Hi friends and happy Monday! I hope you had a really nice weekend. Ours was a bit of a whirlwind but a lot of fun. We kicked things off on Friday with a neighborhood hangout. It’s a standing set gathering for whoever can make it on the first Friday of every month. It’s really nice to get a chance to catch up with neighbors I might not see as often, the kids love to run around and play, and we lucked out with some really nice weather.

Saturday we were up and out early. Both girls had soccer games at the same time (different parks). I got to go with Hailey and she ended up getting an assist by kicking a great corner shot! It was HOT but so much fun to watch her out there.

As much as I don’t love having to divide and conquer with sports, I didn’t mind the game times too much because it meant we were able to make a quick road trip to Virginia Tech happen!

My niece is attending VT and they had a big nighttime game versus Vanderbilt, where my nephew goes. David’s parents planned on going, too, and offered us four seats. We’ve been wanting to take the girls to a college football game, so between the soccer game times, the generously offered tickets, and booking a last minute hotel with credit card points, we made it happen!

It’s about a 4 hour drive from Greenville, so after the games we headed north. We went straight to the hotel for some speedy showers, then onto campus. We were parked and ready to explore by 4:00. Not too shabby!

We got a great walking tour from Mema and Grandpa before breaking off to meet up with some of our dear friends from back in Mooresville that happen to be at the game, too. We saw the players walking in, got a picture with The Hokie Bird, high-fived the band players, and really got to experience the full tailgating atmosphere on a beautiful afternoon and evening.

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Our seats were about as high up as you can be which was actually pretty awesome. It made the flyover more dramatic, gave us plenty of room to spread out, and ended up providing an epic view of the sunset. Rain threatened us off and on all afternoon and evening but we never got rained on once. We lucked out!

I was thrilled when we got to meet up with my niece for a bit. Being the first game day on the year, I had very low expectations of seeing her, but it worked out and I was thrilled. She seems to be thriving at VT and says there are so many nice people on the beautiful campus. See the people you love living their best lives is simply the best.

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We ate hotdogs and ice cream, cheered our lungs out, and left late in the 4th quarter when Vandy started their total domination. We all slept like logs and I laughed in the morning when we woke up at how no one’s sheets had seemed to wrinkle a bit; like we all just laid down in our spots and didn’t move until morning.

We had a really nice breakfast with Mema and Grandpa then headed back south in time for soccer practice and grocery shopping.

I enjoyed cheering on the Packers to a great win while I made dinner, then I let the chickens out to free range for a bit. I’m still worried about predators, but think it’s so cool how if you let them out an hour before sunset, they’ll naturally go back to homebase and put themselves to bed in the coop as it gets dark out. Nature is so cool. And I’m still 90% in denial that I’ll have to handle the rooster situation at some point. Sticking my head in the sand is a solid strategy, right?

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And today we hit the ground running. I’m giving Finley a longer morning walk because today she is 4! Then it’s school work with the kids, making a reel for a partnership (which I haven’t done in forever but how does one say no to pimento cheese?!), a little strength training, and if there’s time, picking the rest of the peppers and cucumbers for the garden for a little pickling. Lofty goals for a Monday, but I’ll see what I can do.

Thanks so much for stopping by today and I hope you have a lovely start to the new week. Let’s make it a good one! <3