Busy Fall Happenings

The end of August and September went by quickly! Here are some of the fun things we've enjoyed.

Mia got her first car! She turns 16 in November. Grandpops and Grandma Jan graciously offered to purchase her first car for her just like they did with Lily. Mia had a great time learning about different cars and seeing the pros and cons of each. After lots of research, we landed on a 2024 Hyundai Tuscan. Mia was very excited to see they had a black one in stock. She has since named it Finley. How fun that they put this huge red ribbon on it!

I bought Decker a cute little Beetlejuice Sand Worm squeaker toy. He absolutely loved it! It didn't take very long for him to destroy it, but still, he had fun while it lasted.

We were happy to host the church's Back to School Bash at our home for the youth group. It was a beautiful evening. Nate Drake has been interning all summer, so he brought over lots of fun yard games, and Ryan smoked some delicious pulled pork. We snuck this picture through our Ring camera. It was a fun evening.

Ryan and Lily had a fun date night out at Iberian Pig.

Upper School always has a few days at Camp Highland to start the school year. Here's Mia with Eliana, Olivia, and Yabsera before they headed out.

Our family took a fun little outing to Pelican's SnoBalls shave ice. So many delicious flavors!

Ryan and I had a fantastic date night to a Candlelight Concert at The Wimbish House to see the Magnolia Street Quartet's Tribute to the Beatles. It's a small venue, and it was decorated so beautifully with lots and lots of (fake) candles. It was lovely, and the music was fantastic. The quartet did an amazing job. This was such a fun evening!

Mia's Spanish class had to use their creativity skills for a project. Mia opted to imitate a Picasso painting! Thankfully Paige was a very willing canvas volunteer. I thought this turned out really well (as did Mrs. Hanbury)!

We were so excited to try these Coke Oreos! I think we were all pretty impressed with them.

This fall included several standardized tests for Lily. She had signed up to the ACT at nearby South Cobb High School. However, the Thursday before Saturday's exam, we found out that the exam had been moved to Rome, GA, which is about 1.5 hours away! Thankfully she and I were able to grab a room at a nearby Marriott for Friday night. We got up early on Saturday and stopped by for a CFA breakfast before dropping her off at the school. Not an adventure we were expecting, but a fun one nonetheless (other than actual ACT part of it).

We always appreciate when the Hendersons give us their Braves' tickets! Brian is always so gracious to reserve the tickets on Ryan's birthday for him. It worked out for all four of us to go to the game that night, and we had a great time watching the Braves take a win over the Mariners!

I love these girls.

The start of the school year means a new volleyball season. I've grown to truly love these games!

Always fun to see this BOOM cheer!

Unfortunately, Ruthie hurt her knee in the middle of one of the games. Between sets Addison moved over to take Ruthie's position, and Lily moved over to become the libero. It was fun to see her in the light blue jersey for awhile!

Senior girls with Coach Connie on Senior Night.

Senior Night was so much fun! Between the games, the school set up a celebratory space where each senior and her family were recognized. All the student fans gathered around and made a cheering pathway for each family to walk through. It was a great evening!

It's been a great start to the school year!