Oktoberfesting in the Dead of Summer.

Saturday morning Seth and I slept in a little bit, since F+F are getting big enough to- sometimes- be left to their own devices. They made crashing noises (and apparently helped themselves to ice cream, because whoever designed bottom drawer freezers definitely did not have kids) for about a half hour before I got up and discovered this funny scene on an already 85 degree day:

Like everybody else in this part of the world, F+F are ready for fall. And the weather is not cooperating.

I had to make a brutal down-and-back to Fort Benning for work this week, so Dad Night commenced, and I got hilarious photos like these. No kidding there was also a round two of ice cream (Seth said "the first one was a sno cone!" as if that made perfect sense, and I now have no question as to why he's the favorite parent.)

We were triple booked on Saturday, with a birthday party (no pictures because we were too busy sweating to actual death) and a baby shower, to which Finley was beside-herself-thrilled to be invited

followed by the Fort Bragg Oktoberfest, put on by the German Army liason team. The beer and food are allegedly flown in from Munich, but Natalie and I were just there for the kid photos:

OK, we also enjoyed the beer. But  the last minute trip to the costume store paid off big time (and we couldn't stop reflecting on how lucky these Army kids are to have friends-who-are-family.)

This might be my favorite photo of Handsome Ford and T3, ever. They were very proud of those lederhosen,

which- incredibly- survived more than an hour in the bounce house.

For Sunday Funday we finally gave into the fact that "fall" is a misnomer, and fled for the pool

which yielded this apropos photographic commentary on the Nieman interpretation of a "lazy weekend at home." 

Never a dull moment!

Dollywood!

This weekend was one of those blissful creations of the FORSCOM Gods you forget about when you're languishing in DC or at a TRADOC installation: the absolutely random and no less appreciated four-day. There was no reason for it, it corresponded with zero holidays, nobody else got two weekends after Labor Day off work, and that made it even better. We decamped to Dollywood, hoping to beat the crowds, as we had promised Ford we'd do ever since he- also for absolutely zero reason- came home from school begging to go.

First off, Dollywood is so. far. Almost six hours, to be exact, although you can see the hazy blue outline of the Smokies in only about four. Seth was beyond thrilled with a 7am wakeup on his day off. Second, we didn't realize it was Harvest Fest- a major planning fail- and apparently even on a non-holiday Friday, the allure is undeniable. Dollywood is crowded.

Third, it was hot. Like, North Carolina in late September, stupid hot.
Luckily, Dollywood had thought of everything and had mini-splash parks everywhere (this is Ford shooting Finley in the water gun fight of the century),

and I had decided to "go big or go home," and combined the trip with a stay at last year's greatest hit, Wilderness at the Smokies.

We got the two day Dollywood ticket (best plan ever, happened upon accidentally), and spent our days enjoying terrific shows and vintage cars,

historic carousels and yet another blasted steam locomotive (Ford's fave and the literal worst thing ever),

rides that everyone loved,

super creepy characters that exactly 1/2 of the family enjoyed (and the other half eyed suspiciously),

and a really incredible Birds of Prey show at the completely unexpected American Eagle Foundation, which turns out to be headquartered at Dollywood,

and which took all our money.

Birds collected the donations, what do you want from us?

Seth renewed his- very strong- application for Dad of the Year,

and we loved every second of cooling off at the only waterpark I've ever run across that doesn't make me want to bleach myself.

Which has all kinds of death defying slides for Finley (this isn't one of them, she just liked this one, and so did her very indulgent father)

and plenty for our cautious big guy, who is always eying stuff Finley is doing and informing us that "that looks dang'rous." (He can easily swim the width of the pool after diving in but wears a life jacket, you know, just in case.)

Also, we can highly endorse waterparks with tiki bars that open at hours that decent people aren't even awake yet. Key to vacation success.

Somewhere in there we even managed to discover a local joint- hard to come by in the Pigeon Forge metropolis- in Sevierville called Graze, which had these hilariously gigantic kid menu items,

and terrific live music. Which yielded this adorable dance

and the less-so production of Finley needing a "microphone" to put on her own show.

After this absolutely apropos mic drop marching out of the park

Seth the trooper drove all six hours home last night, as we were desperate for a "reset day" after three long ones of fun in the sun. We spent today doing laundry and wondering why you can't celebrate surviving Dollywood (and Wilderness at the Smokies) every day:

Although we sure are glad we did it.

One of my favorite photos of the week has nothing to do with our epic Smokies adventure and everything to do with the fact that F+F are currently obsessed with "The Descendants" and Finley made Ford a crown so he could be like "Prince Ben." And he wears it everywhere. And tells people "my sister made it."

A Fond Farewell to Summer

There was a moment on the Friday evening of Labor Day weekend; with the setting sun streaking the sky and the Sound with vivid shades of orange and purple, the kids scampering across the docks with their best friends, Natalie and I sipping pinot grigio out of (no kidding) pint glasses, Seth and Tommy watching the Army football game while chowing down on seafood, and live beach music playing in the background; that I thought life was just about as good as it gets.

And then Finley fell off the dock in her clothes and into the cottonmouth-infested soundside marsh. And emerged like this:

shouting "I didn't get bited by water snakes!" 

If you're a Nieman or a Ryan, you think that life just got even better, and you hustle a dripping Finley inside to high five the bartender and pick out a bar tshirt to wear as a dress so nobody has to leave an an indescribably perfect Friday evening. 

Which is exactly what we did. (Incidentally, if you are ever in the Outer Banks and have the opportunity to stop at Watermen's, don't skip it.)

And so went our memorable "farewell to summer" weekend. Jusssst in the nick of time, with Hurricane Dorian already kicking up some serious waves (OK, this picture is seriously misleading- they were huge),

we spent four blissful days full of friends (old and new),

seriously epic sunsets,

fishing,

"fishing,"

beach shenanigans,

and stuffing ourselves with donuts and Cheetos and s'mores (oh my!)

(also ice cream);

but also fresh, cooked-by-Dad, scallops!

There were lots and lots of (barnacle and fish hook) injuries, taped up with sports tape and the subject of immense pride and jealousy,

necessitating (in at least one case) a ridiculous amount of spoiling.

There were also pirate ships and hot tubs

and "practically perfect in every way" moments like this one.

We visited zero of the OBX tourist attractions, and we wouldn't have changed a thing. It was a "farewell to summer" for the ages, one of my very favorite trips with some of my very favorite people.

And this is how we all felt when we finally headed back to reality and school and an early fall that included the first hurricane brush of the season.

Tough to pick a favorite, but maybe the funniest photo of the weekend is of Seth and T3, discussing what you do if you catch a Great White Shark. (You punch it, of course.)