Mason, Rylan, and Elli,
We started out the month of August with our family vacation to Carolina Beach, NC. We didn’t go last year, so it was fun to be back.
Even with Covid, we got to go to one of the coolest churches we’ve been to there. It was outside at Kure Beach, beside the ocean.
We got in a big beach day that first full day at the beach. We went back for a night walk too. Some neighbors were putting off fireworks on the street when we got back.
We knew a hurricane was coming at the beginning of the trip. We got horrible alerts on our phones at 5 am Monday telling us to find somewhere safe to go. But all of Monday was nice, weather-wise. It was just cloudy. We mostly played in the pool that day. By suppertime it had started raining, and the owner had been by to help us tie some things down under the house just in case. We prepared for the storm, but since it was only a category 1, we didn’t expect much from it. It ended up being much scarier than we anticipated. All of us except for Nonni tried running to the beach in the rain to see what it looked like around 8 pm (before it was super scary), but the wind was too powerful. Daddy ended up going by himself, but then when he got back, Mason, you decided to go with him again. As the two of you were gone, we got our second emergency alert on our phones, saying that there was a tornado warning and we needed to take cover immediately. That was very scary as we waited for the two of you, who were oblivious about the tornado warning, to get back. You came back safe and sound, though. The adults tried to watch a movie after you 3 went to bed to ignore the swaying of the house, but it kept getting worse, and then the power went out at 11. It stayed off until 5 am or so. But in the meantime, the house was shaking so bad that it felt like a cruise ship in very rough waters. All 3 of you woke up being very very scared around the time the power went out. Boys, you were already sleeping in your closet, and Elli was sleeping in hers… But we decided to move all 5 of us to Elli’s closet. It was VERY cramped, but shutting the door and putting our battery powered sound machine in there kept the sound down some…and everyone laying on top of each other helped us to sort of ignore all the other movement and terrible sounds. Eventually, maybe around 2:00, all of us besides Mason moved out of the closet and into the 2 beds in Elli’s room. I think we finally got some good sleep during that time, because the storm was mostly gone by then. The power came back on right before my phone died (which I was using as our secondary sound machine), so it didn’t even disturb anyone’s sleep at that point. Anyway, I think it was easily our biggest/scariest adventure on vacation so far. Oh and by the way, Nonni and Poppy decided to still sleep in their room on the 3rd floor which had the most movement and noise in the house. Crazy.
We went out and surveyed the damage of the area on Tuesday morning. Lots of shingles off, trees down, steps ripped off of the stairway to the beach, fences torn apart, and power was out on most of the island still for a long time. We were thankful to have power back so early.
We had another big beach morning the day after the hurricane. It was beautiful, and besides some damaged things, you’d never know that things were so crazy less the night before. Elli, you met your “best friend” on the beach- the little girl of a family from Pennsylvania. You played with her the whole time we were there. Later in the trip you were sad when you didn’t see her anymore. Rylan, you and Mason worked on skim boarding a lot of the time that we were on the beach this trip. Ry you did it more, and you got pretty good!
We had a harder time finding somewhere to eat Tuesday night, because a lot of places still didn’t have power. But we ended up eating at the restaurant right by the lake; we hadn’t been there before, but the food was really good and the people were nice.
Wednesday Daddy and I went to Wilmington for a couple hours to exchange something at a store there and then we walked around the riverwalk for a little bit. It was crazy hot, though, plus there was construction and things weren’t quite as nice as normal there, so we didn’t stay very long. Poppy wasn’t feeling good that day, but by the time we got back, he was feeling a little better.
Thursday morning, Mason, you went to play disc golf with Daddy and Poppy. Y’all were gone the whole morning, and you had a lot of fun. Nonni, Rylan, Elli, and I went to the beach. We found a spot down at Fort Fisher that was so empty and huge. After that, we got ice cream at a little shop on the main road that goes through Carolina/Kure/Fort Fisher. Nonni and I went out for coffee that afternoon during naps. We had a hard time finding somewhere that was open, but eventually we found somewhere to go and sat on the boardwalk while we drank our iced lattes.
Friday morning was our kayaking day. We got there early in the morning (not as early as first planned), but it was raining and they sent us back to wait out the rain. First we went to Fort Fisher and stayed in the pavilion place for a little while, but then it was clear that we were going to have to wait a lot longer. So we drove around some, then went back to the house and played some games and ate lunch. After that it was time to go back to the kayaks, and by then all the rain was gone. In the saddest part of the story, I took my big camera with me in the kayak in a gallon ziplock bag, and somehow water got in and ruined my camera. I still had my phone and waterproof camera with me, so I got some pictures of our kayaking trip, still. It was really fun aside from the camera situation. (And as a side note, thanks to insurance, I was able to replace my camera, and I also got an awesome little Fuji that I now love). We paddled out to the island that Daddy and Poppy had tried to run to one time, years ago. We got out at two places on the island. One stop was longer, where we waded and swam in the water. We also tried to catch crabs, found a shrimp and a dead fish, and used nets to try to catch anything else that was swimming.
Friday night we got pizza early, then went to the boardwalk to walk around and get dessert. Mason, you went inside to order for all of us at the gelato place, which was amazing. I typed up what we wanted on my phone, and you read it to the person inside. (I got a shot of espresso poured over gelato, with whipped cream on top. It was so good, and I forget what it’s called.)
The week after we got home, Daddy got to play in the final games for the softball season.
It was nice to get back to our regularly scheduled Saturday night family rests.
The night before the first day of school, we did “Brownie Baths” where I made brownies, and you boys got to eat them in the bath. I had heard someone do this as a day-before-school-starts routine, and it had always been in the back of my mind as a fun idea. You two loved it! Elli chose not to take a nap that afternoon and said she was “fine” with not having a brownie for her consequence, but when the time came, she was very sad about that decision.
You two were too cute on the first day of school. It went surprisingly well! We went to Daps for our yearly beginning-of-the-school-year tradition after school. That was yummy and fun. This year we’re carpooling with Mrs. Showalter and the Vaughns, which started a couple weeks into school, and that’s going well.
During the first full week of school, Elli and I had a planned fun day with Nichole, Harley, and Waylon. We went to Chiles Peach Orchard and did their kid program where you three made a craft, listened to some books, went to pick your own bag of apples, and then got an ice cream cone. It was really fun.
Meanwhile, Rylan wasn’t allowed to go to school because he had a sore throat for about an hour. That started the first of many days that he hasn’t been allowed to go to school so far this year. Covid has really made things complicated and frustrating. But aside from that, you two have loved school this year so far. You’re having fun with friends and enjoying what you’re learning. Rylan, you mostly talk about Atticus, and then you sing many of the songs you learn. Mason, you are loving the bird feeder outside your window at school, how Mrs. Riddle brought her dog one day, learning about the Revolutionary War, and hearing new books.
We went to Pennsylvania to see the old shop before it was completely torn down at the end of August. It ended up being a lot more torn down than I thought it would be when we were there, but you boys were able to help pull some stuff apart, which you loved.
To celebrate Elli’s birthday, we went to the new ice cream place in Stuarts Draft with Nonni and Poppy the night before her birthday. It was really yummy! Oh, and the day before your birthday, you taught yourself how to ride your bike!! (Have I mentioned that bike? Daddy found it for free and brought it home for you!) Since then you have become really good at riding all by yourself.
It’s always a little weird having birthdays on Sunday, but Elli, you opened your presents before church, and then we had a yummy meal at Nonni’s (you asked for “straight pasta” aka spaghetti), and you opened a few more presents there. From us, you got a princess crown, earrings, a pink princess phone, a key, and a pink car! You looked so adorable the whole day.
We worked on fixing your room this month, Elli. I finally found the bed I’d been looking for on FB Marketplace, and it was in Churchville! So we didn’t have to go nearly as far as I thought we would. After we got the bed, all the other steps moved really quickly, and we finished the whole room in a week! We painted it white, rearranged things, got rid of a LOT of things, and bought a couple finishing touches. All of us love being in your room now!
We got to have a park day with Nichole and her kids one day in September. It was in the middle of a 2 week unexpected break from school, also thanks to Covid.
We went back to Pennsylvania for a full weekend for Marion Days. Since there was no school and Daddy had a Sunday-Thursday route, we went earlier than usual on Friday. Before we left, we had to clean up the house a little extra, because Uncle Levi and Aunt Hilary were staying there for her sister Heidi’s wedding on Saturday night. This time in Pennsylvania, the old shop was gone, and there was a big hole in the ground. You boys also loved that, and you dug a sideways hole that you tried to climb in in there. Saturday was the Marion photo contest, Elli, you and I went on some errands with Grandma, and we even found Daddy some shoes at a shoe store sale. Over the time we were there, we also hung out with Dawson Aunt Mindy, Uncle Darrin, and Bailey. We went to the festival grounds for ice cream, a town picture, and watched the movie Overcomer. We stayed later on Sunday too, because I didn’t have to play the piano that week, and we weren’t going to life group. It was a nice long weekend.
When we put away the pool for the summer, we found a little frog that was pretty cute.
Mason, you went through a phase of doing your “exercises” every day- you would lift weights and mark the days off on a little calendar you made. Rylan sometimes did them with you.
Here are the quotes from the past couple months. They’re pretty Elli-heavy….she has been funny recently.
“I have sand on my hands. We need some baby powdered sugar.”
“Are there lots of people at Lucy’s house?”
“It’s hot, but not scoldging hot.”
“How did you wake up?’
’Cause the clock in my room said 4 o’clock.”
“Why nobody is answering Elli???”
“Mommy, I’m 40 cents tall.”