Cards for Hospitalized Kids

 You can tell that this week has been a busy one because I'm resharing a few things BUT I promise I'll be back with new in the next few days!

In the meantime - I'll never miss an opportunity to talk about Cards for Hospitalized Kids because it's one of my FAVORITE organizations ever.  Today I'm sharing some Fall/Halloween ideas in case you need something fun to do with you and your kids/class/etc. this week/weekend to get you in a pre-Fall mood. We live on the surface of the sun and I am currently taking any opportunity I can to pretend that it's cool weather and coloring a few Halloween/Fall themed cards while eating something cozy may be just the ticket!

Attendance Questions

   I've mentioned before that my teacher achilles heel was ALWAYS attendance.  I was bad at recording it, bad at remembering it, just BAD at it.  Which isn't ideal since it's kind of a big deal when I'm grading, sorting out makeup work, etc. 

Two years ago, instead of just taking roll at the beginning of class and having kids say "here" I started asking a random question and then their response is their "here".  It's great because the kids don't let me forget! ;) hahaha

They look forward to the questions and it doubles as a fun little ice breaker as well.  

Blue-spiration

 I posted a few pics of Griffin on IG all dressed up in her house color on Friday and immediately got a TON of requests for links to her spirit items and lots of questions about her star want ;) SO HERE WE GO!

Friday Favorites

 Happy Friday, friends! Erika and I are so excited that lots of y'all are linking up with us every week.  Make sure that you're grabbing our graphic, linking back to us and sharing your own Friday Favorites post ;)

Well.... all the senior things have started and I'm absolutely loving the extra time with my FAVORITE senior. This Monday was Senior Sunrise...

Back to School Brinner 2026

 

We had our annual back to school brinner this week and it was just as sweet as ever. I MAY have cried when G asked if Luke would get to do this with us next year, but other than that it was PERFECTION!!!

Three Things - First Day Edition

 

- LAST ONE, BEST ONE-

Well. Here we are. I'm still processing #allthethings but as I was taking these photos Luke goes, "I guess this is the last time I'll take these pics" and for some reason that made it all feel super real. Forget senior sunrise, senior retreat prep, senior car window painting, painting his senior parking spot... this was what did me in. Bittersweet is really the only word I have for it!

Easy weeknight meals

   Today is the first day of school and it feels appropriate to share some of my family's favorite weeknight dinners that are QUICK, easy and yummy.  These are meals that I like to pull out on super busy nights where we have practices, church, games, etc. and there's minimal time.

Amazon Lately

 

This homework folder has been a back-to-school staple in our house for YEARS. My kids use it to keep homework papers in - it's an easy way to keep what needs to be completed/turned in separated from everything else and makes bringing things home a little easier/simplified.

Friday Favorites

Happy Friday, friends! Erika and I are so excited that lots of y'all are linking up with us every week.  Make sure that you're grabbing our graphic, linking back to us and sharing your own Friday Favorites post ;)

First up - our FAVORITE guy turns FORTY THREE tomorrow and we snuck in a celebration earlier this week before the wee got too crazy!

Camp Recap 2026

 It's taken me a couple of weeks to go through camp pics, get them ordered, and get this post together but I'd be remiss if I didn't recap another amazing year of camp for all three kids. 

Griffin was part of the Morph leadership program in Van, TX and had an absolute blast. She said that it was her favorite year EVER. 

Back to School Touches

 

Well... believe it or not summer is coming to an end! I went back to work this week and my kids go back next week. A couple of weeks ago I packed up the red, white, and blue and got out my back-to-school bin. I'm not ready to commit to Fall decor since it's not even close to being Fall but I can definitely get on board with some school-related decor ;) 

Up first is this banner that I had made years ago (the Etsy seller no longer exists - sorry!) that says "Who and Whose". Growing up my mom would always tell us to remember who we are and whose we are and it always feels fitting for back to school.

Weekend Recap

 

It's been a minute since I've done a weekend recap. because, honestly - summer kind of feels like one big weekend BUT this weekend was extra fun so here we go ;) 

We pickleballed....