Jack’s Mile Run

All 3rd through 5th graders at the kids’ school run the Mile Run in the fall and spring each year.  One of the things Jack looked forward to coming in to his 3rd year was taking on the Mile Run this year or, more importantly, trying to beat his sister’s time.  Ella and Jack both had a great run at this year—Ella ran it in 7:50, reaching her goal of running a sub-8-minute mile, and Jack was the fastest in his class, coming in at 7:02.  Great job, Ella and Jack!

{jack keeps good company—go gators!}

{ready to run!}

And here are a few pictures from the room mom of Jack’s class.  They obviously had a very sugary fall party.  What a cutie.

Happy Anniversary to Us!

Jonathan and I celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary on          September 29th.  13 years!  I don’t say that with excitement because it’s such a feat—it has actually felt quite easy—but more because it’s hard to believe so much time has passed.  I’m sure we’ve changed—I mean, look at those two kids—but we’ve managed to mostly change together and, I must say, probably for the better, too.  This year Jonathan and I celebrated together a few weekends before our anniversary at the Charlotte BeerFest—not quite what we had expected (lots of waiting in lines for small shots of beer), but it was a good time nonetheless.  We also decided to celebrate as a family this year on the Saturday before our anniversary with a trip to uptown.  Ella has seen several friends’ parents separate this past year and she, quite apparently, is concerned about this turn of events—it just made us think about how everyone in the family has a vested interest in our continuing anniversaries.  It was also a good excuse to take the whole family to a Spanish restaurant for some “research” for our upcoming family trip to Spain.  We enjoyed a beautiful night walking around the city, checking out the church where we got married, listening to some street music, and finally making our way to the beautiful Romare Bearden park.  And, we had a fantastic meal at the Spanish restaurant Malabar—I think we nearly tried every tapa on the menu.  Seeing the kids try all of the new foods—including octopus and white anchovies—made me even more excited about our adventures in Spain.  Cheers to us!  I love you, Jonathan, and the beautiful life we’ve built together. 

 

 

 

{at the beerfest}

{family night in uptown}

{romare bearden park where the big camera finally came out.  i love charlotte.}

Instagrammin’ in September

I love fall and as fall nears we spend more time outside.  You can tell from this month’s Instagram feed.  There is definitely a higher proportion of selfies this month—I actually got in a picture with each member of the fam—but that just might be because I took fewer pictures in September with the kids settling back into the school routine. 

still pool and watermelon season. | both kids at practice at the same time at the same park with beautiful trails = a win win win. | great morning of trx with friends. | impromptu date night. | lovely afternoon at the new omb patio. | love that I have many hours ahead of me on the courts with my girl. | poor sick kid, 4 days in. | she’s finally feeling well enough to get out of the house. #gopanthers | a few of jack’s favorite things—the panthers, wings, and his mom, of course. | ella’s bloodwork looks normal again and jack’s well visit shows he gained 9 pounds in the past year! | hat trick kind of day. | beer festival, good friends, blues traveler make for a fun night. | I love charlotte. #smalltowncity | we helped our church pack 107,000 meals with servants with a heart, hairnets and all. | happy 13th wedding anniversary to jonathan and me! | family celebration for our anniversary in uptown with some delicious spanish tapas. | beautiful night in uptown at romare bearden park. | a little piano instruction before bedtime.