October was a really busy month around here (as evidenced by it taking 2 months to write about it...). Of the four weekends in October, Brad was gone to conferences for three (3) of them.
Whew, boy.
I solo parented for 2 of those weekends and, thankfully, had company/help for one. During the first weekend, we had The-Event-That-Shall-Not-Be-Named happen. In order to protect the virtual footprint of one of my offspring, I won't write about it on the internet. BUT. If you want to know, ask me in person, and I'll give you a truly riveting retelling.
The third weekend was another solo weekend, but it didn't involve anything nearly as scarring as the first, so I have nothing to report.
The second week/weekend (because Brad was actually gone 5 days for that trip) was lively and fun, thanks to Breanne, Nana, and Poppy coming to visit! They overlapped at various points throughout the week, and we had such a great time visiting!
Snugs and movies with Miss Breanne
We mostly visited and did normal, daily things like the school runs, but we were able to visit and chat, which made all of those normal things so much more fun!
That weekend's #sistersshotsonsunday
We also attempted some nice pictures with Nana.
Not quite sure why I bother sometimes, y'all...
Heaven help us.
We went to The Q Shack (one of our Durham favorites!) for lunch after church, and Mom caught this series of classic Lily shots. I laugh every time I see them!
And this sweet little shot of Claire.
Some of my parents' friends of about 30 years live in the Triangle, and we were able to meet up for a short little visit with Mrs. Laura and her grandson!
SO...HEAVY...
Serious sailing face
Just kidding! She's a super happy sailor. And this playplace is at a mall. Hence, the JCPenney.
Playing with Mrs. Laura's grandson
I can't even handle this one...and also: THE GERMS!
Introducing babies
We have an emerging reader in our midst, AND my mom's master's program specialized in reading, so they both had a great time working on Claire's developing skills.
Mom also snapped lots of fun shots over the course of the week she was there, which I'm putting in no particular order. Also. One of our hurricanes came through while Mom and Dad were in town, absolutely DRENCHING (and in some places, flooding) Durham and Chapel Hill. It was kind of a miracle that we didn't lose power at our house; there were widespread power outages around the county, which I discovered the next day when traffic lights were out ALL OVER the place. And when I swung by Target to grab some groceries, and literally every refrigerated case was completely empty because they'd lost power for over 12 hours and had to throw out everything. So crazy. But, we had some beautiful days after that, so it all evened out.
Poppy arrived during part of the deluge. It was ridiculous how much rain there was. I'm still learning my way around hurricane season.
Mom and Dad took the girls to the museum and got these great shots from the butterfly house.
And there was the typical general shenanigans we've all come to expect:
It does not get more "Lily" than this picture...
At the Mexican restaurant for chips, cheese, and salsa! Brynna was, apparently, very excited about it.
Playing with the salt and pepper shakers. Her favorite way to pass time at restaurants.
And Lily. As always.
Just chillin'. As one does.
Please look at Brynnie's face!
And they found Bo on the giant map at Claire's school!
We love having visitors and are always so thankful when friends and family make the time and effort to come see us! We're also super glad that Daddy's month of academic conferences finally ended. It was a long one!
