XC

Our youngest is running cross country this year, her first official school sport.  As a 7th grader, she's part of high school JV because they don't have a middle school team.

During her first meet, she was a little nervous.  The bus ride there was fun, though.  They stretch as a team, warm up as a team, and cheer each other on.  It's such a great sport with good kids.

She's definitely the youngest participant, and not super fast, but she enjoys it. Gotta love that smile!  

Her smile faded a little the longer her time lapsed, but she kept going.  So proud of her!

Camping

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 💛.

Cola Trip

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.

Thespian

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.

49th Birthday

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.

Roofing

I had the opportunity to participate in a home build with Habitat for Humanity.  Whether you've ever been interested in learning a handy skill, need a therapeutic day outside the office, or just enjoy volunteer work, I highly recommend it.

The job was to give "sweat equity" to this family from CDS. Each potential new homeowner must volunteer 200 hours on another house before they earn enough equity for their own. Since this family was limited in their ability to contribute physically, several of us who know the family provided those hours for them.

Most of the volunteers wore shorts (hot July day).  I decided to wear some old jeans, and that's what got me the roofing assignment.  

I'll have to admit that it was a huge learning curve for me.  The supervisors could have done this so much faster themselves.  But I appreciated the exposure and training on a skill I've never learned, and it was fun!

A co-worker is in purple, and we're working alongside the CDS family member who is able to provide their sweat equity.

Africa - Part 2: Safari

After summitting Kilimanjaro, Ashlyn and her friends stayed in Tanzania for an extra week to recover, relax and go on safaris. 

They spent most of their time exploring Serengeti National Park, home of the greatest wildlife spectacle on earth. 

Ngorongoro Crater which is the world's largest inactive, intact and unfilled volcanic caldera. Absolutely an amazing experience to see so many animals in their natural habitat!

Wildebeests, zebras, giraffes, lions, elephants, warthogs, hippos, gazelles, rhinos, crocodiles, etc.

Love her smile!  And also her "safari" hat she borrowed from Luke's lifeguard uniform.

And a final stop to experience the Tanzanian tribe life.

But my favorite picture of all her adventures is this one...

where she's back home, safe and sound.