We are ready!

As of this morning, we are all ready to go back to school!

We still have nearly a month, but I don't do the mad rush of school shopping with any modicum of grace. The kids and I have a system: last week of July, one at a time.

It's actually quite lovely. We stop on the way to the store for a favorite beverage, and we take our time. We don't do any shopping aside from the back-to-school stuff, and I can totally focus on just one kiddo. We chat about the coming year, and we find everything while we are blissfully alone in the school supply aisles. The year-round kids are back in school; no one else is quite ready to shop for an August start date in July. It works for us.

It was a little surreal to be shopping for fifth and eighth grades. The end of two eras in one year, but we are so ready for the adventure that awaits...

Lovely Weekend

 This weekend was exactly what I needed. It had been a zoo of a work at week (hello 14 hour days on campus!), and I was running on fumes by Friday.

Friday night, Brad and I finally tried a new restaurant in town, and we will absolutely be back! It's the perfect mix of old farm house and contemporary art, and the food is incredible!

Saturday, Brad and I went to our first pottery class! These are my birthday gift after I got the bug in Deruta. I am by no means a natural, but the class is only four students with a fabulous teacher who believes you learn by doing. I did manage to make two bowls, so I'll take it! I am finding a lot of joy in the clay process, and I have a feeling I may be spending a lot of time in the studio.

Sunday, we went to see the Lion King, which was really good, and then came back to try our hand at sushi! Issa loves California rolls, and I've been promising we would learn to make them:

Ta-da!

They weren't perfect, but we just kept getting better and better!

It was a great weekend of rest and restoration--just what I needed!

She's Home!!!

Last week was a very big week for our girl! She spent the entire week at UNC Greensboro at Chorus Camp.

Sunday afternoon, we moved her into her first dorm room:

 This camp is so impressive. I can't believe how much of a college experience she had. Issa has always been independent, but they pushed her to be even more so. Check-in started at 1:30, and campers have to register themselves. Parents can kindly wait out of the way. She made it through the line and came back with her room assignment ready to move in.

After much gnashing of teeth, she decided to go with a random roommate. It was everything I prayed it would be! Jane was a super sweet kid, and she and Issa became friends. They settled in together, and by 2:30 Issa told us she was good and we could get on our way. At check-in, she had been given a list of things to do after we left, and she was ready to start checking that list off! I almost held it together as we left her dorm--painfully aware of how soon this won't just be for a week.

We had told her we wouldn't call or text her, but she was welcome to reach out to us. She texted every night at bed time, and I would be lying if I said I didn't anxiously await those texts. We laughed at her pride in mastering the dorm showers, ordering Chinese food for a late night snack, and navigating campus. She got herself up every morning, made new friends, and generally had the time of her life.

Friday, we got to pick her up! My family only slightly made fun of how early we got there, but I was anxious to see her and didn't to have trouble parking:

We ate dinner in the dining hall with her and listened to all of the stories. So many stories. Their concert was truly amazing, and I just couldn't quite believe how very grown up she looked and how at home she was on that campus.

This weekend was filled with lots of snuggling and Gilmore Girls. And I'm just so very happy to have my girl back.

Our Dancer

There is one part of our vacation that needed a whole separate post. It seems Aunt Shannon started something with the dance photo shoot last year at the beach. This year, Issa was anxious to do a repeat in the mountains. Of the over 300 pictures, here are my favorites...

Our ballerina:

 Dad came in for the assist on this one:

 Issa was beyond thrilled that her firebird is finally captured:

 And her stag jump:

 And this light:

 Just look at how strong she is:

 The whole world is hers:

I still don't have the words to describe all of the feelings captured with these photos, but I am so very grateful we have them...

To the Mountains and Back Again

We spent a very quiet week in Asheville last week! We went with Mom and Shannon, and we enjoyed a lovely home just on the outskirts of town. The back deck was my favorite place, which is evidenced by the one picture I actually managed to take:

 The sunsets over the mountains did not disappoint, and Mom and I spent too much time identifying birds. The kids loved having the basement as their kid cave, complete with air hockey and foosball. They also ended every day in the hot tub. It's not a bad way to spend a week.

In addition to lots of quality time just being, we did have two big adventures!

Tuesday, we took a three hour trail ride that included some real garnet mining:

 Evan loved breaking open the rocks to get out the garnets, and Issa had an eye for the stones in the creek:

 I found nothing, but it was lovely to just sit by the creek and look.

The guide snapped this amazing pic of all of us:

 The horses were beautiful, as were the views. Evan loved this little guy:

 Issa would spend her life on a horse if she could:

 Us on the trail:

 Brad and I had slightly ornery horses who didn't play well with others--hence the gap.

Look at my cowboy:

 Wednesday, we went to Biltmore, where we took zero pictures. We started with a behind the scenes tour where we couldn't, and then I think we just forgot. The tour, though! We got to see the rooms where they do a lot of the archival work and hear more about the history of how the home was opened to the public. The highlights, though, were the time we spend in Edith's closet and in the butler's pantry. These areas are usually closed to visitors, and we have always wondered what was back there! Issa's face when they told us where we were going was priceless!

We spent the Fourth at the house, where we finally finished this beast of a puzzle:

 And Aunt Shannon made sure the kiddos were appropriately attired:

 And we had one more dinner on the porch.

 We also did way too many sparklers:

 Sparklers are so fun as a kid and terrifying as a mom.

Friday, we headed back home, but only after feeding the koi one more time:

I love vacations that are a mix of adventure and just being. It's so rare that we get to just sit these days, and having time to do just that was a true gift...