Well...August Happened

August was a hot mess express. The good news is it all ended incredibly well. 

The last week of July, Evan and I were headed to tour NCSU, and we got rear-ended on 40 in our brand new to us van:

The good news is we didn't have so much as a scratch or a bruise, and none of the other cars involved did either. But, the van was totaled. I can't say enough good things about Nationwide. They checked on us multiple times to be sure we didn't get sore in the following weeks, and they put us in a rental until we found a new car two weeks ago:

We got another Odyssey since the last one did so well in the wreck!

The end of that same week, we took Evan to tour UNC Charlotte:

It's his new top contender! And on the way home we stopped by Ryan's studio and invested in our first piece from him:

It's so fun to support one of Evan's friends as he becomes a professional artist!

Our neighbor was also redoing her kitchen and gave us her marble island countertop, which we love:

The new look was the incentive we needed to finally hang the prints we brought home from Scotland. Evan was much more careful that I would have been:

I love how they look, but I cannot get a decent picture.

I also learned August is my new role is insane. I still love it, but it is a lot of a lot.

I'm very proud that I still did take a lot of time to read. It probably saved my sanity.

Book 26 was a very affirming memoir by Rachel Held Evans:

I love my Jesus but the church and I struggle. This helped me think that through a little differently.

Book 27 was a hot mess of a book club pick:

I cannot say I enjoyed it, but I also couldn't stop reading it. It's a bizarre travel-log about hot dogs.

And I finished book 28 this morning:

I love this series, and I'm a little sad that I think this will be the last book in it. Ana and Din are such wonderfully complicated characters, and just when I think I have the mystery solved I'm very wrong.

We are looking forward to what we hope is a much calmer September!

 

Book 25

I finished book 25 this morning:

 This is the last published book in the Court of Thorn and Roses series, but I'm so glad the next book is coming this fall. I'm not at all ready to say goodbye to these characters. This book focused on Nesta and Cassian, and they may be one of my favorite couples in literature ever. I actually texted a friend early in the book to be sure they ended up together because I just needed it to be true. I so appreciate an author that can make me this invested in complicated, realistic characters.

It's the little things...

I spent the first half of this week at a SACS conference. I learned a lot, but it was a lot of prep going into it, and I spent every evening in the hotel trying to just keep my head above water with my actual day job. It's pouring rain today, and I am facing a long day of meetings and problems. I love my job, but somedays are a lot, and I will never be caught up. I was trying to prioritize my day and figure out my life on the way in to work, and then I got to my door:

Boy. It's a little thing, but it sure did give me the nudge I needed this morning.
 

She's A Renter!

Our girl has a new permanent address! Last Wednesday, she picked up the key to her very own first apartment:

 

We are helping with rent while she finishes school, but she chose a place she could easily afford on her own when she gets her first teaching job. 

One huge criteria for her was that she had her own washer and dryer:

When she got the key Wednesday, Evan and I helped her move all of her bathroom and kitchen stuff in:

We knew that would be the most boxes, and her place is tiny. Getting them unloaded before we moved everything else in was a game changer. She and I also made her first big grocery trip on Friday and made sure the fridge was stocked with cold beverages and moving snacks.

Saturday, we made the big move! Evan's friend, Mikey, was a huge help:

We started at nine, and we had everything in by 12:30. Brad got her TV mounted:

And she got some more practice adulting when she had to call to get her internet fixed, but she did:

By about 2, we had made it this far. The furniture was all in place (we passed on a couch, coffee table, and desk; she assembled her new bed), the boxes were sorted, and she decided she just needed time alone to figure out where everything goes. 

So...we left she and Inks to settle in:

I miss having them at home, but I am so glad they are off on this new adventure together...

Beach Week 2026

On this gloomy Monday morning I am flashing back to our very, very sunny beach week. Brad had to work after our Scotland trip and with a huge project launching next week, but the kids and I joined Mom and Shannon at our usual Kure Beach house:

A kind stranger snapped this picture of us on our last evening beach walk, but I think our groupies might have been better:

Shannon did capture some of my favorite recent pictures of the kids, though:

Our big adventure this year was a trip to the Karen Beasley Turtle Hospital. Injured sea turtles are flown here from all over the East Coast for healing and rehabilitation. We learned so much about the turtles, and our guide was truly passionate about the work:

It's amazing how much they can do for these big guys:

The kids even got matching sweatshirts:

The other new feature was family presentation night. I shared tidbits previously unshared from Scotland, but Issa stole the show. She presented her thesis:

She also presented on Mummia and 21 Pilots Lore:

It was such a fun night!

The rest of the week was a fun combination of lots of lounging:

And ocean bobbing:

And great food:

Issa spent a lot of time coloring by number:

And Evan built his biggest Lego set yet:

These are not even all of the bags:

It is a super cool Pokemon build:

Although I had to work more than I would like, I also finished book 23 there and finished book 24 this morning. Book 23 was the next in the ACOTR series:

This series just gets better and better. The next read is in the same series. She had actually written the next big book, and she realized that we needed to know more about the characters' histories and values to understand that book, so she wrote and released this book:

It moves the overall plot forward, but it also really does shine a light into each other characters in ways that I really appreciate! I will be starting the next book in the series tonight!

I love the beach, and I especially love all of the space to just be and talk with family.

Book 22

I finished book 22 this morning:

 This is our next book club read, and it might go down as the most bizarre book I've read. I didn't dislike it, but I can't really sell it. It is truly about a woman who is running a cat shelter that has some magical weirdness happening in the basement. It's a sweet love story with magical duels and lots of cats. I can't wait to see where the discussion of this one goes!

Much Celebrating

We had a weekend of much celebrating. Somehow, this is the only picture I took of Father's Day:

Brad wanted a low-key day filled with his favorite breakfast foods, so that's exactly what we did. We gave him a gift card for a massage, and we made his requested foods. Lunch was our new Scottish breakfast discovery: porridge with Drambuie. You pour it right over the porridge, and it is delicious. We also had French toast with sausages for dinner.

Saturday, we celebrating making the last of the purchases for Issa's first apartment. We were questing for a small kitchen table and two chairs. This is what Issa chose for her kitchen nook:

It's the most Issa arrangement ever, but she loves her papasan chair and end table combo. First apartment are supposed to be quirky.

I also finished book 21:

This was a sweet, quick read for book club about an orphanage for magical creatures. I enjoyed it, but I don't need to read the sequel.