Happy Fourth!

This is as festive as our Fourth of July got. 

Exactly six years ago we were unpacking and moving into our new house in Tennessee. Apparently my long term memory is fuzzy and I’ve forgotten the anxiety and stress that comes with moving because here we are moving again. While cleaning out the kitchen, I came across this light up flag. I knew Keagan would find the perfect way to celebrate with it. He did not disappoint. 

https://youtu.be/mQkcLHQq3zc

His interpretive dance is spot on.

Between moving, cleaning the house, and cuddling with a scared dog, this is all we could muster this year. We didn’t even watch the neighborhood fireworks because the dog was crying and the mosquitoes were biting.  

Next year I’ll be sure to medicate the dog, and from my mosquito free screened porch, I’ll watch the fireworks show without a care in the world! This year’s sleeping on air mattresses and eating PBJ for lunch will be a distant memory. 

Another Milestone

Highschool. Homecoming. Drivers ed. First car. ACT. They are all teenager milestones, and today we added another to the list. We spent the better half of our afternoon at the bank getting this. To mark the occasion, he took his girlfriend to Sonic and bought her ice cream. 

The summer leadership program suggested we send him with spending money. There was no way I was sending him to NYC with a wad of cash, so a checking account with a debit card was the next best idea. Now that he knows how to pay for his gas with cash 😉, he now gets to learn how to use his own card and his own money. 

Now we cross our fingers he doesn’t lose it or leave home without it.

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.