George L Smith State Park

For fall break, we planned our first camping trip since COVID. According to the website, the campsite was 400 yards away from the parking lot. In reality, it was more than a mile.

 

We bailed, and found a nearby Airbnb. I would never think to bring a battery-powered Christmas light necklace on a camping trip, but it came in handy when the kids made a fort between their two beds.

 

Other than the misleading website, George L Smith State Park was lovely. The highlight of our trip was kayaking among the cypress tress in the park's Mill Pond.

Christmas 2020

 

Snow flurries on Christmas Eve -- rare in Atlanta!

  

 

So suave! 

Hopefully this blog will soon feature some of Hazel's photos!

These days, Juniper's #1 Obsession is the webcomic Homestuck. This plush ornament of the Homestuck character Nepeta made her cry with joy.

Fancy Thanksgiving

Hazel and Aaron went suit shopping a few weeks before Thanksgiving. Unbeknownst to the rest of us, there was a single unexpected tux at the consignment store they visited. She hopefully took the tux into the dressing room, muttering a request to the universe, "Please let it fit. Please let it fit. Please let it fit."

She kept it a secret till Thanksgiving morning and was delighted to come out from her bedroom for the grand reveal in tux and tails.

That's love

Family photos

The rare photo that includes all four of us, with Aaron in front of the camera!

I see a pattern here...

Stone Mountain, Feb. 2017

 Ragged Mountain, Nov. 2017

 Arabia Mountain, Jan. 2018

Adorable Fern!

The year before Hazel started kindergarten, Aaron watched Fern one afternoon a week. We recently came across a bunch of photos from that time. Fern's bigger now, and still just as cute.

Such a good dad

I have loathed the grocery store car cart since I learned of its existence. When the girls were little, I would occasionally let them ride in the car cart, but I mostly objected on the grounds that it's unwieldy and difficult to steer. Aaron, on the other hand, always said yes to the car cart when they were small. These days, he mostly does the grocery shopping without kids in tow, but for some reason the whole family recently wound up at the store together. The kids were thrilled to discover that he would still say yes to the car cart. (Less thrilled to discover that it's become far less comfortable as they have gotten bigger.)

Looks like Hazel knows how lucky she is.

Happy Halloween!

 
Sheriff Hazel...

  
...and Luna Lovegood wish you a happy Halloween.
 
  
Spectrespecs, check. Butterbeer cork necklace, check. Radish earrings, check. This girl is ready to go and well protected from Dark Magic and other nefarious nonsense.

  
Tell us, Luna, about the Ministry's latest conspiracy!

  
Apprehended!

  
Bandits stand no chance when Sheriff Hazel is around.
 
  
Only just a little bit proud of a good day's work.

  
Westworld meets Hogwarts? That fan fiction probably already exists.


Our family was accompanied by two varieties of Death -- the Grim Reaper and Death of the Endless.


  
Ready to go! Let no mere mortal, Death Eater, or outlaw bandits get in the way of their candy.

  
Howdy pardner. Sally was happy to wear this hat when Hazel got too hot. (Not your typical Halloween weather when kids are dripping sweat in their costumes and complaining about the heat.)
 
  
Back at the ranch, the kids checked out their loot.

  
Next best thing to Honeydukes.

Portland forests

In addition to ice cream and doughnuts, we also enjoyed some of Portland's fantastic city parks. Forest Park claims to be the largest urban forest in the US.

It has banana slugs! We learned that Kelly has a slug phobia; she did not share in our delight at this particular discovery.

Also, large trees.

And fun ruins.
 

The opportunity to scramble along fallen trees gave the girls a nice boost of energy when they were starting to flag.

They did a different sort of climbing at Mt. Tabor park.

At one point, there was a gaggle of 5 kids in this tree, all climbing as high as they could.

Narnia?