Lucy’s spring was jam-packed, as she took her first trip to Great Wolf Lodge near Charlotte with her friend Sam. She spent Mother’s Day picking strawberries (a Flinn family tradition).

A school year’s worth of Thursday night dance lessons culminated in her class’ recital at Rolesville High School. Her class danced one ballet number and one tap number and both were received with great applause. Lucy’s school classmate and neighbor Elizabeth came to show her support.

Just in time for summer Lucy got her first big girl haircut, getting several inches cut off. In lieu of visiting Chautauqua for the Fourth of July, Lucy spent the holiday with friends and family in Maryland swimming, celebrating, and making s’mores. In between trips we visited the sunflower fields and Dix Park. Her next trip came later in July during her first visit to Ocean Isle Beach, about three hours from home. Proximity to the beach was a big plus for Lucy, but her hands-down favorite part of the week was the golf cart that we used!

At the beach and at the Wendell Falls pool Lucy put into practice the swimming skills that she’s been learning at the lessons she takes every Sunday. By the end of the summer she was confident in jumping into the deep end of the pool, swimming out to touch the lane divider, and coming back to the wall.

Early August brought Lucy’s first day of school in the Dragonflies class at Central Baptist. She also began playing Tiny Basketball twice a week with friends and classmates at the Wendell Community Center and taking weekly gymnastics classes at Knightdale Gymnastics.

In the fall Lucy supported her dad playing music locally in Wendell, visited Hillridge Farms to buy “Choo-Choo” the pumpkin, and successfully made her first trip to the dentist. With October came the Flinns’ yearly trip to the mountains, this time to Blowing Rock and the famed Tweetsie Railroad. Lucy loved the steam-driven train ride, but her favorite part was the “Tweetsie Twister.”

As Lucy’s fourth birthday neared, she decided on a Star Wars-Frozen “mashup” theme for her party, with Elsa and Yoda on hand to delight her friends and family with stories, sing-a-longs, and face-painting. In lieu of gifts she collected food bank donations, collecting enough food for 65 meals! She also had a smaller party on her actual birthday at Wine and Beer 101 in downtown Wendell, this time with her best friends.