New Season, New Club, New Team

My favorite season is here! Travel soccer season! Sadly, after 15 years of soccer played in various states throughout the Southeast, we have reached our very last travel season. This weekend was our first weekend of friendlies to prepare the team for state league play. 

My favorite player is wearing the random #32. 

I won’t mince words. This weekend was rough; our coach has his work cut out for him. 

Year Two

We moved Evan into his room today. We learned many lessons from last year’s move. Namely, he doesn’t need it and he won’t use it, so today we were in the room and out of the room in an hour. 

He’s living in the AGR house this year. I could detect smells / odors upon entering the building, but my brain can still not identify them. So it didn’t smell bad or good - to me anyway. Wes could smell it and he decided sitting outside in near 100 degree temps was better than sitting in the semi- air conditioned dorm. What I could clearly detect was a dirty room. I tried to sweep the floor with a broom that had probably been in that house for twenty years. It didn’t push one thing out of that room. I tried to convince Evan to clean the air vents with the vacuum that the neighbor was using, but I’m almost certain that won’t happen. So I plugged in that air purifier and turned it to high. And I really wanted to mop the floor, but I wasn’t sure how old or dirty the water was in the bucket sitting in the hallway. So I left him living in filth. 

And he was so happy to be there - happier than being in his clean room at home with dependable AC, clean floors, a private bath, and purified air. 

He has more than a week before classes begin, but I’m certain he will find ways to fill his time. Like hanging out with Smokey. 

Last First Day

Today was Keagan’s LAST first day; he’s never been this happy to go back to school. He’s a SENIOR! (Seniors wear all black, hence, the choice in first day clothes.) However, he told me, “Don’t worry. I’ll be hating it again by Friday.” He’s taking two college classes this year and serving as a peer mentor for special needs kids. 

I look at his first day of kinder pics and remember crying after I put him on the bus in Georgia with his “soldier hair.”

There were no tears today - not because of Keagan starting his senior year anyway. I may have cried knowing I had to wear this shirt on my first day. 

I came home and Wes said, “Did you wear that all day?” Then Evan said, “What’s up with the fit?” Ummmmm. I am an elementary school teacher, People. 

I’m praying for a Covid free year, two healthy knees, four points on the math section of the ACT, an athletic scholarship, and a year of wonderful memories! 

The Grand Canyon

Wes can check the Grand Canyon off of his bucket list! We made the two hour drive today so he could see it. 

Tomorrow we head back home to our real lives. Nobody is more excited for that than Evan. 

Sedona Day #3

Today we took the highly regarded Pink Jeep tour up Broken Arrow Trail. We could have walked it, but the Jeep was much more fun - and much easier. 

The views of the Red Rocks were great - unless you are Evan. Then “they are just rocks.”

Our tour guide let us have a little fun with the camera. Notice he did not choose Evan. This might have been intentional. 

We stopped at Submarine point for more pictures and more views. This is my favorite!

And then we headed back down the trail to Uptown. 

Wes and I took the boys back to the VRBO to sleep, and in an effort to beat the next storm, the two of us hiked Airport Mesa Trail. Parking lot #1 was filled with emergency vehicles as they were in the midst of rescuing a hiker on a stretcher. I wondered what we were about to get into, but we trekked on to parking lot #2 and got started on the rocky trail. 

The view at the top allowed us to see all of the Red Rocks at once. However, the energy from the vortex did nothing for me but make me sleepy. The warm sun. The cool rocks. I could have taken a nap. I feel jipped that I didn’t feel my spirit soar or get to take advantage of heightened spiritual awareness or feel the mystical energy promised by all of the print material.

The storms can be heard in the distance. It won’t be long before the rains arrive.  There isn’t much to do indoors when it rains. Maybe I can talk the boys into having our palms read or have our aura pictures taken. Or not. Maybe we can just stretch out and rest until it blows over. 

Upper Antelope Canyon

We got so lucky! The monsoon season started early this year and many places in the desert are experiencing flash flooding. All of the lower slot canyons are closed this week due to flooding. The upper slot canyons closed yesterday due to flooding. Our timing for today’s tour was perfect, and I got to check another place off of my bucket list. 

Page is a three hour drive from Sedona, so we were up at 5:30 for an early morning drive through the desert and onto Navajo lands. But that long drive was worth it! Look at these pictures Wes and Keagan captured in the slot canyon. 

Once we made it through the canyon, we had to hike back across the mountain to the parking lot. It was an  easy hike but made tougher due to thick sand. 

After lunch, we drove by Glen Canyon Dam to snag a picture. 

Then we drove the five minutes to Horseshoe Bend.

And just like that two of my bucket list places can be checked off of my list!

Sedona Day #2

Today’s morning hike took us to the Instagram worthy pictures taken at Devil’s Bridge. We hiked the Dry Creek Bed Trail (and this time the expression on Evan’s face is indicative of how he feels - he’s not into rocks or early mornings or combinations of these two). 

About 3/4 of the way we took a water break and thought we had some beautiful views…

until we reached the apex of the trail and found Devil’s Bridge. 

Going the two miles down the mountain was harder because you had to brace yourself to keep from slipping down the steep, smooth rocks. The sun burned through the clouds, too, so the temp was a bit warmer. However, I will not complain! The temps today are a good 20 degrees cooler than what they were last week. 

After lunch, we window shopped in town at Tlaquepaque. This super cute shopping district screams Mexico with the stucco, colorful tile work, and bronze art work. The fountains, flowers, and fauna made this stop a favorite because all of the colors differed so much from the natural landscape. 

Another stop took us to an eclectic shopping area that included hand-made art work and a greenhouse filled with succulents. 

After a “mid-Mexican meal”, Evan and I walked off our ceviche at Mystic Trail. 

Day 2 is in the books. We have already done so much and have seen so much that I feel like we have been here a week.