Happy Fall!

Since I last updated, Daddy celebrated his 65th birthday just as he'd requested: surrounded by his loving wife, children and grandchildren in Highlands. It was the first time in quite a long time we'd all been together under one roof given our hectic schedules. We had a great weekend together, lots of chances to just chill and relax together since the weather left all other activities to be impossible! Terrential downpours all weekend meant books, naps, football, fires, wine and trying to explain to an 18-month old why he can't go "side" when it's lightning. But you know you'll never hear complain about doing nothing! And fortunately, the sun did break through long enough for us to get a great family picture to mark the occasion. Many thanks to Kevin for a great shot! PS - do you see the red hair on this child!

As you all know by now, those downpours continued not only in NC but into Georgia the whole ride home, into that night and well into the next few days. Luckily, we were unaffected directly by the flooding in Atlanta. Matty's school did have to close on Tuesday, like all others in town, and while I had planned on taking a personal day to chill with my son, work was such that I felt I needed to head in. So our good friend Caroline rescued me once again and kept Matty for the afternoon while I braved the back roads to head into work. Matty and Jake had a great time! Caroline even called Hilary and Davis to add to their fun and the boys enjoyed their partying together. As I recall, Matty crashed early that evening!

Look how happy this little guy is with gadgets...SO his father's son!

Friday night we were super excited to get a spend the night party with Jake, so his parents could go out to celebrate his Mommy's 29th birthday (again). Matty and Jake play so well together, it is terribly cute. And Matty ran to the door when the bell rang to greet his buddy. They were adorable in matching pjs, no that was not on purpose, watching Seasme Street before bed.

This fall weather has me inspired to dig in the dirt and do some work on the house. This weekend Mimi and Bop came up to help me "smook" some in our newly painted dining room and while the chairs still need recovering, it's a marked improvement from where we were. On Sunday I spent many hours prepping badly neglected beds and finally doing some planting in the yard. Doesn't look like much, but it's a start and that's enough for me right now!