A Dip into Fall

When Issa announced she wasn't coming home for her birthday and Evan announced he probably wouldn't be home next Labor Day, Brad announced we were going to the mountains for Labor Day. We usually try to sneak in a fall weekend away, and the stars aligned for this.

We found a great cabin near Grayson Highlands, and we drove up Friday. We made our annual trek to the bookstore to get a new game, and we packed in all of our favorite fall foods for a cozy weekend.

Saturday, we went to an apple orchard!

It was the first weekend of picking, so the apples were plentiful and delicious. It looks a little different when Brad boosts Evan to get the top apples now:

Issa was an excellent spotter:

We did find one worm:

We also tried our hands at the apple cannon:

And the children tolerated me when I asked to take the how tall pictures:

We left with ciders, apples, and slushies. We went back to the cabin and made pie, which was delicious! Sunday the weather was not ideal, but it was a great excuse to just cozy in and play. I think we all took a nap, and it was fun to watch the storm come in across the mountains.

Monday, we packed up and then drove into the Highlands and a cloud:

The cloud was too dense to see ponies, but it was one of the coolest hikes I've ever done, and Evan loved the opportunity to do some climbing:

We made it all the way to the Listening Rock. It was a bit high, hence my death grip on Evan, but it was beautiful. 

It was a lovely mix of adventure and rest, and most importantly some true quality time for the four of us.
 

Happy Birthday, Issa!

We had so much fun celebrating Issa Saturday in the most Issa ways possible. She wanted us all to come to her house for an afternoon of her favorite things. 

Even her gifts were very fitting for this particular new apartment era. Nana gave her a much-requested porch goose:

And Shannon hooked her up with a complete set of pots and pans, including utensils:

Nana also got her a bird feeder that is just as much for Inks as it is for the birds:

We gave her earrings:

And brought her favorite dessert:

Other than that, the afternoon was spent playing Magic:

And teaching Nana and Shannon to play:

It was a lovely afternoon of just being in Issa's space that is so truly Issa:

And then we went to her favorite restaurant for dinner before heading home.

I officially have an adult adult daughter, and she's pretty cool.
 

Well...August Happened

August was a hot mess express. The good news is it all ended incredibly well. 

The last week of July, Evan and I were headed to tour NCSU, and we got rear-ended on 40 in our brand new to us van:

The good news is we didn't have so much as a scratch or a bruise, and none of the other cars involved did either. But, the van was totaled. I can't say enough good things about Nationwide. They checked on us multiple times to be sure we didn't get sore in the following weeks, and they put us in a rental until we found a new car two weeks ago:

We got another Odyssey since the last one did so well in the wreck!

The end of that same week, we took Evan to tour UNC Charlotte:

It's his new top contender! And on the way home we stopped by Ryan's studio and invested in our first piece from him:

It's so fun to support one of Evan's friends as he becomes a professional artist!

Our neighbor was also redoing her kitchen and gave us her marble island countertop, which we love:

The new look was the incentive we needed to finally hang the prints we brought home from Scotland. Evan was much more careful that I would have been:

I love how they look, but I cannot get a decent picture.

I also learned August is my new role is insane. I still love it, but it is a lot of a lot.

I'm very proud that I still did take a lot of time to read. It probably saved my sanity.

Book 26 was a very affirming memoir by Rachel Held Evans:

I love my Jesus but the church and I struggle. This helped me think that through a little differently.

Book 27 was a hot mess of a book club pick:

I cannot say I enjoyed it, but I also couldn't stop reading it. It's a bizarre travel-log about hot dogs.

And I finished book 28 this morning:

I love this series, and I'm a little sad that I think this will be the last book in it. Ana and Din are such wonderfully complicated characters, and just when I think I have the mystery solved I'm very wrong.

We are looking forward to what we hope is a much calmer September!

 

Book 25

I finished book 25 this morning:

 This is the last published book in the Court of Thorn and Roses series, but I'm so glad the next book is coming this fall. I'm not at all ready to say goodbye to these characters. This book focused on Nesta and Cassian, and they may be one of my favorite couples in literature ever. I actually texted a friend early in the book to be sure they ended up together because I just needed it to be true. I so appreciate an author that can make me this invested in complicated, realistic characters.

It's the little things...

I spent the first half of this week at a SACS conference. I learned a lot, but it was a lot of prep going into it, and I spent every evening in the hotel trying to just keep my head above water with my actual day job. It's pouring rain today, and I am facing a long day of meetings and problems. I love my job, but somedays are a lot, and I will never be caught up. I was trying to prioritize my day and figure out my life on the way in to work, and then I got to my door:

Boy. It's a little thing, but it sure did give me the nudge I needed this morning.
 

She's A Renter!

Our girl has a new permanent address! Last Wednesday, she picked up the key to her very own first apartment:

 

We are helping with rent while she finishes school, but she chose a place she could easily afford on her own when she gets her first teaching job. 

One huge criteria for her was that she had her own washer and dryer:

When she got the key Wednesday, Evan and I helped her move all of her bathroom and kitchen stuff in:

We knew that would be the most boxes, and her place is tiny. Getting them unloaded before we moved everything else in was a game changer. She and I also made her first big grocery trip on Friday and made sure the fridge was stocked with cold beverages and moving snacks.

Saturday, we made the big move! Evan's friend, Mikey, was a huge help:

We started at nine, and we had everything in by 12:30. Brad got her TV mounted:

And she got some more practice adulting when she had to call to get her internet fixed, but she did:

By about 2, we had made it this far. The furniture was all in place (we passed on a couch, coffee table, and desk; she assembled her new bed), the boxes were sorted, and she decided she just needed time alone to figure out where everything goes. 

So...we left she and Inks to settle in:

I miss having them at home, but I am so glad they are off on this new adventure together...

Beach Week 2026

On this gloomy Monday morning I am flashing back to our very, very sunny beach week. Brad had to work after our Scotland trip and with a huge project launching next week, but the kids and I joined Mom and Shannon at our usual Kure Beach house:

A kind stranger snapped this picture of us on our last evening beach walk, but I think our groupies might have been better:

Shannon did capture some of my favorite recent pictures of the kids, though:

Our big adventure this year was a trip to the Karen Beasley Turtle Hospital. Injured sea turtles are flown here from all over the East Coast for healing and rehabilitation. We learned so much about the turtles, and our guide was truly passionate about the work:

It's amazing how much they can do for these big guys:

The kids even got matching sweatshirts:

The other new feature was family presentation night. I shared tidbits previously unshared from Scotland, but Issa stole the show. She presented her thesis:

She also presented on Mummia and 21 Pilots Lore:

It was such a fun night!

The rest of the week was a fun combination of lots of lounging:

And ocean bobbing:

And great food:

Issa spent a lot of time coloring by number:

And Evan built his biggest Lego set yet:

These are not even all of the bags:

It is a super cool Pokemon build:

Although I had to work more than I would like, I also finished book 23 there and finished book 24 this morning. Book 23 was the next in the ACOTR series:

This series just gets better and better. The next read is in the same series. She had actually written the next big book, and she realized that we needed to know more about the characters' histories and values to understand that book, so she wrote and released this book:

It moves the overall plot forward, but it also really does shine a light into each other characters in ways that I really appreciate! I will be starting the next book in the series tonight!

I love the beach, and I especially love all of the space to just be and talk with family.