HHI Week: July 2

The whole crew's here!  Our caravan of 11 bikes (Ivy attached to a bike) rode to Harbour Town and, after exploring in small groups, enjoyed some time in the shade of the big trees on the playground (always a favorite to climb).  After our bike ride and lunch, it was a lovely afternoon at the beach. 

HHI Week: July 1

Jack had been wanting a good cast net for ages so while Ella was at Wake Forest Tennis Camp last month and Jack and I had a Jack and mom day planned, he made certain a trip to Walmart to select a cast net was in the plans.  It took a little bit of time for him to figure out how to cast it correctly, but he was a pro before long. 

And a windy day at the beach calls for some fun with Papa's fighter jet kite!  Ivy chased Ella all the way down the beach because she wanted a chance to hold the line, too.  We're looking forward to Jake, Zane, and Uncle Drew joining the fun tomorrow! 

HHI Week: June 30

2019 is year seven of the extended Slaton family reunion at the house in Sea Pines on Hilton Head Island--one of our favorite weeks of the year!  We can't thank Nonni and Papa enough for committing to this vacation year after year.  It truly is such a special time with them, with my sister and her family, and with my own little family.  And I love how close my kids are to their cousins because of all of the HHI memories they share together.

This year our week started off a little quieter than usual because Uncle Ken, Jake, and Zane were all off on a Boy Scout adventure that overlapped with HHI week a bit, so they didn't show up until late on day two.  But, quieter or not, we maintained the relaxed HHI week rituals of beach, bike, cocktails, snacks, and repeat that fill our days.  It's truly VA-CA-TION (just a little inside joke with my dad) while we're there.

Instagrammin' in June

June kicked off an awesome summer!

we loved getting picks of the crossons on their epic cross-country trip! | fun day in south end walking the rail trail--great way to celebrate father's day! | love others. | do good. | ! | magic carpet ride | look at my handsome boy. | getting her driving hours! | clemson football camp with his team | ella and i spent a lovely evening in greenville, sc before picking jack up at clemson. | we explored the campus before getting jack. | moving out of the dorms. | vbs! | ella's turn for camp--wake forest tennis camp | some mini golf with my boy | another summer of swim team for ella and jack | a lovely evening in beaufort, sc before heading to hilton head the next day

Instagrammin' in May

May saw the end of track and soccer seasons, the beginning of 7v7 football for Jack, EYC retreats, and puppy haircuts.

jack playing 7v7 football | long distance track girls--it was a great season for ella with the 16th-fastest two-mile time in the region! | another soccer season comes to an end | jack got braces! | jack had a great time at the jr. eyc beach retreat. | the bulls--jack's 7v7 team | at a tournament | ella had an awesome sr. eyc beach retreat--and, of course, she got herself in more pictures. | sweet olive's brindle comes out when she gets groomed.

Chimney Rock

After spending a few days at the start of the kids' spring break up in Durham--exploring its lovely downtown, taking in a show, and checking out the campuses of Duke, UNC, and NC State (neither Jonathan nor I are NC natives like our kids, so we figured now that Ella is a high school sophomore it was time to start getting to know NC universities)--we decided to continue the idea of seeing a little more of our own state for our vacation.  We headed to the mountains for a day at Chimney Rock State Park to see the iconic North Carolina monolith, hike some trails, and take in the views of Lake Lure and Hickory Nut Gorge.  A bonus for this adventure was definitely that sweet Olive was able to join us and, also, this is a sight Ella and Jack hadn't even heard of here in NC.  You know I love my research before trips, so I did make us all watch The Last of the Mohicans before going, although, I might've been the only one to really pay attention.

No elevator for us (not an option when you bring a dog and I'm sure we wouldn't have taken it anyway) so we trekked up the Outcroppings Trail (known as the "Ultimate Stairmaster") which includes 494 steps up to the Chimney.  After taking in the views on top of the Chimney (I'll admit, I found being up there quite daunting), we continued up via the Exclamation Point trail to make it to the highest peak in the park (2,480 feet above sea level, and one of the views from The Last of the Mohicans), exploring the Opera Box and seeing Devil's Head on the way. 

Not ready for our day to end, we continued our hike on the Skyline Trail which went up and down hill, over a creek, and finally to the top of a waterfall.  We hiked all the way back to the bottom of Chimney Rock the way we came in.  My calves were literally quivering by the time we made it down to the bottom of the stairs--and I wasn't the only one!

Instagrammin' in April

April is one of my favorite months--the flowers are blooming, I get usually get to go on a few trips, and, of course, it's my birthday month!

sweet olive | belinda bencic at an unseasonably cold volvo open wta tournament (it snowed on our drive down to charleston!) | danielle collins | us and danielle collins | us and bethanie mattek-sands!!! | caroline wozniacki | big stadium match--i love the volvo open! | spring break trip to durham, nc | checked out duke campus while we were there. | and took in a durham bulls game | bulls win! | got to see the bull eyes light up and nose smoke. | also explored the beautiful unc chapel hill campus. | blooming for spring | unc was ella's favorite campus visit. | final campus stop was at nc state | real reason for our durham visit, and a surprise for the kids--michael carbonaro live show (from the carbonaro effect) | another spring break adventure--chimney rock (a first for the kids) | and sweet olive got to join for this part.