Back in the South.

This is what Sunday evening looks like these days. Friends (that's Sally of West Point fame's absurdly muscular back), kids, swimsuits, heat lightning, sprinklers, hot dogs, and golf carts.

There are times, sure, that I miss weekend adventuring up and down the Hudson Valley. Lots of them.

But there is an argument to be made along the lines of "why would you go anywhere else?" (This is Finley by the pool today, informing me that she's "GLAM-or-ous.")

F+F have had a couple of weeks to get settled in and all in all, it's going pretty well. Sure, Ford sometimes says plaintively at bedtime, "I want to go home," which breaks our hearts just a little bit even if we're not 100% sure this is moving (rather than bed-avoiding) related.

But they seem to have gotten pretty comfortable terrorizing the neighborhood with their friends,

ordering lunch at the Club (they insist on sitting at the bar),

and making daily trips to the pool, hurricane season notwithstanding.

 

It's been a couple weeks since my last update, as hurricane downpour has made internet connectivity a bit dicey. In the interim F+F have adapted to (semi-) rural living (this is at a friend of Seth's house, where they discovered chickens)

 gotten in another round of kid date night (Finley's included a luxurious pedicure, cupcakes, "INdian food!"- her request- and snapchat with Aunt Nicole),

 welcomed Grandma Jayne back to NC,

and discovered the magical, if exhausting, powers of Chick-fil-a.

Seth changed command, on a whirlwind of a Friday morning that involved a killer speech and terrific ceremony (his),

four surreptitious donuts (Finley's),

and a return trip to the fabulous Play Escape in Southern Pines (the kids plus Jayne and I, although Ford's the one who really killed it.)

We got to see (and share our gas stove marshmallow roasting technique with) Scott & Grace,

 and survived F+F's first real sleepover. Which was totally and completely insane.

And resulted in Ford having discovered- inadvertently- bright red, incredibly long-lasting lipstain.

All in all, it's been a pretty great couple summer weeks back in the South. Crazy move notwithstanding.

Just look at Handsome Ford's (picture of the week, obvi) poolside selfie.