Fast Forward Toward Fall

I’m always sad when summer is over. I love the warmer weather, the longer days and the more relaxed schedule that summer has to offer. It has been fast and furious as we have headed into fall. We are busy every evening after finishing a day of school and work! I worked on our October calendar last night and noticed it was quite colorful with all our extracurricular commitments. It is a blessing to be in this busy stage of life where we enjoy events at church, school and within the sports’ arenas. The kids are enjoying school and continue to excel academically. We’ve fit in some dress up days which always amp up the excitement in an elementary school. The boys continue to enjoy the high intensity on the soccer pitch and they are gaining leadership roles at school and at church. This past week, Zander found out that he was voted on as the treasurer of Hawk Leaders at school. Maddox (as a fifth grader) helps on the audio/visual team for his children’s church services in Kidstreet and he was voted on by his class to be their student council representative. One of my favorite things from this past weekend was driving Zander to his soccer game about 1.5 hours away from home. Talking to my teenager the whole ride there made me truly appreciate the stage of life we are in. We were able to celebrate Grandpa’s birthday this past week and my parents made it happen for me to get Cracker Barrel “take out” in memory of Grandma Nancy’s 95th birthday. I’m trying to catch up with friends whenever possible. Carmen met me at Maddox’s practice last week and we were able to chat and run while Maddox had soccer practice. I’m truly blessed by the family, friends and schedule I’m currently experiencing.

Soccer, Soccer, Soccer

Now that Zander is playing for his middle school team and BOTH boys are playing travel soccer, we are fitting in a lot of time on the pitch these days! Zander played three games in the last seven days and Maddox played two. It has been quite warm in the afternoons and weekends which means mama is having a “two shower” day to account for all the sweat! Haha! Zander played goalie for a bit this past week for his school team which is something he has never really done but did pretty well in the position. Although I will add that I enjoy seeing #10 (school number)/ #70 (CCFC number) playing his typical offensive position as winger or striker. Maddox got recognized for his stellar performance at the tournament a couple weeks ago by being nominated for Team of the Week! While he has played goalie in the past and does it quite well, I love watching him as a winger, striker or in the 10 spot! Here’s to a lot more soccer this fall!

Grammy and Grandpa joined the three youngest cousins for Breakfast with a Buddy at our school on Friday and made these kids super happy to begin their day! Finally, we got Zander’s 8th grade school picture and Maddox’s Fifth Grade Fly By submission. It’s hard for me to believe how fast this year is already going …. Please slow down time!

Labor Day Weekend 2026

Zack was out of town all last week for work. Due to some missed flights based on weather delays, he drove through the night from DC to make it home to us on Friday. Beau enjoyed keeping us company as we shuttled the boys to all their extracurricular activities! On Friday night, we got to enjoy Carolina Core’s final game of the season. An added bonus was getting to join Aunt Kelly and her family in her company’s suite for free food and air conditioning! On Saturday, the boys invited their best friends (Jackson and Austin) over to enjoy Partee Shack and then a sleepover. We took the boys to church on Sunday. Zander went to lunch and Top Golf with his youth small group afterwards. On Monday, we spent a few hours at Urban Air. We did the ropes course, the sky rider, the climbing wall and trampolines. It was a fun family outing after all the plans we’ve had recently! I can’t believe it is already time to head back to work and school for another week! The weekends go by way too fast!