Spring Has Sprung

It’s my favorite time of the year. We say goodbye to the dark and cold winter days, and we welcome the sunny and warm days of spring. I love watching the flowers bloom and the trees turn green again in March and April. After a week of dreadful cold and snow, I’m eagerly awaiting spring this year. 

My house is ready, too. Spring has sprung and pastel colors are evident in every nook and cranny. 

My favorite pieces are the boys’ art work they did in elementary school in Georgia and my Easter tree from Austria. I’m so glad I splurged on that trip and bought those hand painted eggs! 

Made the Team

School was put on hold for more than a week when we had three rounds of ice and snow. This included soccer tryouts. On Tuesday everyone was back in school and soccer tryouts resumed. Both boys are playing varsity this year! I really hope we can maintain a full season this year because it will be so fun to watch. Go Hawks!

He’s a Vol

It’s official! We paid the deposit and signed the housing agreement last weekend. Evan is a Vol!

He wanted a big school with long established traditions and Saturday tailgating. He wanted big games and exciting sports programs. He wanted to be near the water and yet close to home. He needed a school with a wide range of degree programs. He needed an affordable tuition to keep him out of debt. I’d say he got that in UTK! 

He looks good in orange.

Snow Week

We got another three inches of fluffy powdery snow last night. I had my container on the porch ready to collect snow for snow cream. It was perfect!

The golf course is unrecognizable with all of this snow. 

We took hole 14 as our sledding spot today. When we moved two summers ago, we almost threw the sleds in the trash. I’m so glad we kept them because they are a hot commodity this week. 

Santa brought Evan waders for creek fishing. I had no idea Evan would use them in the snow before he got to the Red River.

Climbing back up that hill was a killer, but going down was SNOW much fun! And tomorrow is another snow day! The hill will be super slick tomorrow after it refreezes tonight. 

Snow Day

We’ve been iced in the house since Sunday night. Wes made a run to Walmart early this morning for odds and ends. Evan and I made a run to the gym at noon. We were all trying to beat round two of winter weather. In the past three days, we’ve eaten more calories than we should, we've done some bird watching, 

the boys have done school work, and I’m on book number 2. Today we finally got some heavy snow - perfect for sledding. 

No in-person school or work again tomorrow. I guess we will eat, watch birds, and sled.

This Month in Home Renovation

We are sitting at home watching it snow, and my creative mind is working in full force. I’ve spent hours on Pinterest. I have so many redecorating / repair projects in my head - namely the dining room and my popcorn ceilings - that I want to do. However, I’ve wanted a board and batten wall ever since we left the Edgewater house and my old dining room wall. I toyed with adding it to Keagan’s room for the longest. Then I thought about the dining room, and this week I settled on the guest room. 

Here is the plain wall behind the bed that was perfect for an accent wall. 

Here is the design I decided on and Wes brought to life with pre-primed pieces of pine. 

Here is the bright- almost too bright- green paint. 

And the finished project! I’m so pleased. Now, on to those popcorn ceilings.

Love is in the Air

We are anxiously anticipating a foot of snow beginning tonight. We weren’t really sure the roads would be ice free today, but luckily, the boys were able to spend Valentines with their girlfriends. 

Last night, Evan and Makinley had Mexican food and chocolate covered strawberries. After church this morning, they watched movies.

After swapping gifts this afternoon, Keagan and Madi had Mexican food and Sonic blasts. 

No flowers or eating out for me. Tomorrow, while it’s snowing like crazy, I’m getting a new accent wall in the guest room. 

Invite

Keagan received his first official invite for an ID camp. This one is hosted by a school in North Carolina. You better believe he’s done his research and knows every stat on the school’s soccer program. 

He’s so excited to begin this phase of recruiting. Yesterday he mustered the courage to email the coach of his #1 school choice. He was hoping to hear back from the coach today, but while checking email at lunch, he found this invite instead. He’s on cloud nine. I’m hoping this is one of many to come!

Final Tour

Evan and I were up real early for the trip to East Tennessee and an official tour of UT. We stopped for brunch in Kingston and found it to be just meh. We stopped for lunch in Knoxville after our tour and it was less than meh. While the food failed to impress us, our tour of the campus was great! We had great tour guides, and in what seemed like five minutes, we had completed our 1.5 hour tour. Our first stop was the Business School where we stopped to hear about an investment class and the fun fact that there are no Friday classes in the business school. At our second stop, Evan leaned over and said, “As boring as the stock market might be, I think I could learn to love it with no class on Fridays.” At our third stop, we learned student tickets to football games are only $10. When the family from New Jersey asked if there was any tailgating on game day, Evan had to stifle a laugh. He later told me, “Even Vandy, who can’t win even one game, has students tailgating at 0930 on game day mornings.”  At stop five, we walked the first floor of the library. Evan spotted the math student assistance center and committed it to memory. “I’m pretty sure I’ll need that place one day.”

Decision time is upon us. Will it be Go Blazers! or Go Vols!?