Trick or Treat 2022

Monday, October 31, 2022

This Halloween was a little different.  At first, I thought Emily was going to go out trick-or-treating with some of her friends from school.  But, as we got closer to the holiday, she seemed to lose interest.  But, in the category of sometimes everything works out the way it is supposed to, she ended up with other plans.  Just a week or so earlier, Emily had her first "date" with a boy from school - Caleb.  They went to his house to watch a Halloween movie...with parents home.  Then, instead of going trick-or-treating, Emily and Caleb decided to just come here and pass out candy.

 We planned for them to skate for a little bit after school and then head home to our house for pizza.  They also carved a pumpkin and built a spooky gingerbread house.

   

   

Zoey helped.

   

Then it was time for passing out candy.  The kids did a great job and really seemed to enjoy staying home and watching all the kids.  They did take a couple of breaks to walk to some of the nearby houses for treats...including the Kimblers next door and Elaine and Ernie across the street.

Then when trick-or-treat was over, we made s'mores and watched "It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown."  Even though the night was different than I thought, it was still really fun.

I should also give honorable mention to the fact that Emily also carved pumpkins with her friends from the rink the week before Halloween.  They all came out very different, but all were cute.  Emily's was the one with the jagged mouth...traditional style.  You can also see her pumpkin on our front porch, pictured above.

   

More High School Stuff

Sunday, October 30, 2022

The transition to high school has been easier for Emily than I thought it might be.  Emily seems to really like high school and she has been making some new friends, too.  This has also meant moving away from some friends (which has not been as easy) but overall she seems to be flourishing.  She just finished first quarter last week and was able to get straight A's even while taking a pretty rigorous class load - 4 honors classes plus Spanish 2, STEAM, Health and Music in the Movies (fine arts). We also recently got her school pictures...first time without a uniform since pre-K!

She has continued to go to many of the home football games with friends, and most recently, a boyfriend, Caleb.  He is the son of one of Daniel's physician colleagues.  He seems like a really nice young man and his family is nice as well.  So, I guess we are all in for the full high school experience now.  

   

Another Gold Medal Dinner

Friday, October 14, 2022

It was time for another USFS Gold Medal dinner.  This time we were celebrating Elle and her amazing accomplishment!  She passed her Senior Moves back in September and she was very excited.  We got a reservation for the girls at Bricks & Barrels this time and it was perfect.  Great food and a great environment.  The girls had a blast and, as always, Trina took some amazing pictures.

   

   

   

Three down and one to go!  Can't wait to celebrate again!

Homecoming 2022

Saturday, October 8, 2022

This was Emily's first homecoming dance of high school.  I wasn't 100% sure that she was going to go, but in the last week or so leading into the dance, a group finally formed and plans came together.  We bought her dress a few weeks earlier in Charlotte while we were at Regionals.  We added a little furry black jacket to complete the look because on dance night it was pretty chilly.  She looked really pretty.

   

The first stop was downtown on Capitol Street where the kids met for tons of pictures.  I honestly did not think it would take very long, but they wanted photos everywhere doing everything.

   

   

   

We even got a few family photos - AND note the photo above with all the kids on the bottom and the moms on the top!  A mom pic!

   

My favorite...with my favorite photo bomber in the back.

When we got home there were a few pics that I decided to convert to black and white just for fun.  I really do love these.

   

   

After pictures, the kids had dinner at Fazio's - Italian, Emily's favorite.  From there they went on to the dance...from which I got 0 pictures.  I swear teens with phones that will not take pictures of themselves or their friends at dances.  I mean, why do we pay for her to have a phone?  :-) After the dance, the girls headed back to Kaylyn's house for a sleepover.  Judging by how long of a nap she took on Sunday, I would say she had a fabulous first homecoming experience.

   

Sunday morning - post sleep over

Halloween Fun on Gritts Farm

Saturday, October 8, 2022

I was beginning to wonder if the teen years would mean the end of our annual trips to Gritt's.  Every year I wonder if the prior year will be the last.  Luckily, last year was NOT the last.  We got to go this year again and Emily was actually excited about it.

We left pretty early in the morning and arrived about 10am, not too long after they opened.  We went straight to the pumpkin patch for pumpkin picking.  Some years we have gotten a lot of pumpkins, but this year we limited ourselves to two large and two small for the front steps.  We also got a big potted mum for the Mother's Day hook in the front yard.

   

   

   

With the pumpkins and mums happily settled in the trunk, it was time to hit the "fun farm."  Our first stop was the donut shop for some homemade apple cider donuts.  My favorite reason to come here!  Then we checked out a few of the activities (including the duckie races and pumpkin house) and visited the goats at the "Goatel" - like a hotel, but for goats.  Daniel and Emily both got little cups of food to feed the goat friends.  :-)

    

   

   

   

Then we took a ride in the tractor out to the back section of the farm where they had the corn maze...the operative word being HAD.  There was really no maze this year which was a real disappointment.  Note

the sad face pic below.

   

But we did find a few other fun things to do including jumping on the giant trampoline (I even jumped since there weren't many kids there yet), lassoing the wooden cows, playing some carnival style ball games, and climbing through a wooden obstacle course.

   

   

Then as we made our way back to the front of the farm there was time for a few trips down the big slides. Not sure who liked the slides more - Daniel or Emily.  I should note for posterity that Daniel won the first race down the slides and Emily won the second.  Both had fun on both trips down the slides.

   

Then, on our way home, we made our annual stop at the Dairy Queen for lunch and blizzards before heading home.  So much family fun on the farm!