August 2023

August kicked us out of lazy summer mode right into back to school madness. Ellie started 9th grade at Lowndes High School, Emma began 7th, and Mack is in the 4th grade this year. They are all growing too fast!!

We also had a big birthday in our house this month! Mack turned 10 August 21st and had a small gathering of friends at Recoil (the trampoline park.) We were planning on taking the boys to the Lowndes High football game after Recoil, but due to bad weather, the game was postponed. Mack was bummed, but he did get several hours with his best buds. He's an easy one to celebrate! 

The last week of August swept in the storm Idalia. Idalia was a Cat 4 hurricane that came through the big bend of Florida and slammed into Valdosta as a Cat 2-3. The winds were crazy!  There were (and still are as I write this sept. 13th) TONS of trees down. We were lucky at our house, we only had 1 tree down that didn't hit our house, and we lost power for only 48 hours. There were many more people that weren't so lucky here. It will take months to clean up. Thankfully, after 4 days off of school, the majority of the county had power and kids were allowed to go back to school. We sought refuge in Tifton and were thankful for the Bowers' AC and hot showers! 

We literally came in on 2 wheels  from SSI to Emma's open house at HMS before school started. This was the only picture she would let me take. Her and her sweet (and very tall) friend, Mary Allen.  

Mack refused to let me take any pictures at open house, but I forced him into this one. He was not thrilled about it. 

The 3 Bowers amigos ready for their 1st day!

Ellie took pictures of Emma for me as we were dropping her off on her first day. 

Emma was clearly not prepared when Ellie got this picture. 

Emma joining the 7th graders this year! 

I was having a small heart attack as I dropped Ellie off at LHS. 

She looked so small walking up there. 

I hope she loves high school! 

I was able to successfully drop all 3 children off and get Mack to school last and on time - even time to get a picture with sweet Mrs. Hansen. 

Annual after school froyo looked a little different this year. Ellie had a dance lesson, and so I took Mack and Emma first. They devoured their yogurt. 

I took Ellie by after her dance lesson and she was too excited. 

The first week of school they had a dentist appointment. They walked in and sat at this table which was too small for all of them, but it cracked me up so much I had to get a picture. 

Because of how the schools are spread out and the ending times for the day, Mack has to ride the bus home. I can't pick up all 3 kids on time, so he drew the short straw. He has several friends on the bus and asked several times last year if he could ride the bus. After his first day on the bus this year, though, he was not a fan. I'm hoping this gets better as time goes on. 

Football has also started for Mack. It's his first year of tackle and he is pumped! 

EW made it to the first Saturday game - and it was a HOT one! 

Can't believe he's a 10 year old! 

Mack's Birthday was a Monday morning this year!

He was up for his gifts with bed head and all! 

He loves reading his birthday cards. 

Money!!

Hugs and birthday "spankings" could not be resisted by the girls

The birthday boy got some fun outdoor toys - he was pumped about the ripstick

The electric scooter was a hit as well. 

He had a late football practice - but we got Sucheros (his favorite) for dinner and he had a quick small dessert so we could sing Happy Birthday to him! He's officially 10 now! 

Later that week, we took a few of his friends to the trampoline park. We had planned to leave there and head to the Lowndes game, but the weather kept getting worse and worse. We swung by our house to let the boys play before heading to the stadium. We never even got out of the car at the stadium, because the game got postponed due to the weather. 

Mack is #16 in this picture. We had a game bright and early after the late birthday party Friday night. 

We gathered all of our flashlights, batteries, and battery operated fans to prep for the incoming Hurricane Idalia. 

We did lose power for about 48 hours. We had a generator running a few lights, fans, and the dishwasher. The hurricane hit Valdosta so hard. Although losing power in 90+ deg weather wasn't ideal, it was nothing compared to what some other people experienced thanks to this massive storm. 

Card games were going, and 

forts were built. 

We were thankful that only one tree fell in our yard, and it didn't hit the house 

It was actually Half a tree that fell in our yard. It twisted off a tree from our neighbor's yard. 

This is a view down one of the holes on the golf course in our neighborhood shortly after the storm. Our neighborhood was a mess. 

The ponds overflowed onto several of our neighborhood streets. 

After a candle light and battery operated fan dinner that we cooked on our Blackstone griddle outside, the kids and I decided to head to Tifton the next day. No AC and cold showers were for the birds.