Happy Halloween

 We survived another Halloween!  

We took our annual trip to the pumpkin patch this year but it was so stinking cold I didn't take very many pictures.  We have fun watching the pumpkin chucking where they shoot a pumpkin out of a cannon.  They have a fun hay maze and a petting farm with grumpy goats and ponies that don't want to be bothered.

 




 
Maddy and her good friend Rachel dressed up as punk- rockers this year.  (Though I wonder if they really know what that is)  Maddy loved wearing this crazy wig!

 

                                                                                   


Lauren and Megan were so easy going about their costumes.  I got out the dress up box and handed Lauren the witch costume and Megan the cat ears and they were happy.  In fact Megan has been wearing her cat ears everyday this week.  She is even sleeping in them right now!

Halloween was a very busy day.  Some how I ended up being in charge of both Lauren's and Ethan's class parties.  The kindergarten party was in the morning, and the kids were so excited about every little thing.  Ethan's class was a little more wild but had a blast playing some minute-to-win-it games.



The weather was beautiful for trick or treating.  We all just wore a light jacket and enjoyed seeing our neighbors out enjoying the night.  Megan was done after about 10 minutes of walking and was perfectly happy with a few pieces of candy.  We pushed through though until the bags were full.

     

 I had no idea how much work it took to make Halloween happen until I became a Mom.  Glad my kids had fun, but glad it is done!

A Family that Golfs Together...Stays Together (Or at least makes Dad happy)

Brent signed up for a corporate golf pass this year and so every Monday rain or shine he goes golfing.  This summer he has been taking Ethan and Maddy a lot.  We have gone as a whole family only a couple of times, but decided to get in one more round before the good weather is gone.

 Megan and Lauren love riding in the golf cart the best, but when it is their turn to putt the ball they are very excited about it.  Poor Megan, our lefty, is learning how to putt right handed.  I just love these pictures with Daddy and his girls. By the way, he has informed his daughters that they can not marry anyone who doesn't golf.

 

Ethan is coming along with this golf swing and loves having some guy time with his dad.  Hopefully this will be something they will enjoy doing together for a very long time.

 The First and Last Cross Country Race

In middle school the 6th graders have the chance to participate in intramural sports and Maddy is anxious to try them all.   This summer I asked her to join me many times in a run around the neighborhood and every time she did it ended in tears.  So imagine my surprise when she said she wanted to do Cross Country.  I said "You do realize that all you do is run.  You run up the hill and down the hill and around the field."   "Yes", she said, "I really want to try it."  "OK I will support you in this, but you have to commit to do it for the full three weeks, no quitting".  

By day two she was hating it.  It was even harder because she had PE the last period of the day right before her practices and guess what they were doing in PE?  Running the mile.

So I picked up my exhausted red faced girl every day after practice to listen to her moan all the way home.  But she stuck it out and at the end of three weeks they had their Cross Country Meet.  To hear her talk I thought she was going to be coming in dead last and so I was prepared to be the sole parent left at the end of the race cheering her on.  Imagine my surprise when she crossed the finish line in 6th place out of 30 girls!

She really did great and was so proud of herself...but even that kind of success could not convince her that Cross Country was for her.  "Never Again"  she announced.  We will see....

 FOOTBALL SEASON

Football Season is here again!  Ethan loves playing flag football, but is really trying to talk us into playing tackle football next year. (yikes!) 

I have never been much of a football fan, but cheering on my boy as he runs for the touch down is thrilling.  So far he has scored a touch down at each of his four games.  

The head coach has been great this year.  Brent is the assistant coach, but all the Dads have been very involved as you can tell from the team picture.


GO BROWNS!

First Day of School

It is hard to believe that summer is over and the kids have started school.  We had a lot of excitement around here as we gathered our school supplies and picked out new clothes.  

 Maddy was very anxious to start 6th grade at Evergreen Middle School.  She has the best teachers at the school and a lot of her friends are in her classes.  She is in extended core classes which means the work load is  at a faster pace, but it will be great for her. She is locker buddies with her friend Julie and wants to be involved in everything!  She is going to play the violin again this year and loves her orchestra instructor.  She is feeling all grown up...now if only Mom and Dad would get her a cell phone.
 Ethan is starting 4th grade and has Mrs. Smith for his teacher.  He is an ASB representative for his class and his goal is to get 100% on all his spelling tests.  He just got a retainer before school started and hates wearing it because it makes it hard to talk.  He likes being the big brother who can show Lauren all the ropes at school.

 Lauren was soooo ready to ride the bus and start school.  She didn't want me to drive her to school that first day, so I had to trust that her big brother Ethan would take care of her and that it would be just fine.  It was.  

Megan and I missed her in the morning but we had some alone time and then picked up Lauren at noon at the bus stop. She was absolutely beaming about her first day of kindergarten.

It is crazy how fast she is growing up.  She is excited to get better at reading and wants to learn how to write lots of words so she can continue to write her own stories. 

Taking the first step.

Lauren looking up to her big brother.

                                                                                        

                      At the bus stop with neighborhood friends, the Criddle Boys and Kiah Mabey.