August 2024

/ Ashley

What a month.

Not our typical month by any stretch as our family spent most of it apart for the first time in a long time. The Mister left for Texas for the Mission Resiliency treatment center for his PTSD and was gone for the month.

We started off with a short visit from Nana and Grandad for the Hotwheels Monster Truck show (Little Man’s birthday present).

Thanks Nana and Grandad!
5 Alarm was Little Man’s favorite
He was so excited to see it up close and meet the driver.

The next day, we hit the lake at Kentucky Dam Marina with the whole crew (even my parents’ dogs).

This was Roxie’s first time on the water.
She did really well and took to the water better than I thought she would.
Little Man was much more confident with his life jacket on.

My dad headed home on the 5th and took my cats so my car wasn’t so crowded. Then, after I took the Mister to the airport, my mom, Little Man, Roxie, Indie, and I all loaded up the Dart and headed to Nebraka for a couple weeks anticipating my dad’s hip surgery.

We spent the first couple of days recovering from the long drive, then went out to Grammys and Gramps’s to pick sweet corn and spend some time with them.

Gator rides with Gramps.
Had to see how much he’s grown in the tractor tire.
Trying a real kolache from Wilber’s Czech Days.

Mom and I froze so much sweet corn during this trip. I took home 17 quart bags full myself. I think we ended up with almost 50 bags total.

This is SO much better than storebought.

The first weekend saw pedicures and some shopping (not that I needed to spend any more money than I already do), but no photos of that.

We went back to Grammys and Gramps’s quite a few times for fishing a couple times and kite flying.

Grandad helping Little Man learn to use his pole. My Grandad helped me do the same when I was about his age. I’m so thankful my dad can pass that on.
We had a heck of a time catching much, but that catfish was big!
Flying a kite with Gramps was one of my favorite memories growing up, so having Little Man do the same is so special.
Grammys playing catch with a beach ball was quite the hit.

Little Man even got to see the grain truck getting filled with corn with the auger too with cousin Scott.

Telling Scott his “Toilet” joke.
Picking up corn from the truck.
I think all three had a wonderful time together.

Nana and Little Man enjoyed lots of time playing too, though neither thought it was enough.

He was very proud of himself for climbing the spiderweb.
I think Nana time is his favorite.

About 2 days before my dad’s surgery, the doctor called and said his kidney bloodwork wasn’t up to par so surgery had to be postponed. Needless to say, he was NOT a happy camper. Thankfully, he was able to finally get it done at the very end of the month. He called to tell me how much better he already felt a few hours after surgery, saying he was able to climb 6 stairs without any pain.

That weekend, we packed in a ridiculous amount of things to do in a short time. We started our weekend off with our Lowes workshop. Since our usual Lowes had system issues, we weren’t able to get Little Man’s Senior Builder Badge for his 12th consecutive workshop. But! He received it while we were back in Nebraska. We even got his special toolbag ordered. It arrived back home about a week after we got back.

We rarely get to do these together but since Daddy wasn’t there, I got to help.
He was so excited to get his special badge.
He loves his new toolbag.

Then we met some of my friends at the Sunken Gardens. Little Man met a new friend Kate and they had a great time looking around. I had a nice catch up with my friends Tito, Tyler, and Erica too.

They both know the Bluey toilet joke and thought they were hilarious.
I really miss these guys!

Then, we finished up with a little more shopping. Scheels is always a fun time, though they have gotten pricey in recent years.

Can’t visit Nebraska without trying on a huge foam hat.
He was getting tired, so the taxidermy set up was a good distraction.

Then, I met with my friend Zak from college. Pretty sure it’s been about 10 years since I saw him in person last. It was a short visit, but so nice to catch up.

We finished our visit with one last trip to the farm for the Sturgeon full moon and one last visit with Grammys and Gramps.

After a grueling 12+ hour drive back to Tennessee, we slowly got back into some sort of routine. We met Little Man’s new teacher that Thursday and started back at speech Monday.

Then Tuesday was the first day of 4 year old preschool! Little Man had a rough start — the HVAC had some issues so he only got to be at school for 2 hours. He also didn’t get enough sleep, so lots of tears. Luckily, he enjoyed his first week back and is right on track.

Hard morning.
Better afternoon.

The last few days of the month were reserved for getting the pups bathed/brushed (they’re finally tuft free and smell better!) and hustling to finish some of the cleaning I wanted to accomplish before the Mister came home from Texas. Nothing like leaving things until the last minute!

We also squeezed in some Husker football viewing. It’s not Lincoln, but we can still look the part.

Go Big Red!

September is going to be an interesting month. Of course, we have the Highland Games and possibly the Trail of Tears Pow Wow, but there is also Little Man’s first real field trip, Oktoberfest, and maybe even Barks and Brews (weather pending — if it’s too hot, we won’t attend. Too chaotic for my girls). Then, I still need to get Little Man’s suit and my dress ordered for Aunt Whitney’s wedding in October. One day I’ll get a handle on my fall schedules…

Until then,

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