Back to School, Friday Night Lights & A Whole Lot of Real Estate!

Well… apparently we blinked and summer was OVER. 😭

It’s been a few months since our last blog, and to say life has been busy would be an understatement. But we aren’t complaining — we truly love (almost 😂) every second of this crazy season of life!

The boys are back in school, our calendars are overflowing, football and marching band have officially taken over our lives, real estate is keeping us on the road, and somehow Josh and I decided this was also the perfect time to start a DIY hydroponic garden in our kitchen.

Because obviously we needed another project. 😂

🏈 Friday Night Lights & Marching Band Mornings

Football is in FULL swing for Barron! He has practice every day after school… or, thanks to this absolutely ridiculous Kansas heat, many days BEFORE school. Nothing says fall football quite like sweating through 90-degree days, right?!

We absolutely love watching him play and seeing how much he grows and improves every year. There’s just something about watching your kids find what they love and seeing all that hard work start to pay off.

And Arryson? He is in FULL BAND MODE. 🎺🎶

Marching band every morning at 7:00 a.m., football games, and nearly every weekend through October filled with marching competitions — and he LOVES every second of it. He’s already performed at two home football games, and watching him out there doing his thing, completely in his element, makes us so happy.

He’s even stepping outside his comfort zone this year and starting to play guitar in Jazz Band! We are so proud of him for trying something new and continuing to challenge himself.

So basically, if you need us this fall, check a football field or band competition first. 😂

💛 Giving Back to Spring Hill

Back-to-school season also means things are BUSY with the Spring Hill Education Foundation!

SHEF has been partnering with our community during home football games to find simple ways for people to give back to Spring Hill students and families.

At the first game, we collected toiletries for our school nurses and counselors to have available for students who need them. At another, we collected gently used Spring Hill spirit wear to donate to our local Spring Hill Clothes Closet.

We absolutely LOVE seeing our community show up for one another. It's one of our favorite things about living here.

And, of course, school starting means PTO is back in action too!

Forest Spring Middle School just wrapped up our big APEX fundraiser with the EPIC Color Battle. Watching hundreds of middle schoolers run around throwing color at each other and getting completely covered from head to toe was every bit as chaotic and hilarious as you would imagine. 😂

We had SO much fun, and we’re excited for another year of finding ways to spoil our teachers and staff while giving back to the students however we can.

🥬 Apparently We're Farmers Now?

Meanwhile, back at home…

Josh and I decided to tackle a new DIY project: a hydroponic garden in our kitchen!

Being told not to eat lettuce apparently just made us want lettuce more. 😂 So naturally, our response was, Fine. We'll grow it ourselves!

The boys have gotten involved too, and it has actually been a really fun family project. We’re hoping to have everything completely up and growing within the next few weeks.

Assuming we don't kill everything first. 😂

Photos will be coming in the next blog, so stay tuned!

🏡 And Then There's Real Estate!

Through all of the school activities, volunteering, football, band and our newfound farming career, Elite Planning & Real Estate has been BUSY — and we could not be more grateful.

We continue to be blown away by our clients, friends and family who trust us with their real estate needs and continue to refer us to the people they love.

Seriously — THANK YOU.

We say it all the time, but we have the most incredible circle of people around us, and we know how blessed we are.

We've been busy showing homes and land to our buyers ALL over the place lately — from Lansing to Mound City and just about everywhere in between! If there is a road in Kansas, there's a decent chance we've driven it recently. 😂

We also currently have a fantastic listing in Lenexa that is just waiting for the right buyer to come along and call it home.

And we are incredibly excited that our commercial listing here in Spring Hill has officially SOLD! We cannot wait to see what the new owners do with the property and what it brings to our community.

That sale is especially exciting because Josh and I are also beginning to venture further into the commercial side of real estate. 👀

There is more to come on that, and we are REALLY excited about where things are headed. Stay tuned!

❤️ And the Biggest Family Update…

Mom's house SOLD!

For now, she has officially moved into the apartment in the barn, where she'll stay until her new home is completed in May 2027.

And somehow, everything worked out even better than we could have imagined. The wonderful family who purchased her home is also planning to purchase the barn and apartment once Mom moves into her new house.

There are some things in life that come together in a way that feels like more than coincidence, and this is definitely one of them.

We all very much feel like my dad has had a hand in this — helping the pieces fall into place and making what could have been an incredibly stressful transition go so smoothly. ❤️

And let's be clear: the boys have ZERO complaints about Grandma still living in the barn. 😂 The cozy sleepovers are alive and well, and they're soaking up every minute of having her so close.

🍂 Now Bring on FALL!

At this point, we are officially ready to say goodbye to the ridiculous heat and HELLO to everything fall.

Give us cooler evenings, changing leaves, sweatshirts, fires in the fire pit, football, marching band, and LOTS of Chiefs wins! ❤️💛

This season of life is busy. It's loud. Our calendar looks absolutely ridiculous. We're driving all over creation. We're juggling kids, work, volunteering, family and apparently indoor agriculture now.

But man… it's a really good life.

We are incredibly grateful for our family, our community, our clients and every single person who continues to support Elite Planning & Real Estate.

Here's to cooler weather, exciting things ahead, happy clients, healthy lettuce 😂, and soaking up this crazy season while we're in it.

Happy Fall, friends! 🍁🏈🏡

— April & Josh
Elite Planning & Real Estate