In December, we took a family trip to California driving from San Francisco to LA. Highlights included Muir Woods, 17-Mile Drive, lunch in Paso Robles, sunshine in Santa Barbara, and some improv at the Groundlings.

Our lil’ man Louie has settled into life at Club 2501. He’s become a fantastic work colleague with his sleep ethic and penchant for treats and belly rubs. He gets fired up and defends the estate from intruders especially the UPS and Prime delivery folks. He languishes most of the day conserving energy until school lets out and the “fun” ones ate back at the house. Throw in a few walks around the neighborhood and a couple of meals and it’s time to play fetch with a fave toy and hit the hay. #soexhaustimg #doglife

Built in 1970, our humble abode has been in need of some TLC on its exterior. Gone are the original single pane windows and the masonite siding is now removed. The crew have wrapped the house and new siding and boxing will be added next week. Hopefully all will go well and Club 2501 will be ready for the next chapter!

September 19, we welcomed Louie to the house. Hailing from Laurens, SC, he was born on July 21, 2020 and is a miniature, long-hair, cream-colored dachshund. He weighed 3 1/2 pounds at pick-up and will grow to 12-15 pounds. A great addition to the family!

Pictures tell a story, but not the whole story. Fun to see how everyone has changed over the past four years since Davis first went to McCallie in August 2015

Girls headed back to school today. Both are BWOC this year with Mae in 5th Grade at Charlotte Lab School and Hallie in 8th grade at AG. #summerofficiallyover 

With the PGA Championship in town this week at Quail Hollow, it’s only fitting that we celebrated our 18th anniversary yesterday. No doubt time flies, but I have loved every minute with my beautiful bride and look forward to the next round. Thanks also to the folks below for being part of our life!  #blessed #goodlookingcrew #classicbwphoto

So, when the kids were younger after Davis and Hallie had gotten a good report card (Mae was still possibly in a stroller) we created the K.A.P. Day program. Kid Appreciation Program. Essentially it was our way of celebrating all the great things they do week in and week out and it was a great way to spend a day together. If I recall, on the first KAP Day we told them cryptically that we were having a special day called a KAP Day (blank stares) and that it started with lunch Uptown. After dining on old school burgers and dogs at Green’s Lunch. We then proceeded to surprise them with a trip to see the Barnum & Bailey Circus at Time Warner Cable Arena. I’m not sure who had more fun at the circus, the kids or us. Post circus I think we went bowling and then out to dinner. Needless to say a very fun day full of memories.
Fast forward too many years and too few KAP Days. Not because they aren’t still exceptional (biased), but more that it’s so rare for us to have an entire day free of games, dance, practice, travel, etc. Early June gave us one of those days and boy did we go for it.
Stop #1 – IHOP – yes, I know this seems weird but all three of the kiddos wanted it and it’s soooooo goood

Stop #2 – Putt-Putt Golf – always a family favorite and probably the only thing I wish we had at our Olmstead beach vacation. 

Stop #3 – K1 Speed Go Karts – this place was pretty slick and cost a pretty penny but was definitely out of our comfort zone. We ran two “races” and everyone acquitted themselves really well. We only had one call for on-track help and by the end of the 2nd race on the tighter course I think Hallie and Mae were getting the hang of it. Of course, the best part of it was that we all got to look like knights of the round table with our “included” head socks. Given our house wide aversion to Pediculus humanus capitis, we were stoked to wear those puppies. BTW, electric go karts are pretty cool and I like them way better than the fumes of the gas variety.

Stop #4 – We hit Uptown and checked out First Ward Park including the oversized, outdoor exercise equipment (?), fountains and Google Fiber building (why do they have a building if they aren’t offering service….I once had high hopes) before heading to the 7th Street Public Market for dinner (IHOP was a long time ago at this point!). We’ve tried to go to this place before (once notably when they were randomly closed when Meemo & Poppy were in town). Between the grilled cheese (Mae), sushi (Paige), crepe (Hallie), burgers (Davis, Sean) and assorted beverages (Tank’s Tap was cold and refreshing) we pretty much paid each vendor some amount of money. Vibe was cool and we’ll add it our list of fun places to go. It’s like an upscale mall food court with a couple of fun shops to check out.

Stop #5 – Escape Kings – Kings Quest – OK, so in retrospect perhaps we should have done a bit more research on the different outfits in town. This was the first foray into an escape room experience for 3 of us as Hallie and Davis had done others previously. We had high hopes of getting out in record time and with our 3 hints intact. Not so fast buster. The fella who did the verbal intro was a little out there and for the uninitiated it was hard to understand what was a “clue” and what was just nonsense. The room was dark and clearly there are cameras all over the place so they can help you. I’m sure we looked as silly as others, but we got into a groove before getting stymied the first time. I do believe this is one of those things where experience would be beneficial. Eventually, we figured most of it out and used all three hints and “escaped” with about 1 minute to spare. We’ll go to another one, but probably one like Davis’ went to in Chattanooga that had secret doors and magic lockers in the walls.

After nearly 10 hours being out and about, we headed home happy for all the fun we had and glad that we could spend that much time together uninterrupted. We certainly hope another KAP day gets scheduled sooner than it took this one to get on the books.

Mae and buddies Jenks and Ella Chase had a great time at Salud Cooking Camp. With Paige out of town, I got the golden ticket to join for last day lunch. Delicious salad followed by pork tacos and rice pilaf. I’m looking forward to Mae unveiling her skills for us at Club 2501.