One of my favorite traditions in Auburn is the annual university Homecoming parade. (To be fair, I think Auburn does a great job with parades and I seem to enjoy all of them, including the Mardi Gras and Christmas parades.) As you can imagine, Homecoming brings a palpable energy to the the campus and subsequently the town as a whole. Alums flock to their old stomping grounds, students are still optimistic about the football season, and generally everyone is excited for the

A 2-0 Vanderbilt vs. 1-1 NC State probably didn't attract much attention during Week Three of the college football season, however, it had an ending for the ages! Rather than recite it all for you, I've included a link with a video so you can see it for yourself. https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/49982472/vanderbilt-recovers-fumble-1-second-left-stun-nc-state Our family was at an Auburn tailgate, having just waited out a storm of pouring rain and lightning.

I had lunch with a dear friend, Will McClain, on Friday and we had a wonderful conversation. He is one of the best dudes I know, and the reason I love connecting with him is because we can cut up and talk about sports, parenting, make fun of each other, and any number of topics. But our relationship is unique in that we ponder and wrestle with some deep theological questions. This lunch was no different, as we covered several bases but we ultimately started talking about h

Hear me out, I realize this complaint is fickle, or rather it may be more braggadocious, but sometimes I think we have too many options in Auburn. We live in a small town, and intentionally chose one that is quieter because Caitlin and I both had plenty of time in major cities where any type of cuisine and any type of entertainment was available. I, personally, was looking forward to living in a community where a highlight would be an older cover band playing at the downtown

One of my very favorite things about Auburn is that it feels like a small town because the nearest city is over 50 miles away, yet it offers opportunities that typical "city suburbs" of its size simply cannot. Much of that can be attributed to the university drawing everything from wonderful restaurants to fun concerts, to international intellectuals seeking advanced degrees, to of course world-class college athletics. The dichotomy is terrific and while other college towns

Our son Cian is a typical first-born in that he soaked up loads of attention before his sister came along and he's had to deal with parents cautiously navigating every situation with him for the first time. That is probably why he was super excited to be able to ride his bike to school when he matriculated to a new school this year. Ogletree Elementary (3rd-5th grades) is actually further from our house than his previous school, but most of the commute is via our neighborhood