trip, Kelsie left yet again. Along with some of her besties, she attended her last Beltway summer camp as a student. It was bittersweet and at a different camp that wasn't as much fun as previous years, but knowing my daughter she made some wonderful memories with her friends before they all move on.

Hubby and I took Kelsie (and Justin & Meagan took Alexa) to Jamaica for a week. It was INCREDIBLE!! But, what's a Kelsie vacation without some drama? We arrived in Jamaica the day before a category 4 hurricane hit the island! We weathered the storm in our rooms and were on the beach the following day! So many people thought we were CRAZY for even going... but I'm so glad we did. We were so lucky to be at that resort on that part of the island. Huge concrete buildings, amazing staff, and generators kept us safe and had the resort up and running again by 8pm that night. 

We had some much needed relaxation time... poolside, on the beach, Kelsie went horseback riding in the ocean and we even got Boyd on a catamaran! 

The hurricane was the strongest between 2pm & 6pm. This video was around 5pm... 115mph winds.

Hubby decided to do his best Jim Cantore impersonation with his very own weather report from our balcony during the hurricane...

Our last "event" of the summer before Kelsie leaves for college (sniff) was a little getaway for me and her. We spent two nights at Winstar casino and attended Morgan Wallen's concert's at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. The first night was really great (Jelly Roll opened for him and he was fantastic)... but the second night was EPIC. Of course, being at the home of the Dallas Cowboys, my boy Troy Aikman did Morgan's walkout with him. Our seats were incredible - like 20 feet from the stage, and Morgan put on a hell of a show. Energetic and having fun and he sounded amazing. I'm ready for night #3!!  

We even had luck at the casino! Kelsie took home $500!!

Are you exhausted yet? I know I am, but I am SOAKING UP every minute I can with my girl. She leaves for college three weeks from today. I don't know what I'm going to do without my little broke bestie. She really is the energy and heart and laughter in our house. 

One last thing... Kelsie and I did a spur of the moment thing yesterday. 

We each drew a heart where they were intertwined and had it made into matching tattoos. I LOVE IT. Every time I look down at my arm I smile and think of her.

I don't know anyone who can pack so much life into... well... LIFE as my daughter. I love her so much and I'm so happy we've been able to make so many memories with her before college life swallows her up.