Busiest Week of the Year
We always have so much going on during the last couple weeks in August. Birthdays, start of school for kids, return of Mizzou students, tutors, staff etc for me. Fall sports begin, and I find myself barely afloat by the time September arrives. But we get through it, every year. None of these are bad things; it's just a lot, and we'll start with OWEN!
Happy 16th Birthday Owen!
THEEEE very last one in his grade to be able to drive.
He passed!
Tour of the Stadium - North End Zone
Owen is probably so relieved to not have me in the car with him anymore when he drives. It has taken about every ounce of patience I have to help him understand why there are rules about driving. Needless to say, we butt heads a little bit, but he has improved so much in the past year. I am so excited that he passed his driving test, and he can FINALLY drive himself to school and practices!
Excited about his new Beats
In his new car
I think he likes it
There are a few things that he is a little disappointed about... no Apple Car Play or back up camera. The car is a 2014, so lacks some of the technology he is used to when driving our vehicles, but he has an aux cord for his phone to plug in. At least it has that. (The Lexus did not). LOL
We had a pizza night (homemade, courtesy of Nick) with our neighbors on Saturday night, and most of the kids who are still at home came over to eat and watch the Chiefs play a pre-season game. It was great to spend some time with our neighbors before the school year kicks off. Then we celebrated again on Monday night, the day before his birthday. We knew he wouldn't be home on his actual birthday. He requested chicken chili and cheesecake for dessert. It was a great night!
First Days of School!!!
Owen went to school for about an hour before Nick picked him up to go take his driving test.
Then back to school, he went...Owen driving himself. What a great day!
Gracie's first day!
Seems so strange that it's her 2nd year. Not quite sophomore status yet, but 2nd academic year.
She actually started school the day before Owen.
17 credits this fall instead of 12 will keep her busy. Individual workouts start 2nd week, then 20 hour weeks start a couple weeks after that.
She will finally be 18 soon...
View from the south end zone
The addition is massive
We invited Chase over for dinner before he left for State Fair CC and ended up with an impromptu tour of the project Nick has been working on for almost 2 years. They started this the day after the final football game of the 2024 season and finished 5 days early! I must say, the final product is impressive.
This is at field level outside the Rock M Club
I can't remember which suite level this is on
This is the level with Tiger Dens
I can't remember what these are called, but all of the suites have outdoor heated seating.
Entrance hall to the Rock M Club
It's pretty amazing
We were there for a good hour and also got to see a little bit of the south end zone. Chase had not been there before. He seemed pretty excited to see the football field and end zone projects. It was a fun night.
The weekend prior to that we got to go down to the lake for a boat ride with my parents. It was such a great afternoon. We went to Margaritaville for lunch, sat in the pool there for a bit, then drove the boat back to Shorty Pants. We went to the pool at my parents for about an hour before heading back home.
It was just what I needed.
My parents loving lake life
On the boat
Here we are.
Just missing Gracie...she was working a Mizzou softball camp, I think
Owen and me
This makes me happy
Back at the pool...
I thought this was kind of funny.
They found some inflatables to float on.
Chase moved to Sedalia
Gracie spent the day on the 19th helping Chase get settled into his dorm at State Fair. They left the day after our tour of the stadium.
Other random things...
I forgot to mention in my previous post that Gracie was nominated for a Rock M Nation award. I'm not really sure where this originated or what the result was, but a very nice write-up and recognition for Gracie.
She also achieved this her first semester as a TIGER!
Gracie finished the spring semester with a 4.0 and as a Scholar Athlete
I caught Owen on our ring camera spending some time with Ruby.
Makes me smile
I know... creepy, mom.
This car came to our family by way of my grandma in 2003, I believe.
It was used by 4 generations and by the end was held together by zip ties.
That car served our family well, but it was time to part with it.
RIP
Owen is very happy to be driving something different.
It's starting to look like fall as the sun is setting and rising further south in the sky.
I saw Orion the other morning, which is a sign that summer is fading.
This came out of a package of mixed seeds April gave me.
The past few weeks have been tough with a lot going on, per usual, in mid to late August. Gracie moved out, football started, Mizzou students returned, birthdays, Southern Boone school started. I have been unmotivated and just tired for the past two weeks. I have still been running and working out, but it just seems more daunting than usual. But this particular morning, instead of trying to get back to sleep early in the morning, and also not really wanting to run, I got up and went out anyway. This is the first time since April that I have completed more than 6 miles in one outing. I am still trying to run at least 20 miles weekly, which is usually non-negotiable. It's a great week when I get closer to 25 miles. It's just not as easy as it used to be. There is a saying that goes something like, "If I only ran on the days that I felt good, I would never run." So true. But this particular morning felt amazing as soon as it was done. It also helped that the temperatures were in the low 60s instead of 80 degrees at 5:00 am. So much better when it's a little cooler. Don't get me wrong though.... I prefer this to winter any day.
So here we are at the end of August. One more birthday and we have started the fall grind. Football every Friday night and nonstop with Mizzou until December. We will add some fall softball into the mix during October.
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