Things I Learned (or relearned) in 2018 - by Marc

1. My wife is so smart.

2. An Irish carpenter named Sam is always going to say “It’s alright, that’ll be no problem” no matter how big my mess-up is.

3. Measure twice, order a front door once. (and see thing I learned directly above)

4. A totaled minivan in the woods apparently falls into the category of being another man’s treasure.

5. When you live in the woods and a neighbor’s dog runs up to you with a stick in its mouth, don’t assume it’s a stick. It could be a deer leg.

6. A 1000-gallon green propane tank can be used to convince a certain 8-yr-old that World War 2 submarine relics can somehow wash ashore in Georgia.

7. The absolute best time to talk to kids is right before their bedtime, because they will share all sorts of stuff to avoid bedtime.

8. Driveway and asphalt contractors have to be the most interesting people group.

9. It sure was bittersweet selling our house that we built six years ago. It was certainly not our plan, but now we see God’s hand in all of it.

10. Monsoon season is not the best time to start building a house (unless it’s a houseboat).

11. When you pray for a mid-June contract on your existing house, it is best to make sure that your new house is farther along than just drywall in mid-June.

12. My wife sure can make a house a home.

13. Multiple color temperatures for LEDs were invented to annoy me. They are quite effective at that.

14. Our kids are remarkably patient and understanding. I can learn a lot from them.

15. Anything that I’ve accomplished in life is the result of nothing more than God’s direction and provision.

16. We live near senior citizen roosters. We know that because they take a nap every afternoon, and then they crow at 3pm every day.

17. My wife gives everything she’s got during the school year. So, when school breaks come along, she’s gonna be sick.

18. People who live in the woods are some of the nicest people! (and no HOA required)

19. If you are painting your house exterior white, for instance, don’t do it until all of the red mud on the ground is covered.

20. When you ask your happy go-lucky but sick daughter how she’s feeling on a scale of 1 to 10, subtracting at least 2 from her assessment is appropriate.

21. If I need something organized, I should ask Kayla to help. If I need to laugh, I should ask Macy to help. If I need something squished, I should ask Brooke to help.

22. All these years later, frogs in the woods are still really loud at night in the summer.

23. Ain’t nobody got an immediate use for an extra seven cubic yards of concrete that were over-ordered.

Look Who's Forty!

Marc turned 40 this past week! That is so crazy to me! How are we this old?? He came in to a decorated office that morning.

And he said there were over a dozen of these signs posted around the building.

Big birthdays deserve big gifts! He knew I decided to get this for his birthday, but he was still super excited.  Now if it will just quit raining so he can try it out!

He decided he wanted to spend his birthday weekend in Knoxville at the Homecoming game for UT. The girls worked super hard to get all of their school work done by Thursday night. None of them like to take work on road trips. I was dozing off a bit around lunchtime, and the next thing I knew Marc had pulled off of the interstate to grab lunch. He opted for Fazolis. There really isn't anything on the Fazolis menu that is good for eating in the car, but what's the fun in that. 

 

Especially if you can relive your driving and eating a meatball sub moment. I'm not sure which experience was messier, but after 17 years of marriage I let him attempt this one mostly on his own while I ate my own lunch. 😂

We made it to Dollywood early afternoon.  The weather was looking a little gloomy, but we were there so we took our chances.  We were sprinkled on one time, and the park was so empty.  We basically walked on every single ride the whole day.  We couldn't have asked for a better afternoon. 

 

There was even time to do a little clogging to the music that was playing.  One gentleman even stopped us and asked if they had competed at Dollywood earlier this year. He and his family watched their mini-performance.

Brooke driving is a scary thought!

Saturday we had a lazy morning at the hotel. The girls spent some time swimming at the hotel pool.  We completely forgot to pack swimsuits, but lucky for them, Walmart still had a decent selection. 

After we checked out we headed to campus to enjoy the homecoming festivities.  It was an amazingly beautiful day, and it was such a great afternoon. 

 

 

 The Vols won, so that's always a good thing. The sunset was beautiful, and then we drove home after the game. We had such a great family weekend!

And on Sunday it was finally dry and Marc could try out his new toy. 

He even got a little help. Believe it or not, there is some grass out there where we seeded.  This is the area that will more than likely get torn up in the spring, so we haven't given it as much TLC. Actually we haven't given any of the yard much TLC except for the trees and shrubs we recently planted.

October Randoms

The girls and I got to talking the other day about shows they used to love when they were little.  I happened to mention that Kayla LOVED Noddy, and my mom said she had seen it on television recently.  We came home and I looked it up.  Sure enough, there was one that we could watch.  It has changed much over the last decade, and I miss the catchy little tune that would play as Noddy was driving around in his car.  I'm sure I didn't think it was so catchy after watching it so many times back in the day. The girls all watched it for a bit, but we all agreed it wasn't that great anymore. :(

We joined Marc and his company for a Corporate 5K in Atlanta.  That was super fun.

The girls made some towel animals one afternoon.

We usually do a fall festival for Halloween night, but this year the girls were invited to trick-or-treat with friends. They had so much fun...

and got a ridiculous amount of candy. 

Hillcrest Orchards

We rushed from our last soccer game up to Ellijay for the girls to clog at Hillcrest Orchards.

We all got in for free (saved us $60) and they even gave us a bushel of apples to take home with us as well as some other yummy goodies.  This is definitely a performance we want to continue to do. 

It turns out my sister was at the orchard at the same time - totally unplanned.  When she saw Powertaps on stage she noticed Kayla up there clogging.  How funny!

Soccer Wrap-Up

And just like that, soccer season is over.  This was Kayla's last year playing with Upward.  I know she will probably help coach next year, but it is crazy to think that she is now done with 11 soccer season with Upward.

Brooke has really enjoyed playing with her friend Ava Kate.  Sometimes you would see them chatting on the field, but they played hard.

Killing time at the field.

Kayla's last soccer practice.

We woke up to light rain on the morning of the last soccer game. We managed to get a really great parking spot, so I watched Brooke's game from here.  It was actually a pretty great view!

Team Galaxy (3rd/4th)

 Team Brazil (5th-8th)

Wedding Time!

Marc and I attended the wedding of a friend's daughter.  She had also babysat our girls a few times, and our girls just loved Miss Shelbi.  It was a beautiful afternoon in Georgia.