Instagrammin’ in November

November was an exciting month for each of us—tennis, art, soccer, and, of course, because of Jonathan’s birthday!

my tennis team was division champs! | we used a trip to raleigh for a soccer tournament to check out an art convention with ella—she loaded up on art supply “deals”. | jack’s soccer team had a great tournament in raleigh! | celebrating jonathan’s birthday at birdsong brewery | everyone loves nonni’s apple “nachos”. | we all ran the gobble job 5k thanksgiving morning (well ivy did the toddler dash).

Six Flags over Thanksgiving

We spent Thanksgiving in Atlanta with Nonni and Papa at Aunt Tracy’s house.  On Thanksgiving morning several of us ran a 5K Gobble Jog before preparing and enjoying our Thanksgivig feast.  On Friday evening, the Crossons took us all to Six Flags for their special holiday lights event.  Ella and Jack were over the moon to kick off the Christmas season at an amusement park.  Thanks, Aunt Tracy and Uncle Ken, for hosting us for Thanksgiving!

Instagrammin’ in October

October is one of my favorite months.  The weather is lovely here in North Carolina and it involves October 100 which means I’m motivated to get in lots of trail runs and hikes.  It’s just a beautiful month to be outdoors—I play a lot of tennis, too!

kicking off october 100 with a hike in asheville, a hike president obama has done. | bocce ball at the new sierra nevada brewery | loving the kellerweis at sierra nevada | second day in asheville means another hike, this one at the nc arboretum | beautiful weekend for hikes and i’ve already logged 12 miles in the first two days. | highland brewery is right around the corner from the soccer fields. | the reason we’re in asheville—soccer game! #gojack | monday evenings = tennis with my girl while jack takes lessons | still lucky enough to have lunch at school with my cute boy | logging lots of miles with my sweet olive #october100 | my parents are in town so we explored some greenway trails near uptown and enjoyed a lunch at babalu’s. | midtown exploring | pumpkin patch with nonni and papa | checked out duck donuts for the first time | that’s a wrap on another october 100. #thanksolive | such a good ghoul #happyhalloween | “jack skeleton” and his friend jason | my preferred halloween pic—smiles!

Pumpkin Patch

Nonni and Papa came to visit in mid-October on their way to/from a high school reunion in Quantico, Virginia.  It was midweek so the kids played hooky for the school day and we went to a pumpkin patch and farm and then to Duck Donuts (yum!).

Brown-Eyed Girl

I’ll take any good light opportunity to photograph our sweet Olive.  You just can’t see her lovely details—the brindle in her coat, her white toes, and those amber brown eyes—without lots of good light.  When she’s not harrassing you with one of her many toys to play, chewing one of her favorite bones, or asking for a walk, you’ll find her snuggled up on pillows, the more the better. 

Instagrammin’ in September

It was back to school, but we still fit in a lot of fun in September. 

ella’s in a parade. | tanc tennis parade crew | fun at anne springs close greenway | exploring the greenway | sweet olive | fantasy football draft | #tbt to last fall’s pictures for our christmas card…that i just got around to editing. | enjoying da’ club. | my fantasy football season. #everyyeartheresoneplayer

Instagrammin’ in August

Happy 11th birthday to Jack!  We enjoyed a few small birthday celebrations for Jack and our last weeks of summer.  Jack’s soccer starts up in early August, so we kept our adventures relatively local.

happy birthday to jack! | ella and julianna | the quarry | soccer tournament and my first foray as team manager | saw newsies and noticed this buddy bear in uptown charlotte like the ones we saw in berlin. | preach #lovewins #beattytrails | ella at carowinds with eyc | last day of summer tradition—ice cream at brusters | first day of school!

First Day of School

We made the most of summer, but it’s back to school time! :)  Jack is starting 5th grade, his last year of elementary school, and Ella is entering 7th grade. 

Instagrammin’ in July

July is the heart of our summer vacation.  I think we spent most of the month on the beach.

mint museum art camp | biking in sea pines, HHI | alligator crossing | beach on july 4th at dusk | drew and jack | ella and ivy | beautiful sunset before the fireworks | trying to find new sights at stoney maynard ruins #soitdoesntRUINourtrip #sosaysjack | sand hippo | sand dollars | pontoon boat captain | daufuskie island | local beers and picnic lunch | first mate ivy | taking their turns at captian | bike ride to harbour town | the lighthouse is a must-see | me and my cutie | beach bocce ball | love these two | back to the HHI house one last time | until next time, HHI! #nofilter | ella’s tennis team at states | mini golf in st. augustine beach | dad creamed us, but these two were pretty good at mini golf, too. | beautiful day at the beach | st. augustine beach | mr. sandman | ripley’s believe it or not museum | jack and the croc man | future contortionist? | shadow play | my kooky kids | nana’s hat | the girlz in their name headbands from aunt jacqui | cousins

St. Augustine Beach

We closed out July with some fun beach time at Nana and PopPop’s beautiful home in St. Augustine Beach.  It was a fun visit with Aunt Jacqui and Uncle Randy, Aunt Chrissy and Uncle Chris, and their crews, too. 

HHI Week

Another Hilton Head Island week in the books!  Thanks, Nonni and Papa, for another amazing week! 

HHI Week: July 8

More biking, beach, and family time—we always have the best time together on Hilton Head Island!

HHI Week: July 6

Midweek, we rented a pontoon boat to explore Calibougue Sound on our own for the first time.  My favorite part of the day was docking on Daufuskie Island and enjoying a few beers and a picnic lunch there.  The kids also enjoyed running around barefoot and playing on the tire swings and with the tetherball like the true southerners they are. 

HHI Week: July 5

Bike riding and beach—our two favorite things to do in Hilton Head…Life is good!

HHI Week: July 4

We love our week in Sea Pines on HIlton Head Island!  2016 marked our fourth annual week of HHI with Nonni and Papa and my sister’s family.  A week in HHI means lots of cousin time, tide pool fishing, raft flipping, sand castle building, pelican watching, pool diving, game playing, and Papa snuggling.  On July 4th, after spending nearly the full day out on the beach, we were back out for a beautiful sunset and to enjoy some fireworks down the beach and across the water after dark.  It was a very happy 4th of July!