Families are the compass that guide us. They are the inspiration to reach great heights, and our comfort when we occasionally falter. -- Brad Henry
We haven't been camping in quite a while, so the three of us still at home decided to trek out to the woods for the night.
We camped beside Lake Hartwell over Labor Day weekend. Surprisingly, we didn't have many neighbors.
The evening was still warmer than we'd like, but temps were slowly dropping. Eric enjoyed the relaxation, the little one just drew in the sand as she missed her siblings. They would usually go on walks together, but she didn't want to do that with mom & dad.
I decided to catch a quick selfie since I rarely get myself in the pictures.
As the sun faded, Eric had the perfect angle for a silhouette, and I couldn't resist.
Eric and our little girl snuggled inside the tent. How sweet 💛.
I had an opportunity to see both my older children in Columbia, SC, so I took advantage of the opportunity. The little one went with me to see them.
Our son moved into his first apartment. In his 2nd year of college at Carolina, he had to find a place off campus. He and his roommates found this old home (~1930) right in the middle of Five Points (the party/club district).
It's not that great on the outside, but super big and roomy on the inside. They appreciated me taking them to dinner at a real restaurant instead of PB&J or the dining hall.
Then our oldest was there for a medical conference. It was at the Embassy Suites, so we got to crash with her. The only instructions was to "lay low". She was there with all her medical peers and instructors, so it made sense.
Since this is the first time I saw her check into a hotel by herself, I tried to capture this picture without anyone noticing me.
Later during the happy hour reception, we were minding our own business, as instructed, when I look up and see all the medical attendees gathering for a group photo. I flag down one of the hotel staff and ask her to take a picture. Well, she didn't speak much English, so she made a bit of a scene. Here's the only picture she got, and although a little blurry, you can see our daughter upset with me.
Then the kind photographer who took the real photo understood what a "mom" moment I was having, and he graciously sent me his professional picture. Thank you!!
I'm guessing I won't get another invitation to see her at a conference. Blew that one.
Our little one loves theater camp. The first one she attended this summer was a musical based on Shrek and Madagascar.
Her next camp was improv (short for improvisation). There are no lines since you make it up as you go along. Quite funny!
And here was a cute skit, but the photo quality was really bad. The actors were directly under the light. My phone doesn't filter the glare out well, so I had to tone down the colors.
Eric celebrated his 49th with the biggest balloon he could find.
Instead of me making him a cake, he wanted an ice cream cake. Plain. With vanilla ice cream and chocolate cake. Seriously? I could have made that.
Although, it was quite tasty.
