September was busy. Start of school, juggling the first year of middle school plus playing a sport and high school golf. We were running and crazy but I loved it. I also really love grandmothers that take amazing pictures of your kid and then post them for you to steal. Keatyn got to try her hand at pitching and really loved it! We will see where that leads...
My sweet dad never missed a game. He loves watching them at anything they do but Trace declared a no show for his golf matches so we tried to oblige. Lol! It makes him nervous having us follow him so we stayed back and only went when he said it was ok. Letting go is hard...
My precious mom has had a few rough months with her ears and balance and with the heat it made it hard for her to come to many games. I was so glad she got to see a few and cheer Keatyn on!
In news I'm not ready to comprehend yet, we bought Trace a car. *insert tears here* My Yukon had almost 150,000 miles on it and we knew we needed to trade ASAP. So we thought we would trade for Trace a car and I'd drive Syliva's black Yukon for a while since they had 3 cars and were thinking of selling it. Both the Yukon and Jimmy's truck were too big in Trace's mind to drive and he liked the feel of a mid size SUV instead of a full size one so we wanted to get him something he could learn to drive WITH us while he was still 15. The search began for safety. Countless hours were spent researching. We finally landed on the Volkswagen Atlas. At 6'1 most of the mid size SUVs he got in felt way too small for him but when he sat in the Atlas it felt right. We found one at Village VW and met Aaron. He talked us through the options and I kept stressing safety features and weight were my # 1 priority. I am terrified by the thought of him driving. We landed on a 2019 black Atlas and traded my car on it. We drove it for 2 weeks and I noticed a lot of the safety features I thought were on it weren't there. I want it to beep, scream, vibrate... do anything and everything a car can to alert him to safety. (short of having his crazy mother in the seat beside him yelling) We thought some features were just turned off so I took it back out there only to find, that model didn't have them. Ugh... so we had to trade again. It was more than we had planned on spending but doesn't it always work that way? We ended up with a 2020 white Atlas Cross Sport and we love it so far. Saying goodbye to my Yukon was hard. We've had so many memories in that car and the kids and I prayed before when we got out of it for the last time that our next one will keep us as safe as this one did.
Sweet Aaron actually prayed with me two weeks later before I left that my boy will be safe in this car and for the Lord to protect him as he starts this new adventure. I sobbed like a baby. I mean, what salesman does that??
Speaking of growing up... Trace started "talking" to Adelaide this summer. She used to go to CCS but transferred to GPS this year. She isn't allowed to date yet but they had a few group dates to dinner, Civil Axe and Top Golf with a group of friends.
The Fab 5 went to Nashville for our annual girls weekend. We rented a townhouse and did a spa day, a shopping day and dinner at the Opryland Hotel. It was SO relaxing and chill and just what we all needed. I love these ladies so much and am so thankful for 25 years of friendship.
September 17th was CCS Homecoming. Trace was in a golf tournament that day that took over 6 hours to play 18 holes. Good grief... we brought his clothes and he literally changed in the car on the way to dinner. Which explains why if you look closely, you see his pants tucked into his sock. Lol! Bless him, he was so tired! They ate at the Feed and then Jimmy and I got to meet Adelaide and we drove them to school for the dance.
And yes...I asked him everyday the week before the dance if he wanted to get a haircut. To which he replied...no thanks, I'm good. Sigh... pick your battles.
A funny story...I had been in a very uncomfortable bra since about 7:30 that morning so by the time it was time to pick him up from the dance at 10:00 that night, I had taken my bra off while sitting in the dark parking lot of CCS waiting on Trace to come out. Literally 2 minutes after I got my bra off, Trace texted and said Adelaide's ride had left early and we needed to run her home. I took my bra from the front seat and slung it all the way to the back of the car trying to hide it. Can you imagine how embarrassed he would have been if they'd have gotten in and his mother's bra was laying there? Ha!
How cute are they?!?
Keatyn went to Granddad and Sisty's to watch the Braves with them.
So Keatyn's besties all play soccer. She's been asking about playing for a few years but honestly we don't know the first thing about soccer. It was the same season as softball until this year, but it was on a shift schedule and didn't start until after softball ended. She wanted to try out...I painted a bleak picture... you've never played, you don't even know the rules, you're going to miss the open field practice days because it's still softball season. But, my girl was determined. She went out there and rocked it and made the team and is LOVING soccer! Maybe even more than softball... only time will tell. She's been playing in the field for JV but got pulled up to goalie some for varsity. She's not a fan of being the goalie, she wants to be in on the action but I told her she's getting the best of both worlds. It's not our favorite sport to watch...in fact, my dad compared it watching paint dry. Lol! But, I'll watch my kids do underwater basket weaving if that's what they want to do.
On October 15th, we celebrated my sweet Nanny's 94th birthday. Gosh, I love her so much!
During fall break, I took Trace back up to the quarry in Athens to dive with a girl that was in his class. Again... it's so scary standing there watching for bubbles knowing he's down there but I was glad he got another dive in since he was certified this summer. Hopefully the next time will be in the ocean or somewhere amazing.
On Monday of fall break, Trace was in Dollywood with Jack's family and Keatyn was there with Emerson's so Jimmy and I had a date night at Il Primo. It was nice that they both got to go to Dollywood for a day and I didn't have to go!! Winning!
While the leaves were changing we took the four wheelers up to Prentice Cooper and went riding. Jimmy knew he was selling the little one so we went for one last spin. The kids loved it and it was a fun family day!
We stopped at Snoopers Rock to see the amazing view and actually saw a wedding proposal. Oh my gosh...so sweet and beautiful! The kids thought that was pretty cool too!
We are so fortunate to live in such a gorgeous place. And fall is my absolute favorite!
On October 19th, Granddad and Sisty celebrated 53 years. What a blessing they are. I love their yellow roses and candle lighting tradition!
Trace's golf team banquet was at Black Creek this year. The coaches have been wonderful and it was so fun to honor them all. Such a great year!
5 Senior boys are graduating, so Trace, Grayson and Cooper will be the oldest next year as Juniors.
The Middle School Hoedown was such a fun night. I volunteered to help Mrs. Piersant since I'd always done the father daughter dance and was having withdrawls. MUCH less stress on my end in this role. Lol! I just showed up and checked kids in. My days as a chaperone for dances are probably ending. You should have seen the look on Trace's face when I jokingly told him I was gonna sign up to chaperone the Prom next year. Lol!
Annual pumpkin carving without the finished product. :(
Keatyn had a soccer game on Halloween and then after we went with friends to the Enclave to trick or treat. They were all lifeguards and looked adorable. The moms pretty much just stood in a house and talked while the girls took to the streets alone.
A few hours later, I got a call asking to be rescued. We fould them several streets over, worn out resting on the curb. A full day of school, a soccer game and hours of trick or treating wore them out!
Trace went up on Lookout Mountain with some friends to trick or treat. They were dressed as sharks which cracked me up! I told him even though I wasn't with him, I needed a picture. I have a picture of him from every Halloween of his life and I'm not about to stop now. I'm thankful one of the moms sent us some!
That's it! I just caught up in one night from June to November...woo hoo!!! I'm sure there are a thousand typos and grammatical errors in the posts I've done tonight but I want to save these memories and pictures. My babies are growing up so fast and if I can't make time slow down, the least I can do is document it. Keatyn is now 5'7and the tallest in her class. Trace is 6'1 and looking less like a kid and more like a man everyday. I'm beyond grateful to be their mom and love them more than words can say!
