Clare's 9th Grade Homecoming

Turns out going to Homecoming in 9th grade is a bigger deal than I originally thought. Whether or not you have a date, you go! Which, upon reflection, is exactly as it should be. Clare joined forces with several other girls and had an absolutely marvelous time!

Starting early in the afternoon, several of them gathered at a friend's house to get ready, do each other's hair, etc. - so fun! Later more joined them for dinner and a picture party.

After the dance itself, Abby's sister Maggie (home for the weekend from college) picked them up and took them to dessert at The Cheesecake Factory, where they happily debriefed each other on their evenings. 

A glowing success from start to finish!

Mountain Weekend VII

Our seventh escape to the mountains with the Francos has come and gone in a flash! It feels as though each get-away goes by even more quickly, which I suppose is a measure of how much we enjoy it. 

This year found us back at Trout Trap, as last year's house was already booked. While we prefer last year's house, and its amazing vistas, it was fun to be back directly on the river. Danny, in particular, relished this - and managed to catch an actual trout!

We crammed in quite a bit of outdoors time on Saturday, from hiking (both on and off the trails) to fishing and lunch in downtown Ellijay.

We did this by design, knowing that Tropical Storm Nate was bringing quite a bit of rain our way on Sunday. As in, Danny and Laura were the only ones to venture outdoors that day! Fortunately we had books, board games, a satellite dish and wifi to pass the day pleasantly.

Until next year!