My Baby Cousin got Married!!!

We made a whirlwind trip to Ohio to see my littlest cousin get married! He has been much bigger than me for years now, but he will always be the baby of the family, and we all adore Hannah. They've been together for over eight years, so she was already part of the family.

Before the wedding, the kids swam in the hotel pool, and we enjoyed a couple of great meals with extended family who were also in town for the wedding.

One of the highlights of the weekend, though, was this moment:

Carol was trying to get Tyler to take a step forward, but he wasn't getting the message.

And then he saw his bride:

It was a beautiful ceremony, and maybe the last where I am not the shortest in our family--even in heels:

Between the ceremony and reception we managed to catch a few pictures:

 I am so grateful for all of the time that we got with Grandma Judy this weekend:

And we had a blast celebrating the new Mr. and Mrs. Slight:

 

 This cousin picture took way too much wrangling!

We kept getting four and then losing people.

Yesterday, we were able to visit for not enough time before we made the drive back home. It was a whirlwind weekend, but seeing Tyler so blissfully happy was absolutely worth it.

Still Going...

Issa had six hours of dance rehearsal this weekend. She also met up with her team for coffee, wrote an English analysis essay that made me so proud, and had a fun girls' night with Nana and me. And...she's still in business:

Granted, she took over my kitchen and we had to order pizza for dinner, but we didn't mind. She had two big orders come in, and she's still loving it.

Keep dreaming big, baby girl, and keep chasing those dreams...

Almost a Good Idea

Thursdays are one of Issa's long days at the studio, but we still wanted to be sure she was properly celebrated on her actual birthday! 

Usually Thursdays are left-over/eat what you want when you want nights. Every other night we all sit down around the table together, but one night a week I throw in the towel. Since yesterday was Issa's birthday, we made Wednesday left-over night and we had ham, mashed potatoes, and baked peaches at 4:30. It was the only way we could all eat together!

After dance, Issa wanted Daddy's molten chocolate cakes for her birthday dessert. I knew we would never get 13 candles in an individual cake, so I was smart and bought a 1 and a 3 candles. Except no candle will stay up in a molten chocolate cake, so we improvised:

Yep. I held the candles over the cake while we sang. (Please excuse Issa and I's post-dance class appearance.)

Issa felt well-celebrated, and we had fun celebrating her together. At the end of the day, that is all that matters.

We Have a Teenager!!!

I blinked, and somehow we have an official teenager in the house:

 Last night, after she was finally in bed, I started with the decorating:

 Birthday has way too many letters to blow up, by the way.

And if you can't wake up to glitter lightbulbs on your 13th when can you?

 She already has her big present from us, which was her phone upgrade upgrade. She earned the first upgrade with her business, but she wanted the slightly better camera option, which we did for her birthday. But, there were a few packages this morning:

Evan was very excited to give her the water bottle she really wanted:

 But he was most proud of the Marvell dot-to-dot her found for her:

 He really is the most thoughtful giver.

And Dad and I wanted to have something for her to unwrap on the actual day. Only a dancer would get this excited for a toenail and callous trimming set:

I still truly can't believe she's 13. I am loving the woman she is becoming, and I wouldn't trade this stage of parenting for anything, but I so vividly remember that moment 13 years ago when she was in my arms for the first time and I became a mama. It feels like yesterday, and I know I will blink again and she will be 21. So for now, we will spend the day celebrating everything she is and will be, and I'll hug her a little extra tight.

Thanks for making me a mama, Issa Bug. I love you to the moon and stars and back....

Life is Never Dull

My hair was having a morning. Even a ponytail wouldn't happen. Enter my husband, who loaned me his headband:

Never in a million years would I have thought we would share hair accessories, but I'm so grateful to be doing life with a man who keeps on surprising me.

We have a brown belt!

Evan made it one step closer to his black belt goal last night:

He now has a solid brown belt, which means his dojo world shifted a little bit last night. This was the last test that was a given. Up until now, the real testing happened in class, and graduation was a chance to show off. Next time, the real test happens at graduation, and it's not unusual for people to have to test multiple times to move to brown-black, the last step before black belt.

This testing process has shown how much my boy is growing up. He knows what he needs to do, and he's hyper-focused on his goals. This morning, he was talking about using the focus he uses on the mat off the mat, and he's new focus for the next few months is to slow down, think it through, rely less on muscle memory. I'm awfully proud of this kid.

I Made It!

When we were in Italy, I got to "throw" pottery in Deruta. The experts actually did all the work, but my hands were in the clay. I was hooked. There is something so cool about watching a lump turn into something.

Fast forward to my birthday. Brad gave me a set of pottery classes, and I fell deeper in love with this art. Last night, I got to bring home my first fully finished pieces:

 I'm particularly proud of this little bowl:

 I wish I could make another, but that hasn't happened so far!

I love the glazing on this little bowl:

 And I'm tickled by my hand mug:

The coolest thing about making your own hand mug is it truly fits your hand perfectly--each little groove and finger.

I still have a lot to learn, but I'm still loving it. My classes have ended, but I'm signed up for open studio time. I'll keep playing and learning, but more than anything being at the wheel fuels my soul. Even when the pot fall over, it's my happy place, and I can't wait to go back.

Let the Birthday Celebrating Begin!

 Issa is just a few days away from being an official teenager, and Aunt Shannon flew in this weekend to celebrate!

 Saturday, Issa and Aunt Shannon set out on their annual shopping trip, and Issa found all kinds of great new clothes, way too many outfits to post:

 She is very into the solid color tops these days:

 We had lunch at Zinburger, and then headed back to Nana's to just hang out for a while. Issa and Aunt Shannon were commenting that they found Issa's new favorite store, Alatr'd State, late in the shopping game. Since we were headed back to the mall for her birthday dinner, Nana offered to take her back there for her birthday shopping. Issa is never one to turn down a shopping trip, so after dinner we got part two of the fashion show.

My heart absolutely melts when she looks at her dad:

 And I swear I had very similar overalls in middle school:

 And excuse me while I recover:

 I have no idea when she got so grown up, but I couldn't love her more.

Sunday, Dad had to work but the rest of us headed to the zoo. We had promised Aunt Shannon a trip on the Zoofari, so we made a bolt for the ticket line and scored our seats on the first outing.

Aunt Shannon has a thing for primates, so we passed the time waiting for the Zoofari by watching the gorillas:

We were at the enclosure just as they were released into it. The keepers had scattered all kinds of produce around, and it was amazing to watch them forage and eat.

This little guy was my favorite:

If the celery had any little twiggy bits, he would peel them off and then eat the rest!

The Zoofari did not disappoint. If you look closely, you can see a baby "tucked" in among the herd: 

 I love that they call it that.

We also got to see the two baby rhinos, each hanging out with their mamas:

 And Issa got to see her best friend, Pearl:

 And we even took some people pictures, too:

 It was a great day at the zoo, and we ended it back at Nana's for leftover pasta and birthday cake:

 Chocolate with peanut butter frosting:

Yesterday, we had one more brunch before Shannon flew out. We also spent the day doing laundry and homework and generally getting ready for the week.

It was a fabulous weekend to start celebrating our girl, and I can't wait to see what this year has in store for her.

A Little Whimsy

We are making it! The first week of school should never be five days long, but we are doing it! 

Actually, we are doing really well. The kitchen has stayed clean, the laundry has stayed caught up, the kids are still getting up easily and getting their chores finished before school, and everyone still loves their teachers. We have only had two minor freak outs--one from each kid--so we are claiming victory.

With Issa's new dance schedule, we are eating dinner super early. When we sat down with calendars and schedules, we realized we had to make some shifts if we still wanted family dinner, which are really important to us. So...three days a week we now eat at 4:30. It is actually making life easier in a lot of ways, but Evan is not thrilled it cuts his after school playdate time short. 

I decided we needed a little extra dose of fun with dinner last night, so I made these:

They are teeny tiny lunch box bell peppers filled with Mexican black beans. I spent way too much time hollowing out and then filling these little two bite babies, but they were so fun!

Our Entrepreneur

This girl:

She is going to set the world on fire.

At the beginning of the summer, we made a deal with her that if she could successfully launch her soap business we would upgrade her phone. She had to pitch a project plan, design a business plan, create the product, sell to 7 non-relatives, and pay us back our start-up loan.

She did it...and then some. We upgraded the phone Sunday.

This girl went to the library and checked out business and soap making books. She tried a million soap recipes and developed a sample box. She made budget spreadsheets, supply spreadsheets, and sales sheets. She paid us back our loan, reinvested in supplies, and still has some pocket money. She's still selling.

She was so proud of herself, and we are so very proud of her. She may give up soap making in a few months, but I am confident that what she learned this summer will stay with her--especially that she can do anything she decides she wants to do.

Happy First Day!

They are off:

 We have two very happy kiddos heading into eighth and fifth grades:

 Issa is thrilled to be an Eagle this year:

 She is also very excited because she met her new choir teacher and really, really likes her. She was devastated when Ms. Kelly left last year, so we are all breathing a sigh of relief.

Evan is so excited to be in Ms. Chenlo's class:

Some of his buddies are in his class, and they all chose to sit together at Open House. We are banking they have new seats by tomorrow, but today should be fun!

We are enjoying the newness of the year. The kiddos bounced out of bed, ate breakfast, and we in fabulous moods, ready to go early. I know it won't last, but I sure will take it while I can! They also were so excited last night they were hyper organized down to having lunches packed! They noted how much easier it made the morning, so I'm hoping that one sticks.

I'm a bit of a mess. I didn't bank on the last years of elementary and middle hitting at the same time and hitting me so hard. I'm excited for new chapters, though, and I have no doubt this is going to be a great year!

I'm Calling it Fall

There is something about the return of students to campus and the launch of Company Camp for Issa that makes me just ready for fall. I've seen the first tinges of color on leaves on campus, and I am over summer.

So, it may have been 100 degrees yesterday, but I called it fall. I baked sweet potato muffins for this week's breakfast and pumpkin cookies for this week's afternoon snack. Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and corn made it's triumphant return to the dinner table. I even made a pumpkin pie for dessert. It's time. Welcome back, fall!

And So It Begins...

School doesn't start for two more weeks, but our fall has begun.

I'm back at work this week. I work all summer, but everyone else comes back today. Students arrive Saturday. Campus is alive again.

And Issa is back in the studio. The first of many taxi runs:

This is Company Camp week, but she actually started Saturday. By the end of the day yesterday her entire musical theatre dance was finished and jazz will be finished by the end of the day today. She is loving her new team, and we are loving her make the leap to older dancer. She is hydrating and fueling and taking good care of her body without us having to say a thing. It's weird this phase of parenting. I keep wanting to help, but she's got it. I think I'll take it...

Practically Perfect

Starting last Friday, I had what will go down as some of the best days in recent memory. The boys headed to Mountain Quest Friday, and we girls settled in for a world-class girls' weekend!

Friday, we started with lunch and Zinburger and then Issa, Nana, and I headed out to find dresses for Tyler's wedding. We laughed at dresses that looked way better on the hanger. Had tears running down our cheeks when someone had a dressing room wardrobe malfunction. And we found them! And accessories. Mine was the biggest struggle, but I'm thrilled with this one:

 Issa was absolutely the most fun. To be young and athletic and look amazing in everything again. I love the dress she chose:

 And Nana found a super fun option, too!

 We finished Friday with dinner at the House at Gatewood, where we relived every moment and laughed until we cried again.

Saturday, Issa and I had big plans to be productive in the morning, but we settled for Gilmore Girls instead. Just as we were ready to actually start, Nana texted that we should go to lunch. Clearly that was the better option. We spent the afternoon eating pizza, finding the right jewelry to complete our ensembles, and getting our nails done.

We ended the day with a painting class! I've never done one, and I can't believe how well ours turned out:

It definitely won't be my last painting excursion.

Sunday. Issa and I did get up and get to work! We went to the grocery, packed, prepped meals, and then met the boys in Tennessee! Brad's brother and family had rented a cabin on Lake Norris, and they graciously invited us to crash for a couple of nights.

You know what one of the coolest gifts in life is: grown-up nieces and nephews. I have literally known these kiddos since birth, and to be able to sit with them and talk about career plans and big dreams and life is just incredible. And just to make it better, I still have the four-year-old to look at me with big eyes and ask Aunt Hedder to pretty please take her swimming. Clearly we did a lot of swimming. Well...she did a lot of jumping in and I did a lot of treading water and helping her back to the ladder.

I still am amazed when my kids are the big ones, playing hide and seek and being pulled around by a little cousin. I remember when they would drag the big cousins around, and it's surreal to see the full circle moments.

We played games and ate together and took boat rides. Brian rented a pontoon boat with a slide, and the kids thought that was about the best thing ever. I can still hear all of the laughter and squeals. As much as I wish I took pictures, I'm so glad my phone was in another room and I could soak up every minute. It was a very short trip, but we all left saying we need to do it more often.

We are barreling towards the start of school and routines. We put the fall wreath on the front door, and I saw the first tinges of crimson on campus today. I'm ready for the routines and structure again, but I am so very glad we had this last big hurrah to end our summer.