Wow! I feel like this week crept by. On Tuesday, I said, “How is it only Tuesday?”…and then I said the same thing on Wednesday!
Anyway, as always, I’m linking up with Erika and Andrea for this week’s Friday Favorites.
Here are some favorites from the week:
Since last Friday, I recapped our fall break Florida trip, I have few pictures of favorites from last week as well as from this week too.
Hadley’s volleyball season wrapped up last week. They had such a great season and finished third in the city tournament. Then, they had one more home game and won it to cap off the season.
It’s hard to believe her first high school season is over, but it was a good one. She also had a lot of amazing older varsity players to look up to, and senior night was fun to watch.
Trav’s brother came and snapped a few pics, and I love the action shots.
She has a little break before club season starts.
The cross country season is still going on. Right now, just the runners who are running at the region and state meet these next two weekends have been practicing, but last Thursday, the whole team met up to run through a neighborhood and look at the Halloween decorations and lights.
I’d say that’s a fun way to do a workout!
Friday night, we went to our school’s soccer game. It was a beautiful night, and they won the region game.
Saturday night, the kids went to “Fright Night” and had a great time. Hayden was there too…but he does a great job dodging photos. haha
On Sunday, Hadley was all dressed up…
…to celebrate her friend’s birthday. This is such a sweet group of girls.
Our front yard tree’s leaves finally changed colors.
She’s a beaut but missing her friend…
I was very happy about some chocolate cake on Monday!
Travis and I were able to spend some time at Keeneland this week was nice! The fall meet ends tomorrow, so I was glad to go there for a bit before the season ends.
The second horse is by one of his farm’s stallions…and she tied for second in this race.
Favorite Mom Meme:
This couldn’t be more true…
Bonus Fave: Flashback Friday:
Whenever I think of Keeneland, I think of this sweet memory…The kids were cheering for a horse, and I guess the horse lost…by a nose!
Weekly Recap:
Here are my posts from the week in case you missed one:
How was your week? Well, ours started off ok just getting back in the groove after a week off, but Travis was sick at the start of the week, and now it’s my turn to be under the weather.
Hopefully, we’ll rally for the weekend and have a better week next week.
As always, I’m linking up with Andrea and Erika for this week’s Friday Favorites.
Here are some favorites from the week:
It’s hard to believe that a week ago we were headed home from one of our favorite places. I had intended to share our trip recap today, but I just didn’t have it in me to get such a large post organized, written, and published. I hope to work on in this weekend in order to share next week.
Anyway…on to this week…
I started Saturday morning at home which is always a nice place to be after a week away. Instead of a mimosa from Modica Market, I sipped my coffee out of my new mug.
While in Seaside on the last morning, I went to one of my favorite spots…the bookstore. I picked up this 30A coloring book (as well as a book, a puzzle, and a sticker for my Kindle)
It’s been relaxing coloring a few pages.
It’s been fun watching the KC Royals in the post season…something that hasn’t happen since 2015. Saturday night was so nice that we watched the game on the back patio. Unfortunately, we were losing, so I told Hayden to put on his “rally cap,” and he flipped up his hood. haha
Tuesday night, Hayden ran in the “city championship” race, and it was so beautiful outside.
Hayden had a PR, running 20 seconds faster than his last race, and he reached his goal of running under 17 minutes for a 5K. He was so happy after the race, and he placed in the top 15 in the city.
While at home yesterday, I started Nobody Wants This. I’m three episodes in, and it’s a cute and funny show.
October is one of my favorite months, so of course I love seeing graphics like this one…
Well, I can’t believe it, but today is our last day of school before fall break! I feel like the first couple of weeks of school moved slowly, but September sure felt like it flew by.
As always, I’m linking up with Erika and Andrea and for this week’s Friday Favorites.
I have quite a few favorites, so here we go:
Friday, two students gave me friendship bracelets they made me. One of them is a combo of their names, and the other stands for “we need to talk” because that’s what they always say when they come and ask me a question. It was such a sweet gesture!
My brother’s family got a new pup a few weeks ago. Growing up, our family dog was a Doberman, and my brother wanted one for his family. Tucker is a handful, but he’s a cutie…especially when he’s sleeping 😉
Hayden had a meet in Louisville last Saturday, and he had another PR. The high school races are so different than the middle school ones. I’m lucky to see him once in the hundreds of runners and the races are longer which means I feel like I’m waiting forever to see him!
My dad was in town last week and got to see Hayden’s race.
Hadley had a tournament in Louisville on Saturday as well.
So, after Hayden’s race, we made our way to the tournament. The Major got to see that activity as well.
Right after the tournament ended, we hurried home. I had to wake up at 5:00 that morning, so I was ready to get home and take a quick nap before all of the Homecoming activities started.
Hadley had a couple of friends come over to get ready around 3:30. Once they were ready, I dropped them off at dinner with their group before meeting for pictures before the dance.
Hadley’s date brought her flowers, and they were so pretty.
Hadley and her friends all looked beautiful.
We continue to have good luck with finding dresses online. This was the first dress we ordered, and Hadley loved it.
Look at this crew…they all went to elementary school together, and have been friends for ten years!
Yes, Hayden is friends with the same crew…but didn’t have Homecoming on his freshman year Bingo card 😉 Once he found out it cost money for the ticket, he was out! haha (I did tell him I’d give him money for the ticket, but no dice on that offer.)
Can you believe this entire crew got a dinner reservation at the same restaurant? We reminded them to tip (at least!) 20%. 😉
They all went to the dance for a bit and then Hadley hung out with some friends after the dance. Overall, I think they had a great time.
Favorite Meal:
I’ve probably shared this recipe before, but I made One Pot Chicken Alfredo again this week, and it was a hit. One of my pet peeves is boiling water and having to wait on it to put my pasta in. I love a one pot recipe where the noodles cook in the same dish as the rest of the ingredients!
Favorite Mom Meme:
The number of times I ask kids to pick up their shoes…
Bonus Fave: Flashback Friday
Look at this toothless pic from 2015. My kids loved playing soccer when they were little. They were on team Force and had both scored three goals each! Confession: I’m glad the soccer years are over. I know we do club seasons in other sports, but soccer seems intense! Both kids have friends who play competitively, and it seems like a huge commitment.
What are your weekend plans? Well, it’s the start of fall break for us, and we are ready for it! I hope to still have a few posts next week, so I will see you then.
Are you superstitious? I am…about the number 13! That being said…fun fact: this is my 1,113th post that I’ve shared.
How was your week? We’ve had a really good full week, but I’m definitely ready for the weekend.
As always, I’m linking up with Andrea and Erika for this week’s Friday Favorites.
Here are some favorites from the week.
Taking it back to last weekend, I went with Hadley to Sevierville, TN for the team’s volleyball tournament.
Usually, the varsity team goes to Chicago in October, but this year, the boosters and coaches decided to pay for all three teams to go to this tournament. The girls left from school on Friday morning, rode a charter bus, received goody bags, and had all their meals paid for….and…bonus – they stayed at The Wilderness at the Smokies Lodge which has an indoor water park.
It was so fun to watch all three teams all weekend. The freshmen team played in the JV tournament, and had three games Friday night. We didn’t get back to the hotel until around 10:30. They won all three games.
Since the girls won all their games, they didn’t have to be up super early as their first game wasn’t until 11:00. They won their first game that morning which was the last pool play game. They grabbed some lunch, and played a couple of hours later. Since they were 4-0, they made it to the gold (best) bracket of the JV tournament. Unfortunately, they lost the first tournament game in three sets…and the last set’s score was 14-16! It was a nail biter.
They played their hearts out and ended up 6th/22 teams in the gold bracket.
We made our way back to the hotel, and the girls had time at the water park, hanging out in their rooms, and playing games in the arcade. They had a team dinner and ran around a bit more until time for bed.
The moms almost didn’t know what to do with ourselves since we didn’t have to be in charge of our daughters. haha
Another mom and I rode one of the water slides, and then we all met another friend at the roof top bar for a drink.
We had dinner and then went back to the room for a bit. That night, we hung out by the fire and enjoyed a glass of wine.
The next morning, we left and the girls traveled home on the coach bus. I got home and had a couple of hours to get chores and errands finished before picking Hadley up.
They had such a great time, and I was glad to be able to see her games and have some downtime.
Once we got started with the week, we got the proofs for their school pictures.
I swear, it costs an arm and a leg to purchase photos. I prefer the download option because then I can order picture sizes that I want. Anyway, I think they turned out great.
One day at school, two students came up to me with these cute signs. Now, of course, they were buttering me up to let them switch seats and sit by one another. haha!
I still appreciated the effort!!
I haven’t been to Trader Joe’s in a couple of weeks, but last time I was there, I picked up these “Apple Blossoms.” I finally had one this week with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top…they are so delish!
What are your weekend plans? For once, we don’t have much on tap! I hope to put out my fall decorations. If I don’t get to it this weekend, then I don’t know when I will.
For sure, TGIF! Although, I’ve been in school for a month, this was the first five day week with students! We all made it. Hooray!
As always, I’m linking up with Erika and Andrea for this week’s Friday Favorites.
Here are some favorites from the week:
Well, no pictures, but going back to last Friday, we didn’t have school which was so nice. Usually, teachers have to work, but we could “flex” our time. It was so nice not setting an alarm and then watching Real Housewives OC while sipping my coffee.
I took Hayden to get a haircut, and then we picked up Jimmy Johns for lunch. The rest of the day was busy, but it was still a good day off.
Saturday morning we were up early for Hayden’s first official high school cross country meet. It was so hot, but both the boys and girls teams did great. Hayden is running varsity, and he had a top 10 finish to kick off his high school cross country career.
Post race smiles!
Saturday was non-stop with volleyball as well. Hadley had two games that I missed when I was at Hayden’s race, but then they had three more games in the afternoon.
Saturday night, we finally watched Twisters. I rented it on Apple TV, and we all thought it was a pretty good movie. I had hoped for us all to see it in the theater this summer, but the $20 price tag from Apple was definitely less expensive then if we all went to the movie theater.
On Sunday, we celebrated my nephew’s birthday. We can’t believe he’s 10….and we appreciated that he wanted to share his cake with us 😉
Our evenings this week were filled with volleyball!
From pink night to support Breast Cancer…
…to playing tough and winning their first district match up…
…It’s been a fun and busy week of volleyball for Hadley…and they are off to a pretty solid start.
A couple of more Hadley pics…
She sent me this pic from the cafeteria…she loves her ramen! haha
…and I had to document her wearing her new jeans. When I tell you the search for “the perfect pair” was harder than I ever expected, I’m not lying. But.. after a few mall visits and going into quite a few stores, she found a pair she loved at The Buckle.
On some game days, they dress up…and jeans count as dressing up, apparently!
Favorite Mom Meme:
This is so true!
Bonus Fave: Flashback Friday:
Lots of memories from the younger days this week including Hayden’s first ever cross country race in 2018. He was in 3rd grade!
Then:
Now:
These two besties started playing volleyball that same year…
This post is a little late thanks to a long week and a late Thursday night.
As always, I’m linking up with Erika and Andrea for this week’s Friday Favorites.
My favorites this week are pretty short and sweet.
We had lots of fun at the Royals/Reds baseball game last weekend. The Royals won 13-1!
Hadley has had three volleyball games this week, and they’ve been fun to watch. The first two were home games, and last night’s game was an away game.
Hadley had some great serves last night.
We also got her photos for the season, and they turned out great.
Travis and I went to a concert last night, and it was a good time. Larry Fleet is such a great musician. He’s like if Luke Combs and Chris Stapleton had a brother 😂
So, I was out on a school night…but not really…because another favorite is that we don’t have school today. ☺️
Favorite Kid Quote:
Last weekend, Hadley asked how old I am and guessed 41 and then 42. When I told her that I’m 44, she said, “Dang, girllll! What moisturizer do you use?” haha #favoritechild?
What are your plans for the weekend? Hayden has his first cross country race, and Hadley has a volleyball tournament. I’m going to take today to get caught up life and planning accordingly for another busy week next week.
Well, we made it to the end of the first week of school! The first morning was easy breezy (but filled with excitement and nerves), but then I forgot to set my alarm Wednesday night. Yesterday morning, Travis and I both woke up at 7:00…and I am supposed to leave for school at 7:30. I was in a mad dash to get out the door, but I made it in time. That being said, it just sets my whole day off in the wrong direction when I don’t get to ease into the day. I felt “off” and frazzled all day!
Anyway, as always, I’m linking up with Andrea and Erika for this week’s Friday Favorites.
Today’s favorites include back to school pics and a few fun things the kids did before going back to school on Wednesday.
Open House was a great success on Monday night. I met about fifteen students, and enjoyed the evening at school.
Since I have a few classes this year, I did have to set up my room a bit differently, but I think it’s good to go for the year.
At the end of Open House, Hadley came to my room after volleyball practice, and then we went home and picked up Travis and Hayden. We went to IHOP for our “back to school breakfast.” Through the years, I’ve tried to make such a big deal about going back to school in order to get the kids excited (myself, too) about going back to school.
I loved the back to school breakfasts in elementary and then the back to school “brinner” in middle school, but I was ok with throwing this “curve ball” and suggesting IHOP. The kids ask to go there all the time, and we don’t go often, so I thought it would be a good decision for dinner.
It was just us and one other lady in the restaurant. Who can beat that?
I got the French toast, and it was delicious.
The kids had one more day to enjoy summer on Tuesday. Hadley slept until noon, Hayden had early cross country practice, and then they just hung out most of the day.
Wednesday morning we were all up and at ’em pretty early. They let me snap their pics, per tradition, before I left. If they can catch a ride with a friend, they gain an extra thirty minutes, so I understand if they don’t want to ride with me. (I’m sure they will some mornings). So, Hadley has been riding with a friend, and Travis has dropped Hayden off. The bus is an option, but it leaves pretty early, and I’m sure Hadley will avoid it at all costs! 😉
The morning light was hitting just right!
My freshmen:
One more for good measure!
…well, one more with mom too. Year 23 sure looks different for me!
Truly, so far the best part of the past two days, besides meeting my students, has been seeing my own kids enter my classroom at the end of the day. They are mostly tired and in need of a snack, but I love ending my school day seeing them (and giving them a ride home)!
End of summer fun:
Hadley has had such a wonderful Young Life leader during her middle school years. The leader’s name is also Hadley, and she organized a back to school send off for this great group of girls! A few of them are headed to another school, but most of them are at school with Hadley. That being said, the leader stays with the next group of middle school girls. I know they will still see her, and she’s made quite the impact on them.
Meanwhile…Hayden and friends went to Kings Island and rode all the rides.
On Saturday morning, Hayden ran his first high school race. It was just a 5k fundraiser for the cross country team, but he ran a great race!
Favorite Kid Quote(s):
It’s been a bit since I’ve shared a favorite kid quote, and both kids said something funny this week:
On Saturday, Travis and Hayden went to Louisville for the afternoon. As Hayden told me goodbye, he hugged me and said, “Maybe you can go to the spa and get your toes done.” 😂
Not sure where that came from!
Then, Tuesday night, Hadley caught me with a few tears and asked what was wrong. I said I couldn’t believe they were going to high school, and without missing a beat, she said, “Girl, I can’t believe it either.” haha!
Favorite Mom Meme:
Homer is always happy to see me!
Weekly Recap:
It was hard finding a blogging groove this week with all the back to school things, but I did write a couple of posts:
Well, first on my agenda is to not set an alarm for Saturday and sleep in a bit. We are going to the Reds/Royals game in Cinci, and I’m looking forward to that.
I hope to have one more “Summer Sunday” post on Sunday sharing the highlights over our summer.
Shew!! This week has kicked my tail. Besides starting back to school for meetings and professional development, Travis was out of town the past few days, so I was doing “all the things” at school and at home…including waking up at 5:30 to take Hayden to cross country. That’s usually “Super Dad’s” job!
As our summer break winds down, I’m looking back on my first summer as a “stay at home” mom with the kids.
Obviously, before the kids were born, my summers weren’t so structured or busy!
Even though it was fourteen years ago (how is that possible?!) the summer of 2010 was one of my favorites.
I was a little nervous going into that summer because juggling two kids on my own was going to be a lot of work! (Side story: I was on maternity leave from the day the kids were born (November 20) until mid-April after spring break. I had about eighteen weeks off with them. Around early February, I called Travis at work on a Friday and told him I was going to go back to work the next Monday. Being at home with two babies was hard work. Hadley had acid reflux and was often fussy…and I felt overwhelmed. He told me to hang on and think about it and that things would get better. (If I went back to school and then changed my mind, I would be giving up my FMLA) Well, we found out Hayden had colic, and about ten days later, both kids started sleeping through the night. That was a game changer! I did end up enjoying the remainder of my maternity leave with them 🙂
Anyway, that summer was so good. The kids were on a great schedule, they slept ten (or more) hours at night, took a two hour morning nap and a shorter afternoon nap, and they started to interact with each other. Honestly, we had a really great time together!
There was lots of tummy time…
…and rolling over…
…and sitting up!
They could sit by each other and entertain each other and play with toys. Plus, they weren’t crawling yet (that milestone came later in the summer), so I knew they would stay put!
(Also, FYI- Hadley was a very serious baby. I blame the acid reflux. Once she turned one, she lightened up and became her happy, free-spirited self that we all know and love.)
We were home quite a bit, but we’d go on walks and hang out on the back porch.
We even got a little pool that they could splash in on our screened in porch. They loved it.
Bath time was always fun!
They loved hanging out with our dogs, Shiloh and Scout. The pups were good to the twins.
We went to KC around the 4th of July, and that was the beginning of them wearing red, white and blue for the holiday.
On the drive back from KC, we decided to stay the night in St. Louis, so the kids had their first overnight at a hotel.
They thought it was great! Smiles and pacis 🙂
They really started to interact with each other and become besties!
I know we did more, but apparently I took less pics in 2010 😂
And…here are my big kids now:
Every summer has been great, but I will always look back fondly on those less hectic summers when they were little and needed me a bit more.
I’ve always felt like teaching has provided me a great balance with time with my kids during holidays and breaks as well as continuing my career in education.
I can’t believe next week they’ll be in high school!
These Fridays in July really are hitting differently! I’m starting to feel the time crunch of getting some things accomplished at home as well as starting to think about school. I’m always grateful for this time off, but I also always struggle with the reality of our summer coming to a close.
Anyway, as always, I’m linking up with Andrea and Erika for this week’s Friday Favorites.
Here are some favorites from the week:
Well, it’s the part of summer where I follow through with promises I said we could do this summer…and that included Hadley getting her second ear piercing. There’s a new place in Lexingon, Hey Rowan, that I believe is a chain, but registered nurses do their ear piercings. Just like when Hadley was eight years old, she opted to have both ears done at the same time. haha!
The place was super cute, and we were in and out within 30 minutes.
I haven’t purchased as many flowers this summer, but once I got back from KC last week, I made a trip to Trader Joe’s and picked up some tulips. They matched my “vanilla cloud” candle.
Last Saturday, Hadley and friends played in a sand volleyball tournament. This was her first time playing in a sand volleyball tournament. It was a doubles tournament, and Hadley and her friend went 3-2 on the day and had lots of fun.
The tournament had free t-shirts, and these girls chose the brightest colors.
Saturday night, we met friends for dinner at a new Sri Lankan place, and the food was really good.
After three days of volleyball boot camp and one evening of tryouts, this girl found out she made the high school volleyball team!
She was so nervous, but we’re proud of her and all the hard work she has put in during this past year. She’s pretty much been playing volleyball non-stop for the past year, so while I knew she was prepared for the tryout, I understood the nerves.
We can’t wait to watch her (and so many of her friends!) on the court for their first high school season.
(She was channeling her inner champion for tryouts while wearing her “lucky” Chiefs Super Bowl t-shirt, and we celebrated with the “red plate” and her favorite –salmon for dinner.)
Time at our favorite book store was a favorite this week.
Hayden’s been at running camp most of the week, and I think he’s been having a good time. I’m ready for him to be home, though!
(BTW – as we walked into the sparse college dorm room, he said, “oh…this is so preppy!” haha…oh the difference in boys and girls)
I tried two new recipes this week. A friend mentioned that she’d made ribs in the slow cooker, and my family loves ribs…but I never make them.
I also made this teriyaki chicken, and served it with snap peas and rice. Hadley said it was 10/11…so I will take that compliment!
Favorite Mom Meme:
I feel this deeply…but the other day I had a car full of girls who wanted frozen yogurt…and while I was ready to go home, I couldn’t say no to fro-yo, and enjoyed hearing all the gossip and laughs from the back of the car.
Weekly Recap:
I’ve still been a busy blogger this week. Here are my posts:
Well, I’ve enjoyed my little “Throwback Thursday” series this summer but…these posts have also made me feel a bit nostalgic…and even a little sad thinking about all the sweet memories from when my kids were little!
Earlier this week, we had to be out of the house for a couple of hours. The kids had a workout and afterwards, we went to Taco Bell for lunch, and then Hayden requested that we go to Joseph Beth Bookstore. Now, he’s always been more of a reader than Hadley has, but even this visit, he was on the lookout for the Kentucky Football magazine…not a book.
That’s ok…I was still grateful for time in one of my favorite places, and Hadley even picked up a book too.
When I went to round up the kids to leave, I spotted my boy…and it made me smile.
This is Hayden at the same book store in 2011:
Then, I got to thinking about how summer reading was such a big part of their childhood. We spent so much time at the library, especially when they were little. We’d go to “story time” a couple days as week, and then I’d let them play for a bit and check out books. They always thought it was fun to return the books in the return slot…and as they got older, they thought it was so cool to use the scanner to check the books out.
Every year, we’d go and pick up the “Summer Reading Program” paper to keep track of the books we’d read. Eventually, they’d read on their own….what a rite of passage. Then, at the end of the summer, they’d turn their sheets in and pick out their free books and other prizes.
I remember doing this as a kid with my mom, and even though my kids don’t read as much as they used to, I hope they remember all of our time going to the library.
During the elementary years, the kids had an amazing librarian at their school, and they’d check so many books out at the school library too. Of course, they lived for the book fair every year.
I know it’s natural, as they get older, to maybe not read for fun as much given their schoolwork, their schedule, technology (ugh!), and just having other interests. As much as I’ve always loved reading, there were stretches of time that all I read was for school. It’s been about seven years now that I’ve gotten back into reading really regularly. I hope they continue to find opportunities to read. Both of my parents are big readers, and I try to model that for my kids too.
Anyway, here’s a look at library time/summer reading through the years:
2012:
I’d say the summer of 2012 is when we started going to the library regularly. The kids would have been 2 1/2, so that’s a great age to take them.
We’d visited my mom in KC, and she was doing story time at the public library she worked at after she retired. (She was a 7th grade Language Arts teacher for over 30 years…and then worked (and retired from!) at the public library a couple days a week for maybe ten years?
The kids were on their best behavior. haha
Here the kids are at our library…
I loved that they could go and explore, play games, and check out books once or twice a week.
At the end of the summer, they earned their summer reading t-shirts.
2013:
Lots of time spent at story time, and Hayden finding any books he could about trucks.
Arts and crafts at the library… always is a good time!
2014:
Y’all, I distinctly remember the first time the kids sat down at these computers, and had no clue how to use a mouse! They’d never been on a computer before, obviously. It was so awkward until they figured it out.
Hadley loved the little reading nook, and I’d often find her there.
Hayden started wanting to read The Magic Treehouse series, and most nights we’d read them to him at bedtime. Hadley always loved books about animals, including the Critter Sitter Club books. I don’t think she’s actually reading in this pic. haha
2015:
Kindergarten time, so of course they loved Pete the Cat.
Hadley was starting to outgrow the library reading nook, but I would still often find her there.
2016:
This summer, they were more “independent” in the library whenever we would visit.
…Hadley found a buddy to read books to…
2017:
I took this pic at the end of the summer. We’d gone to pick up school supplies and get back to school hair cuts. We also stopped by the library for them to pick out their books that they earned from their summer reading.
Of course, Hadley loved Pinkalicious, and Hayden was very into the “Where is” and “Who is” books. He was (and still can be) very inquisitive.
2018:
Awe…they were getting so big…but we still went to the library often.
2019:
Throughout the elementary years, they always enjoyed reading at bedtime. Hayden was reading a story from an old textbook the teacher had sent home.
Of course, even in 5th grade, they read a lot as well…but that was the year they were mostly learning from home.
It’s no secret that one of my favorite hobbies is reading.
I hope my kids keep books as a part of their lives whenever they get the chance!
This was a fun stroll down memory lane, but I can’t believe how quickly these summers are flying by.
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