Happy Monday! I’m starting the week with Holly and all of you! I hope you’ll link up with us for Hello Monday!

Happy birthday to my dad!! He is the absolute best dad! My dad has been cheering me on for almost 45 years and has spent the last 16 (and 14) cheering Jack and Luke on. He is the kind of dad that will drop anything to help us and never makes me feel bad when I make a big mistake (hello two car accidents in two weeks in college). He introduced me to Jimmy Buffett and country music which I love now even though we teased him about it growining. He’s always ready to have fun and there is no embarassing that man (Annie, remember how he used to threaten to walk through the mall??) I can’t wait to celebrate him tonight! Happy birthday Dad!

I am sharing eight great things about our first full weekend of September. We had a really good weekend and I am as ready as I can be for this week.

1-I was so happy that both boys wanted to stay after school for the soccer game. They both hung out with friends while watching. We have some friends on the opposing team, too, so it was nice to see their parents. I was a little worried about the social aspect of starting at a new high school as a freshman and a junior, but Friday afternoon did a lot to ease my worries. 🧡

2-I figured out a way to take my own outfit pictures after school. The lighting is a little off, but I think I can fix that tomorrow. With both boys at practice right after school, I needed to find a way to take my pictures solo because I want to change and exercise or get dinner going pretty quickly after I get home. I used my popsocket and the blinds to prop the phone up. Perfection!

3-I woke up Saturday morning with a wide open calendar. We didn’t have any games to go to and the pool is closed, so I made a big to do list for the first time in a while. It helped give me a little direction in my day. I didn’t get everything done, but I was pretty productive this weekend.

4-The first thing I tackled was our garage shoe rack. It has become the place old or stinky shoes go to die. I took every pair of shoes off, cleaned the rack off, and then only put back what we are wearing. It went from overflowing to about 3/4 full and it is perfect. I gave some shoes in good shape to our neighbors, listed some cleats for free on facebook, and threw away a big black trashbag of shoes that were done.

5-We had our final pool social event on Saturday – the crab feast. I only took one picture before we started eating and this is it. My friend Darla has been the social chair for a few years and this was her last event. She did a great job and I’m sad to see her leave the board. I am excited to see what our next social chair plans for the summer of 2026! When my friend Kourtni was the social chair, I took on the unofficial role of “personal assistant to the social chair” and I kept it up to help Darla. I am happy to continue that role for our new social chair, Lindsay, because throwing parties and organizing events is fun!

6-I met my friend Jodi for our weighted vest walk on Sunday morning. We haven’t walked in a while and it was so good to see her! We talked and laughed and walked through the neighborhoods of our town.

7-We didn’t have anywhere to be on Sunday until 4:30 so I worked on some blog posts while I watched CBS Sunday morning. I got back on the couch later in the afternoon to paint my nails and read. It was lovely!

8-Jeff and I had freshman parent orientation on Sunday afternoon and the freshman had a social event on the lawn at school with games and music and snacks. It was a great presentation. The dean and head of school spoke about school/back to school stuff. Then the freshmen wellness teacher spoke and it was wonderful. She shared things parents of 14 & 15 year olds should know about their brain, development, health, and things that might come up this year. It was a great way to kick off our year as parents.

All four of us sat down last night to go over the week and it is a busy one. I am hoping to fit in my strength training and walks in the afternoon sunshine. I hope you had a good weekend! If you blogged today, don’t forget to link up below. Have a great day full of sunshine and books!