September: Early Mornings, Island Time, and Homecoming Fun

September started with me behind the wheel of a 15-passenger van. That should tell you something about how this month went! My Social Media Strategies and Campaigns class headed to Davey SEED Campus to visit our client and get a better feel for the organization we would be working with this semester. I picked up the van the night before, only to discover it was too big to fit in our garage. We were leaving ONU at 6 a.m., which meant a 5 a.m. wake-up call at my house. Not cool. But we got everyone loaded up and on the road!

Thankfully, Labor Day weekend brought some fun family time. We headed to Put-in-Bay with Mom and Dad, taking the ferry over for our first visit in several years. We rented a golf cart to buzz around the island and tried to find a few spots where we had taken pictures of the kiddos on our last visit. Of course, that meant trying to recreate the photos. Same places, much bigger kids!

The kids spent about an hour playing putt-putt while the adults headed off for drinks. Everybody wins! We didn’t get to the island until later in the afternoon, so our time went super fast. Dad didn't want to take the boat because of it being a holiday and it was pretty choppy, so couldn't go fishing. So island ferry it was. Before we knew it, we were watching the clock to make sure we made it back before the last ferry left. We could have used a few more hours of island time, but enjoying these last few days of summer at the lake before it's too cold to do anything fun and everything up here shuts down.

September 8 was a BIG day for Miss Olivia. The braces came off! With school pictures coming up that Friday, the timing couldn’t have been better. Her pictures turned out great, and she got to show off that new smile. Isaac, on the other hand, signed up for October retakes. Between the wack-a-doodle hair and the water stains on his shirt, it wasn’t his best look.😂

Mom came over one Thursday to watch one of Isaac’s last home golf meets. I got to join her for the first few holes before heading to school to coach our volleyball game. That has pretty much been the fall routine—catch what you can, then head to the next thing!

Volleyball has had its moments. We’ve only beaten Kenton this season, although there have been plenty of flashes of brilliance. We just haven’t been able to turn those moments into the W. So we keep showing up and working to get better. Things changed for Olivia around the middle of the month when varsity’s needs shifted and the JV setter moved up. That opened up more playing time for her on JV. She’s now setting for reserve and playing JV, so she has been one busy girl!

Mid-month, I finally got to meet Dr. I and Maddie Emmerick halfway to catch up on life. It’s crazy how quickly summer goes. Steve was in the state, and somehow it took getting back into the school year for us to actually get a visit on the calendar. I was glad we finally made it happen. 

 Mid-month Friday found six students and me heading to Detroit for the East Central District conference at the old Tigers Stadium. We slipped out a little early so we could make it back to ONU for Biz Bash. Two events, two cities, one day. We were making the most of that Friday, but it was nice to see Jamie in person and lots of my PR buddies. No trip is complete without ice cream. Some had never been to Dietsch's in Findlay, so we introduced some new lifetime fans! 

In between all the running around, normal life was happening too. There was homemade mac and cheese, some pretty tasty meatloaf, and Jeremy’s afternoon naps. He gets up early with the kids, heads to work, and teaches through lunch, which means his lunch naps are no longer an option. Apparently, the nap just needed a new time slot. 

The kids were still hoping and praying for a fog day, but September hadn’t awarded us one yet. We did have a gorgeous drive to Capital for Central Ohio’s PRSA conference with Sammy and Isaac. Pretty scenery is nice, but I’m guessing the kids would still have voted for the school delay!

The next day, Jeremy and I were back on campus for ONU Homecoming. We both worked tables in the activity tent, which had been moved inside to the fieldhouse. We got to visit with alumni and share some ONU love. It’s always fun to catch up with people and hear where life has taken them since their days in Ada.

Sunday afternoon kicked off the kiddos’ Elida Homecoming week with the parade. Our volleyball team went with a “Fancy Nancy” theme. We threw out plastic rings and blew bubbles from our magic wands. Because apparently volleyball coaches also need to know how to accessorize and work a bubble wand?

Homecoming weekend was technically first days of October, but sent the family in two different directions. The boys headed to Cleveland to watch the Guardians play baseball. You know Isaac loves his team when he’s willing to give up the homecoming dance to go cheer them on. Olivia had two friends come over that afternoon to get ready for the dance. Plenty of singing and giggling in the bathroom as they did their makeup and hair. Grandma Barb helped the girls make their flower bouquets, and I handled slushies and lasagna for dinner. Then we headed to downtown Lima for pictures. We dropped them off at the dance and at the end of the evening they headed back to Roz's for a bonfire. When I went to pick Olivia up at the end of the evening and asked her for her review she replied, that was a 10/10 awesome. Wish I could have that much fun every weekend. Homecoming success.