The Great Packout

Today is the day. Let the great pack out for move #10 (and the very last) begin. But before the moving company arrives, make sure you pull aside the essentials: pots, plates, peanut butter (you have to eat this week), the lock box, cleaning supplies, the iron, the mop, Hunter’s Christmas gift, pet food, blankets (you will sleep on the floor once the beds are packed but you still need bedding), soccer gear (we still have training), travel documents, towels, toilet paper, and clothing for 19 days. Then be sure to clean out that last closet at 10:30 that Keagan was supposed to have done last week because there is no need to take more than you have to. Lord help me! Please remind me to never do this again!

Texas Trip

This past week was our annual summer trip to Texas. It was only three days, but it was three days packed full of family, food, and fun in the most beautiful place in Texas - my parents’ house. Keagan told me he sat outside on the porch with Opa every morning and finally figured out why Opa made that a part of his daily routine. “It’s the birds, Mom. They make so many different sounds.”

My mom made enough food to feed an army. We never have to worry about going hungry. 

Keagan living his best life as a “Paul” drinking a smoothie and working on his tan. 

The cousins spent endless hours in the pool and were still swimming in the evening when the coyotes came out to hunt. 

My aunt brought my grandmother and Eirick for the day. Before arriving, they stopped at Euford’s in Pittsburg to pick up my favorite peaches.

And when it was time for them to go, Evan scooped the baby up so he wouldn’t burn his feet walking to the car.

Until next summer.

Summer Time = Recovery Time

It wouldn’t be summer time in our house if someone wasn’t in recovery. Last summer it was Ryker and Evan. This summer it’s Keagan. While going in for a tackle at soccer tryouts, another boy shot the ball just as Keagan’s foot rest on the ball. His knee shifted as his leg was forced back. After a trip to the ER, an appointment at the orthopedic wing, and a visit to the brace shop, he’s wearing this. 

No sports for 4-6 weeks. Even if he has a tear, surgery is not an option. Just rest. Ice. Elevate. Ibuprofen. Repeat. To compensate for his pain, his boredom, and crappy luck, I took him shopping for new athletic clothes. The irony is not lost on me.

Family Fun Day

Family Fun Day has us completing one item on Evan’s AP Bio scavenger hunt. 

We hiked one of the trails of a state park in Kentucky. 

Here’s Evan trying not to laugh at Keagan’s park ranger story about “wild ants.”



Here’s Keagan relishing his moment in the spotlight while making us all laugh. 

That 1/4 mile trek around the lake made the boys hungry, so as soon as we were back within cell range both were googling ice cream shops. 

I Never Thought I’d See the Day

I never thought I’d see this day. But here we are with both boys at team camp for the highschool basketball team. It may be a fuzzy picture, but it makes my heart smile to see them together. 

While I want to celebrate the perseverance and gumption of Evan for overcoming injuries, putting aside his pride, and waking into the unknown with confidence so he could play basketball again, my heart breaks to see Keagan on the bench in an immobilizer. This is not how it was supposed to be. I just pray the injury is short-lived and nothing too serious.

Day two of team camp coming up! I pray Evan can stay healthy.

Family Fun Day

We are still plugging along through Evan’s AP Bio scavenger hunt. Today’s activity was a visit to the art museum in Nashville to see the Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera exhibition. Keagan refused to join us stating, “There are two things I hate in life: baseball and art. I’m not spending my free day looking at art.”

I told him he could stay home if he read. I thought that would persuade him to go with us, but he grabbed National Geographic and read an article about the abuse involved with wild animals performing for tourists.

Then Evan decided he was going to the art museum in his athletic shorts and his “There’s Only Two Genders” T-shirt. Wes refused to let him wear it because it’s too controversial - especially for anyone visiting an art museum - and demanded he put his church clothes back on.  There were some tense exchanges involving the phrases Communism and freedom of speech, but ultimately, Wes won. 

Family fun day? I think I’m the only one who had any fun. 

3v3 Soccer

A little summer time 3v3 soccer was on today’s agenda. What fun! We got placed in the highschool bracket playing older, bigger, and faster players. We placed fifth but at least we weren’t in last. Coach Evan had to give the ref a little bit of help in the last two games because he “didn’t know the rules.” He might have also been confused about the rules for the recreational use of illegal substances. 😂

On another note, I finally won the headband war with Keagan. He’s decided they actually look good and “train” his hair to sit off of his forehead. And, you won’t believe this, but they also keep the hair out of his eyes. “I told you so” is on the tip of my tongue.