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!).

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!).

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.


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

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!

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.


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

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.







