April 2026 Family Update

We celebrated Easter weekend by having dinner with our besties at Limo. I’ve never had peruvian food but I was instantly a big fan! Everything has lots of lime, corn, and potatoes. I was hooked. For Easter morning, we had brunch with some friends, which was also lovely. I absolutely do not miss the hustle and bustle of Easter Sunday Church. I’m still embracing my eat, drink, and be merry era as far as spirituality goes. Oh, and nature. That’s where it’s at for me. Been spending a lot of mornings playing pickleball outside and evenings walking on the greenway, and I love both. It just feels good and I’m so thankful to be healthy and well enough to move my body.

The absolute most exciting thing this month (and so far this year) was getting to see Skylar fly her first solo. She was able to do it out of the Lebanon airport, which is where she took her first test flight 2 years ago. She was a little nervous but, I was nothing but proud of her. Hearing her voice on the radio was a real full circle moment. To honor and celebrate her solo, her dad and I cut the “tail” off of her shirt. She had also invited Miki Klein from the EAA Chapter to be there, and she got to participate as well. This was such a fun milestone and I’m so glad I was able to witness it in person. Two weeks later she did her first tower solo. I wasn’t able to be there for that one but I did watch online and listened in to hear her on the radio.

We had my Uncle Fletcher’s Memorial Service this month so I headed down to Bama for a quick visit. He had requested a Barn Party, which was more his style as he had hosted many over the years. I moved to Nashville when I was in my 20s so I had never been to one before, but I wouldn’t have missed this one for anything. They had a live band and everyone brought their chairs and drinks and visited with one another. There were lots of laughs and I had the best time. The following weekend we went to a memorial service for some of our friends who unexpectedly lost their 25 year old son. Prior to the service they allowed a time for people to share stories and thoughts about him and they played several videos. Many of the messages were heartfelt and some were really funny. All of those experiences got me thinking about how I want my life to be remembered and (hopefully) celebrated and has prompted some good conversations.

On my way back from Bama I stopped by to visit my great Aunt Sybil, who is technically my 2nd cousin. We had the best little chat. She’s 82 years old and lost her husband, Mitch, a few years ago. I don’t guess I had ever heard the story of how they met but I’m still thinking about it. Their relationship was kismet and really special. Anywho, she’s still just living life and hasn’t slowed down not one bit even though she’s still grieving his loss. I was so inspired by her and have zero regrets about driving an extra hour to be able to make that stop.

We also had our buddy Asher come and stay with us a couple times this month. He is Onyx’s full-blooded brother from the same liter and Ace’s Uncle. They all 3 look so much alike. Asher is like the perfect blend of Ace and Onyx and I get them all mixed up when they are here together but it’s been so fun to have him around.

I have my garden planted and several seeds started. This year I will have corn, zucchini, peppers, tomatoes, jalapenos, sweet potatoes, carrots, onions, and parsnips. It feels good to have expanded a little bit now that I’m back to a suburban garden, and I hope everything does well. We are definitely still in our pizza oven era around here so having extra toppings including fresh basil is handy. We now have dough recipes that can be whipped up pretty quickly so it’s not as labor intensive as it once was and it’s always delicious.

Skylar’s beloved truck, Curtis, was in the hospital all month long but should be getting out any day now. He needed about $3500 worth of surgery but Enrique found the needed part and has him all patched up. Skylar used my car so that she could get back and forth from work and to the airport. She figured out how to get the repairs paid for all on her own and, even though it was stressful, she managed and I’m quite proud of her. Finals are coming up next week and then she’ll be moving into her first apartment. Exciting times indeed!

Books Read

• Project Hail Mary – Movie was GREAT but the book was better!
• Part Of Your World – Easy breezy small-town romance.
• Theo of Golden – Such a gentle and beautifully written story about humanity.
• Your Mom’s Gonna Love Me – All the details we didn’t know about Matt Rife and his rise to fame.

Restaurants

• Green Onion Deli – S Mount Juliet Rd.
  • Lots of GF options. Will definitely go again!
• Limo – On Fatherland Street in Edgefield
  • Delicious Peruvian. I’m still thinking about the ceviche and pork belly
• Compassion House Coffee – Lebanon Rd in Mt. Juliet
  • Newest coffee spot but very convenient and lots of seating
• Texas Roadhouse – Goldenbear in Mt. Juliet
  • Little bit of a wait to be seated (use the waitlist option in the app) but steak cooked to perfection
• Durci’s – Lebanon, TN
  • Cutie little chocolate shop. Grabbed dessert to go and it was very rich!
• Mori Mori – Providence in Mt. Juliet
  • Yummy sushi
• In-N-Out – Lebanon, TN
  • Still a fave!
• Spud & Butter – Mt. Juliet, TN
  • I had the brisket potato and it was so soft and buttery. Plus, they have an incredible iced tea bar with 15+ options.