After the wonderful bar mitzvah weekend the next big thing on our radar was getting both kids to camp!
Allie was first up! CYJ did a wonderful job of covid testing and getting us in and out quickly while still letting the kids be comfortable and move at their own pace.
After we dropped her off we went to two of our favorite spots, Duchman Winery and The Salt Lick!
Loved getting this bunk picture on the first night!
We had a nice week with just Jake at home before we headed to North Carolina with him to go to 6 Points!
Not quite sure how this happened!
We celebrated Father's Day but Alex was definitely missing his girl! And then there she was in the pictures sending him a big old hug!
We flew into Greenville, South Carolina and headed to Asheville and the new 6 Points home.
After we left Jake we stayed in Asheville and explored for a few days! We hiked, we walked, we ate and explored.
Our second hike to Catawba Falls
Evening views!
My favorite day was when we went to the Biltmore Estates!
It was amazing! I loved all the details and unique touches.
On my birthday we headed back to Greenville for the night before heading back to Austin. We explored Greenville's adorable downtown during the day! That night we did a foodie tour which was tons of fun, a drink to end the night and we were heading home. 
We were reunited with our baby, he was definitely enjoying being an only child!
It went by way too fast for her but we were excited to have her home!
We had a nice week at home with Allie before Jake came home. This was a happy/sad reunion of friends, as the Grey's moved to Tennessee right after we saw them.
Happy 3rd birthday to our fuzzy baby, Kirby! We all love you (but Mama loves you the most) and we're so glad that you're ours!
Off to the vet we go!
There were very few pictures of Jake at camp this summer (maddening for a parent) but this picture almost made up for it!
Allie did a couple of Kids Acting camps this summer.
She played Alice in Wonderland and then as a cheerleader in High School Musical.
Swimming at Mila's
And he's home!
When we got home we surprised Jake with the basketball hoop!
He liked it!
Allie discovered she loves sushi!
Kid on each side asleep on me.
Sun Valley here we come.
Morning coffee views
We headed to the resort to check it out and to go up the mountain.
We spent our 17th wedding anniversary rafting!
Headed over to Sun Valley Village and another hike
Back at the condo for some swimming and a nice view.
Jake and I took a walk around the neighborhood.
View of the John Hemmingway memorial
We checked out the Capitol!
Kirby destroying the Clemson tiger!
We checked out Bald Mountain Trail.
We did a little shopping.
Next we headed to Boise for a night before heading home to Austin!
First up, a visit to Boise State.
They thought getting along was better than being left at the old Idaho jail.
Back to Austin and my first Austin FC game!
Checking out Allie's new 4th grade classroom!
First day of 8th and 4th grade!
A little Bro/Sis B-ball
Jake's friend Luke's mom called me one afternoon and asked if Jake might like to watch the Georgia vs. Clemson game. I responded sure, I'm sure he'd be interested in watching with Luke. She said, no, would he like to GO to the game. It was Luke's birthday present and knowing what a huge fan Jake was he was the obvious choice! They had a great time in Charlotte.
Allie and I got in the spirit too!
Braces on!
Braces off!
So handsome!!
Bath time!
Silliness at Target!
Allie and I went to Chicago to celebrate Great's 99th birthday! How amazing is that! We had a great time celebrating her with Mimi and Auntie Rachel. We loved and cherished hearing her stories and having the time with her.
We found my mom's engagement party dress which still fit - way to go mom - and looked pretty great on Rachel.
"Is this like the original Peloton?" - Allie
The birthday girl!
For years, Great has told us to claim what we want and to put a post-it on it to claim it as ours. So we had to go through the treasures and it was amazing to see some of the things she's saved over the year. This is the pen and my great grandma's practice sheets when she was learning English.
Photo opp!
These Ruthe-isms should be shared as often as possible!
Almost as soon as we were home, Jake and Alex went to Nashville for a football game and they had a great time!
Georgia beat Vanderbilt easily and they had a ton of fun!
Jake met a ton of the players after the game including in order of the pictures:
Zamir White
JT Daniels
#99 Jordan Davis
Brock Bowers
Nakobe Dean
Ladd McConkey
Kearis Jackson
Before they headed back to Austin they took in an NFL game as well seeing the Tennessee Titans play the Indianapolis Colts.
Meanwhile back in Austin, we did our best to keep ourselves occupied while the boys were away. Kirby had his good neighborhood friend, Scotch, over for a playdate.
Allie and I had breakfast at our favorite neighborhood place, The Broken Egg!
That night Clara, Penny and Charlie came over and the girls got crazy with some sparkling apple cider!
Happy 10th birthday to our girl!
Allie requested sushi with 4 friends. They had a booth and I had a booth with two of my dear friends and mom's who joined me to keep me sane.
Back to our house for presents, boba tea and cake!
She was so excited to get a birthday card from CYJ!
Nothing like a 90 pound lap dog!
Toasting Clara, Penny and Charlie's new home!
Game day. Go Ducks!
The morning of Halloween we had breakfast out to celebrate Mila's birthday!
Our neighbors have a different skeleton display each day of October and I love seeing them each day!
Sleepy, sweet boy!
Halloween was almost non-existent this year but with a last minute costume idea coming from me, Allie and I joined our neighborhood crew for some trick or treating. She was an anime fan girl or something like that! Jake went off with his friends but of course didn't take a picture.
We went to Fredericksburg to celebrate our good friend, Michael's 40th birthday! Months before I had arranged for a hotel near the venue, the kids both had sleepovers and Kirby was at Dirty Dog! Somehow I managed to make my reservation not for Fredericksburg, Texas but for Fredericksburg, Virginia. Ooops. The hotel and the town were booked. Thankfully, Alex was understanding about the mistake and thankfully it's only a little over an hour from Austin so after dinner we just headed home. I will double and triple check the final location again and again after this.
We really need to take these pictures sitting down!
The event was lovely and crystal did an amazing job with the party.
A year after scheduling a little girls weekend getaway we finally got away for just over 24 hours and it was totally worth it! On the way to the Gultz river house we stopped at this winery called Torr Na Lochs and the views were just amazing!
We celebrated Jake's birthday with Dory and Uncle Phillip out for dinner and of course birthday cake.
For Jake's birthday Alex arranged for tickets to a UT basketball game followed by a sleepover with basketball, tons of snacks and hours of fun staring at their phones.
I was lucky enough to go with the boys to the game and was thrilled when Jake sat next to me! When they weren't out getting snacks they had a great time watching the game!
Kirby got to hang too!
One of my favorite Hanukkah presents this year from Alex. This gift made to get us ready for the Ducks and Dawgs to play in 2022 but made even more meaningful after the Ducks, new head coach, Dan Lanning is coming to us from UGA!
More football as Kirby represented both our teams!
Silly Ella & Allie
Kirby had his first road trip! He came to Plano for Thanksgiving! He sat in the chair like this the whole time! Kirby was very excited to meet his furry cousins, Cabi and Miller!
Talia & Allie 💗
A study in light & dark and a total accident!
This one took many treats!
Allie & Pipi
Cousins puzzling!
Scattegories and Jake's first time playing Cards Against Humanity!
Kirby made himself right at home!
Cabi & Miller come visit Austin!
Jake's been friends with Jack since preschool and has been a sweet friend for many years. After a year plus delay, he finally had his Bar Mitzvah and did a great job! The party dress code was "Austin chic and sneakers." I think we did well.
Allie's CYJ bestie, Sylvie, came to Austin and stayed over for a night. They had the best time!
Making slime...unsucessfully!
So poor Jake was the first in our family to get Covid right at the start of winter break. We made a hard decision to cancel our trip to Oregon and since Allie and I continued to test negative for Covid, we changed our flight to go to San Francisco (Oakland actually) to see our nephew/cousin Dillon and of course his parents!
The best welcome was waiting for us!
Lots of cousin love!
The calming burrito method!
We took a walk in the rain that some of us enjoyed more than others.
Checked out the Bay Areas solution to eating outside during Covid. These little sukkah like structures are all over the place!
We went to see the lights in Alameda. Allie, who tends to be a bit of a grinch, found her favorite house!
Allie and Uncle Warren had a good time cooking together and talking about The Office!
Dillon showed us his many tricks!
Allie introduced Auntie Rachel to Boba which she begrudgingly seemed to like!
We had a lovely morning with our Auntie Carol, my dad's cousin (more like a sister) who lives in Berkeley. We also got see her son, Jeff, his wife Megan and his daughter Sophia. It was super fun to see cousins together.
Then we headed into San Francisco. Allie has a new found love for all things Japanese so Rachel suggested Japan town.
We drove around, saw the Presidio, and made a quick stop at the beach (but it was very cold and windy) before heading back to Oakland.
This is what we think about going home!
Once we were home, Kirby had a playdate with his friend Rosie while I was able to toast the year end with my friend Clara! They were so cute together!
We spent New Year's Eve watching the Dawgs beat Michigan! It was fun to watch! We even had special Georgia ice cubes ready for the game thanks to Mimi!
Now on to the National Championship and 2022!
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