The Last Dinner

The struggle with maintaining the various eating habits of eight people has been real this weekend. We eat one big meal a day. She eats two meals he a day. He eats three big meals a day. They eat five meals a day. I won’t lie. The food shortage, having the appropriate food, and the timing of meals has been difficult for me to manage. So we went out to eat for lunch today. We drove to downtown Franklin and had lunch at one of the locals’ favorite places. After our fill of southern food, we played a game of Top Golf. 

Today we said goodbye. The cousins had a great time playing Apples to Apples, a video game or two, and hide-and-go-seek. 

I’m off to plan today’s lunch for a party of four. 

Down on the River

After church this morning, we spent the afternoon at The Narrows of the Harpeth. We hiked to the top of the overlook for a beautiful view.  

To Wes’s great dismay, the kiddos literally sat on the edge of the precipice. 

Climbing back down was easier than going up, but we had to hike our way back up on the second trail that took us to a small waterfall. We skipped rocks, got in the water to cool off, and climbed to the top of the waterfall. 

After stopping at the creamery for double scoops of ice cream, we are headed home before the storm hits. 

College Visit

Today we hit the road to East Tennessee and did our self-guided tour of UT. After today’s walk around campus, I was sold. I loved it! The combination of historical buildings and modern structures was fascinating to me. But what does my opinion mean? Absolutely nothing, but Evan agreed to put it on his list in the top three. 

I learned the story of Smokey, and we found just about every statue while on our tour. 

As soon as COVID calms down and gives us back our lives, we have plans to take an official tour. 

This Week in Home Renovation

Today Evan and his girlfriend drove to Indiana to spend the day at an amusement park - the first to reopen in our area. They were up at 0630, bought their tickets online for a discount, packed their lunches to save money, and took her car because it gets better gas mileage. These are adult decisions made by two 17 year olds. If you have a 13 year old who gets in the car without shoes and you wonder how he will ever be successful in life, then I’m here to tell you there is hope! 

Meanwhile, the construction team got the new tub and surround installed in Keagan’s bathroom. It was delayed due to bad plumbing and then an uneven floor. The two day job turned into four.

Keagan is excited to be able to sleep in his own bed tonight because no one will be in his room at 0800 drilling or cutting tile. They will be back Monday, though, to finish up caulk work and install the shower head. Wes and I are painting the walls a greige color tomorrow afternoon. Then we just wait for the vanity to ship. It’s all coming together just as I envisioned. 

Soccer Offers

Although limited to groups of ten and still unable to make contact, we are back on the pitch. Both boys attended travel soccer tryouts this past week. In May Keagan and I thought this would be a super easy tryout year. Then we found out our coach was moving, we lost four players, and the replacements Keagan had been recruiting decided they wanted to go elsewhere. But it seems to have all been resolved and Keagan is joining the same team he played with last year. He got his offer today.

Evan’s situation was even messier, but we found a new club with old friends and a great coach. Tuesday night he was one of the first to get an offer. He will be a starting CB and playing with many of the players on his previous NFC team. He’s so happy-happier than I have seen him in a long while. I feel like this is so well deserved because, quite frankly, for the past two years he’s been given the short end of the stick with lies, false promises, and bad luck. It has not been fun for him. This is his last travel soccer season; I hope it includes everything he has wanted the past four years.

Now we have to just hope COVID doesn’t get in the way of our fall season. 

My Kitchen is Done

It has taken two weeks but my kitchen is finally done. I love it!! I’m most pleased with the beautiful quartz (Calacutta Maximus), and the color of the cabinets accentuates it perfectly. 

In this picture the cabinets appear white, but they are gray, SW Anew Gray.

Wes did the backsplash like he’s being doing this for years.

I had to keep the wood accent piece. It warms the room. 

This week we are renovating Keagan’s bathroom. The cream tub was removed yesterday and replaced with white. We also changed the plumbing to allow for a higher shower head. Previously, he had to stoop to wash his hair. The new tile was laid today. 

Tonight Keagan asked me when I thought our house would be free of strange people. What he really wants to know is when will he be able to sleep in past 0800 again.

Home Renovation Update

People! We have new counters, painted cabinets, under the counter lighting, and now a back splash. We started with torn Sheetrock and decided to pull it out and replace it with a smooth board. 

From here, Daddy added the wiring needed for the counter lights.

Thankfully, my dad was here to offer Wes some advice and guidance with the green board.

Then Wes was able to start laying the tiles. 





Tomorrow we start grouting, and by we, I mean Wes.

Kentucky College Visits

The kitchen is in the middle of construction. We had the countertops installed on Monday. The quartz is everything I envisioned! I just love them!

The paint team has been working on the cabinets for the past three days. I can’t cook. I can’t even make a sandwich, so Evan and I decided this was perfect timing for college visits. 

After three hours on the road, the first stop was Louisville. The sports facilities and fields were about the only thing that impressed Evan (and me). 

After lunch, we headed East for UK. We drove through the quaint downtown area of Lexington with lots of restaurants and shops, and as we got closer to campus, I fell in love with the student shopping area and restaurants. We arrived just as a big storm was rolling in, so as we sat it out, Evan said, “I never thought it would be this nice.”

 

Once the campus opens, he will sign up for a guided tour. 

I haven’t been able to dissuade him; Evan wants to attend a large university. He wants the strong athletic tradition, a fraternity experience, a pre-pt program, and the school spirit that accompanies tradition. He ranks his top choices as 1. UAB, 2. UK, 3. Auburn. However, we still have UT to visit. Next month, we will make our way to East Tennessee.

Training

No contact, small group soccer training is now allowed! Last week my boys returned to the field for footwork and agility training. It has been a LONG time coming. These two have been training and/or playing together for five years; it was so good to see them both on the field again.