November is generally one of the slower months of the year for us. This year, it started out with a soccer tournament and finished with a lot of family time at Thanksgiving. There were a lot of other fun moments in between. Here’s the recap:
The month started out with a not-so-fun moment though. I picked Brooklyn up at the middle school on November 1st, and we were in a (very minor) fender bender on the way home. The worst part wasn’t the accident itself–it was dealing with the other driver who was very rude and impatient, and the accident was his fault. He drove around me at a stop sign and tried to turn in front of me. Thankfully, we got it all straightened out, and the police officer who came was very kind and helpful.
That night was the start of the AYSO area tournament for Brooklyn and Savannah. Savannah’s team played at 5:30 pm at Palmer 9 against a team from Hazel Green. Savannah and Gabriella got to be captains for the game. It was obvious from the beginning that the Hazel Green team was very good. Gabriella scored the first goal of the game, but then it was back and forth after that. At one point we were down 2-4, and I was afraid the game was going to get out of hand. The other team didn’t have any subs though, and I think they started to get tired toward the end of the game. Savannah seemed a little tentative during the first quarter. She sat out the 2nd quarter, and she seemed to be much more in her groove during the 2nd half of the game. I think she was just nervous at the beginning.
Savannah ended up scoring the tying (to make it 5-5) AND winning goals tonight! They ended up winning 6-5! Savannah got fouled toward the end of the game as she was dribbling toward the goal. A girl from the other team tripped her and she fell. She took a free kick from outside the box and booted it high and hard over the goalie’s head and 4 players from the other team. It went straight into the back of the net!! We were so proud and excited!!! Not too long after that, the final whistle blew. I couldn’t believe we won the game! I thought we would have done good just to tie. We learned after the fact that the Hazel Green team hadn’t lost a game all season and they’d only give up 9 goals all season long. Their coach said we were their toughest opponent by far! So proud of how hard the girls hustled and played tonight!!
We had 3 tournament games on Saturday, November 2nd. Brooklyn’s team, the Speed Demons, had their first game at 9 am at Palmer 10. Brooklyn scored the first goal of the game on a left footed shot! She played mostly defense after that. Her team played hard and was pretty evenly matched with the other team who was from Monrovia, but they ended up losing 2-3. We later learned that the Monrovia team made it all the way to the finals! We went home for a couple of hours before heading to Dublin for the afternoon games.
Savannah’s game started at 1:30 pm on Dublin 9. Her team was playing a team they’d beaten pretty easily early in the season, and this game wasn’t any closer. The Purple Panthers won 8-1, and Savannah scored 2 goals. Coach Dayna had purple hair spray for the girls, and Savannah loved getting purple streaks in her hair 😊
Brooklyn’s game started at 2 pm on Dublin 6. Travis was able to sit about halfway between each field and see both at the same time. Brooklyn’s team was playing the team they’d lost to one week earlier 1-3. This time the game was much closer! It was tied 0-0 at halftime, and the other team scored one goal in the 3rd quarter while Brooklyn was sitting out. Her team had a couple of chances to score but just couldn’t make it happen. The final score ended up being 0-1. It was a frustrating season for Brooklyn since her team lost the last 6 or 7 games in a row. She tried her best though, and that’s what counts. I am so proud and impressed and how much she has grown as a defender in the last year or so. It’s fun to watch her play!
Since Savannah’s team won both games in their group, they got to move on to the semifinals of the tournament! Unfortunately it was scheduled at 9 am on Sunday morning. The Purple Panthers were playing the team they’d lost to a week ago 2-3. It seemed like a very winnable game though, so we were hopeful they could pull it out and make it to the championship game at 12:30. Savannah was able to play for about 1.5 quarters before we needed to leave for church. Her team got out to an early 2-0 lead and really dominated the entire time we were there. Savannah scored one of the two goals! They had several other chances to score, but just couldn’t get any of them to go in.
After Savannah and I left, we were hoping they could hang on for the win. We hadn’t even made it back to our car yet when we heard cheering coming from the field. By the time we’d made it a couple of minutes down the road, the other team had already tied the score 2-2 going into the half. We ended up losing 2-5 ☹ I don’t know if the girls were just tired or if they were really missing Savannah that badly. Maybe both. She is definitely an integral part of the team. It’s hard to not let her play the entire game knowing that it would help for her to be there, but we have run into this situation with Brooklyn in the past. It’s frustrating and unfortunate that they schedule games on Sunday morning, but we can’t change it. Savannah’s team still had a great season! They were in the top 4 teams out of 14 in the tournament! They also beat that really good team on Friday night. I always love watching Savannah play, and she loves soccer and continues to improve each season.
Walking home from school on November 4th
I went up to school to eat lunch with Abigail on November 5th, and her friend Genevieve joined us at the table.
Abigail worked on a thankful turkey craft after school on November 6th. I noticed that ice cream was one of the things she is thankful for. Me too! :)
The girls had checkups at the orthodontist on November 7th. None of them have braces at this point, but Brooklyn and Savannah have been going every once in a while just for their teeth to be monitored. The cool coloring sheets in the waiting area are always a hit!
Mill Creek held their annual Veterans Day Parade on November 8th. I love that they take the time to honor the Mill Creek family members who have served our country.
The girls spent the night with Cici that evening and had a tea party breakfast the next morning. She always has fun things planned for their sleepovers!
One notable thing from the sleepover: Apparently the girls were playing “horsey,” and Abigail accidentally knocked her loose tooth even looser on Brooklyn’s head. (Her top two front teeth were both loose). It was so loose that Cici went ahead and pulled it out. She was so excited to tell us the next day when she got home! (This was tooth #3 that she’s lost).
Brooklyn’s soccer team had their end-of-the-season party at Sam and Greg’s on November 11th. Coach Theresa always writes each of the players a special letter and gives it to them at the party. Such a thoughtful thing to do!
Abigail’s other top front tooth has been getting looser each day too. (This was the gray tooth that she had injured several years ago). Daddy offered to pull it on November 13th before school, and it didn’t even bleed. She looks so cute with both of her top teeth missing! 😊
I ate lunch at school with Savannah that day and enjoyed hearing about how her day was going so far.
Savannah was feeling silly on the way home from school and decided to turn her jacket around backwards and try to walk with her hood covering her face. The idea caught on, and Chloe and Abigail tried it too. They looked very funny!
The girls were supposed to wear blue on November 14th for World Diabetes Day. Savannah had a little blue on amongst the purple, so she made the group picture :)
On November 15th, Brooklyn participated in a pizza party celebration for the top fundraising students in the school fundraiser earlier in the year. She also got to pie a teacher or administrator in the face, which was very entertaining. She chose Mr. Smith, one of the assistant principals. She got him good! I was happy to be able to attend as a volunteer since there aren’t as many volunteer opportunities in middle school.
Mrs. Pride’s classroom has a camping theme, and each student is chosen to be “Camper of the Week” at a different time throughout the year. Abigail was chosen for the week of November 18-22. To kick off her time as Camper of the Week, she got to bring home their “class pet”, Marcel the Moose, to stay with us the weekend before. She was very excited!
Abigail was happy to be able to take Marcel on her daddy-daughter date on November 15th. They went to Bad Daddy Burger Bar and had a good time!
As you can see, Marcel was very busy over the weekend with a lot of cooking, playing, and reading :) Abigail loved having him at our house!
Unfortunately, Savannah was sick on November 16th, so she wasn’t able to participate in the fun. The other girls raked a small leaf pile and jumped in it that afternoon.
Our nephew Carter’s birthday is in November, and I loved the thoughtful things that Brooklyn and Savannah gave him. Brooklyn made him a personalized Pokemon card as well as a birthday card written in German. (She was taking German during the 2nd nine weeks of school). Savannah also made him some birthday candles out of Perler beads.
Brooklyn is an entrepreneur at heart, and she is always looking for a way to make money. Even trying to charge people money for the privilege of doing one of her chores–feeding her fiddler crab. Haha!
Usually when Brooklyn announces a new business idea, one or both or her sisters will come up with something too. Savannah’s Shop created riddles that could be solved to win Perler bead creations ;)
Savannah had a book club meeting before school on November 19th.
It was unfortunate timing that Abigail was sick and missed two days of school while she was Camper of the Week. Thankfully, they were able to squeeze in the special activities like her show-and-tell on the days she was there that week.
Brooklyn went on a field trip to Calhoun Community College with her AVID class on November 20th. I think she enjoyed getting out of class and eating lunch at Chick-fil-a more than the actual time spent at Calhoun, but I was glad to see some pictures of what they did at least ;)
Travis was on work travel to Ohio this week, and we picked him up at the airport after school. Normally he drives himself to the airport and leaves his car there, so the girls were excited to get to see the airport and wait for him to come out.
Abigail enjoys helping in the kitchen sometimes, and she helped me brown the ground beef that night for dinner.
We received a sweet postcard from Brooklyn’s math teacher in the mail this month. It made us proud to hear Mrs. Sopkin’s kind words about her!
Mill Creek had their Thanksgiving lunch at school on November 21st, and parents were invited to attend. I think this is the first year I’ve eaten with the girls for their Thanksgiving lunch. We all thought most of the food was pretty good, and the portions were very generous!
This week, Mrs. Pride’s class performed a Reader’s Theater called “Turkeys in Disguise.” Abigail was a narrator turkey. They practiced in front of some kindergarten classes to get ready for their performance in front of parents on November 22nd. The kids did a great job showcasing their reading skills!
That evening, we walked the Galaxy of Lights at the Huntsville Botanical Gardens with a few other families from church. It had been several years since we’d been, and they’ve added so many neat things since then! We were very impressed, and the girls loved it. It was also super cool to see Nathan’s artwork on display. He did a fantastic job!
The girls don’t play with Playdoh too often anymore, but Savannah and Abigail decided to get it out on November 23rd.
Savannah and Travis went on a date that evening to Chuckwagon. It’s one of Travis’s favorite BBQ restaurants in town, but he’d never been to their new location. Savannah loved it too!
We decorated our Christmas tree on November 25th. In an ideal world, I would prefer to wait until after Thanksgiving, but on the years we are out of town for Thanksgiving, it’s nice to come home and have it already decorated. The girls are big helpers at this point and do most of it without much help from me. I love all of the handmade and other special ornaments we’ve collected over the years.
Later that morning, we delivered the Millstone News with Emily and her girls :)
On November 26th, the girls made crumb cake to take to Thanksgiving. It was a recipe from Savannah’s cookbook, and they did a good job making it! Savannah and Abigail also played school, and I received a report card on Abigail’s grades and behavior :)
We drove down to Trussville on November 26th and came home on the 30th, so we were there for several days. We enjoyed spending time with several family members, many of whom we don’t get to see too often anymore. Uncle Bill and Aunt Gale came from Richmond and brought their sweet dog, Phoebe. Abigail especially loved playing with Christian while we were in town. She thinks he is super cute, and so do we :) We enjoyed a very delicious Thanksgiving meal, and the crumb cake turned out very good. We are thankful for so many blessings!
We ended the month back at home watching the Iron Bowl together. And yes, Brooklyn continues to be set on cheering for the Tigers :)
That’s all for now! Thanks for reading!
