Around Here Week 40: 10/01-07

 A glimpse into the whirlwind that was this week in our family!

cheer cousins!

(Rusty and Tanner) photo cred: Jenilee L

photo cred: Mike B

photo cred: Brandon

photo cred: Brandon

Intentional Outdoor Hours: 638+ hours (of 1000)
eek! getting very excited about all these beautiful leaves starting to make the switch! It is already looking like peak foliage season is nearly here! The sound of those leaves rustling right before I head up the driveway each afternoon is honestly giving me life. 

Reading Wool by Hugh Howey but not reading too much because I'm going a little bonkers with all the hoco things this week.

Singing a happy HALF birthday to our Reddy who was three and a half this week! We had chocolate chip pumpkin muffins for his half birthday breakfast!

Thankful for family & friends who support our kids' fundraisers! to the Grey was able to sell all his gun tickets for the football fundraiser while at the St. Greg's Gun Bash with Pappy on Sunday. (thanks for taking him Pappy, he had a blast!) And then I had the kids' godparents buying up the last of the youth league gun tickets for the fundraiser through text and venmo - thank you!! Reminder to all those aunts/uncles/godparents out there who want to: reach out to ask if there are fundraisers you can help with...I'm telling you - the fundraisers/spirit sales never stop coming (LOL, but for real). 

It's officially spooky season, so I got the Halloween decor and books out of the attic. Some of our favorite books include 10 Timid Ghosts, Go Away Big Green Monster, 10 Trick-or-Treaters, and Little Blue Truck's Halloween.

Marathon Fun Days for the elementary school. Rusty and Violet each got their afternoon of fun on the annual celebration. It is sort of like a field day for the elementary schools - thank you to all the parents that volunteer their time to make the day such a blast and to the PTO that organizes the event! 

Cheering for our cousin Caleb as he played soccer this week at our school. We were cheering for BOTH teams, okay? Caleb did awesome (he's a goalie) and we got some play time in with our cousins and even celebrated Albert's birthday with cupcakes.  Reminder to all those aunts/uncles/godparents out there who want to: reach out to ask for game schedules!!

Ahh, all the tasks on my to do list are slowly (purposefully!) getting crossed off. I picked Farm & Free play dates for the month of October and created a Canva post to share on facebook (Studerbabies), we sent in our bio sheet to Fox 8 News Now (Studerbabies!), I completed the building request form for the end of season tailgate (youth league), I ordered candy for the 6th grade hallway surprise make-over next week (youth league), I put in the order for Mila's homecoming corsage for Friday (homecoming), organized the 6th grade all-star cheer roster and got tshirt sizes (youth league), and confirmed the jr. high football video plan for early November (football boosters). I ordered Heathy's birthday present and picked out everyone's outfits for the blessing (family), purchased a case of water for Gemma's contribution to the hoco middle school dance (student council), and got the run-through made for the night game (youth league). The diversity of the balls I am juggling right now is actually laughable - but with intention, prioritizing, and a little help from my friends- it will all get accomplished! I have faith, LOL. 

Hoco week at CT which means all the lists and fun and events and madness. We had dress up week everyday at the high school and elementary school. Different dress up days for the elementary school and high school (lol, naturally) but we had kids in jammies, crazy socks, fancy clothes, hats, Barbie&Ken, Country vs. Country Club, Decades, and tye-dye. 
   - Then it was the bonfire on Wednesday night. Our whole family went to support Coach Daddy and the team that night - especially our three senior players and our favorite sideline trainer who got on Homecoming court (Congrats John, Kyler, Jake, and Tanner!) After the bonfire Grey and Gem went over to the middle school dance and then we all came back together for the court skits - which Brandon helped assist John and Tanner in their Scooby Doo skit as a ghost (LOL forever).
   - On Thursday, Coach Daddy and the football team went down to the elementary school to welcome the kids off the bus and to read to the K-2 classrooms (love those pics so much; football is more than football).
   - On Friday, Gem and the student council spent the morning at school painting the windows of the building and local businesses in town! After school, B ran to the florist to pick up a mini bouquet for the hoco princess and then grabbed pizza so we could all stuff our faces before...
   - The parade on Friday evening where it poured down raining (LOL). Thankfully, my parents had Red and Liv (thank you!) while I took Gemma and the squad in the parade. Vi walked with her division, Grey and the Jr High football team walked together, and Rusty rode in the parade with homecoming queen candidate Jenna Brenneman and hoco princess Mila Feathers. (soo precious!) The parade was fine except for being soaking wet but then the skies cleared up for...
   - The homecoming game vs. CV (our alma mater!) Rusty and Mila were announced during the halftime homecoming event. and then the king and queen were announced (congrats Jenna and Colton!) followed by an awesome firework display! The game was intense and it was impossible not to cheer for both teams as many of my friends and cousins had kids playing on the opposing team (?!) In the end CV won in an incredible last minute catch in the end zone (ugh, but also congrats!) Whew, it was a week! 

Celebrating the first birthday and blessing of our sweet nephew Heath. Brandon is his guidefather (alongside Heath's aunt Carli - she is the sweetest!) Gemma did a touching reading of a poem (The Voice by Shel Silverstein) at the service that had everyone in tears. The ceremony was so beautiful and meaningful (like it always is because my sister Uch pays attention to the tiniest details that matter so much. xxo) Afterward, we all ate yummy food, playing in the jumpy house, and celebrated together for that darling boy's birthday. There is a beautiful video of the ceremony here. 

Teaching with Geography week in Spanish 1 learning all the Spanish speaking countries and capitals. Spanish 2 learned about Venezuela as they prepare to read their first novel. We listened to Como Los Vaqueros which is one of my favorite songs and all the kids end of loving it too. Spanish 3&4 read chapters 3-6 of La Llorona de Mazátlan. We also had our first club meetings this week and I am advising two clubs: Spanish club and Prom committee, so I ended up with about 40 kids in my room during club period?!

Sporting with two flag practices for Rusty, 1 cheer and 1 dance class for Violet (it was bring-a-friend night for her friend Ellie. Thank you for taking her!) Gemma had a cheer practice, a basketball practice, and a basketball game. The youth football & cheer (Rust, Vi, and Gem) had 2 games this week, including the last regular season game! Rust had such a fun season - thank you so much to his coaches. Gem & Violet's football divisions are on their way to the playoffs! Grey had 2 football practices, 1 football lifting, 1 baseball off-season workout, and a football game (still undefeated!). Brandon had four football practices, team dinner & film, and they played in the homecoming game on Friday night. 

Making shells&cheese with Pappy's marinated deer steaks (thank you!), Korean beef with rice and green beans, copycat Olive Garden chicken and pasta, shredded beef & cheddar sammies, and chicken&cheese enchiladas, and we got takeout pizza before the hoco parade too. I made some chocolate/pumpkin muffins for breakfast on Reddy's half birthday and I made a crockpot of haluski for Heath's blessing/birthday party.