Turkey Trot

The kids and I ran a 2 mile Turkey Trot race back on November 17th.

Some were more excited than others! :)

 Both of them did great despite the cold weather, and I was so proud! I ran with Abby the whole way, and then challenged her to sprint the last 25 yards. To my surprise, she did!!

 Abby was *very* relieved when it was over. She actually said her favorite parts were "passing people at the end," and "crossing the finish line."

 Waiting on awards and excited that the sun finally came out!

 We were all shocked when they called Abby's name for FIRST PLACE in the 9 & under age group!! She had a time of 18:33. She got a medal and then got to pick out a prize from the table....she got a super soft gray t-shirt with a football on it.

 And then, Nate got 2ND PLACE in the 10-14 age group with a time of 12:55. He was so excited to beat an XC teammate that was a 10th grader! The prize he picked was a cooling towel he can use after runs and at Scout Camp.

 Proud of these two! We headed to Panera to celebrate :)

Abby's Hotel Sleepover Party

Abby wanted a *super special* sleepover with her 4 besties this year for her bday, so I booked a room at Embassy Suites for the easiest party ever!!! We had it on Friday, November 2nd (while there was an away Alabama game. Sadly, that is a factor when booking parties in Tuscaloosa. Ha!)

They let me check-in really early, so I could decorate and set-up the room while the girls were still at school....

 Greg picked up all 5 girls from school (I'm sure that was a loud car ride!) and then brought them to the hotel to meet me. They were SO excited!!!

 They wanted to hit the pool & hot tub immediately, so they changed into their bathing suits right away. And since it was 3:30 on a Friday afternoon, there was no one there but us!!

 Next the girls played M*A*S*H, a game a taught Abby from my childhood. So fun! Oh the giggles I heard when they were discussing which boys they would marry.....(that's one of the questions from the game....who will you marry, how many kids will you have, what your job will be, etc).

 We took advantage of the free snack and drinks (and wine!) down in the lobby...

 Then we got pizza delivered and took it up to the room to eat. 

And to play, apparently! Who knew looking through peepholes & running up and down the halls could be so entertaining!?

 One of her friends, Greta, had to leave for a gymnastics meet, so we got started on opening presents and having cookie cake....

Abby's friends know her well...she got a turtle squishy, tape & a tape dispenser (!), a Fortnite backpack, a Justice gift card, unicorn slime, and ...wait for it....salt packets! Yes, she is obsessed with salt.

Sweet & silly girls

Can't believe my "baby" is 9!!

Limbo & decorating pillowcases

Time to wind down....

PicWits, movie, and popcorn

 They weren't *too* terribly bad that night....the last time I yelled at them to go to sleep was at 10:45 pm when one of the girls was jumping on the bed (!) 

I slept decent on the pull-out couch, and we had a few more fun things planned the next morning....

Made-to-order breakfast, scavenger hunt, and playing "house" in the room

 All the girls were picked up around 10 am. Then Abby helped me clean up the room and load the car before checking out. What a fun party!!

Happy 9th Birthday, Abby! [Part 2]

Abby was lucky enough to have her birthday on a Saturday, so that meant two of her favorite things: sleeping in and Daddy's famous grits for breakfast!!

She couldn't wait to open her presents, so we let her tackle them after a big breakfast. Her favorite one: an ipad!!!!!! 

Tech Support, aka Nate, was *more* than happy to set it up for her!

I had promised her a "girls day," so we headed out around lunchtime and spent the afternoon doing whatever she wanted! She picked: Chipotle, Five Below, Justice, and Crazy 8. Her favorite purchase: a black puffer coat :)

 Then, we went to get our annual mother/daughter pedicures. She begs for these all the time, but I only give in on her birthday! Bonus - she brought a book to read so that meant I got to read my book on my phone and get a pedi in silence! :)

Mum Mum & Granddaddy were in town for the weekend, so we met up with them and Greg/Nate at Chuy's for the birthday girl's dinner (after the Alabama game was over. Priorities.)

 She wanted a chocolate-chocolate cake, so that's what she got!

On Monday the 12th, I ate lunch with the birthday girl and brought brownies to hand out to both 3rd grade classes. It's so nice to still have one of my kids want me to come eat/sit with them at school! :)

Best buds in her class: Greta, Ella, and Cate

Happy birthday to our favorite 9 year old in the world! You make every day interesting and we can't imagine our lives without you!!!

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

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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....