Posted in Everyday Life, Monthly Moments

Monthly Moments: August 2026

Hello and happy Monday!

Why do the weekends seem to fly by? I feel like I’m really thrown off since Labor Day Monday isn’t until next Monday…I have another five day week ahead!

Today I’m sharing the highlights of August…but first here’s the link to Friday’s post. I didn’t realize until later that I set it to post later than usual.

In August, we said “goodbye” to summer break and “hello” to back to school. There were a few other things in between too.

My mom visited at the end of July/beginning of August. She took the grand kids out to lunch a time or two.

Hayden wrapped up his coaching debut with his 5th grade basketball team. I think they all had fun and learned a lot. Hayden got the red plate for his coaching endeavors.

Hadley and friends went to Cincinnati to see Chris Stapleton in concert. They had to sit through a rain delay, but they had a great time.

We did all the back to school prep including buying some school supplies, clothes, and of course I set up my classroom.

Hadley had other fun times with her friends…she spent a weekend at the lake celebrating her friend’s birthday.

Then, it was officially back to school time for my two juniors, and I started my 25th year as a teacher.

At the end of that week, we went to “First Friday” ice cream with friends.

Homer is adjusting to our back to school routine…and I think he misses Hadley when she’s gone.

We’ve definitely been squeezing in pool time in between school and other responsibilities. While we still belong to our club, we’ve spent some days at my sister-in-law’s mom’s backyard pool…it’s just a bit more serene and relaxing 😉

Surprisingly, I’ve had some time for my favorite hobbies like reading and coloring.

Travis and I squeezed in a date night a couple of weeks ago. Sushi hit the spot.

Honestly, we’ve had cooler temps for August, but they are on the rise this week. We savored open sunroof weather and crisp mornings while we had them. Hopefully, it will feel more like fall soon.

We finished our last outside project…we got the front porch steps fixed and purchased new railings.

Hayden started fall baseball last week. It’s very low-key, and they get to play at Kentucky Proud Park…UK baseball’s stadium.

Sadly, we lost a national treasure last week. Dolly Parton was something, wasn’t she? What a legacy she leaves behind. We should all strive to be a bit more like Dolly!

Big update around here…Since I shared my August books, I finished reading and listening to two more books which means I completed my Goodreads reading challenge!

Y’all, 40 books has been my goal ever since I started doing the reading challenge, and I usually come in at 40 books for the year or just under….and now I still I have four more months of reading left in 2026!

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One more August thing – not pictured, but Hadley has her first real job. Of course, the past two summers she’s worked a bit at the pool, and she babysits from time to time…but now…she has her first regular two to three times a week job; she just earned her first paycheck. It was only for her first two shifts, but she was excited! It’s a job with good hours, so I’m happy she can earn a little money and have some regular responsibilities, but she still will have time for school and extra-curricular activities.

While August tends to be my least favorite month, we squeezed a lot of goodness in.

Posted in Everyday Life, Monthly Moments

Monthly Moments: August 2025

Hello and happy Sunday!

It’s not often that I write a Sunday post, but since it’s the last day of August, I’m sharing a quick recap of the month.

This month seemed to be mostly about back to school and sports while clinging to summer!

Volleyball started for Hadley in early August at the Bluegrass State games.

I finished up moving into a new classroom, and I’m really liking it. I see the kids and their friends a bit more which is a pleasant surprise.

For our back to school dinner, we went to IHOP for the second year in a row. I always get French toast or pancakes (with a side of bacon) when we go there.

Then, it was back to school! The kids have had a great start back to school. They seem to be adjusting to block scheduling just fine and are keeping up with their school work…so far!

I’m adjusting to block scheduling too. I actually really like it…the only thing is I’ve felt like it’s taken me a bit longer to learn student names seeing them every other day.

The kids have continued to get in some driving time. Hadley continues to have more of an interest than Hayden, but Hayden’s been driving too. As expected, there’s less driving time now that we’re back to school.

We did get a new (to us) car after my car was hit a few weeks ago. It’s a good size for both kids to drive too.

I did go to the pool the few chances that I had in August. I will miss reading poolside.

Hayden and I have been watching Royals baseball when we have the chance. They aren’t too far out of the last Wild Card spot, but they’ll have to have a solid September to make the playoffs. We’ll see.

Hayden has has two cross country meets, and he is off to a solid start. He was two seconds off a PR in yesterday’s race. I know he wanted to run faster, but at least he was close to where he left off last season.

Football is back in the Bluegrass State….Trav and Hayden went to the game yesterday, and Hadley tailgated with friends. The weather was perfection, and the CATS pulled out the win.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to join in on the fun…I have a raging sinus infection that’s kept me pretty miserable since Friday. Thankfully, I do think the meds are finally kicking in, and maybe I can salvage the rest of this three day weekend by actually getting out of the house tomorrow! I’m thankful for the time to rest, but I’d hoped to have had a bit more fun this weekend!

I hope you have a great Labor Day, and I will have more posts later in the week.