Other Happenings

With the school year getting closer to starting, we've had lots of other things happening at our place. On Monday Paige and I headed up to the school to man our orientation tables. She was at girls' cross country while I helped at SIC. This year it was her responsibility to gather all the supplies and organize things. She did great. It's been fun to watch her take on a leadership role and hang out with the cross country girls as her own person instead of being in her sister's shadow. She and her co-captain, Abby, even had a little "team chat" the other day when the girls were getting slack on stretching. Patrick said they did great! 

I also took Paige for her back to school hair cut which turned out super cute. I need to find some time to do some back to school shopping because it starts next week! Ahh!

Meanwhile, Anna has enjoyed having her co-delegate from USSYP, Camdyn, in town this week. Camdyn is staying with us while she attends the Governor's Leadership program that Anna did last year. Anna is also tagging along with that to assist as a pseudo intern for the week. We've loved having Camdyn and she's super easy to fold into our activities, even if it's having 25 people over to the house for a movie premier! I basically claimed her as a third daughter and we will return her on Thursday. 

Patrick has been driving all around the state for their big PSTA recruitment push. He goes to all the smaller programs because this is not his favorite gig and he's self- proclaimed "not good at it." That means early mornings so he can get to the teacher in-service programs and set-up. Although that's been a lot, he has enjoyed his summer schedule with Mondays and Fridays off which will end this week. 

I'm trying to make sure we have everything for Anna that we need as well as plant some seeds about how this will all look when the time actually comes. So far my inquiries into special meals she wants or how she wants us to say goodbye have been met with glares. We'll get there! She did break out her keepsake box from the attic the other night and we had fun going through that. Some how, I think they are a little too small for the bibs! 

Between the back to school stuff and guests, I'm also working on class stuff which is a bit of a bear this year. And I also attended a Town Council meeting for them to read a proclamation of support for First Fruits. While small, it was really encouraging to see that word is getting out there. Now I just need to put some work into fundraising! 

So that's the happenings lately!! PS My picture taking has fallen off the wagon since we returned from WA. I didn't get any of Paige at the table and I think Anna has all the ones of her and Camdyn. 

Paws of Justice: Indiana Bones and the Dog Toy of Destiny

You know it's the end of summer when we have the premier for Paws of Justice! Paige and Jonathan did a lot of hard work in June to get the movie done, knowing they would both be gone much of July. They spent days at my house filming and editing, laughing and eating snacks. Their plans also included extras, so they gathered some friends and family to direct and include in their film. Honestly, I think the friends were flattered to be asked. All that to say, the movie was wrapped and ready by July 1st and we scheduled the premier so that all of our friends would be able to see it. That was last night!

We had about 25 of our closest friends gather at our house. Paige serves some snacks and drinks while we cozied up in our living room. The movie was 40 minutes long, which is their longest one yet and it was hilarious! I told her every time they do one, it gets better and better. It also helps that each Christmas we add to her film making equipment. The mics definitely helped this time. 

I had to laugh because they are super independent now and I am rarely needed for help. They arrange their own dates to work, what they are filming and where. So when they are working on the project, I really don't know what they are up to and just throw out some food every now and again. Seeing them film put together gave me a much better idea of their antics. It also explained how they came back so dirty and with dog poop on their shoes. Ha! I'm glad I didn't know at the time. 

The movie was a success! Paige and Jonathan felt very accomplished and it makes me smile to see their friendship. I wonder how long this little setup will keep going now that they are teenagers, but for now they enjoy doing it and genuinely enjoy each other's company. Their brother and sister relationship seem to amaze everybody else, but having grown up together, I know that their comfort with each other has been years in the making. The other thing that I love is that they both feel so comfortable being silly and goofy in front of our larger friend group. We have a very supportive community of people in our corner that love them for who they are and genuinely look forward to seeing this movie every year. My heart felt full after everybody left and I am thankful for the many ways we are loved. 

And don't worry....the movie had a cliffhanger for next year. I can't wait to see what happens next!

CofC Orientation

Since returning from Washington, we have been busy bees! There are always the normal things to do to get back to the normal life: laundry, grocery store run, errands, etc. Initially, Anna and I were supposed to go to Charlottesville, VA for three days to meet up with our DC friends, but that fell through and we found ourselves at home. While we were bummed about not seeing them, it turned into a blessing. 

Paige hung out with friends while Anna and I decided to go through her college hall we had been collecting over the year. She's been apprehensive about the upcoming changes and our to-do list was growing for move-in so this was a great way to check some things off while easing our way into this last part of summer. We unwrapped and unpackaged almost everything, saving us time and space in the dorm room when we arrive. Then we repacked and organized it according to what we would need when. Fortunately, the stash looks much smaller now and my hope is to get it into one vehicle with the three of us. She still needs to do her clothing and I gathered a few smaller items that finished out the list. 

Her dorm is NICE! She has a room with a friend and they share one bathroom. Then her suitemates share a room with their own bathroom. The whole group of four share a common living and kitchen space. That's the part that's throwing me because they need some items for those spaces as well. It's great that they have a full size fridge though. I think it will be fun for the girls to shop for those common spaces and pick out a few homey things. 

Other than move-in prep, I went to a book talk and dinner with my book club. It features an author who is a friend of mine from college and we had a great time. I grabbed coffee and ice cream with another couple of friends. I've put all my class stuff on the back burner but that's going to catch up with me since we have several significant changes this year. I'll figure it out like I always do! Anna and been putting together a care basket for Caroline who has surgery next week.

Paige and I gathered supplies for her Paws of Justice premier on Monday. Plus she's been reading. It's been fun to see her gain independence with driving. She's gone out with some friends and taken them home too. I've had to wrap my brain around it because I wasn't quite prepared when we returned! Patrick has been going all over the state for school visits to plus PSTA with teachers at their opening sessions. He also wrote an op-ed about the budget not being passed and thankfully it got passed. So all that to say, it's been a busy week since returning from WA. 

But the biggest thing to happen was Anna's College of Charleston orientation! She and I left at 5:15 on Thursday morning to get there for a full day of activities. After we checked in, we were sent different directions before meeting back up at lunch time. My sessions were great! I got lots of good information, the speakers were funny and I left feeling more prepared on what to expect. It's so strange being on the parent side of higher education! Anna was taken several places to get information as well as meet up with her major advisor. They actually pulled all the athletes from that portion and they met up with their athletic academic advisor who Anna and I have met virtually before. She is terrific! 

It was fun to meet up with Anna at lunch and we ate in one of the dining halls which I thought was pretty good. We even had soft serve ice cream! I loved hearing all about Anna's morning and sharing information I had learned with her. I think she thought I was super excited about the cafeteria but it was really enthusiasm for getting to see her again and hear all the stuff she had to share. She said she asked questions, talked to other students, had all of her stuff taken care of already and generally had a really good time. 

During the lunch break, Anna and I were able to visit a few offices to take care of a form she needed for the USSYP scholarship, go to the bookstore so I could grab some merch and check out a dorm room. We felt very accomplished before separating again for the afternoon sessions. By the end of the day, we were beat! It was nice to be able to stay at a friend's house at Isle of Palms even if it was a bit of a drive to get there. After dinner and some showers, we got to bed early. 

The next morning, I told Anna we could skip the breakfast and the opening session. I would end up hearing that information for her while she went to her advisement appointment. Fortunately, her schedule was already taken care of from our previous online advisement. So, she asked some questions about future advisements, double majoring, the accelerated masters program, etc. She also had a chance to stop by and see her coach to chat for a few minutes. 

Essentially, we were all done after that, but Anna was scheduled for an EKG that afternoon so we hit King Street and stopped into a few stores mainly for the AC. It was a very hot, still day before storms arrived that afternoon. We grabbed some lunch close to campus, hit her appointment and then headed to the outlet mall to finish out our trip. 

Overall, I felt it was a great visit. As a parent, I feel informed and excited about the opportunities and resources she has available to her. There were so many people there to talk about the ways they can help and guide while also making the students accountable for their choices. She really has a great set up with the athletic department. They set up so many systems to assist them along the way and provide perks that she wouldn't get as a normal student: priority registration for classes, housing priority, academic support, weekly check-in meetings. She's going to be great, but knowing this is all in place makes us happy she is not going to a huge school where she is just a number. And most importantly, she felt really good about the experience. There is still apprehension there, but she got a better feel for the campus and what it might look like during her first few weeks. 

To top it all off, I had made a comment/asked a question of the Orientation Director before leaving. I didn't share much information and it was a brief conversation. But within hours, I received a personalized email from her saying how excited she was to have Anna on campus and to contact her if I needed anything. She would have needed to do some digging to figure out who I was and who my student was based on the little info I provided, and I was super impressed. 

So we're one step closer to drop off in just two and half weeks. Ahh! It's exciting, but also sad. We've had all the emotions and I feel like I spend a great deal of time regulating other people's emotions in the house right now. Paige even tried to pack herself in a blue bag so she could go. Ha! It will be different for all of us and that will take some time, but I do feel good about it after orientation. Mostly I spend my prayer time being thankful for all that God has provided for her!

Paige in a blue bag! She fits!

Anna is living in Marcia Kelly McCallister residence hall. Yay, Aunt Marcia!

Mom, seriously?! 

Starbucks pick me up just when we needed it.

Homemade poptart....the food in Charleston is good!

Can we get this for Teddy? No!

WA-Day 9

Go big or go home, I say! And that's what we did. Loading the car at 4am, we made our way to the Sunrise side of Mt. Rainier for a....you guessed it....sunrise. The place I wanted to see the sunrise was only 45 minutes away which helped because driving the mountain roads at night is not fun. We arrived at Tipsoo Lake at first light and then watched for another hour as the sun painted the Mt. Rainier in different colors. The best part was seeing it slowly light up pink with the dawn light. It was a little chilly sitting at the rocks as the turnout, but we huddled together and chatted quietly which will always be one of my favorite memories. The early wake up was definitely worth it. 

Now that the light appeared, we drove to Sunrise for our last hike of the trip, but first as stop at one of the most stinky bathrooms of the trip. We were so overwhelmed by the smell that all we could do is hustle and laugh as we drove away. Fortunately, we were rewarded with our third and forth bear sightings, this time single bear and then a mama with her two cubs. We also saw a fox dart across the road in chase of its prey. Something about this drive and the cliffs, made me a little more leery of the heights, but we made it to the parking area which was far less crowded than Paradise. 

Mt. Freemont Lookout via Sourdough Trail was supposed to be a moderate hike of 6 miles, out and back. This was a challenging trail for us but not because of the climbing. It was the vast views and sheer dropoffs on rocky trails heading up. Add in the wind, and well, I was shaking in my boots a little! I think all of us used positive thinking to tell ourselves we could do it and make it to the fire tower at the end. Patrick seemed unbothered, but I was certainly glad to have my emotional support hiking poles. Ha!

Once at the end, it was 360 views of nothing but mountains and Mt. Rainier. Absolutely breathtaking. Fortunately, going down was much easier and we made it back to the end feeling accomplished and a little terrified. It was a fantastic last hike. I only teased a little bit that I had some more up my sleeve. 

We finished up at Sunrise and then headed to Crystal Mountain which is about an hour away and back toward Tacoma. This a ski resort that has beautiful views and summer activities, to include a gondola ride up to the top of the mountain where there is a restaurant. I booked the tickets in advance and it wasn't crowded when we got there, thankfully. But then we looked at the actual gondola and let's just say our eyeballs got really big! Patrick is fine on cliff sides, but does NOT like man-made height situations. Think dam, bridge....gondolas. We hopped in and up we rode, with Patrick death gripping the seat the entire way. To be fair, it was quite a climb and I wasn't completely comfortable when we got to the top. The girls and I got some blackberry lemonade and we chatted at a table in the shade overlooking Mt. Rainier from afar. It was a sweet moment as we recapped our entire trip and just how well it went. 

Back on solid ground at the parking lot, we traveled back to Tacoma, grabbed some Chick-fil-A (at that point we needed a taste of home), gassed up and then spent the night back with Laurie and Grant. We snuck out at 4am to catch our early flight to Charlotte and I am happy to report all went smoothly. We even got out before the thunderstorms grounded planes for a while. There was some traffic on the way home, but we finally made it and are happily settling back in before the last of our summer activities. 

From start to finish, this was an amazing trip. I'm not sure how we quite landed on Washington, but we left with a love and appreciation for this state, God's beauty in it and each other. I'm also glad we left with Paige who would have happily stayed and lived there forever. Ha! The weather, food, accommodations, trails and travel could not have gone better. But most of all, the time spent together was precious and memorable. We won't have many opportunities to take trips as a family of four for much longer, but it definitely reminded us that it's important. Did we get along the entire time or not lose our cool? Of course not. But we grew and continued to love one another with a deep appreciation. I'm grateful for this opportunity and the memories we will keep forever.