The End of Another Summer

It has been a summer. And it is well and truly over. Finley and Ford started school a solid 3.5 weeks before they would have if they hadn't had to PCS from a "late" to an "early" district this summer. 

The life of Army kids. I think they'll be OK.

I spent my first several weeks in the new job playing Army.

We discovered all the stuff there was to do at Fort Campbell, and embraced our slower-paced life.

The #worldsbesttrainedservicedog earned his first stint in dog jail, and we pulled off an end-of-summer reunion with Ford's best friend in Knoxville,

as well as the discovery of a new swimming hole and a visit from the Kentucky Hollenczers.

We threw a massive party for my new office at which Seth smoked hundreds of pounds of brisket, Finley and Jayne made hundreds of cookies, and I forgot to take any pictures at all- and then enjoyed a lovely morning with the leftover bounce house water slide the next day.

We interviewed every post-church brunch spot in town, and worked to fall in love with downtown Clarksville, which does at least boast cheap mimosas and a cute museum.

And I, despite my struggles to love onpost living, discovered the joys of being able to come home after PT and ride bikes with the kids to their nearby school.

We got a random long weekend- the perks of FORSCOM assignments- for the 101st's birthday, and made a wild run to North Caroline for Mikayla's 13th birthday, which was fantastic despite the ridiculous amount of driving time. I am beyond grateful for the early investments we made in kids who can road trip.

And then for Labor Day and the traditional end of the summer, we found every body of water in our new state(s) to celebrate. Which included Kentucky Lake, in the Land Between the Lakes for fishing (Seth's fave)

and the absolutely stunning Gaylord Opryland for a world class waterpark and poolside drink service (mine).

And with that, we bid a fond farewell to an action-packed, road trip-heavy, moving-accented summer that found us getting used to new homes, new jobs, and new (onpost) lives. Plus poolside lounge chairs.