Lutons Lately

Helloooooo friends! As 2020 continues to whizz by at lightening speed, my blogging continues to take a back seat as I attempt to keep up with the word around me. In absolutely no exaggeration, I would say that: 

September 2020 was perhaps the busiest month of my entire life. 

Between final prep for, and then going to, our 40th Birthday; closing on a mountain house and then having it ready for vacation rentals 23 days later; starting back to school; beginning our schedule of after school sports and activities; having several travel baseball tournaments; heading to, and back from, the mountains so.many.times. during single days to knock out quick projects; finally getting to venture up there a full weekend; celebrating an 11th birthday; and more, I felt like I could barely catch my breath for the duration of September. It was stressful and exhausting.

And that is not something to be proud of. I don't pride myself on being as busy as possible. Instead, I feel like quarantine taught me the importance of slowing down and reducing the to-do list. But, much of that just couldn't be helped in September due to major events coinciding. Regardless, I am so happy to say that life is slowly returning to a more manageable pace. Not quite the quarantine pace, but one that is much less stressful than September was. A look at what's been up with the Lutons lately, before life started to settle back down in October:

Fall sports. I mentioned in a previous post that Banks had started up with baseball and Bella's 2020-21 dance year had begun, but in September, Harrison had his first flag football games of the year and Raleigh began something new: aerial arts (think giant silk fabric, and a hoola hoop-type apparatus, hanging down from the ceiling while she does gymnastics on them). They were both pumped! So, while our weeknights now consist of lots of driving to and from games and practices, it makes my heart so happy to see my kiddos getting to engage in sports and activities again. 

Meanwhile, Banks' travel baseball is nearly through for the Fall season! So crazy! We have completed three of his four tournaments, and if the weather cooperates, will close it out in two weeks. He is having the best time, and we absolutely love watching him learn, play, and grow. 

New therapy. Although we sadly had to terminate with our former speech and occupational therapists after Bella aged out, she began speech therapy with a new therapist a few weeks ago and is doing well so far (we are still waiting for an OT spot to open up - it's really hard to snag therapy spots, FYI!!)! Every Wednesday, I get her out of school early so that she can attend her therapy. Thanks to Covid, I am not allowed into the therapy building, which means you can find me running quick errands, doing my nails in the car, or taking care of quick to-dos during the 45-minute sessions. ;) 

Braces. Have I mentioned how very thankful I am that the best orthodontist in the world happens to work right here in the Mill and happens to be my sister?! Seriously, Dr. Whitney of Smile Doctors is THE BEST. And a few weeks ago, Banks got braces under her care. I think he looks adorable! And we had to get a couple pics with Aunt Whit/Dr. Whitney, in one of which she was wearing her husband/my brother "in law's" personalized mask from Lutonpalooza - ha (which she wore to work the entire day)! 

Tennis. Tennis is up and rolling, and I am loving it!! I take a lesson once a week and am currently playing in two leagues. It is just so much fun, and it's been a great way to be active, have fun with girlfriends, and work hard to slowly improve. A blast!!!

Time with loved ones. We have snuck in some fun family and friend time, too, including cheering on my adorable nephew in his teeball game.

Cheering on the Tigers. Return of college football. 'Nuff said. 

Banks' birthday. We had a great day celebrating Banks' big 1-1. He awoke to door decorations and gifts (a new fish (whom he named Beast)! venus fly traps! Just what he wanted - ha!), hit up Waffle House for the traditional birthday breakfast with his dad, had an ice cream celebration at school (no parent lunch visits allowed this year - boo!), beelined to PetSmart to spend birthday money on his new pet, and then enjoyed burgers and ice cream cake while we watched a classic 90s movie as a family: Rookie of the Year. In a few weeks, we'll add one more celebration with friends to close out the birthday shenanigans for our quaranTWEEN. <3

Mountain time. A big post, chock full of photos of every square inch of our new mountain home, is coming soon (come rent from us! We're ready for you!), but first, we wanted to break it in ourselves, with two families we love in tow. We truly had the best weekend to close out a crazy month. We all (as in six adults and nine kids) arrived Friday night and enjoyed chili and cornbread while we settled in. 

Saturday morning, we enjoyed pancakes and bacon before heading straight out the front door for a hike to a waterfall. This weekend served as a great way to help shore up some of the recs I included in our rental welcome binder, and one thing we learned is that it was a looooong, very hilly hike - ha! We loved making it to the waterfall, and then loved lucking into seeing a neighbor on the way back, who gave one of us a lift back to the house to get his truck to then pick the rest of us up so we wouldn't have nine tired kiddos hiking up the mountain for an hour. Oops. But still, so fun!

We showered and changed and hit up the adorable, quaint downtown of Blowing Rock, where we had lunch and then us ladies and kids shopped while the dads grabbed steak, sweet potatoes, and broccoli to make at home for dinner that evening. Before we moms/kids headed back, we hit up Blue Deer Cookies (where you choose your cookie flavor and ice cream flavor and your own, delicious ice cream sandwich is created for you). 

That night, we ate, watched football, and enjoyed the gorgeous night sky on the back porch. We were sad to part ways the next morning, but we sure enjoyed our time at Rocky Knob Retreat. :) 

So, September was busy. Too busy. October is already feeling so much more rejuvenating. While there are things to do and places to go, it has already been a good month, and I cannot wait for the fun that awaits the next few weeks. I hope you've been surviving and thriving out there...or at least...surviving. <3 Back soon with a full post with lots of details on one of our new favorite places on earth.