Rogue River

Carson joined his family on a rafting trip down the Rogue River in Oregon! He was gone for eight days, and got to spend time with family both during and on either side of the trip.

He had black licorice ice cream, which is one of his favorite flavors.

The Original Bay Family!

Camp

After they'd rafted and set up camp each day, everyone went hiking and exploring.

Carson speaks fondly of this natural water slide.

After they were off the river, they got to spend time with Grandpa Lowell

And got to meet their cousin Savannah's little boy, Maxwell. Carson says that after he'd left, he realized they should have grabbed a picture of all of them!

Carson got home on a Tuesday afternoon, and since I was at work, a coworker picked him up and then he taught his first class of the semester on the same day. He had a great time, and came back with lots of bruises and scratches from all his adventures. He's looking forward to the next trip already!

Labor Day

For Labor Day, we decided to head on over to the beach! It had been a rather gloomy weekend, but the sun came out bright and early on Monday morning, which is coincidentally when we set out. We decided to go to Panama City, because we like the clear blue water and the bright white sand. It's in Central Time zone, so we gained an hour on the way there.

We brought watermelon and popcorn to snack on. I'd thought about bringing sandwiches too, but neither of us are fans of sandwich bread enough to keep it on hand all the time, so I just grabbed what we had. Carson is reading the Iliad here - the perfect beachy read!

It was a lovely day, and we ended it by picking up hot dogs on the way home to grill on our tiny new $9 gas grill we picked up at Walmart recently. It's small but the perfect size, and a lot faster than the charcoal grill we had been using! All in all, we spent Labor Day the way you're "supposed" to spend it - on the beach and with the grill. We were still in bed pretty early that night ready to enter the real world again the next day :)

While the Cat's Away

Carson had a busy travel month! He went back to Berlin at the beginning of the month, and then out to the West Coast at the end of it. I stayed behind while he enjoyed a rafting trip, and here's what I did! (Pictures of his more exciting adventures to come, when I get copies of his pictures)

I saw him off! It also happened to be my first day back to work!

Saw the 2017 Solar Eclipse! We had 86% coverage here in Tallahassee, so we got a good view, and the sky turned eerily dark-yet-bright, but nothing like they had in the Carolinas.

I went through exactly one day of training for my old job, and then they got me out of it! It had been over a year since I'd worked, so technically I needed to do it, but then again, I knew what to do and they needed me so... I didn't have to do it. 

We bought a rug and it was delivered while Carson was gone! I dragged this behemoth into the apartment and rolled it out by myself. I don't know if you've had the pleasure of trying to put a rug underneath a table, but it was definitely a challenge.

My friend Christina does girls' retreats all over the US and in several places around the world, so we helped her pack some gifts for her upcoming trip to Swaziland.

I made caramel in the crockpot! All you do is put a sealed can of condensed milk (wrapper off) into the crockpot, cover with water, and cook on low for 8 hours. After it's cooked, take it out and put it in the fridge for at least 2 hours. I did mine overnight and popped it in the fridge before work in the morning. It was GOOD and I'm not a super caramel fan; I just wanted to see if it works (Carson loves all things sweet, so don't worry, he loved this experiment!).

I bought two crates at Jo-Ann Fabrics and used some leftover paint to make a cheap nightstand. Glued them together with wood glue (instead of a clamp, I piled books inside to help the glue stay) and then did one final coat when it was all together. This may not be my forever nightstand, but it was much better than the box I was using before!

I went through stuff and threw things away or donated - here's nail polish I got rid of!

I spent a good amount of time with Christina and Josh. They live right across the street, and so I went over there a few times, or we'd meet at the gym for a workout. One night we used her gel nail stuff and did our fingers and toes. I think this thing is so cool.

On Sunday, Christina and I went to church together and then ran to Target for a few things for her trip. She had a gift card and offered to buy my Starbucks drink - it's been awhile since I've been there!

After our Target run, we went to the Pitaria, a really delicious Gyro place. 

 I made a wifi sign for our guest room.

Meanwhile this is how that room looked!

I was adjusting something and this metal pipe snapped!

Maintenance took care of it within a day which was such a relief!

 This bookcase has been such a dark hole in our living room, so I'd planned to whitewash it, but when I got started, I realized that painting it was probably a better way to go. It looks much better now.

And the day Christina left for Africa, I had the day off, so we met at the gym and then walked around Lake Ella together before she flew out!

Finally, 8 days after he'd left, Carson returned! The house looked totally different because the boxes were unpacked and things were on the walls and I'd made two trips to Goodwill with things we no longer needed, so there was just less to clutter our place. 

Picked him up from school after work on a rainy Tuesday!

Pictures of the updated apartment and more coming soon!