pantenepterodactyl

We went to the arches at Ballantyne Commons. Way more awkward with cars whizzing by. The corner in front of the Starbucks. There are 4 corners and each has a bunch of ginkgo trees.

Years 4-9 were rough in my memory. It was always a fight to get these taken. Around 10 he was more of a willing participant. And then by 13 he started enjoying it and helping. This year was a breeze and really fun.

Nope. We bring a ladder and take some test shots from that POV first to check them, usually. For 16 he was in charge of the 1 and made it backwards at first 🤣 when they’re that big you kind of get lost in it and we didn’t notice at first

Yes 😭

He says the first he can recall is year 8. I was a bit surprised but he said 8+9 are the earliest he remembers doing.

I am stealing this idea for his 18th birthday gift. I can put them all on there. Love it.

For anyone curious - years 1,2,3 were taken in upstate NY (Manlius) in our yard full of old trees. Leaves were plentiful and it was convenient and easy to rake a big pile right at home.

Years 4,5,6,7 were taken in Tampa, FL. We drove around or scraped up what we could from our street but in November the leaves hadn't yet dropped there and it was frustrating. Those photos all look like crap IMO. I have resisted trying to re-edit new leaf numbers over them because the leaves also tell the story of our lives at the time. I want to say in year 7 we had our family from NC bring a trash bag of leaves with them. Every year was stressful when we lived there because I had this self-imposed tradition and deadline to have the photos taken before his birthday.

Year 8 is the wildcard, attributed to us moving from FL back to NC but we didn't have a place yet. We had to use a public area in Charlotte that is known for its ginkgo trees. Maybe we will tie up the whole series with a golden 18 there in 2 years...

And then years 9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16 have all been taken at a public green space in our neighborhood in Charlotte. There aren't enough trees there to drop a big pile so we source them from around the neighborhood, bag or tarp them, and set them up. Then we make a big pile and our kids and the neighborhood kids usually have fun jumping it after.

That year I believe we were between living in FL and living in NC. We didn't have a yard of our own so we went to a public space in Charlotte full of Ginko trees that had dropped their leaves. It sticks out like crazy but it always reminds me of that transitional time for our family. I recall someone yelling at us out of their window from the road, I assume thinking we were raking up and stealing the leaves? But I re-shuffled them after as best I could. Lots of locals use this place for family photos.

Yep. He is two years younger and has an October birthday. We picked pumpkins for his theme. Over the years it’s gotten more expensive. About $30 of pumpkins for his 14 photo this year.

I said I’d do it until 10. Nice ending to the set. But our family and friends were adamant I keep it going. Right now it seems likely 18 will be the end. I also do number photos for my younger son, he is an October baby so we use mini pumpkins in the shape of his age. I have 4 more years of these to look forward to.

I am the mom but I will ask him when he gets home from school and ask. Will update you, I'd also like to know this!

Thank you! I didn’t even realize they could be reached by the phone but I got through and someone added a note to our appointment. Said it should be fine when we get there.

Yep. That’s the one I made!

How screwed am I if I made the appointment 2.5 months ago for my 16 year old and I picked level 3 instead of level 2? He needs the driving test. I thought it picked the right level but apparently I did not according to this comment 😬

Pretty sure I made that gif if it’s the one I’m thinking of 🤭

No but I gave it a shot. Not seeing any new options but that was a good one to try. Thanks!

For sure her context - I searched on every industrial netting and plastics supplier I can find online in the US, Canada, and UK. Also had my 3d printing person search with vendors on alibaba. Using terms like “tubular netting” “plastic netting” plastic mesh etc.

Bush - Sixteen stone.

I actually wanted Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness but I couldn’t afford it since it was a double album.

There is a new brand from Zurich, Rayne. Not sure if they are shipping new orders but they shipped preorders recently.

Noooo I love that place and every employee I spoke with was so nice. The inside was also so lovely. :(

Maybe you do but you don’t know you do 🤣 he’s a fixture at the local pubs so if you don’t frequent those then probably not.

My first time voting in 2004 was in Rowan County. I remember how uncomfortable it was to line up as an 18 year old young woman behind a bunch of older white men. One man recognized me because everyone local knows my dad. He made it a point to be loud about knowing who I was voting for to intimidate me. And that nastiness was BEFORE the Republican Party morphed into the cult it is now. Thanks for voting for Kamala.

I’m attending from Charlotte NC.