Well I spent the first week of last year's fall break making Matt's Halloween costume! This year, we've had very little Halloween talk, even from the younger kids, which is unusual. I guess we're in a new phase of life again and our heads are filled with thoughts of college visits and decisions, continued wishes for the house to sell (after a contract in August that got our hopes up but was voided a few weeks later when the buyers turned out to be particularly strange and insanely demanding), and all the other logistics of our weekly schedules. I am one quarter down on the best year I've had to date of kindergarten. The kids continue to amaze me with their drive to work together to follow rules and learn. They are really sweet and made it so easy this past week when I unexpectedly had to be the teacher for 4 days. I'm so thankful for this laid-back, fun year we are having and the enjoyment I get from my job.
The kids are halfway through their quarter and it's been packed!
Julia did make the cheerleading team and she's loving it!
Everyone in the family (plus lots of help from Barnette) has contributed to the building and/or maintenance of the new house. Here Allie is vacuuming out the garage. A lot of time and blood, sweat, and tears have gone into this property. We are praying someone will come along very soon who will claim it as theirs and see it as a blessing.
Last pool day of the summer! Labor Day weekend we celebrated Ava's 12th bday. She and Allie have been buddies since Allie was a toddler.
A very generous friend of Matt's gave the whole family, plus friends, tickets to the Duke-Clemson game. We parked in what felt like Hillsborough to save money and because some of the lots were so packed. Here we are walking to the stadium.
Moores hung in there as we watched Clemson continually (and unexpectedly) make mistake after mistake.
The UNC contingent (Baker fam) were staunch Clemson supporters...at least until Will got caught up in the moment of the Duke upset (see below).
I had hoped to leave at half time but it was such a close game then that no one wanted to go. Nevermind that it was a school night! We stayed till the end and got home at midnight.
These two (Gray and Matt) loved every minute!
And these two rushed the field after the win (notice Will's change of shirt). They had a great time and loved being right in the midst of all the excitement.
The boys and I went to the next Duke game to run concessions as a lacrosse fundraiser. Always a fun time and you never know who you will see...this time I saw an old friend from when Julia was a baby and got to meet her kids.
It's still an adjustment being in the stage of life where half your kids can just drive themselves around wherever and whenever. The boys took Allie to Walmart to buy me birthday presents one night. I loved picturing the 3 of them toodling around the store, though from this picture and Allie's complaints of her shopping cart driver (Gray) nearly tipping her over, I'm not sure how much fun it was for all. :)
Our biggest excitement this school year was my birthday weekend. Matt and I made the trip up to Delaware for Andrew's wedding. Here we are at the rehearsal dinner. My favorite part of the trip was the family time, getting to hang out with and catch up with some of Matt's side. Plus lots of good food and happy people.
On my birthday, Matt and I took a walk at a reservoir that was windy and chilly but had a beautiful view. We also had breakfast at the hotel with Matt's family and went to Philly to tour some of the historical spots with Barnette.
Meanwhile, Mimi and GrandGene had watched our kids at home Thursday and brought Joshua up to Arlington Friday for a prospect day at Marymount. They visited some tourist sites in DC Friday.
Here we are at the wedding. The ceremony took place outside and was just beautiful with perfect weather, a casual atmosphere, tears and touching moments as we watched Andrew all grown up getting married...the first of the kids on either side, but likely the start of many in the coming years.
Kim and Andrew dancing. There were the traditional first dances and then wild Audrey and Jack (and a grandmotherly lady who had all the moves) took over the dance floor the rest of the night. There were mostly 20-somethings in attendance and they sure did dance (or jump and scream) the night away. We all joined in at some points and it was very fun and very celebratory.
Meanwhile Jeannie and Hunter had our other kids and they seemed to enjoy their sleepover.
Gray enjoyed being "the man of the house" as he put it, and taking care of Raven.
After and unpleasant experience with Matt's truck not starting up Saturday morning, we finally got on our way and met the DC folks in time for lunch at the dining hall and a presentation by the coach. That was followed by scrimmages for the rest of the prospect day. Joshua looked great out there and was again told by the coach that he has a place on the team. Afterward, we drove a mile to the field where the team plays their games, which is right by the airport and you can make out the Washington Monument in the background. Joshua was totally worn out, so we went to the airbnb and walked a few blocks to a delicious pizza/sandwich place for dinner before settling in for the night.
Sunday was rainy but we made the trip to Arlington National Cemetery before we left for home. Such a cool place. We rode the tram and got off at few stops.
These carillon bells were given by the Netherlands to us to thank us for our help during WWII. On the exact day Daddy was born, Queen Juliana presented Truman with a small silver bell as a token of this huge set that was forthcoming. After Arlington, we parted ways with M and D and headed home to see the other kids and rest up for work/school the next day. It was such a packed weekend!
Rec center ball is back! Gray's first game was against his buddy Will's team and I spent much of the game trying to capture the two of them in the same photo. We knew just about all the players on both teams from the many years the boys have played and it was really fun to see all the usual characters on the court, just a little bit more gown up.
The kids had a teacher workday and Joshua used it to go visit yet another school. Barnette graciously agreed to escort him there and took some pictures too! Bridgewater has already accepted Joshua officially as a student and given him a financial aid package. On this visit he was able to tour and meet the coaches and eat lunch with players. Last Friday he went to Methodist for an overnight stay. (no adult went with him, so no pictures!) He slept in the very nice dorm where one of his Orange teammates lives, who is a freshman this year. He enjoyed watching practice and getting to know the team. It would definitely be a comfortable place for him to be, since he has two former teammates on the team and it is less that 2 hours from home, but he's still not sure if it's the right place, as the major isn't exactly what he wants.
This decision-making process has not been easy and has taken a lot of time, but hopefully it's been useful in helping Joshua become more adept at meeting new people and definitely talking on the phone since he has calls with coaches at least once a week!
Julia finally got to cheer in public, as OMS had their first home football game. Being in the band, she also played the National Anthem before the game.
She was super cute in her uniform and seemed to have a great time. She is loving this team, and not just because it got her out of cross country!
We continue to take care of the yard and house as we await a buyer. I took this on a gorgeous evening this past week.
Allie was thrilled to get a chance to bring her class lizard Kiwi home for the weekend.
My Bible Study ladies and I spent a whole afternoon/evening in Raleigh Saturday celebrating my birthday and Robyn's. We didn't take a picture, but the teen girls left behind took a bazillion, which seems to be their favorite pastime (I remember those days!). The moms went to thrift stores and a great Mexican restaurant and had a wonderful time. Thankful for friends. This stage of life where we are all working and have older kids in all directions has brought with it a lot less time for parent socializing. I guess we used to do more with all the families getting together but when kids get social lives of their own, it makes scheduling anything pretty difficult. I'm so glad we restarted our weekly Bible Study though. It helps me immensely with my interest in daily reading/learning from the Bible and that in turn helps me with everything in life.
While I was in Raleigh, the boys and Matt were back at the Duke stadium working concessions again. It was ESPN Game Day and the crowd was insane.
Joshua finished up his slam-packed weekend with a day-long tournament in Virginia yesterday. His team looked out of sync and lost the first two games but went out on a great note with a win in the last game and Joshua was happy to get a couple of goals in that one too. It was a beautiful day and I am glad to get time with Joshua all I can. He will be 18 in a couple weeks and I can hardly believe it.
And that concludes the start of our 2023/24 school year. The rest of the year will surely fly with holidays coming up, but I'm hoping for a slow two weeks as I enjoy a rare quiet house for this fall break of mine.
