A monkey. A squirrel. One happy family.

We were blessed with beautiful weather for this year's Christmas tree hunt at Starr Pines Christmas Tree Farm. We found a little beauty, just right for our small living room. While helping to secure it in the tree stand, Ella discovered a small bird's nest, which we decided was good luck. In the words of 6-year-old Annie, "We picked the correct tree!" Nest! To the trees! That-a-way, dad! Ella Annie Our lovely little tree. Happy holidays!

The new fancy doughnut place in town is offering "memory maker" events from time to time, and last weekend we signed up to make a gingerbread house at their store. Someone else makes the gingerbread and buttercream, provides buckets of candies, serves up hot cider, feeds us cookies, and does all of the clean-up? Yes, please. Merry, merry!

I somehow never thought to take a traditional family-round-the-table photo this Thanksgiving, but there is still much to be grateful for. Cousins at Grandma Ann and Grandpa Butch's house. Grandma Ann's famous pies. Constructing marshmallow shooters at Thanksgiving round II. Spencer wins uncle of the year award. XO, dear ones!

This Halloween was one for the record books. We had the most trick-or-treaters we've ever had and a ton of fun. In the past year, some enthusiastic readers in our neighborhood started a book club, and this group has developed a secondary purpose: make the 'hood awesome. On Halloween, one member had hot dogs and a fire pit in her front yard. At our house, we set up a tailgating tent and an extension-cord-enabled crock pot full of hot apple cider. Another house had a s'mores bar in the garage. Add to that plenty of decorated houses and flocks of kids, and Halloween was a spectacularly spooky good time. Annie was a Jedi named Barriss Offee. (I think the appeal factors were: she already had the "right color" of light saber, and she got to wear black nail polish. Plus, Star Wars is awesome. Obviously.) Ella - in no way influenced by her father's tastes, I'm sure - chose to be a bottle of Sriracha hot sauce. Happy Halloween! Ella carved her pumpkin all...

Better late than never! Here are the girls' first day of school photos.

Ella picked up her schedule for 6th grade today, practiced her locker combination, and found her home room while I quietly had a heart attack over the fact that my baby is starting middle school. She'll be riding to and from school on the bus, letting herself in the house with her own key, and generally needing to be way more grown up than maybe any of us is ready for. Ready or not, here comes middle school! Getting her school picture taken.  Trying out her combination lock. Failing. Trying again. Success! Annie fits! Celebratory ice cream/

The grown-ups around here didn't really get a summer vacation (unless you count a couple of days off spent staining a deck, which I don't). But the kids! They had an adventure. First, it was two weeks in Florida at grandma camp. Crafts, golf cart scavenger hunts, and swimming, swimming, swimming, followed by a week on Disney property. A selfie with the grammies. Ella learned to make iris folding cards. Sisters at Disney Spencer and I were a wee bit jealous. Then the girls flew to Houston for a week with Pop and Grandmother Linda. Annie studied dinosaurs and Ella investigated wizard science at the Houston Museum of Natural Science . They also did puzzles, painted, and played with cousins. Painting with Pop! Now it is two weeks of Camp Adventure with Columbia Parks & Rec before the school year starts. Poor Ella in particular is suffering from all of the time in the sunshine, even with reapplications of SPF 50. Sigh. We are a pale, pale peopl...

We recently spent the weekend in St. Louis with some good friends from Nashville. Baseball, botanical gardens, and the magical City Museum - such a treat! As long as she had snacks, Annie was content to watch the game. Kiddos at the ball game. Getting sweaty (and whiny) at the Missouri Botanical Garden. City Museum! Brave Ella climbs. Skateless park.  Annie waiting for her turn on one of the giant indoor slides.

Just like that, Ella is finished with elementary school. Today was her first day of 6th grade summer school, and while last year we had to arrive at pick-up armed with IDs and be on an authorized list and talk to someone with a walkie-talkie to get our child, this year they simply boot her out the door once the bell rings. See ya tomorrow, kid! Good luck. Welcome to middle school. After Ella's 5th grade graduation ceremony Ella has started riding solo around the neighborhood and made her first trek to the grocery store to get a loaf of bread! Almost summertime means s'more time. Getting fancy for a night out - celebrating school's end. Play it loud, Annie June. Annie at the YMCA Camp Mudd. Ella at the YMCA Camp Mudd. Rock on, dear ones. The coming weeks are full of camps and trips and adventure for our girls. We are all so lucky. Happy summer.