3 Year Anniversary!

Three years ago, on Sept. 15th, I showed up at Brew Bank to meet IRL with a guy who I had chatted with on Bumble. (Not an Ad!) I wasn't so sure we were going to be compatible. He was newly single, and I had been divorced for seven years at that point. 

I discovered he was charming, kind, and funny all at that first date. So, we went on many more dates, and last year we moved into a house we bought together. When Jeff and I met, I wasn't sure if I would share a home with a partner again. I had gotten kind of used to not having to share my closet or fridge. Turns out, he is my perfect puzzle piece, and I haven't given up a thing by sharing my life with him, I've only gained so much! He is my Chief problem solver and my stability when my world is getting shaky. 

Looking forward to the next three years, and the three years after that!  

Jeff is such a great gift giver, on top of beautiful earrings, he got me the traditional gift of leather! 

Our anniversary is the 15th but we had to wait till the 16th for our date at White Linen. The best place in Topeka to celebrate a special occasion! 

Did I eat too much, yes. Was I miserable the rest of the night because of how full I was, yes. Was it worth it? Absolutely! 

I wrapped his gifts in the only paper I could find. LOL 

From last weekend, me and my best date for a community event! 

Weekend of Birthdays

 It was a holiday weekend and we celebrated two birthdays! On Sunday we went to Hays to celebrate Christopher's first birthday. It was so fun to spend the day with the Stiles family. We took Grandma Rosie with us and we had so much fun just playing games and with toys and being with our family. 

Christopher woke up from his nap all smiles. I can't believe he is already a year old! 

Today we celebrated Joseph's 12th birthday with the dinner of his choice, presents and pickleball. He picked fried rice and shrimp for dinner. He also requested a yellow cake with white frosting. Everyone agreed that he picked a good dinner! 

We waited until seven to go play pickleball, it was still warm but it wasn't blazing hot. It was nice to have a three day weekend and I think we made the most of it! 

First Home Football Game!

I know it was Thursday, but last night was the first home varsity football game for Topeka High! That means Alex had his marching band debut, and Daryl got to lead the student section for the first time. It was such a fun night!

Aaron had us pick up a friend, and the two of them sat in the student section. Joseph even complained very little as we sat through three quarters of the game! We left after the third quarter because it was a school night, and it was already 10 p.m. They had started the game later because of the heat advisory, which was definitely the right move!

The Trojans had the game under control, so we headed home. Thankfully, it wasn't too hard to get everyone up and moving this morning for work and school! And the final score was Trojans 33 HP Scots 6. 

And the band was great! I am so happy that Alex is enjoying it, and the band directors at T-High are just top-notch. After years of not being able to get a good picture of Alex in band, he is finally in the front row of the halftime show. Yay!

I’m definitely looking forward to many more marching band performances. :-)

From the march around the field to the before game show, Alex had to get to the opposite side of the field. But he made it! LOL 

I did a sneak attack to get this picture! I am so glad 
Daryl is having a fun senior year! 

August Goal Post!

 It sure seems hot for the end of August. It was 104 degrees today. Yuck! It was a full month as we sent kids back to school, replaced our fence, took a little trip to Arkansas and celebrated an 18th birthday. I also had a great month for my goals. It leads me to believe that the busier I am, the more I get done! Ready for September, because it needs to cool down. 

Read 30 Books: 20/30

I finished three books this month! 

I started the month with a true crime book recommended to me by my Kindle App If you Tell by Gregg Olsen. The story of how one mentally ill woman ruined her family and a few other families was wild. It was a book that was totally messed up and I couldn't stop reading because it all really happened. I don't think true crime will be my go-to, reality is way more disturbing than fiction! 

The second book was from my pile of books that I have picked up here or there. It was Good Husbands by Cate Ray. My tour into poor human behavior continued but at least this time it was fiction. I'm going to spoil it for you, they were not Good Husbands. Also the ending was a little confusing but thanks to Reddit I figured out what the author was trying to do. LOL This one will be donated. And what did people do with confusing book endings before Reddit? 

The last book of the month was a breath of fresh air after those two. The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife by Anna Johnston was set in Australia and it was a unique tale of switching identities and how we care for people in our community that have lost all of their family. It was full of a lot of love and care and laughs. I would read another book by this author and I appreciated ending the month on a high note. I don't know if I would keep this book on the shelf, however it was a library book so i don't have to decide. 

Run 620 Miles: 434/620

I ran 59 miles in August. I am officially on a half marathon plan for the Kansas Half in November. So even though it is still blazing hot, I do have a plan I need to follow. That definitely helps get me up in the morning to get the miles. 

Grow My Savings by 60% (Done August!) 

Finished this goal for the year! I will still put money aside but it is nice that this is done ✅

UFOs (Unfinished Objects) to Be Completed, in No Particular Order

While we were in Arkansas I actually finished one photo book for Daryl and one for Alex. So I have that line halfway done! We also finished one of our house projects this month. The new fence is up and I'm ready to get started on the dining room redo! We only have three four months left in the year. 

• Alpaca Quilt
• T-Shirt Quilt
• 2 photo books for Daryl and Alex (1 book done for each) 
• 1 knit project from stash
• 1 stitched project from stash

Jeff and I had a long weekend in Arkansas to celebrate surviving kids home all summer!

We stayed in a treehouse!

Finished a whole book by the lake!

I thought I scared the mom bird away from her eggs with my pictures but she came back and the babies hatched! 

Paint swatch done and I like it! We are going yellow. 

Happy Birthday Dear Daryl!

 We celebrated a few days after Daryl's 18th birthday, but he didn't mind! Last night, we had the big guy all to ourselves. He got to pick dinner, chicken alfredo with garlic bread and a DQ Ice Cream cake for dessert. After he opened his pinata we played pickleball until Daryl and Alex could no longer be friendly. Some things never change! 

So far, Daryl's senior year is off to a good start, we have senior pictures done and he is liking his classes. He is 90% sure he knows what he is doing next year, but you never know what the next couple of months will bring. 

Love you, bud. I think you greatest strength is how you interact with people and make everyone around you laugh. You make me proud! 

House Project #1!

When we started 2026, Jeff and I had three house projects in mind: a new fence, redoing our main-floor bathroom, and redoing the dining room. When I started looking at fences to decide what to put in, I found some lovely fences that were categorized as “custom.” I later found out that “custom” is another word for expensive!

But before I figured that out, I had already fallen in love with some metal panels that I wanted to use in our fence. Jeff did the math, and if we put them all around our backyard, one of the kids wasn’t going to college…so we compromised! I put them at the front and back of the fence, and we took the bathroom off the list!

I love how it turned out, and the company finished on Tuesday. On Saturday, we’re hauling off the rest of the debris in the backyard, and then it will be perfect. Yay, compromise!

Today, the 20th, is also Daryl’s 18th birthday! He’ll get his own post next week when I get to celebrate with him, but today I am officially the mom of an adult. (Legally speaking.) Time flies!

Just to show the debris that still has to go. But you can also see the "plain" sides of the fence are pretty too!

Last First Day of High School

 Tuesday was the first day of School for our Freshmen and our 6th grader. They got a day to themselves to learn their new buildings and how their new schools work. 

Wednesday was Daryl's first day of his senior year. He gave me a little attitude about his first day of school picture, but I would be worried if he didn't! LOL 

Three days in to the new drop off schedule and it is awesome. The kiddos go to two building and Joseph is walking to school. I don't want to jinx anything but so far it is pretty smooth. We are also loving having Grandma Rosie over most nights for dinner and family time! She is settling in to her new house and hopefully this weekend we can find her some front porch chairs! (She will learn about that when she reads this post. LOL) 

Hope everyone else is having a smooth start to the new school year! 

I wanted to recreate this picture from Kindergarten and 3rd grade. I got a "No Way" from Daryl. What a grump! Still their best 1st day of school picture!

Senior!

Freshman!

Freshman!

6th Grade!

July Goals Post

For as busy as July was, I am happy with the progress I made toward my goals. (It was also, sooooo hot)

With school starting next week, we are in full prep mode at our house. Lucas went back to Missouri Military Academy on Saturday, and the rest of the kids are working on getting everything they need for high school and middle school.

Today was a fun morning because Daryl got his senior pictures taken! Can you even believe it? Ken Doll did them, and he always does an awesome job. Even just looking at the shots on his camera, I already know we're going to have some tough choices to make.

Daryl could have done five outfits, but he only wanted three. He could have gone to several different locations, but he chose two. You know what? The pictures are going to be totally him.

Senior year has officially begun!

Read 30 Books: 17/30

I finished two books in July, just under the wire finished my second book on the 31st at 8pm!

The first was The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett, and it really hit on some themes I've been enjoying lately. First, it's historical fiction, set in the South during the Great Depression. Second, I've been drawn to stories featuring strong women.

When money is hard to come by, why not turn to the oldest profession in the world? This book tells what women will do to survive and provide for their families. At more than 600 pages, it's the reason I only finished two books this month, but I have no regrets. I would have happily read another 100 pages of these characters' stories.

The second book was The Book Club for Troublesome Women by Marie Bostwick. I thought it might be similar to my read from last month about banned books, but it turned out to be more of a story about feminism. Set in a suburban neighborhood in 1963, it follows four women as they discover the new roles and possibilities available to them during that time. It's not too heavy, and the friendships keep the pages turning. I recommend this one, too!

Run 620 Miles: 375/620

I ran 48 miles in July. It was one mile more than I ran in June. I'll take it. PS the weather is finally cooling down in the morning. Hallelujah! 

Grow My Savings by 60%

I am so close to this goal and it is only the end of July. If nothing unexpected comes up I might just complete this in August! 

UFOs (Unfinished Objects) to Be Completed, in No Particular Order

Nada so far! 

• Alpaca Quilt
• T-Shirt Quilt
• 2 photo books for Daryl and Alex
• 1 knit project from stash
• 1 stitched project from stash

So glad we got to take some inside the school!

I hope these kids appreciate the awesome building they get to call their High school! 

Went school shopping last weekend and tried out Krab Kings in KC, Mo

It was really good, we will eat there again! 

Shawnee County Fair 2026 And End of Summer Ball

To round out July, I worked my 15th Shawnee County Fair, and the day after that Daryl had two nights of baseball for the end of his season. The fair was fun and we got two days of cool rainy weather and two brutally hot days. I wish we could have split the difference but you get what you get at the end of July. 

It was my second year as the Shopping In Style superintendent and I'm not sure how long I have been helping with the Archery meet. We had more youth in both this year! The only thing that was weird is this is the first time I didn't have a 4-H'er at the fair. The boys did not enroll this year and that is ok, it was just weird. Mom came and helped, so some things don't change! It is probably her 14th fair. LOL 

Daryl's Topeka High team won the league tournament and the league outright. Both games had their exciting parts and Daryl got hit by a pitch in both. It's a rough way to up your On Base average. This team was fun to watch and they are talking about making a fall ball team and have their awards ceremony on Sunday. Way to Go D! 

Today was the first day of T-High marching band camp and Alex and his trumpet were at the school bright and early. I will have a reason to go to all of the Football games this year, and I will get to leave after halftime. LOL Can't wait to see the show! 

That's a wrap until fall ball!

My first time presenting the Foundation Scholarship winners!

Pancake Feed

First day of Marching Band Camp