Sweet 16

Not a lot to post here with so much going on this month, but we can't forget the birthday girl turning sixteen!

We continued her celebration in true Christmas spirit at the Holiday at Peace. 

Arnold's Visit

We were excited to have our nephew, Arnold, around for about 5 weeks as he completed some training in a nearby town. The constant rain made it tough to do as much as we wanted, but there were still plenty of chores to keep us busy.

Arnold joined us for our big Thanksgiving meal then helped us move Luke's furniture into his new house.

He helped his Uncle Eric fix a few vehicles and gave pointers on making YouTube videos more visible to his audience.

He was willing to try SC foods, like Carolina-style hot dogs (cole slaw & chilli on top), pork BBQ sliders, and BoJangles (cajun fried chicken) with it's own version of Mountain Dew.

We took him to a hockey game and showed him where I work while walking two miles to save $5 for parking.

He entertained Eric by hopping into the vehicles with him, like this one below, and showing him all the gadgets that were similar to big rigs.

Arnold completely blew us away with his expertise in technology. He replaced our phone batteries, screens, and screen savers as well as installed a SSD drive on our home computer. Wow, it's so fast!

We also took him to a Christmas parade eventhough it was quite chilly. I think Eric just wanted more pockets to gather the candy.

And the one place we had to go twice was a local brewery called the Silos. Not only did they let us sample every beer on tap (all 12), but they sold such a variety of food options. Along with our beers, we enjoyed pizza, Indian cusine, and donuts. What a treat!

Arnold, we miss you already. You're welcome back any time.

Nat'l Guard Family Day

It was the first family day at Luke's National Guard unit. We couldn't wait to see where he goes once a month! We met him on the outskirts so he could drive us in.

Once inside their large hanger, tables and chairs were set up for the luncheon with military helicopters line up on the opposite side. Eric went straight to the air power like a little kid. Notice that no one else was over there. 

Eventually other families came over to look as well, but that only encouraged him more as he climbed up into it. Actually, we all did!

Next was a walk out to the air strip.

It was fun being escorted by Luke everywhere. 

Then on to the refueling tanks. 

I don't think we passed by any military vehicle that Eric didn't climb in. Here he's pretending to give hand signals to the troops.

Let's not walk past the machine guns! Sign that guy up!

Luke started getting nervous with all the questions Eric asked about night goggles. I think at this point the food ready, and that was a good distraction. 

I'm guessing on the next family day, we may not get invited.

Luke's House

Our son made the decision to have a place of his own. Although he's not far, it was still emotional watching him officially move out of the home he grew up in.

His close friend from high school was also looking for a place, so it worked out well having a roommate he knew he could get along with. The two were so funny in making sure the couch and gaming system were set up first!  

The new place has 3 bedrooms, so the 3rd room was turned into an office. 

They did a nice job fixing up the kitchen, too. They might need to learn how to cook, but neither seems picky as long as it's edible.

The final result! Not too bad for a pair of bachelors.

Engaged!

Our oldest just got engaged! Alex drove up to Greenville to talk to Eric several weeks ago and asked permission to marry her. He then waited for the right moment to propose to Ashlyn.

She said yes. 💙

He proposed in Columbia, SC on the State House grounds where they took a walk on their first date.  

Their friend is a photographer, so she hid behind a bush to snap these incredible pictures.

This one is my favorite, though.

We drove down to Columbia the next day to congratulate the happy couple and welcome Alex to the family. I hope he knows that I blog, Facebook, and everthing else a proud mom would do. That includes embarassing her kids eventually. 

Here's the newly engaged couple at a Halloween party dressed as Lois Lane and Clark Kent (aka Superman). They looked great! 

When not in costume, this is Ashlyn in her normal attire. Alex is a wonderful guy to be her rock as she's working in a stressful field. We miss them both. We're excited to see what they accomplish together as a team in this thing called life.

You can follow all their latest wedding plans at The Knot. 

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!