November was a busy travel month for our family, with two out-of-state regattas, a work trip for Mark, and a Thanksgiving visit to Grandpa’s. Several NCRC rowers also participate in marching band, and they worked with Coach Scott to create a special fall practice schedule: rowing on Wednesdays (their only band-free weekday) and on Fridays when there were no home football games. Fall rowing focuses on 5K distance races, which is quite different from the 2K sprints of spring. It was such a joy for these “marching rowers” (who knew that was a thing?) to stay connected with the team this season and compete in the November regattas after their musical commitments wrapped up.
Mark drove a carload of boys to Chattanooga for the Head of the Hooch Regatta on the first weekend of November. It’s a huge event, with more than 200 rowing clubs and nearly 6,000 athletes. Luke rowed in a quad that was nicknamed the “Band Boat,” and it was the first 5K race ever for all four boys. They did a great job, and despite the rainy, cold weather, they said the weekend was awesome!
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| The "Band Boat": Boone, Nick, Holden, & Luke |
Meanwhile, Leah and I held down the fort at home in NC. Mama was thankful for the livestream of the race, and for friends who will sit in the church Fellowship Hall and cheer for your kid on a tiny screen:
Our girls' weekend included snagging last minute tickets to The Wiz...
...A 50th birthday dinner and Moms' Night Out celebrating a dear friend,
And Millie made sure that we included her in our activities, too!
The following weekend, Mark and I traveled with Luke to Augusta, GA, for The Head of the South Regatta. This was such a fun event, with lots of mixed age and mixed gender races:
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| Team Huddle |
Luke's first race was a double with his good friend, Makayla. This was a full circle moment for these two... They have carpooled to rowing together since their middle school days and have the best brother-sister like relationship (bickering and making each other laugh):
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| Before their race |
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| Silver Medal Winners! |
Our team mascot, Pearl (Coach Scott & Katie's doodle), needed some extra love and attention as she was recuperating from surgery. She is the sweetest dog, and is beloved by the rowers and families:
Luke's second race was a mixed double (2 males/2 females), and we watched this race from a bridge overlooking the course:
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| Savannah River (SC on the right, GA on the left) |
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| Rowing Moms + Coach Katie & Baby Annabelle |
This vantage point allowed for some great views of the rowers as they headed up to the starting line:
...and for photo ops as they raced down the course:
This was a fun race, as NCRC had 5 boats of mixed quads, so we were able to cheer for so many of our rowers at once!
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| It's a tradition each season to take a photo of Luke, David, and Holden together (and I'm sure they are rolling their eyes behind their sunglasses). |
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| Head of the South: NCRC Team Photo |
The NCRC rowers also attended Signing Day at NWHS earlier this month to celebrate Makayla, who committed to the Women's Rowing Team at UNC-Chapel Hill next fall. Congrats to Makayla on this exciting adventure!
Leah attended Friendsgiving with her friends from church. These are such great teens, and we are thankful for their friendships:
We gave Luke 2 tickets to TSO for an early Christmas present and splurged for amazing seats. He and I had a great time at the concert, and this was our view (for reference, this performance was in the Greensboro Coliseum, which seats 22,000). Several times during the concert, the musicians walked right in front of us!
The Trans-Siberian Orchestra is so much more than a rock band, string section, and vocalists. The light shows, lasers, and pyrotechnics were spectacular, too!
We attended the final Wake Forest football game of the season and enjoyed a beautiful, sunny 70-degree day in November:
One highlight of the day came when the kids spotted Sam Hartman and asked him for selfies!
Allen and I proudly represented WFU Class of 2000, and it's always a treat to catch up with a college friend:
The kids had friends attending, too! Kiley and Georgia also had tickets to the game:
Fans were invited down to the field post-game to take photos with the players and mascot.
Luke posed with the Demon Deacon and we compared it to this memory of his first Wake Forest football game:
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| 6 months old |
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| 6 months old + 17 years |
Thanksgiving was spent in SC with Grandpa this year. Millie was festive in her turkey scarf and was the only child awake to watch the Macy's parade:
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| Santa Claus is coming to town! |
Leah made Mimi's famous pie crust (with the help of her soux chef)...
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| Apple Pie for the win! |
We took a family walk and enjoyed the blue skies in the afternoon:
Turkey doesn't excite us, so we had steak for Thanksgiving dinner!
On Friday, we ventured out for some family fun at Jack Axe Throwing. Much to L&L's dismay, we did not throw axes. Instead, the kids and Mark played "The Floor Is Lava", a group challenge where they had 30 minutes to conquer an 18-level interactive digital floor game. They are proud to announce that they leaped, dodged, and raced fast enough to beat the game, and this was hilarious to watch:
We also rented the Mario Kart Arena where we raced each other in an epic driving experience! I will blame my 4th place finish on a faulty steering wheel (that came off my car), but the other 3 members of my family were extremely competitive in all 8 races:
On Saturday, it was time to pack up and head back home. Millie supervised as we loaded the car:
It was a quiet ride, and Mark and I reminisced about how different it is to travel with teenagers vs. small children:
We're gearing up for a festive December filled with many of our favorite holiday traditions. There are merry memories to be made!
