Happy 17th Birthday

Today my baby boy, my road trip partner, my ultra competitive soccer player, my witty, funny boy is 17! 

We celebrated with his favorites - soccer, French toast, Panera, and birthday cake. 

The only way the day could be better is if Evan were here to celebrate with us. Evan knew he would miss the day, so he made sure to find a UT shirt for him. 

I love you big, Keagan. No one makes me laugh like you. No one is more fun to take road trips with. There’s nothing I like better than watching you play the game you love.

My prayer is your knees remain strong, you stay healthy in the midst of the pandemic, and your days are filled with joy. 

Torch Night

The class of 2025 participated in the annual Torch Night event at Neyland Stadium. The freshmen light candles and carry glowsticks to the stands where they (many years ago at least) pledge allegiance to UT. It is a rite of passage for Volunteers where they learn how they can make a difference in their school and community. The night wraps up with the Rocky Top Rally. Evan is one of 6000 freshman and standing in the lower right corner. You see him?

State League Game #1 in Pictures

My favorite season is here! Travel soccer season has arrived! 

We won our first state league game of the season 5-1. Keagan had two penalty kicks that were perfectly placed. Lots of trash talking, lots of warnings for physical play, and many instances of down right disrespect for the game from the other team’s players. 

I’m so excited for this season and what’s to come. My prayer is that Keagan’s knees will stay healthy!

Move In Day

Today was the long awaited college move-in day. While I’ve been prepping for this days for months, Evan decided to finally pack his clothes last night at 8:00. When we started unpacking today, I found a pair of Keagan’s shoes and a child sized jersey. He also packed four swim trunks and only six pairs of underwear. Clearly, there was little thought placed with what went in the bag. 

He said good-bye to Keagan at 0630. He didn’t shed a tear and was relieved to have the hardest good-bye out of the way first.  He said, “If I didn’t cry saying good-bye to Keagan then I think I can go the full day with no tears.” 

Despite his procrastination with packing, he has been mentally ready to move for months! The past few weeks he’s been in contact with dozens of guys that he has “met” through the dorm chat, social media, rush, campus ministries, and the canoe trip. He left home with an open mind (as open minded as Evan can be), a true willingness to meet as many people as possible, and an excitement for the adventure ahead. 

Our check in time was 11:00. By 2:30, we had the carpet down, the bed made, and the clothes unpacked. I cringed when I saw Evan stuff clothes in his drawers with no organizational method. He said, “I’m living here, Mom. You don’t have to worry about it any more.”

We had a late lunch at a restaurant on the river and

 took Wes on a short walking tour of campus. 

There were no tears, but I’m saddened to say good-bye to my Orange Theory partner, the one I “share a brain” with, and my Mavericks game watching partner. He will be home in three weeks. I’m already planning his favorite meal, looking forward to going to the gym with him, and excited to watch a game with him. 

Dude Date

Keagan has school on Friday and is unable to go with us to Knoxville to move Evan into his dorm. Today the boys enjoyed their last day together in the city. They played Top Golf, had lunch at Pucketts, and then came home to swim. 

A little water basketball goes a long way. 

I may have a difficult time saying good-bye on Friday, but Keagan is going to miss Evan terribly. Today was good for them. 

I’ve been so caught up with making sure Evan has everything he needs (dozens of Amazon boxes have been delivered in the last month) that I totally forgot high school existed. I realized tonight that Keagan has no school supplies for his first full day tomorrow. 😳. I was scrounging through drawers at 8:00 to find some pens and post-its. Tonight he asked, “Mom, can you sign these forms for school? You know that place I go to every day called high school.” Two days. In two days he will have my full attention and then wish I had forgotten high school existed. 

First Day of School

It’s the first day of Keagan’s junior year! 

Don’t let the smile fool you; he’s not excited to be back at school. School interferes with soccer and gets in the way of what he really wants to do. This will be a hard year with AP classes and the required studying. 

Summer Road Trip Finale

It’s a super sad weekend for me. School begins again for me this week, and I must say good-bye to pool days, hours with a book in my hand, and alarm free mornings. I wrapped up my last day the very best way possible - watching Keagan play soccer.

Camp was called early due to stormy weather. Wes met us in Asheville, and he was tagged it for the final school visit on Monday. 

Keagan is only looking at schools with soccer programs. Today’s tour took him to Mars Hill University. 

This school is much smaller than the last two schools we visited, and it certainly lacks the wow factor of HPU and the beauty of UNCA. However, Keagan really just wants to find a school and coach that will let him play soccer. 

While we most certainly research each school’s degree programs and while we want a first hand look at the soccer facilities, housing options are just as important to Keagan. Our very first school visit at Union will be hard to beat in that area. In my eyes, HPU is hard to beat academically. UNCA’s population and location in the mountains is by far the best college environment. 

He still has plenty of time and a full list of more schools to visit. However, visits are on hold because the very best season is upon us - travel ball season!