August 2020 Family Update

There were quite a few things that happened in August for our family.

For starters, we were supposed to be in South America but travel plans are all kinds of wonky in 2020. Maine was plan B but we ended up celebrating our 15th anniversary on the side of a mountain in northwest GA per Mike’s request.  Booking destinations is one of my many special talents, and AirBnB did not disappoint. Our cabin was literally hanging off a mountain. However, Chatanooga was within an easy driving distance for yummy food options. It’s kind of funny because that’s where we went on our honeymoon and also where we went back to for our 10th anniversary. We enjoyed dinner at Bridgeman’s Chophouse inside one of the oldest hotels downtown. Mike also took me for a hike down the Trail of Tears. It’s a running joke that Mike will walk me to death and incorporate history and a cemetery into every trip we take. This one was no exception.

We also had some friends join us for the later part of the weekend and we did some fun things with them like axe throwing and hang gliding. Yes, I actually went hang gliding. Surprisingly, I wasn’t scared out of my mind like I had anticipated (thank you CBD). It did make me a little motion sick but I would absolutely do it again! Mike, hands down, LOVED it and flew twice.

While we were on our trip, Skylar completed her Order of the Arrow Ordeal and she is now an official member. This was an important milestone of her scouting journey and we are so proud of this accomplishment. She also completed an intro to snorkeling and scuba this month and had a lot of fun.

Once we were settled back in, we decided to go ahead and start 8th grade. Our co-op isn’t meeting because of COVID, which is such a bummer. This year Skylar has opted to take Algebra I and English I for credit. In addition she is studying TN History, Coding, and Hockey. I haven’t been able to find a ton of hockey material but there has been enough so far to keep her engaged and happy. She will finish out her classes at The Lab and then transition to their new girl’s rec team starting in September and we will call that P.E.

I’m also excited to announce that Skylar finally got her braces off this month!!!! We were initially hoping she would only have to wear them for 18 months but she ended up getting double that amount of time. Bless it. But her smile is absolutely beautiful and she’s been doing pretty well with her retainers so far!

I pulled out all of the potatoes from the garden. We had a nice little harvest this year. The okra is still going strong with no end in sight. I’m also finally getting luffas. I’m getting some things ready for fall but overall I have been so pleased with the garden this year. Having the fence made a big difference but the soil content was also great too!

Right at the end of the month we decided to take a little field trip / family date day. Would you be surprised if I told you we ended up in Chattanooga again? LOL! We had fun at the aquarium and then grabbed ice cream and walked across the bridge before heading home. I am THRILLED to be a 100% entrepreneurial family and to be able to take little trips like this whenever we want.

Mike’s tree service is doing really well. They’ve stayed busy with jobs every week and are getting a pretty good system in place. I’m so thankful that he decided to do this and I can’t wait to see where it goes from here.

Next month we are headed to the beach and I’m so excited. We haven’t been in 2 years. Mama needs some salty ocean air!