Oden's First "Gotcha" Day!

On September 20, 2025, we celebrated Oden's first "Gotcha" Day. 😊 Since he is a rescue, we're not sure when he was born, so this is the next best way to celebrate another year with our pup! He's been the "goodest" boy -- he is a total lap dog and is always looking for the nearest warm body to sit on. He loves going on walks, although those have been few and far between with the cold weather lately. He is a good listener and will immediately go on his "spot" when told (normally when we're eating as a family and he should stay out of the kitchen). His favorite pastime is destroying boxes from anything we have delivered to the house -- we joke that we want to start an Insta page featuring just that. He's still our protector and will bark, but only when he hears someone in the driveway or at the front door. His bark is scary -- I wouldn't want to mess with him! He's gotten comfortable with some of the kids' friends, and it's good to know that he will calm down once he gets to know you. We're not sure what we did to deserve such a good dog. We often say that we feel like we stole him from someone because it's hard to believe whoever "lost" him couldn't find him.

For our anniversary last year, Danny bought us a DNA kit so we could find out what breeds make up Oden. We were surprised there was no Boxer!

We gifted him one of his favorite stuffies from Costco.

And a Whit's Pup Cup!! He loved it!

Cross Country and More September Happenings

Following in his sister's footsteps, Colin ran cross country in the fall. As much as he didn't want to do it, he did it. There were some bumps along the way, but he stuck it out and went to practice every day during the week and attended all of the meets/invitationals. It was a very hot season, and I applaud him for getting through those races. Two miles feels a lot longer in hot and humid weather on a rugged terrain. 

First up was a home meet vs Westerville Heritage. Colin finished in 18:21 - impressive!

Next up was the Watkins Invite. We had Fatheads made for Colin, Darren, and Walker. It was a blast carrying them around the course for support! I think they got a kick out of it, too.

Kicking it into gear at the finish -- he shaved just about 2 minutes off of his time and finished in 16:02!

After the invitational, we met the Riley's for lunch at Water's Edge and followed that up with ice cream from Sticky Fingers. 

The next day, the kids went to support Nolan and his baseball team.

The moon looked so crazy in this picture!

Next up, away meet at Westerville Genoa. Another hot one and very little shade. Still an impressive time at 17:09.

Car pick for Danny during drop off at school! Caught Oden mid-lick!

Beautiful sunrise on the morning of September 11th

Next invitational was at Fairfield Union. This was Colin's best time of all season: 15:39! And again, the heat was unbearable -- even as a spectator!

The next meet was away at Delaware Dempsey. Colin wrapped up this race at an impressive 16:50. Shocker -- it was hot that day, too!

The kids enjoyed a day pool-side for Fair Day (no school). Check out Cadence skimming the pool while the boys just chill! 😯

Hiking at Mohican

Before August wrapped up, we took a family trip to Mohican with Oden to do some hiking and exploring. 

August - Back to School, Momma's B-day, and Other Fun

Yep, we've got a sophomore in high school and a 7th grader in middle school. Time flies! Academically, the kids are doing awesome. Cadence is taking Honors Chemistry, Honors Algebra II, Honors English, and Honors Spanish III. This second semester, she's also taking a CCP (college course) through school for American History. For electives, she took Sculpture and Photography first semester, and she's currently in Drawing II. And she's crushing it! Colin's not far behind -- he's taking Compacted (Advanced) Math, Science, World History, Honors ELA (Language Arts), and he's still playing the saxophone in band. For electives, Colin took Exploratory Tech first semester, and is currently enrolled in Wellness. He is also doing extremely well in all of his classes. We are very proud of both of our kiddos!

Momma's birthday was the day before school started, so we made sure to have a proper celebration by the pool that weekend!

Nothing better than Odie snuggles.

At work, Adam and Maryn attended the Pangborn Sensory Science Symposium in Philly. The Spencer display had my face on it -- they sent me this pic feeling like I was there with them!

While taking a walk with Oden, I thought this flower reminded me of where the Whos live on Horton Hears a Who. It was so pretty.

No post is complete without a pic of the kids and Oden. This one was to Danny while he was traveling.