Luke's Bday

Our son had drill over the weekend, so we prepared his 23rd birthday celebration for the evening he got home.

Presents and dinner with family was first. 

Then cake with friends.

As one of his gifts, he accompanied me to a TEDx type event called CAN Talks. Each speaker had a disability, but their perspectives of how they viewed themselves was so refreshing and inspiring. Here, Mark Shoop shares how he is impacting his community through law enforcement. When you're called to serve, it's about your abilities and what you CAN do, not what your diagnosis limits you to do.

And since Luke shares his birthday with his namesake's feast day, a photo next to the statue of St. Luke seemed appropriate.

XC 2022

The fall sport of choice this year for our youngest was dual...cross country and swim. That meant TWICE the events to watch. Since I attended her XC parent meeting and Eric went to her swim meeting (both held at the same time, by the way), those were the schedules we each downloaded to our calendars. Hence why there are XC pictures and not swim.

Some courses are solely on the grass and wooded areas, while others intertwine with the road or track. The finish is always exciting as the runners sprint to the end!

It's a great group of kids who cheer each other on no matter what PR they hold.

Eric likes to get in on the action with his own races. It's gets us up early sometimes, but we wouldn't have it any other way. This was a 6K sponsored by GE.

Nice finish and time!

Dress-up Days

This wasn't a "thing" when I was in school, but students today use Homecoming Week, Football Fridays, and Spirit Weeks to dress up in crazy themes. Here are some of the ones I've captured this fall before she headed out the door:

Toga.....

Tie-dye/Hippie....

Swim & surf....

Country...

More to come, I'm sure. She raids all the closets in our house the night before, but she does a nice job being creative with what we have on hand.

Salsa

A friend gave us ghost peppers.

 

With a garden full of fresh tomatoes and jalepenoes, plus having a spare onion in the fridge, it was the perfect opportunity to make salsa.

A little stove top heat brought all the flavors out, then we blended with some garlic, salt, and lime.

But was it good? We needed a taste tester.

Luke approved. 😋

Volunteers

Growing up with a parent in the nonprofit career means never ending volunteer opportunities. I'm grateful that they always say yes. It also gives them countless hours for Beta Club, NHS, youth group, business fraternities, and any other organization.

They have helped to trap chipmunks, paint, repair walls....

haul junk, man the registration desk, and organize the bookshelves. These tasks were only in the past two months, too!

Thank you sweet kiddos! You make a difference with every act of kindness.

Luke's Career

After raising our son and sending him off to college, it warmed my heart to see him prepare for the first day of his career. He's an Audit & Compliance Financial Analyst Associate with Lockheed Martin. Luke was in a hurry to get there early, so the only picture I took was him making his lunch.

After his first week of work, he took us out to his favorite restaurant, India Palace, and picked up the check! 

Then just one week later, he was off again on his first National Guard drill duty for the weekend. 

I'm so proud of you, the decisions you've made, and all the great things you'll be doing throughout your careers. Well done. 

Eric's Bday

The weekend before Eric's 52nd birthday, we drove to Georgia to meet up with Ashlyn. There was a perfect camping site about halfway between SC and AL. 

The campsite had a nice trail loop, so we decided to check it out.

The trail went around a lake and it was so peaceful. The canoe was a nice surprise, as well as a tempting option. But we needed to get back to camp before it got too dark.

A little river crossing along the trail.

The trail then lead us to the other side of the campground where we found a playground! 

Since there wasn't an age limit posted, even birthday boy had some fun.

Breakfast the next morning was Eric's choice. Cracker Barrel!

When we made it back to SC, it was time to celebrate. Eric's birthday is always a special occasion where we have to decorate at least a week in advance, there has to be a theme (or multiple themes), and the cake must be home made. 

This year's cake was half chocolate and half red velvet. He couldn't decide which one he wanted, so he settled on half and half. Sure dear, no problem. Bring it on!