Thanksgiving Parade and Program

It was so nice to be able to go to the school and celebrate with the kids again (since Covid). The 5th graders had a mock Macy's Day Parade. It was actually so so adorable. They made balloons instead of floats and they were super cute. Ivy's was a pumpkin and it was so darling, she just might be the most adorable thing on the planet!!! Also adorable is the boy that she likes also likes her and he is so sweet and kind to her and as friendly as can be. It was fun watching her interact with her classmates and I stayed through recess because I had Benny's program next and my mama heart just burst watching Ivy play jackpot with all the boys! She didn't miss a beat. Helps that she's taller than them all but she's got a better arm than all of them too. 

Benny's little program was very cute also. He played King George and nailed his line perfectly, "You MUST go to my church!!" The kids sang a few songs after (Benny didn't sing a single word... takes after his father) and then we enjoyed a picnic outside together. It was a great day!!

House Update

Things are coming along at the house. Plumbing, HVAC, electrical, low voltage.... all done. We are waiting on windows. We ordered our windows back in May. We ordered them before we even closed on our construction loan. I remember thinking that if we didn't end up building a house we'd have a bunch of windows in a few weeks! Well thank goodness we ordered them when we did!! Our first delivery date was August 31st, then October 26th and then November 12th... nope, no windows. In the meantime we are moving forward with our shop, gazebo and sea wall. So at least we are seeing progress around the property.

 

Veteran's Day 2021

Daniel took the boys on an early morning hunt since they didn't have school on Veteran's Day. Which is why little Boo Bear passed out in the back seat on the way to the movies. Benny, Ivy and I went to see Clifford: The Big Red Dog (super cute) and had a great time. Jackson went to work with Daniel and they also enjoyed an afternoon hunt. All in all it was a nice day off all around!

 

November = Hunting Season

Hunting season is in full swing over here... and Benny has the bug. He absolutely loves going with Daniel. We've done some target shooting with the crossbow and pellet gun and he's a great shot. 

Daniel usually hunts in Kansas every year with his brother and a friend and for the first time in 8 years they didn't draw tags. He was really bummed but eased his sorrow by booking a hunting trip in Texas for him and Jackson. Those boys had a blast and Jackson shot an excellent buck. I guess they are making it an annual trip now... of course. 

Bye Bye Appendix

 We started the month off with a bang! After a pretty miserable fishing trip (you know something is seriously wrong if this guy is on a boat fishing but not feeling well enough to fish!) I just told him to take a shower and lay down and if he needed someone to take him to the hospital, Jordan was available. He was complaining of pain in his chest and upper stomach... didn't know what it could be but Ivy had a softball game and Jackson and I had activity so we had to go!! 😑 Well. He actually drove himself to Urgent Care who immediately referred him to the ER after an irregular EKG and then after several more tests... x-rays, bloodwork, CT scan, ultrasound, repeated EKGs it was determined... appendicitis! I stopped by the ER with the kids once we were done to visit the patient. Nurse said it would be awhile before they transferred him to the hospital he'd be having surgery first thing in the morning so I went home to get the kids settled. Well, transfer actually happened quite quickly and by the time I got the kids settled at home and in bed Daniel was already heading into surgery! Surgery went smooth and I was waiting for him when he came out. They let me visit for a little longer (it was well after midnight by then) and the next morning, after I got the kids off to school I returned to hang with the patient until they released him that afternoon. His recovery has been super smooth and we are grateful he is okay. We had lots of help, dinner brought over, kids taken care of. We are so lucky and so blessed.   

Other October Events

Just take a look at the size of this team we played. Our boys are in orange. At least 3 of the boys on the other team were taller than Daniel!! They are supposed to be 12 and under!! No wonder we got creamed every game and didn't win a single one!!

Love finding love notes from Benny. All the more sweeter that he absolutely hates writing. 

Daniel and I were on our anniversary trip over Sophie's birthday weekend and missed a little beach trip they had for her (almost the case every year since her birthday is on the 9th and our anniversary on the 11th.) Ivy wasn't very happy about it and wanted to celebrate with her so we took her out on a special night... dinner, dessert and shopping before we left. It was a lot of fun and these girls are so lucky to have each other!!

Ivy is still losing teeth!! I think she had 2 more left to lose! Our tooth fairy is very unreliable most of the time but when Ivy said she hadn't come I knew for a fact something was amiss... sure enough she had come but it's tricky trying to retrieve a tooth that has been placed between pillows rather than underneath pillows. 

This boy has been begging Daniel to take him fishing and it finally happened!! They did get rained on. 

Our sunrises are the most beautiful!!!

Who can resist a shampoo Mohawk? 

Halloween 2021

We started our Halloween weekend off with the kids storybook parade. As I mentioned, me and my mom went to breakfast afterwards. While we were eating I got a text from Benny's teacher that he didn't seem to be feeling good and wasn't participating in all the fun Halloween activities they were doing. He didn't have a fever but he hadn't eaten his lunch at all and I told her I could pick him up if she thought I should but she asked him and he said he wanted to stay. (I should have picked him up). Later that afternoon, about 30 minutes before school was over she texted me again that he had thrown up in class. Yikes. So I hurried to grab him from school. Our church's Trunk-or-Treat was that night so the poor kiddo couldn't go. He wasn't feeling good at all that afternoon but by the evening he had perked up a bit and was saying he was hungry and wanted to go. We told him he needed to rest if he wanted to Trick-or-Treat on Halloween and so he reluctantly stayed home. So here you'll see my super scary mummy, Tom Brady and typical clothes-less Benny. 

Halloween was on Sunday evening and we enjoyed a nice neighborhood potluck and then trick-or-treating. The kids had a great time. Jackson didn't dress up this year, and didn't trick-or-treat either. He was recovering from an allergic reaction he'd had the night before on the airboat to some bugs so he was a little puffy-eyed. Ivy is sporting her mummy costume again and Benny was the cutest, most perfect little ghost!!

 

Storybook Parade

It was nice to attend the kids storybook parade again!! This year it was outdoors and really quite nice. It was easy to leave once I saw my kiddos and me and my mom went to breakfast afterwards!! The 1st graders have to pick a Dr. Seuss character. Benny picked from a Gox (Jackson's costume from 1 Fish 2 Fish Red Fish Blue Fish) or a Which What Who (Ivy's costume from If I Had Duck Feet). He picked the Gox... I mean, with boxing gloves its pretty much a no brainer. Ivy had to pick a leader from a book she has read or is reading and she chose Amelia Earhart. It was a great morning!

 

Carving Pumpkins

I bought pumpkins a little early this year and they sat and sat and sat on our front porch for days. It was almost looking like we weren't ever going to be able to carve them!! Our lives have been so busy!! But the Thursday before Halloween, Ivy had a game that night, but the forecast expected some crazy storm so everything extracurricular was cancelled. It was a nice break!! An evening that we had nothing planned. So we carved those pumpkins finally!! Even toasted seeds this year at Jacksons request. Yes, Daniel's pumpkin is one big hole... it was failed attempt at an alligator and we insisted he at least put eyes on it to make it a face and he equally insisted that he not. 

 

Jackson's gone fishing...

 Football ended for Jackson. He tried out for the school volleyball team but didn't make it. I was very proud of him for trying out and I think he'll have a good shot on the team next year if he decides to try out again. But both Porter and Saylor did make the team, which I am sure wasn't easy for him. What better way to cheer yourself up? Why, going fishing of course. Jackson was dead-set to hit the water every day after school to fish. He even offered to take Benny and Crew one day!! We love and encourage this hobby. It's slowed down a little now, but it's fun to see him out on the lake doing what he loves.