At the end of September, Ella had a ½ day on a Friday and no school the following Monday, so we enjoyed a nice long relaxing weekend on Bald Head Island. Bald Head is off the coast of Southport NC. We went last year and this vacation has now become a new family tradition. We spent every morning on the beach and rode our bikes all over the island. After a nap, we would head back out on the bikes to another beach and stay until dinner. At night we tried for some star gazing, but the bugs were AWFUL! Other than buggy nights, we had wonderful weather—80s and clear and sunny. Most days we had the entire beach all to ourselves. The kids loved touring the island on the bikes and zipping around in the golf cart (there are no cars on Bald Head Island). We saw lots of sea birds, herons, ibis, egrets, pelicans, gulls, and hawks. Spotted quite a few fox hiding in the woods and venturing out onto the paths. Enjoyed watching schools of fish in the incredibly clear water (including whole schools of fish leaping out of the water—probably escaping from sharks!).

Jonah and Ella adored being at the ocean. Jonah would yell: “OCEAN” and “BEACH” and was thrilled to dig in the sand and splash in the edge of the surf. Ella made “sand angels” and dug holes and collected sea shells. Andrew and Sarah took turns swimming in the water until one day we were pretty sure there were sharks feeding on the many schools of fish!

On the day we arrived, we stood on the deck of the house and watched a school of dolphin swim by. As the ferry pulled back into the marina on our way home, a pair of dolphin greeted us in the harbor and then slipped out to sea! It was a magical family vacation.

In other news, Andrew ran his first 5k in September. It was a charity run with the Carolina Hurricanes hockey team to raise money for leukemia research. He did great and came in at 26:00 minutes! Sarah “jogged” with the kids in the stroller for the mile loop. Ella then ran in the kids’ 100 yard dash. It was a fun day. After the race, we went to the state fairgrounds to meet up with Julie, Joe and Krash. Julie showed Krash in his first horse show. We missed them in the ring, but Ella got to ride him!

Andrew ran in a second 5k and improved his time to 25:46. We were not there to cheer him on (the race was during nap time!) so Joe and Julie were there to support him! His next 5k is the Turkey Trot right before Thanksgiving.

Our other big news is that Katie got married. While Sarah was doing pre-wedding stuff, Andrew and the kids visited with Grandma Gill, Aunt Susie, and Nicky and her family. Ella was the flower girl and Sarah was the Matron of Honor (ok, how much do we hate the term: “matron”?!?). The wedding was lovely and the reception was rockin! Sarah and Andrew are still recovering from too much dancing, too much eating, and too much drinking! A HUGE thank you to Katie Rivers for babysitting the kids while we got to enjoy the reception!!!

We are finally getting accustomed to the kindergarten schedule. Jonah still misses Ella very much. Around week 5, he stopped bawling at the bus stop. Now, he just complains that she is leaving. He continues to ask for her throughout the day. I know it means that his bond with her is quite strong and that he loves her. However, it makes for a long, long day… Ella continues to do well at school. She is reading more and more and practices her Spanish on Jonah. Jonah is counting to three and loves to repeat whatever you say. One funny thing he says is: “yes, sir, momma.”

Hope you are all well!
Sarah, Andrew, Ella, and Jonah