Happy 9th Birthday, Abby! [Part 1]

Hard to believe this little munchkin is 9 years old today!!!

 She came into the world full of personality - one month early! - and not much has changed. I can't imagine a day without her silly laugh, constant singing, Fortnite dances, and endless hugs. She is my most favorite girl in the world!

Now, for a scroll down memory lane...

1 year old

2 years old

3 years old

4 years old

5 years old

6 years old

7 years old

8 years old

9 going on 19

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Mum Mum & Granddaddy are visiting this weekend, so they got to experience the "birthday survey" first hand this morning :)

How old are you? 9

What makes you happy? Making crafts

What is your favorite animal? Turtle

What is your favorite thing to eat? Grits

What is your least favorite thing to eat? Lettuce

What is your favorite thing to do? Play Fortnite

What is your favorite TV show? Muselk on YouTube

What are you really good at? Singing

What is your favorite movie? “Pitch Perfect”

What is your favorite color? Baby blue

What is your favorite song? “2002” by Anne-Marie

Who is your best friend? Cate, Mia, Ella & Greta

What do you and your Mom do together? Scrapbook

What do you and your Dad do together? Play carnival games

What is your favorite sport? Dance

Where is your favorite place to go? Chipotle

What is your favorite book? The Finley Flowers series

What do you want to be when you grow up? A turtle saver, photographer & news reporter

I have lots of fun things planned for Abby's birthday today, so stay tuned for "Part 2!"

Halloween 2018

We had a Fortnite-themed Halloween this year! 

Both kids were a character (or "skin") from their favorite video game.....Abby was the Brite Bomber and Nate was the Skull Trooper. 

We also had Nate's buddy Mason (aka "Drift" from Fortnite) and our neighbor Evers (aka "Marshmello," a popular DJ) trick-or-treat with us. Love these kiddos!

We always start trick-or-treating around 5:30 or so, and do the loop around our neighborhood with our next-door neighbors, the Richardsons. They had a few friends over this year as well, so we had quite the group trick-or-treating together!!

Abby and her buddy Kate (aka "When Pigs Fly"). These two girls chose to stay at the back of the pack - while Nate & the boys were in the front RUNNING 4-5 houses ahead of us - and just wanted to stroll and chat! #teenagers

I finally caught up to the boys about halfway around our neighborhood. Clearly, they are too cool to walk around with me. And when I asked them to take a picture, this is what I got:

I didn't take any other pictures trick-or-treating, because I was just enjoying walking around with my "mommy juice" and talking to all the neighbors. We really lucked out with a mild, non-rainy night. Such a relief since they were predicting a ton of storms !

When we finished the neighborhood loop, we set up camp on the front porch/in the yard to hand out candy. The boys immediately started sorting and trading candy :)

When Greg got home from teaching class around 7 pm, we had chili for dinner and decided to eat outside since it was so nice! Then the boys went to the next neighborhood over for some trick-or-treating on their own. So grown!

Abby (& Kate) stayed behind with Greg & I to hand out candy until about 8:30 pm. She *loves* handing out candy, especially to all the toddler-aged kids. The highlight of the night was Nate's Fortnite pumpkin.....we had SO many trick-or-treaters comment on it. We told them if they did a dance from Fortnite (there are like 100+ to choose from), they could have extra candy. So, we pretty much had a non-stop dance party in our front yard. So fun!

Another great Halloween in the books....

Halloween Class Parties

Abby woke up Halloween morning not feeling well (though she tried to lie about it / pretend she was fine for the first hour). She was having stomach pains and thought she might throw up, so I kept her home from school.

However, I'm her Room Mom, and therefore I was in charge of her class party....

I spoke to her teacher and got a facemask from the school nurse (seriously), and since she was feeling pretty decent during the day, she came to the party with me. Poor thing had to sit in the corner most of the time and I told her not to touch anything. She was not happy with me.

 The class loved the two games I had planned, and at least Abby got to watch her friends be silly and not miss out on too much. 

 By the end of the party, I let her move to her desk and have a few Cheetos. It was cute to see how much her friends love & miss her when she's not there!

 The whole (crazy) gang....Mrs. Mac's 3rd grade class

 I hopped over to Nate's party very briefly, because they were doing an "Escape Room" themed party. One of the dads planned it and he is so creative! (Apparently a little *too* creative because the kids had a hard time figuring out all the clues! They spent an hour doing the clues and only had 5 minutes to eat at the end of the party. Ha!) Nate said it was the best party ever though. Right up his alley!

Pumpkins, Pumpkins Everywhere!!

This was the first year we decided not to go to Griffin Farms Pumpkin Patch. Sad! Though we all agreed that the kids had outgrown it. However, that led us with the dilemma of where to get our pumpkins!! The kids wanted to pick them out from a pumpkin patch, rather than a box at Lowes or Walmart. We happened upon a small "pumpkin patch" outside a local church on our way to dance, so Abby and I got some good ones! (Nate was at XC practice and said it was okay for us to choose for him).

Three days before Halloween, the carving began!

(My favorite part of carving night? The fact that Greg also makes nuts & bolts. YUM)

 Nate was *pretty* proud of his Fortnite pumpkin. (For those that don't know, Fortnite is the video game that is taking America by storm. It is ridiculous, but, Nate loves it.)

 Greg's pumpkin reveal is always a big deal in our house.....he keeps his design secret from both me and the kids. This year, it was Abby's turn to have Daddy carve something for her. The night before Halloween, his masterpiece was finally done......Billy the Turtle!!! Abby was speechless :)

 She was *so* excited about this pumpkin!!

 The 3 pumpkin carvers....

(And if you can't tell, Abby carved a turtle in her pumpkin too :)

 It's so fun looking back on all of Greg's masterpieces! Here is what he has made so far....

October Stuff

As far as October goes.....

Here is a *sneak peek* of our Family Pictures! More to come on the Christmas card :)

October 5th

*Perfectly captures their personalities!*

For our annual girls' weekend, we took mom to Asheville, NC for a few days of relaxing and fun! Lora, Mom, and I all arrived Thursday late afternoon. Our cabin was perfect and Mom loved all the animals on the nearby owner's land. Wet met Bec at Grove Park Inn Friday morning for a day of pampering. Best spa ever!!

Saturday morning, we explored the property more and went on a long hike. Again, Mom enjoyed the animals! (Hellllllo Mr. Alpaca!!) She collected 12 lbs worth of hay for her seasonal decorations on our hike.

We spent Saturday afternoon exploring downtown Asheville.....street vendors, book stores with a champagne bar, sky bar, fantastic views, and delicious food at dinner. A great day!

October 11-14th

Greg held down the fort while I was gone. He let the kids sleep in the master bedroom, they had lots of treats, and lots of fun.

When I came back from Asheville, the kids had 2 days off school for Fall Break! I took them to a new place in Birmingham called High Point Climbing. Since it was a Tuesday, NO ONE was there! We literally had it all to ourselves. So fun! The kids climbed (and swang on the ropes) for hours, then we left for lunch, and then we came back for 2 more hours. I was impressed with their abilities - they scaled the 55 foot rock wall meant for adults in no time! - and their endurance. (I was exhausted just watching them.)

October 16th

Our church had a Trunk-or-Treat for the first time this year! (Cars line up in the parking lot and have games/candy in their trunks for kids to play/have. There were about 30 cars plus some festival games, and then we had hot dogs/hamburgers in the Parish Hall along with a few rousing games of Bingo!

October 19th

Nate & Greg had another campout this month, Cub Haunted. It is a huge event for Pack 7, and they lucked out with perfect weather! Nate put up his tent like a pro - he's the only Webelos II camper that can do it by themselves! They had a night filled with bonfires, shooting drills, GaGa ball, purchases at the Trading Post, hayrides, and hot chocolate.

October 27-28th

*Lots more October fun to come! Pumpkins, class parties, and trick-or-treating tonight!*

September Stuff

Time for catch up! 

We had a busy September....

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Nate always loves when Evers invites him to an Alabama football game because they get to sit in the President's box!!! (So fancy.) During the 4th quarter, they even got to help serve soda/water/tea to everyone in their box. Did they even watch the game!? Not sure. 

September 8th

 The kids got quite the surprise at the Homecoming Pep Rally.....the teachers surprised everyone with a Flash Mob to "Footloose." It was AMAZING!!! Abby and her buddies could not stop giggling. Then, they got to watch the Homecoming parade with the homecoming court outside. Fun morning!

September 13th

 Cate came home with us from school and these twinsies wore their rompers to the homecoming game that night! :)

Nate continues to be an altar server during campus mass on Thursdays and is doing such a great job! Makes it more fun when he does it with his buddies too :) (Although he says his favorite part is wearing the "warm robe." Ha!)

September 20th

Nate has been training with the middle/high school cross country team since July, and we were finally able to cheer them on at a meet this month! (Most of their meets are out of town, like an hour away.) This was the TCBY Invitational, and had about 20 teams from all over Alabama. Nate competed in the 1 mile "fun run" before the meet began. And 3 of the high school runners had little siblings that competed as well! It was for grades 3-5 (but we think some 6th graders slipped in there without being noticed.) Nate did great and came in 4th place with a time of 5:51!!!

September 22nd

 Later that day, Nate went to the Alabama vs Texas A&M game with his friend Beau Cochran. Beau's dad is the Strength & Conditioning coach for the football team, so the boys were treated to all-access passes on the field! I swear Nate does not know how spoiled he is to have all these "connected" friends! :) Nate was super pumped to meet the ESPN journalist Marty Smith, but I think his favorite part was RIDING THE BUS WITH THE PLAYERS for a few minutes!!! Coach Cochran drove the players from the field to the fieldhouse after the game, and Nate & Beau got to tag along. Nate spoke to a few players and loved riding on their fancy bus! #bestdayever

September 22nd

 Abby and I met a few mommies/daughters for an afternoon play at the Bama Theatre to see "Mary Poppins Jr." It was so good! Three of our next-door neighbors were in the play, and were amazing as usual!

September 29th

 Nate & Greg had a Scout Campout at the end of the month and had a great time as usual. They are becoming quite the campers! And while they did that, Abby and I had a girls night - pizza & rented a movie - and then we went out to breakfast the next morning. Love my sweet girl! :)

September 30th

September was a crazy month and October is just as busy if not more! Stay tuned for another "catch-up" post!