Our Week - The One with Pumpkins at Callaway and the Georgia vs. Auburn Game

Last week was a busy one, but SUCH a fun one, filled with lots of fall fun!

Monday, September 30

Monday morning was fall decorating day at the kids’ school, so I met with three other ladies from the Home and School Advisory Board right after dropoff.  We pulled all of the décor out of the shed and then got everything decorated and looking all festive.  I love working with these ladies so much!  We make such a great team!

After we were done there, I headed to Walmart and Publix to buy groceries, and then I went home for the rest of the morning/early afternoon to work until it was time to pick up the kids.

At 3, I grabbed the kids, and we headed home quickly so Brian could get Jacob to his golf match.  While the boys were gone, Olivia did homework, and then she and I spend some time shopping for Halloween clothes on Target.com because she has outgrown everything from previous years and wanted something festive to wear to Pumpkins at Callaway on Friday.

Since I’d not gotten nearly enough work done, I worked on the blog some more after that while Olivia had some screen time.  I then got my Bible study done, and then she showered while I assembled turkey and cheese biscuit sliders for dinner.

When the boys got home, Jacob told us about his match.  He’d shot a 42, which wasn’t his best score, but he walked away with one birdie, four bogeys, and four double bogeys. 

After dinner, I got in a stair stepper workout while Jacob got showered and ready for bed, and then we had just enough time to squeeze in a few more minutes of AGT before sending the kids to bed.  Brian and I finished Saturday Night Live that we’d started Sunday evening, and then we headed to bed, too.

Tuesday, October 1

Tuesday, I had a couple of errands to run – Target to do some returns and pick up a few things, and Fresh Market to grab chicken while it was on sale.  The rest of the day was spent working on the blog and getting things done around the house.

After school, we all came home, and I did my Bible study while the kids did homework, and then Olivia and I headed back out to go to dance.  The weather was beautiful again Tuesday, so it was a sunroof open and windows down kind of afternoon!

When I got home, I started on dinner – fettuccine alfredo with chicken, steamed broccoli, and garlic cheese bread – and we all sat down to eat together when Brian and Olivia got home from dance.

After dinner and kitchen cleaning, I got out for a walk/jog, and it was just beautiful out.  I went ahead and did an arms workout when I got back home because I wasn’t ready to go inside.  After that, it was shower time, and then we finally, FINALLY finished America’s Got Talent.  The kids were disappointed with the winner because they wanted the runner up to win.

After they went to bed, B and I watched the Vice Presidential debate, and then we went to bed… late since it went until 11.

 

Wednesday, October 2

Wednesday morning, I woke up tired from going to bed later than usual… that extra 30 minutes of sleep that I usually get makes a big difference for me!  I had nowhere to be while the kids were at school, so I dropped them and headed home to work all day.  But first – TEDDY SWIMS TICKETS!!!!  They went on sale at 8 AM EST, so I was ready to roll, and we ended up getting great seats for the show in Atlanta.  It’s not until August next year, but I already can’t wait!  I’ve loved him since before he went mainstream, and I’m excited to finally check this one off of the bucket list!

Amazon Prime Day was this week (it’s over by the time you’re reading this), and as an Amazon Creator, I’m able to preview the deals early, so I spent the rest of the day looking at those and getting my blog post ready for the sale.

I swung by the library to pick up a new AR book for Jacob on the way to pick up the kids from school, and then I got some work done (and talk to y'all!) in the car line.  After school, the kids and I headed home to get homework done before dance, and on the way, Jacob’s old music teacher pulled up next to us on the exit on the way home.  Since traffic was backed up and stopped, we rolled down the windows and he pulled off his helmet to say hi.  The kids were both super excited to see him… I think Olivia even more so than Jacob. Haha.  They’d both been asking when we could see him, so they were excited to say hi even though it was brief.

When we got home, Olivia did homework and studied while Jacob started his new book, and I worked on my Bible study for the day, got the kitchen cleaned and tidied, and tidied a few other random things around the house.  We’ve had quite a few packages coming in lately, so I also got those opened and got everything put away.

Olivia and I headed to dance after that, and then I went to Old Navy and Party City to return a couple of things before stopping by the gas station to get gas and then head home for the evening.

I started cooking right when I walked in the door, and Brian and Jacob and I all had chicken and pineapple stir fry with veggies for dinner.  It’s always weird not having Olivia home for dinner on Wednesdays now.  I always miss her when she’s not there.  It’s too quiet.  Hahahaha.  I also made some three-ingredient chocolate chip pumpkin muffins to have on hand for the rest of the week.

After dinner was done and the kitchen was clean, I headed out for a walk/jog, and it was nearly dark by the time I got home.  I also chatted with one of our neighbors for a bit before heading inside.  He has a corgi who is the sweetest little thing, and he was out for a walk and started following me home.  So sweet!

When I got home, I spent some time with Jacob while he played the piano, and then he got showered, and I eventually did, too.  Once we were both in PJs and ready for bed, we pulled out the fall puzzle that we’d started back in 2022, and it was still 1/3 put together just frozen in time.  We never finished it that year, and I’d wanted to finish it last year, but then I got vertigo and couldn’t spend any time doing anything like that as it was a trigger for me.  It still makes me a little dizzy to work on stuff like that, but it wasn’t nearly as bad, so I’m hoping to finish it soon.  It’s a tough one, though, with all of those leaves!

Brian and Olivia got home even later than usual Wednesday night – around 8:45 because dance ran late – so she headed off to shower and then she joined us downstairs to work on the puzzle for a bit.  We ended up getting them in the bed later than usual, and then Brian and I toggled back and forth between the Braves game and The Golden Bachelorette before going to bed. 

Thursday, October 3

Thursday morning, I headed home after dropping the kids at school, I grabbed a couple of chocolate chip pumpkin muffins + my cinnamon tea, and then I headed to my office to work for a couple of hours.  I finished all blog posts through the following week (the ones you’re reading now except for this one since I have to do these in real-time), and then my hair guy came over to trim and highlight my hair.  I wanted to have it freshened up before our trip to Chicago.

After he left, I let the color set, and then I pulled out the foils, showered, dried, and curled my hair.  By the time all that was done, it was time for lunch, and then I worked some more before it was time to pick up the kids from school.

On the way home from school, the kids were delighted to see Jacob’s old piano teacher pull up next to us again on the way home from school.  This time we saw him coming up behind us, so we had the windows down and the kids were ready for him.  He takes the same route to work that we take home, so our paths cross every now and then, but it’s rare to see him back-to-back.

Both kids had music lessons right after school, so we headed there first.  Jacob worked some more on Clair de Lune after taking a break for a few weeks to work on some songs from Minecraft.  Clair de Lune is a very long song, and he knows about 80% of it perfectly now, so he’s trying to learn the middle, which is the hardest part so he can put it all together.

After this lesson was done, Brian picked him up for golf.  Their practice had been canceled, but Brian and Jacob just decided to go shoot nine holes on their own for some extra practice, and I joined Olivia in her guitar lesson.  She worked some more on Red from Rise of Red, and Mr. Steve helped her hone her picking skills by holding the pick slightly differently and steadying her hand on the guitar.

After her lesson, she and I headed home, and she did some homework and studying while I did my Bible study.  All of her Halloween stuff arrived in the mail – the wig and gloves for her costume as well as a couple of cute Halloween dresses from Target – so she tried all of that on while I started getting dinner ready.

When Brian and Jacob got home, Brian helped me get dinner ready – we had breakfast, and he always does the eggs since his are the best!  ;o)  Then, they told us about their golf game… for the very first time ever, Jacob tied with Brian!  He’s usually a few strokes behind him, but this time he was actually ahead for most of the game, and then Brian ended up tying him on the last hole.  It won’t be long before Jacob is leaving Brian in the dust.  Haha.

After dinner, I got in a strength workout while the kids both got showered and ready for bed, and then we all sat down at the kitchen table to work on our fall puzzle some more while Brian watched the Falcons game. 

We got the kids in the bed around 9 and then Brian and I watched the game for a bit longer.  I tackled some things that I needed to do on my phone while B watched, and then I ended up going to sleep around 11 (which is later than normal for me) and Brian stayed up watching the game.  It ended up going into overtime and the Falcons won!

Friday, October 4

Friday, I had no place to be while the kids were at school, but I had a VERY long to do list awaiting me.  I grabbed a chocolate chip pumpkin muffin and some hot cinnamon tea for fuel, and then I headed to my office to get to work.

First up, was some blog work, and then I got a few other things done that I’d been needing to do – I purchased our tickets for Pumpkins at Callaway that evening, I caught up on blog reading, I caught up on emails, I organized my List Master app that’s my catch-all for tasks, and I started planning for Amazon Prime Day for myself. 

After all that was done, it was out of my office and on to all of the other things – laundry, deep cleaning the countertops, deep cleaning the floors, tidying up the kitchen while eating lunch (it was one of those days), packing for Athens, changing over to my clear stadium bag, painting my toenails, starting my packing for Chicago, etc. 

It was SUCH a productive day, and I continued the productivity in the car line, knocking out my gratitude journal, prayer journal, devotional, and Bible study, and also painting my fingernails.  Haha.

After school, Olivia had a makeup guitar lesson, so we headed to music next, and everything went well.  Olivia worked some more on the song Red from the movie The Rise of Red, and then we headed home.

We had about 15 minutes at home, so it was just enough time to change into something festive and freshen up, and then we hit the road for Pine Mountain, Georgia to meet our friends for Pumpkins at Callaway.  This is the third year we’ve gone to it, and it’s quickly become one of my favorite traditions. 

We ended up beating everyone else there, so we got a few family photos knocked out, and then when everyone arrived, we all grabbed some food from the food trucks and had dinner.  There was a juggling/contortion act in the pavilion at 6, so we headed in there after dinner and watched that.  Olivia was so excited to see a contortionist because that’s the kind of stuff she’s been working on in dance.  She’s so flexible, and she loves to see how flexible others are.  Our sweet Buckley got to go on stage and help the juggler, too!

The show lasted about 15 minutes and then we headed outside.  My friend, Jeannine, had run to the car to grab a special surprise – champagne glasses and sparkling cider – because her son, Mack, had won treasurer for student council at his school, and she wanted them to all celebrate together.  When she announced the news to Mack, his little face was the sweetest thing!  He was so excited.  And he should be so proud of himself because he KILLED it with his speech.  Jeannine had shown us all the video and he had the whole school chanting for him at the end!

After the champagne toast, we took a quick group selfie and boarded the trolley to the corn maze and sunflower patch.  On the way, Jeannine’s husband, James, gave me the friendship bracelet he’d made for me.  I always wear various bracelets on my left wrist (one that I never take off and always one that Olivia has made for me), so he made me a pink, white, and lavender one for me to add to my collection.  The bracelet is one of the “Chinese Staircase” bracelets exactly like the ones I used to make when I was a kid, and I love the throwback vibe that it has!

I asked B to put it on me, but he was struggling (hahahaha), so James ended up putting it on for me and Jeannine snapped a pic of me and my new friendship bracelet buddy.  We’re BFFs for life now.  Haha.

When we arrived at the corn maze, the kids took off into the easy corn maze first and we all followed.  It was the quickest one, and we were done in, like, eight minutes, so then we moved onto the big, hard corn maze.  The kids asked if they could do it by themselves, so we told them it was fine as long as they all stuck together.  They ended up doing it in record time, so we let them do it a second time.  Olivia Cate LOVES a corn maze, y’all.  It is her favorite thing.  Haha.

While they were in the maze, the adults all chatted, and we also used the opportunity to take some couple photos… Brian’s Beetlejuice shirt, y’all.  OMG.  Haha.

After that, we milled around for a bit, looking at the giant pumpkins, roaming around the gift shop, and looking at all of the other beautiful things around, and then on the way back to the trolley, we stopped by the sunflower patch.  Tons of them were completely blown over (we think because of Hurricane Helene the week before), but the ones that were still standing were gorgeous, and the sunset behind them was breathtakingly beautiful.  It was all perfection.  Minus the Beetlejuice shirt.  Hahahaha.

After that, we loaded back up on the trolley and we were treated to the most gorgeous sunset over the lake… it was just the most picturesque evening, and it was CHILLY, y’all.  Fall perfection.  Finally. 

Job one when we got back to the main part of the event was to find some treats for the kids, and they all opted for ice cream.  While everyone ate, we watched the pumpkin tower sing, and the kids even got out there and danced around for a bit.  Beetlejuice Brian even made an appearance when they started playing Day-O from the Beetlejuice movie.  Classic.

After that, it was time for the main event – walking through the haunted forest and “Foggy Hollow,” everyone’s favorite part!  At the end of Foggy Hollow, they have bubble blowers, but they’re not just any ordinary bubble blowers, they blow bubbles that turn to fog when you pop them.  They are SO COOL.  If you missed it and want to see, you can check out the “Fall 2024” highlight in my Instagram bio for some videos.

By the end of our walk through the forest (and going through Foggy Hollow twice) we were all ready to call it quits for the night.  Our family had an early morning the next day, so we wanted to get in bed at a decent hour.

We made the long drive back home, the kids both got showers, and then after they went to bed, Brian and I watched some college football and then headed to bed.

Saturday, October 5

Saturday, we were up at seven and out the door by eight to go to the Georgia vs. Auburn game in Athens.  Fun fact, Brian and I have attended every single Georgia vs. Auburn game in Athens since 2003 (except for 2020 – Covid year) + we’ve attended a couple in Auburn.  We never miss that game at home.  It’s one of the oldest rivalries in all of college football going all the way back to 1892!!!!

On the way up, we watched College GameDay (although for some reason our internet feed kept skipping most of the way up, which was really frustrating), and they did the saddest (and also most heartwarming) story about a family of Georgia fans who paint bulldogs on their heads.  They’ve had a member of their family doing that since the 1990’s – first the grandfather, then the dad after the grandfather passed, and then the son after the dad passed.  Well, the son, who is only 45 years old recently passed away unexpectedly, and his brother had to take over, and the story was just heartbreaking.  I was crying like a baby throughout the whole thing.  Brian and I were lucky enough to meet Big Dawg Mike (the dad) back in 2012 before he passed away, and he was just the sweetest guy!  May he and his dad and his son all rest in peace together.

We arrived in Athens around 11 as there was some heavy traffic once we got in town, and we parked in the lot next to the Catholic Center where my Aunt Joy and Uncle Greg always do their tailgate.  The next few hours were spent hanging with lots of family and friends, eating yummy food, drinking beer, and watching football.

My cousin, Shelby’s, best friend brought her son who is two, and he and Jacob and Olivia played together for nearly the whole time, and it was the sweetest thing.  I put a heart over his face because I didn’t ask her permission to share his picture on the blog, but he is the cutest little thing!

Around 2, we started cleaning up the tailgate, and then we made the walk over to the stadium around 2:45.  We were so excited to see our buddies who sit next to us since we hadn’t seen them this year yet.  Their season tickets are right next to ours, so we’ve been sitting with them for, like, 10 years, and they’re the kindest people!  It was nice to catch up with them before the game and hear all about their past year.

It was 82 degrees Saturday, which really isn’t that hot, but in the stadium when the sun is blazing down on you and there is no breeze, that might as well feel like 100.  It was M-I-S-E-R-Y.

The kids and I ducked down to grab waters at the end of the first quarter because we were all daying, and by the end of the second quarter, I was struggling with dizziness from my stupid vertigo.  The heat is a trigger, and it definitely got me Saturday. 

During halftime, we took an extended break down in the tunnel, sitting in the shade for a nice, long while, and eating dinner, and then we all rallied and finished out the second half strong.

We ended up winning 31-13, so I had the spread exactly right.  I had called 28-10, so I was close!  And at the end of the game, of course, we had to play Soulja Boy in the stadium to troll AU because it’s our “we beat Auburn” theme song ever since the great Georgia Blackout Game of 2007 AKA the best game Brian and I have ever been to.  IYKYK.

After the game, we made the long drive home (stuck in traffic for a bit at first, of course) and we watched Alabama lose to VANDY AT VANDY?!?!  What in the world, Bama?!  If you’re not a college football fan, Alabama has been one of the best teams in all of college football for years, and it’s well known that Vanderbilt is one of the easiest SEC teams to beat.  Most of the time, there are more fans for the opponent at Vanderbilt home games (LOL), so there’s a running joke that when your team plays Vandy on the road, it’s basically a home game.  Brian and I went to the Georgia vs. Vanderbilt game in Nashville back in 2018 and we can TOTALLY verify that this is 100% true as there were probably 70% Georgia fans there and only about 30% Vandy fans there.  Haha.

So, for Bama to lose to them there is just SHOCKING.  I’m still shocked and it’s been days.  Haha.  We had been seeing clips and scores all throughout our game because they kept showing the live feed of the game on our jumbotron during timeouts at our game, and we thought for sure Bama would get it together and come back at the end, but they, in fact, did not.  I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy (and shocked) to watch the end of a game of two teams who we do not pull for.  Hahahaha.

Vandy, of course, stormed the field afterward and their QB dropped the F-bomb and S-bomb on live TV because he was so pumped (LOL) and then their fans tore down the goal posts, walked them three full miles through Nashville (right down Broadway) and tossed them in the Cumberland River.  LOL.  Y’all, they will still be talking about this win 20 years from now, I guarantee it.

There were actually a TON of upsets in college football last weekend!

After that game, we watched the Florida vs. UCF game on the way home and both kids fell asleep in the back, which is a rarity.

We finally got home sometime before 11, and then the kids headed straight to bed, sweaty and all, and Brian and I grabbed showers and then sat with Maui for an hour while we watched more college football. 

 

Sunday, October 6

Sunday morning, we all slept in… I didn’t get up until just after nine which is SO LATE for me.  Olivia was already awake, and Jacob was awake but hadn’t yet emerged from his room, but he came down as soon as he heard me in the kitchen making homemade waffles.

After breakfast, I headed to my office to do my Sunday things – plan the week ahead, watch my Sunday sermon, do my weekly yoga workout, and do my Bible study.  After my yoga workout, I totally forgot to the turn off the workout on my Apple Watch, so what was, in fact, just a 30-minute workout, ended up looking like a 90-minute workout.  Oops.

While I did that, the kids got showered, and then Brian took Jacob to get a haircut.  Once I was done with my usual things, I tidied up from our trip to Athens, I started gathering dirty towels to put in the wash, and I knocked out a couple of other chores.

When the boys got home, we had lunch, and then I got showered, and then I did aaaallll the things – the kids and I picked out all of their clothes for our Chicago trip, I removed all of the pictures from my phone and got them organized, I worked on a blog post, I planned some things for Chicago, I started doing some packing, I sorted all of the dirty laundry, I worked some more on Amazon Prime Day deals, I got the towels washed, and I prepped for Monday. 

We went to my parents’ house for Sunday dinner, and Momma made her famous spaghetti which is always a favorite.  We shared a couple of bottles of wine, and then we had pumpkin spice dump cake topped with vanilla ice cream for dessert.  Always the best way to end the weekend!

Happy Thursday, y’all!