July 2022

July kicked off with the 4th of July at Keith and Carries.  It is always so good to see our family and we don't get together nearly enough.  I hope this 4th of July tradition continues and we can get back to Gaston family Christmas.

Keatyn and Emerson did a sailing camp and she learned a lot!  Always fun to try something new.

Jimmy surprised her one Sunday morning with a trip to see the Braves while Trace and I went to Sevierville for a golf tournament.  He literally got on last minute and found 2 seats RIGHT behind the Braves dug out for pretty cheap and off they went.  She is ruined forever.  She saw all the players coming and going, got waves, and 2 balls (one from a coach and one from Dansby)  It was a great day!

These pictures will go down in infamy in my family.  This is my attempt at being the "fun" mom.  Whenever we ask the kids if they want to go on the boat, they always ask if they can bring a friend, and sometimes it's just not possible.  Sometimes we just want our little family of 4...or 6 if we bring the fur babies.  So, this day I got on the tube with Keatyn while Trace videoed.  Needless to say, it wasn't long before I ended up backwards in the water and you can hear him yelling... "Mom, mom are you ok??  Oh no, mom!!"  It was so sweet.  He thought it about killed me.  Ironically, I came up with my sunglasses still on.  He screen shotted these still images and we have laughed about it ever since.  Lol!

So after our trip to the Keys, Trace was all in about getting his scuba diving certification.  He enrolled through Choo Choo Dive and did a 3 day course, bought the gear and then spent a weekend at Loch Low Minn Quarry in Athens, TN.  I'm so proud of him and while it makes me a nervous wreck, it's really cool to think of how he will forever get to see parts of God's creation most of us will never experience.  Our bucket list is growing for sure and we are ready to travel and let him dive!

We had a Fab 5 family night at Iris' minus Misty.  So good to get together with my girls!

Mid July, the kids and I headed to Alabama to see the cousins before golf and softball seasons started.  You would not believe how difficult coordinating these schedules were to make this happen.  Lol!  Summer is supposed to be slow, but we barely pulled this off.  Missed seeing them so much!

Got some fun times on the water this summer with friends but not nearly as many days as we would have liked.  Jimmy has already threatened to sell the boat because we don't use it enough.  We will see if she survives the winter.  Fingers crossed!

In mid July, Trace's golf season started.  Once it starts, summer starts to wind down.  It's a big commitment but I'm so proud of how he did this season!  He also did the PGA Jr. League out of Windstone and he and I traveled to Sevierville, Murfreesboro and Nashville Grasslands for some tournaments.  I love time with my boy and am happy to drive him anywhere.  In fact, the closer he gets to 16, I realize I'd just assume drive him until he's 21 rather than watch him pull out of the driveway alone.  Sigh...

Some underwater pictures of his dive in Athens.  So cool that they can take pictures of what they see.  

Missy, Matt, Rick and Sheila all came for a visit at the end of July.  It was just for the day but so good to catch up.  We haven't seen them since before Covid and it's been WAY too long!

Then at the end of July, Keatyn made the middle school softball team!  I was super proud of her because she's only played one year and had very little experience.  She really loved the season and I was so thankful for Addi Kay's grandmother who took all of these pictures and put them on facebook.  She got to play all JV games but also got pulled up to varsity for several games as well.  She played mostly center field and had some amazing hits and even an in field home run at the end of the season.