So Much Dancing

The end of last week was a flurry of dance highlights! During Company Camp this summer, the studio brought in a professional photographer to get some pictures of the girls. We got Issa's last week!

 She doesn't love this one, but this is such a hard jump to photograph:

 She does love this one:

 Look at that smile:

 Dancing still brings her so much joy, and I'm so grateful for that!

Saturday, she had the opportunity to do something way outside of her comfort zone. She danced an improv art piece at the local farmer's market:

 The music was actually the sound of their tap shoes, and they took turns tapping or doing modern. They danced for 30 minutes straight, and she actually had a really good time once she got over the nerves.

Then Sunday, we topped it off with more dance--this time at the Carolina Ballet:

The boys joined us for the Halloween ballet: Frankenstein. One of our favorites played the Monster, and it was truly incredible.

We are still dancing through this week, but thankfully it's a short one filled with Halloween fun!

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Last week, my favorite person in the whole world turned 40:

We had strict orders that there was to be no party, and we complied. In fact, since his birthday fell on a Thursday it was pretty low-key. We did have his favorite spaghetti, and there was definitely cake when Issa got home from dance.

Just when I think I can't love this man any more, I do. He truly does just get better with age.

Some Things Never Change

Last Sunday Brad and I did something a little crazy. We went out to dinner. On a Sunday night. At 8:00. I don't remember the last time we ate dinner that late. We had to memorialize the moment:

It wasn't just a whim that took us out so late. Jamie was in town for a conference, and that was the one window we could all manage to make the schedules align:

 It's hard to believe that 22 years ago she is the one who shoved Brad and I together. The three of us were high school friends. She was my bridesmaid. We now have four children  and more career changes that we can count between us. We never dreamed when we were sitting at a bowling alley in Northwest Ohio that we would be meeting two decade later for Indian food in downtown Durham. So much has changed for all of us.

What hasn't changed, though, is our friendship. We keep in touch, but we only see each other every few years. When we do it's like nothing has changed. I am so grateful for this friendship.

Blooper Reel

On the way to the Apple Orchard, I decided we needed a family car selfie. It turned into hilarity.

Take 1--Evan makes a weird face:

 Take 2--Issa makes a weird face:

 Take 3--Evan makes a weird face:

 Take 4--Dad makes a weird face (the betrayal!):

 Take 5--We finally get it:

 Take 6--Everyone makes a weird face:

Fall Family Fun Day!

The Bower family does not have the most successful track record with apple picking. We had one near-perfect year about five years ago, and then it's been a series of busts--culminating last year when we drove all the way to the mountains only to discover there had been a blight and there were no apples. We were determined to break that streak!

We have been telling the kids for a couple of weeks that Saturday was going to be Bower Fall Family Fun Day. They were both sure we were going apple picking, and they were right! We drove a little over two hours to Morganton to a little orchard we visited as part of our first successful apple trick, and we were not disappointed!

Apple Hill Cider Mill has grown a lot, but we think it has just gotten better. And there were apples!!!

Issa and Dad made a great team:

Evan wore camo pants and a black sweatshirt, and had it not been for the shoes we would have lost him:

There he is:

I always love the walking pictures:

After we finished picking, the boys hauled all of our apples to the car and Issa and took some selfies with the giant hay bale cow:

And then I put my phone away and forgot to take any more pictures. We ate warm donuts and cider, enjoyed the mountain air, and took a hayride through the orchard led by the owner. We all truly loved hearing the history and the nuances of apple growing.

It was a day of so much laughter, and I'm so grateful for the day!

Soaking in Fall

This is one of those 50 hours on campus weeks. They don't happen often, but they are exhausting when they do--especially considering I will put in a few more hours on work stuff at home. 

When I got in my car yesterday to drive to a meeting, though, this is what I saw:

Bright crimson leaves, foliage beginning to turn, and a Carolina blue sky. It was a perfect moment.

Even when the days are so very long, I am so very grateful I get to work in this little slice of heaven.

Celebrating Life

 This weekend, I was able to soak in some much needed family time. Friday, I got to watch Issa in dance rehearsals. Her teacher thought we looked cute and needed a picture:

I love watching my girl do what she loves, and I loved spending some time with her afterwards watching Downton and doing our nails.

Saturday, I was up bright and early to go to Atlanta for Grandma Dot's Celebration of Life. The Northern crew was well-represented:

 Grandma Dot was the gentlest, most Southern soul I have ever met, and I loved hearing stories about her and just remembering. It was also so good to see all of the Southern cousins. Saturday night Shannon and I also had a hotel room to ourselves for some much needed sister time. I truly can't remember the last time she and I had so much time alone, and it was lovely. We are already plotting to make it happen again.

When I got home, the kiddos were all ready to go out to dinner:

 Evan decided all on his own he wanted to dress up!

You can dress them up, but they are still goofballs:

They will always be my goofballs, though.

It's Finally Fall and a Real Weekend

The temperatures finally feel like fall, and we finally had a weekend without a ton of running or conference prepping, which means we got to soak in some together time and enter the week not behind the eight ball. I almost don't know what to do with myself.

Friday night, Brad and I had our first real date night in weeks. After Issa's successful birthday party, I really wanted to go back to AR Workshop for some fall fun, and Brad indulged me. In a very fun turn of events, we were the only two who signed up for the workshop so we had the place to ourselves! I made this lazy susan:

Brad made us a fall key box:

It was so much fun to laugh and chat while we stained and painted. I love the step-by-step guaranteed success plan, but Brad wanted a little more wild in his art. He did agree it was fun, though, and he will go back with me!

Saturday, the boys spent the morning at the dojo, the girl spent the morning at the studio, and I spent the morning doing yard work. We all met up afterwards for Moe's and some family time, which was so needed. 

Saturday night, Issa, Mom, and I went to see Aladdin! I honestly set the bar pretty low, but it was incredible. We also introduced Issa to her first steak house, which she loved after she got over being overwhelmed by the menu:

 The steak house was a last minute change of plans, so we had no time to talk about it before we sat down. In her world, a steak is a steak, so all of the choices made her nervous. She is also pretty sure that the French names are just too fussy and compound butter should be called such.

Sunday, we went to church, swung by the local coffee shop, and then headed to the pumpkin patch!

The sunflower maze was in full bloom:

 We had too much fun taking pictures:

Brad was super excited by the addition of wagons for hauling pumpkins through the field:

 And Evan was just super excited about this pumpkin:

 We came home and got them all situated on the porch:

We were home in time for lunch, and we spent the rest of the day resting and prepping for the week. I made our first batch of pumpkin puree and seeds for the season, baked two pies, and served fried chicken for dinner. It was the perfect end of a real fall day, and I am so grateful we had the time together.

One Wild Week

 The past week has been an absolute blur! Last Wednesday, Jennifer and I headed to DC for a conference. The conference itself was terrible, but we could walk to the zoo and had lunch with the pandas:

 This guy actually say in his lunch:

 I always love traveling with Jennifer, and although the conference was a bust we got a lot of department work finished!

When I got home, we finally had Issa's friend birthday party! She wanted to take them to AR Workshop in Durham for some painting fun:

 I was so impressed with the process, and we made very cute banners:

I absolutely loved hanging out with these girls!

Sunday, we girls had our first ballet of the season:

 And when we got home Issa and I decorated for Halloween:

 Every year we decorate on October 1, but I was going to be at a conference, so we decided to cheat a couple of days.

Monday morning I left for another conference--this one I co-chaired. When I went to unpack, I found the horrible Halloween rat:

This hiding of the rat is the one family tradition I would rather forget, but the rest of my crew will not hear of it.

Unfortunately, I got some version of the flu Tuesday night. Hell is being sick in a hotel room. I couldn't finish the conference and had to come home yesterday morning. Thankfully Brad took amazing care of me, and I'm definitely on the mend today! I even just ate some chicken soup!

This has been a week of ups and downs, and I'm looking forward to a quiet weekend to get back on my feet.