January was a pretty quiet month. I like it like that.
we finished our puzzle from the crossons—it was a tough one! | snow day! | olive loves the snow! | jack subbed for a team two age groups up in a tournament and did awesome. | the size difference was jarring, though (see last photo).
We were out and about in December, but no major trip this year.
ugly christmas sweater gingerbread cookies | ugly christmas sweater brewery hopping with friends | keep pounding! | watching the panthers take on the vikings | a family that cheers together… | go panthers! | big win for the cardiac cats | les miserables | taking my girl to one of my favorite shows | supporting another charlotte team | go hornets! | christmas eve traditions | church and then dinner at p.f. chang’s with the miners | and driving to look at the house decked out christmas lights | family trip to the movies for star wars the last jedi | back at noda brewing | jonathan’s new ugly christmas sweater came a day late for our brewery hopping night. | hot pistol is my fave, while jonathan still prefers ipa’s and stouts. | ski weekend for jonathan, jack, and ella | they tried out the black diamonds at appalachian ski mountain. | happy new year! | celebrating with our favorite families again this year—the browns, shaws, hulls, and broadways
My parents visited my sister’s family in Atlanta the weekend before Thanksgiving and then were headed to our house to celebrate the holiday. We made a plan to meet in Asheville for Tuesday night (my parents and I shopped in Black Mountain—I bought a painting I’d noticed when we were there at the end of October—and had dinner at the Sierra Nevada Brewery) and then spend Wednesday exploring the Biltmore. Jonathan drove the kids up on Wednesday to meet us at the Biltmore near Asheville. Ella and Jack had never explored the Biltmore, the largest privately-owned house in the United States, so we got them an audio guide (my mom and I got them as well) to help them understand the significance of the house and its history. The Biltmore was beautifully decked out for Christmas—it was a nice way to kick off the holiday season for us. We spent Thanksgiving at home with my parents. It was so nice to have them visit again—they were here in September to watch the kids while Jonathan and I were in Aruba, but I didn’t really get to spend time with them.
Life is good. November was another great month with adventures with family and friends.
i headed to wild dunes (outside charleston) for a tennis tournament weekend with friends. | the view from our house | ellen and me post practice—matches are tomorrow! | the racquet wars wsrc crew | wearing our shirts, ready to support those in the finals | go wsrc! | fun weekend | another raleigh tournament in the books for jack | ella went to kanuga on a confirmation retreat | the confirmands | how could you not give this girl every treat she wants?? | cutest little bass clarinet player around | checking out the catawba brewery here in charlotte with friends | four friends, four different flights | happy birthday to jonathan—he took the day off and we had fun at top golf and went out to lunch. | happy birthday to jonathan! | donut cake | back to asheville—i met my parents in asheville for a night. | we explored the sierra nevada brewery. | jim and patty | watching the bottling process was pretty cool (better in video). | kellerweiss—my favorite | the next day we met jonathan, ella, and jack at the biltmore (olive stayed at a doggie day care right outside the biltmore). | it was all decked out for christmas. | this was the kids’ first time at the biltmore. | i coudn’t tell you how many christmas trees filled the biltmore—a lot. | the mural on the study’s ceiling | we found the thomas edison bulb on the tree. | it was a beautiful sunny day, not too chilly. | my sweetie and me, in the greenhouse | ella and papa, walking the gardens | one last look at the beautiful biltmore house | wine tasting at the biltmore winery | the biltmore gatehouse all lit up—goodbye to biltmore before we head home for thanksgiving the next day | ella ran the turkey trot 4-miler on thanksgiving day and came in third in her age group. | ella’s ode to bob ross | jack took me on a date to his cotillion dance. | what a gentleman | jack and friend koen
I rarely take my big camera to Jack’s soccer games anymore—and by rarely I mean never. Playing club soccer, he has so so many soccer games each year (at least 20 to 25 a year) and this is, I think, his 5th year of club soccer. So, maybe I take watching him play for granted a little bit. Jack has developed into a very talented soccer player, especially on defense (just like his mama—but he’s much more technically skilled than I ever was). Jack’s just a great athlete in general. So, I do love watching him play—I just don’t get my camera out during his games. It was a nice surprise, however, when a friend’s mom emailed me a few shots of Jack she had taken at a recent game when her son had subbed for Jack’s team. Thanks, Chaeli! I love having pictures of my soccer-playing boy!
On Monday of our long weekend away, we packed up our car, armed with a picnic lunch, and headed to Montreat for a hike before heading home. I wanted a hike that took us to a wide-open view of the mountains and foothills and, again, wasn’t too far out of our way. I used the AllTrails app and found just what I was looking for—Lookout Trail in Montreat, just down the road from where we were staying in Black Mountain. The hike was pretty steep climbing to get to the lookout point, but we encountered very few people along the way so Olive was in hog heaven off leash. The view went on for miles—you could see some snow-capped mountains in the distance from the previous night’s snowfall (and some was on the trail, too) and the fall colors were just starting to paint the trees.
At the end of October, Jack had a soccer game scheduled in Asheville on a Sunday. The kids also happened to have that Monday off of school. So, we booked a dog-friendly house in Black Mountain for a nice 3-day weekend. Our first morning in Asheville was spent horseback riding on mountain trails outside of Asheville, a special activity that Jonathan had booked for us as a surprise (see Instagram post for pics of that). We also hit some breweries, ate at some nice restaurants (Curaté being the highlight), explored the shops in downtown Black Mountain, snuggled up on a snowy night at our little mountain townhome (yes, it snowed there at the end of October), and, of course, watched a soccer game. While it was a little chilly for the weekend we were in Asheville, the beginning of fall colors were just beautiful and we had clear, sunny weather on Sunday and Monday, so we had to get in a few hikes, especially for Olive’s (she didn’t come all this way for nothin’). On Sunday, we only had a little time sandwiched between Jack’s soccer game and reservations at Curaté, so we chose a relatively short (and easily accessed from the highway), but very scenic hike to a waterfall. Catawba Falls was a beautiful hike to a large waterfall.
