Hello September

"By all these lovely tokens, September days are here

With summer's best of weather, and autumn's best of cheer,"

--- Helen Hunt Jackson

September has arrived here at Casa de Haggis, bringing with it football, festivals, and fun. We are looking forward to finding fall here in the desert. Friday Night Lights has kicked off and it is definitely a different experience here than it was in Texas! There's something special about small town football, though. (Even though we live in a good-sized city, the Tanque Verde valley kind of exists outside of Tucson itself, and has much more of a small-town feel. It's one of the big reasons we came back here) Summer is happy to be back on the sidelines, doing what she loves.

Last week the TV cheerleaders had a cameo on Friday Football Fever!

New uniforms came in. They are so cute.

Our sideline photographer caught this shot on Friday night at halftime. Thanks ARJ Photography!

Since we're on the subject of football, we attended University of Arizona's season opener against BYU. Our seats were awesome and Paige loved her first game as a member of the Zona Zoo. 

On the renovations front, the backsplash is up and the fireplace is stuccoed. Dennis continues to amaze me with his mad renovation skills. Move over Chip Gaines. Here's a rare sneak peak!

Also, we inherited this potted cactus from the previous owner, and it is growing to be quite obscene. Maybe I'll plant it right by the front door. LOL

I found a headset in my bottom desk drawer at work, so now I can wear all my cute earrings without having to take them out after an hour because they get in the way of the phone.

Paige has had some pretty big firsts in the last couple of weeks. (Other than starting college) She received her first lab coat and VOTED in the Arizona Primaries. I was really impressed with her determination to learn about the candidates and their positions on the issues. It was really important to her that she make informed choices.

 Her classes at U of A are going well. She attended a chemistry club meeting this week and has discovered that the dean's office brings in dogs one day a week for students to love on. I think that's awesome, especially for the kids in the dorms who had to leave their own doggos behind. As a part of her VA benefits, she has access to the VETS center, which offers tutoring, free copying, etc. 

Coolest mural ever in the VETS center!

Dennis is plugging along though his requalifications and is enjoying being a member of a fighter squadron again. Between that and reno projects, he's too busy to take or pose for pictures these days. Hopefully I'll catch him in some soon. That's pretty much what we've been up to the last couple of weeks. Be prepared for picture overload next week because it is Parents Weekend at U of A and Homecoming week at Tanque Verde!

Life Changes

The last 4 months have been filled with some pretty significant life events. Back in January, and after  lengthy consideration, Dennis filed his papers to separate from the active duty Air Force and begin the transition to the Air Force Reserves. He was picked up by the 47th Fighter Squadron at Davis Monthan AFB and was very excited to be going back to his beloved Hawg. I have to say, I was also pretty happy that he was going back to the Hawg as well. She's never failed to bring him home safely, and the entire time he was flying the T-38, there was always that slight bit of uncertainty that liked to pop up in the back of my head.

In May, things began to kick into high gear. Paige officially committed to the University of Arizona, where she was awarded both the Arizona Excellence Scholarship and the William Hupalo Memorial Scholarship. Summer was allowed to try out for her new high school's cheerleading team and made the Varsity squad. Casa de Haggis Burbs Edition went on the market and sold astonishingly quickly and Den's mom took us in for the remainder of our time in San Antonio.

In June, Paige graduated Cum Laude from Byron P. Steele II High School and became an adult! The day after her birthday, we said goodbye to San Antonio and headed west (AGAIN!) back to Tucson. We purchased a home in the same neighborhood that we left in 2015 that needed a little love and began renovations. (Which are still ongoing)

July found us still hard at work on Casa de Haggis Desert 3.0. Dennis started his requal with the 47th and I went to work full time as a Services CSR at Patio Pools and Spas. For me, at least, this has been one of the biggest life changes. After 18 years of pretty much being a stay at home mom, working 40 hours a week was kind of a shock to the system. I'm still trying to figure out how to balance everything. It's definitely a process. But every day something else falls into place, so I am hoping in a few months I can finally settle into a routine that works.

August rolled around and brought the first day of school - Summer as a sophomore at Tanque Verde High School and Paige as a freshman at the University of Arizona. Both girls have jumped in with both feet. Besides cheerleading, Summer has also become involved in DECA and HOSA. She is also volunteering as a coach with the youth football and cheerleading program that she participated in before we moved to Texas. Paige was invited into both the ASEMS and Blue Chip programs at the U of A and last weekend, attended her first college football game as a member of the Zona Zoo.

On the fur baby front, we were sad to lose Professor Nibbleton shortly after we moved into the house. Gidget has settled herself in and alternates between sleeping all day on Paige's bed and sleeping all day under Summer's bed. At 13, I think she is enjoying being old and lazy. Shelby made the transition to AZ like a champ and, after a week or so to acclimate to the heat, is loving life. Paige's best friend Kassidy has a yellow lab named Cayto, who is now Shelby's best bud.

That brings us to now. We are coming closer to the end of our initial renovations to the inside of Casa de Haggis. I know Den is looking forward to some cooler weather so he can start on some much needed TLC outside. I've been waiting to share pics until we're finished, so watch for those soon. My hope is to resurrect this blog so that our family members who are not so social media savvy can still share in our everyday lives. Fingers crossed, I'll post weekly at least.