Birthdays & School

Let's celebrate! Josh's 39th birthday was on August 18th. We ate dinner out and had cake at Joyce's afterwards.

The highlight of his day was free rock climbing at Inner Peaks with me as his spotter.

Jackson turned 10 on August 20th. His favorite, lemon bars, always has to be different.

For Jackson's big day we hiked, upon his request.

We headed north 2 hours to Pilot Mountain State Park.

The day was also Jackson's date day so we left all siblings at home with grandma.

What a unique place! We're walking through dill.

See him? His favorite thing to do is go off the trail.

Love you Squeezy!!!

We ended the day with a party at home. For dinner we used Josh's birthday gift card from his coworkers to a BBQ restaurant near the city. Such a special treat!

The first day of school this year was August 25th. They have all adjusted well.

Addy's officially in middle school and she's even got her own locker!

Labor Day in the Mountains

The wonderful Molskness family invited us to go on a trip with them to Boone, NC. "I don't have to plan anything? We're there!"

Here's the rustic cabin where we stayed. It fit us all perfectly and had so much character. Great find Kristie!

We took turns making dinner so I only had to cook ONE night! Such a great idea. We had a bonfire both nights. Josh is having a little too much fun making the fire.

With smores of course.

The big girls. Our children love each other so much and get along together perfectly. What great memories for them!

The boys playing chess after waking up in the morning.

Bruce planned some awesome hikes. The 1st day it was to a waterfall and swimming hole.

Our crew! I love that these guys only live a mile away and we go to church together too.

Jackson jumping into one of the deeper swimming holes.

And of course Benny was the 1st to try it.

The boys found tons of rocks to slide down. A few of the kids even had holes in their shorts afterwards.

Addy found a peaceful spot to rest. What a unique place!

On our last day we hiked to a summit. Another great pick by Bruce. So proud all our children made it to the top without complaining.

Thanks Bruce and Kristie! We should make this a yearly tradition.

Guest Services Lake Day

The team I serve with at church had a get together at someone's lake house.

The turn out was small but we still had a blast!

The best part was taking the boat out on Lake Waterlee.

And water skiing! Josh was a natural.

One of my many attempts to get up.

My friend Marla. She leads our team and inspires us all on Sunday mornings to take visitors to our church very seriously.

Knee boarding was WAY easier than traditional skiing.

We ended the evening with a delicious meal together on the patio. Thank you Andy and Dede for hosting such a fun event.

Here's some of the ladies that serve at the 9:30 service on Sunday morning.

August Highlights

We joined the YMCA again this July & August with the Molskness family. This year Kristie and I braved the pool on our own. It was a party!

Here's my crew. We were blessed to have Zachary every other week, the kids loved having a friend around.

Food is necessary everywhere we go!

We were thrilled to see this awesome family. The Wamsley's stayed overnight on their way back from Florida. One of my favorite families ever! I couldn't have survived early motherhood without Tracey. And Jamie helped grow our faith as our small group leader for years.

Our kids then...

and now. I love these boys, having seen them grow up and even hold them as newborns.

The Cleary family had our Monday night ladies bible study group and families over for a BBQ. I LOVE these girls so much!!!

We started taking the kids on individual dates on Friday nights. Addy got to go to the Concord aquarium. Surprisingly great place!

These are the women from our small group aka Wednesday night bible study. We went out for Mexican to catch up after taking the summer off. Love these girls too!

The kids each got a chance to go to Sweet Frogs on their date nights. Who doesn't love soft serve with your choice of endless toppings!

We were honored to host the Murdock family for the weekend. They came into town from Philadelphia to help their son Conor move to college. The Murdocks are one of the 1st and favorite families we met after moving to Charlotte.

This is Alexandria, their oldest daughter. She lives in Charlotte and is a teacher at an inner city school.

My friend Holly, I'm exactly the middle age between her and Alexandria.

After a hike in the woods, Josh cooked a crayfish the girls caught in the creek and everyone got a taste. It was crazy! Quin is one of Addy's very best girl friends.

I went to a ladies brunch at Amanda's house. It was great to finally meet all her friends.

She's one of my besties.