We felt the full ramp-up of the school year this month! It was a busy and great one. Labor Day was on the 1st this year, and we celebrated with a beautiful morning out on the lake with the McGee ladies. It was a little chilly for swimming, but we all enjoyed hanging out on the boat and snacking on our feast. Erin started her piano club for the year on the 2nd. Ms. Margaret opened a new studio this year in the first floor of a storage unit building, and Erin is taking her lessons there with Ms. Cheryl for the first time (that time slot worked best with Erin's schedule). So far, it's going great! Erin, Laney Tierney, and two younger boys are in the piano club, and Erin is enjoying getting back in the swing of piano. We had a few windows repaired this month after I realized that they wouldn't stay open when I was washing them. We are now fully operational for fall weather, so now, it just needs to cool down for good!
Anna babysat for the Lemons family on Thursday night, the 4th, while their parents went to a concert. Bob enjoyed an afternoon on the lake with Justin on Friday, and then we all (plus Lyla and Bella) went to a Gibbons football game that they won! Saturday, the 6th, Bob and I had a fun time at the NCSU vs. UVA football game, including tailgating with breakfast burritos. It was SO HOT, but the Pack managed a win in typical stressful fashion.
Anna babysat for new clients, the Rooks, that afternoon, and Erin worked. I had my first piano lesson of the year on the 8th and am happy to be back at it. Anna went to Joe's football game on the 10th which was another win in the so-far undefeated season for the JV team. We ladies got our flu shots on the 11th, and Bob decided to make use of the mail-order flumist option this year. It showed up in a giant cooler with 6 ice packs! Anna babysat for the Koesters that Friday night and enjoyed getting to see them again. Bob, Finley, and I had a nice morning on the boat on the 13th.
Lyla stayed over with us on the night of the 14th while her parents were out of town, and Anna and Lyla went to their first meeting of The Way (youth group) for the year. This is their second and final year of Confirmation prep, and unfortunately the parish is now requiring everyone to attend weekly, regardless of if they're getting theology instruction in school or not (eye roll). We can make it to April!
The week of the 15th was pretty much normal, including a book club night on the town, checking out a new wine bar in downtown Holly Springs. We ladies hit the nail salon on Thursday ahead of the big Homecoming dance on Saturday! The homecoming football game was Friday, and for some unknown reason, Gibbons was matched against a really tough team from Charlotte for the big game and came up short. It was a hard fight, though! Bob worked the Oktoberfest dinner at StMM that evening while we were at the game, and that was a big success. Saturday, Erin worked from 11am-5pm and then took herself to her friend Mady's house to get ready for the dance and have dinner. She had a blast with her friends, both at Mady's and also at the dance! Once they finally made it through the long line to get in the door, they danced all night and were some of the last ones to leave! Anna went to Lyla's to get ready with Lyla, Bella, Marisa, and Grace. After a few hours of prepping and pics, she went home to meet up with Joe for dinner at our house and the dance. They also had a really great time and enjoyed getting all dressed up! Bob and I watched the Pack fall to Duke on TV between all of the dance festivities.
Sunday was some recovery time from the dance as well as church, work for Erin, and youth group for Anna. Erin had a meeting for Service Beakers on Monday and Anna went to Joe's game that evening, which they won again! He plays tight end. Erin had her annual dermatology follow-up bright and early on Wednesday morning and got a good report. Bob and I had a busy evening at Back to School Night on Thursday, where we got to meet the girls' teachers and get a feel for their schedule. All of the classes and teachers seem to be really great!
They were off school on the 26th for a teacher workday, so we took advantage of that to visit UNC Wilmington. It was a great day, and we enjoyed learning more about the school. It's the biggest school that Erin has toured with about 15,000 students, but is still much smaller than a lot of the state schools. It's also nice that they have nearly every major that she is considering, so if she ends up wanting to make a change, it would be easy to do so there. It's a strong contender, and we like the in-state tuition!
Saturday, Bob worked at the Knights BBQ and Erin worked. Sunday was more church/work/youth group. Erin had a trip to The Raleigh School, walkable from Gibbons, for her first Service Beakers trip for the year.
That pretty much rounds out the month! It's been busy but great. The kids are settled into their school routine and are adjusting to classes. Both are finding that this year's classes are more work and more difficult than last year, but I think they'll be ok. Anna is taking AP World History, which is definitely lots of work. She is enjoying it, though. October is looking great with a few special events, plus Bob gets to travel again - to Goteborg, Sweden!
