Looking back at our October calendar makes me tired! I will try to condense the recap into a manageable amount, but be prepared to buckle up ;) There was a lot happening this month!
Fall break was the first week in October this year. We decided to stay home instead of traveling, and we enjoyed some extra family time together. On October 1, the girls watched Star Wars with Travis in between church services.
It had been so warm lately (mid to upper 80s) that we decided to try swimming on Monday, October 2! I think that was a first – going to our neighborhood pool in October. The water was chilly, but the girls still swam! The Johnsons came with us, and we enjoyed the afternoon together. That evening, Savannah and Abigail created a sidewalk chalk bakery, and Abigail lost her very first TOOTH! Her bottom teeth had been getting loose for a while, and her permanent teeth were already coming in. Travis offered to pull the loosest one, and she agreed. I’m not sure she was happy with her decision in the moment, but afterward she was glad to have it out. It was a little sad for me because her excitement over the tooth fairy wasn’t nearly the same as her big sisters when they lost their first tooth. I guess that’s what happens when you’re the youngest kid and the magic gets spoiled for you.
On Tuesday (October 3), Abigail tried to help me out with my to-do list by adding popsicles ;) I worked for a while in the morning on some decor for Rock Your School Day. Then that afternoon, we went to Let’s Play with the Loveless crew. We were able to use a punch card I’ve had for years, which worked out nicely. It was the least crowded I’ve ever seen it, and the kids had fun playing for over 2 hours. We hadn’t been to Let’s Play in a few years, and this was the easiest time yet because I didn’t have to follow the kids around. They are old enough now to go and play and just check back in if they need something. Hooray! We capped off the day with a visit to Jeremiah’s Italian Ice after supper.
On Wednesday (October 4), we went to the library, ran some errands, and made a cookies and cream ice cream pie with a recipe from Savannah’s cook book. It was yummy! The girls also got out one of Brooklyn’s old science kits and did a “magic trick” – catching bubbles with your hands :)
On Thursday morning (October 5), Savannah and Abigail played with Hot Wheels. Savannah regularly gets her cars out and has races with them to see which car will go the farthest. That afternoon, we checked out a new playground near John Hunt park. It was super crowded because of all the kids on fall break, but the girls still enjoyed it. There were so many unique things to climb and play on. It made me smile that Abigail wanted to wear a princess dress there :) I could tell Brooklyn was wishing she had a friend there. She would play for a little while (either with her sisters or by herself), but then come back and sit with me for a bit. It was a nice day just to be outside!
On Thursday night, the girls went to Cici’s after soccer practice for a cousin sleepover. It was Cici’s first time to have all 6 kids spend the night at the same time. They had a campout in the living room with blankets and pillows. I’m not sure how much sleep was had, but they had fun. They had a movie night on Thursday, ate Mickey Mouse pancakes for breakfast, and played Bunko. Even though we didn’t travel for fall break, it was still a great week!!
On October 7, Abigail’s game was first at 9 am at Palmer 4. She had a great game today! Her coach was out of town, so the other team’s coaches kind of supervised both teams. Abigail scored 3 or 4 goals and had a lot of fun. She and her teammates give each other high fives every time they score, which is so sweet. She played the whole game today because they only had 4 players there, and she said she still had energy left at the end of the game 😉
Brooklyn’s game was cancelled today unfortunately. We think the other team must not have had enough players since it was the end of fall break. Savannah’s game started at 9:45 on Palmer 1, so Abigail and I walked up to her field when we finished. Savannah had scored one goal already by the time we got there. I think her team ended up winning 4-0. Savannah had a nice cross to Gabriella during the game who shot and scored. She played mostly defense and midfield today.
Savannah got some boots from a girl at church in her 20s who accidentally ordered the wrong size and couldn’t return them. She has small feet, but not that small! So Savannah was the beneficiary of these cute new boots and wore them to church on October 8.
I surprised the girls by buying some caramel apples at the grocery store, and they were covered in sprinkles – even better! :)
All Pro Dads is a new club at Mill Creek this year for dads/father figures and their kids. It meets once a month in the library before school, and October 11th was the second meeting. Travis took the girls, and they got some breakfast and participated in a discussion about serving others.
October 11 was a half day at school, and it was also the day before Rock Your School Day. This meant a full afternoon of me helping the girls’ teachers to transform their classrooms in a “Game On” theme in preparation for a fun day of learning. Mrs. Maynard is Brooklyn’s homeroom teacher, and she teaches social studies to the entire 5th grade. She asked me if I could figure out how to tie the Game On theme into the 13 colonies, which is what the kids were learning about at the time. The other 5th grade teachers had decided on a Mario theme specifically, so I had to figure out how to tie Mario into the 13 colonies. It was definitely a challenge, but I was proud of what I came up with. I found a Mario Kart race called Tick Tock Clock and used that as my inspiration. I wrote the names of the colonies on 13 “coins” to go along with the big sign I made for outside the classroom. I don’t own a Cricut (probably should!), so it took forever to cut out everything by hand. I kept the decorations simpler for inside the classroom and just hung a racing pennant banner and a few clocks, gears, and Mario characters that I cut out. I thought it all turned out cute, but whew it took a lot time to prep.
We don’t get too many pictures from 5th grade, but I did see this one of Brooklyn and her class on Facebook. She said she had a fun day!
Because I spent most of my time helping Mrs. Maynard, I didn’t get to do as much for Savannah and Abigail’s classrooms. I did help Mrs. Borys with these Mario themed decorations for her room though (not including the balloons…I’m not that talented!). Thankfully, Mrs. Borys found the ideas on Pinterest, and I just had to recreate them!
Savannah had a fun day too!
Abigail’s teacher, Mrs. Curry, decorated her classroom in a Candyland theme, which I thought was perfect for kindergarten. She had plenty of parents who offered to help, which was wonderful. I didn’t do much in her classroom other than help add the gumballs to the sign outside her door. Everything turned out great! I especially loved that she added a Candyland board to her classroom floor that the kids got to use as part of their learning that day!
These pictures crack me up because it’s so hard to get a bunch of 5 and 6 year olds to all look at the camera at the same time! Regardless, Abigail’s first RYS day was a success :)
Savannah joined a club at school called Best Buddies this year. On October 13, she and a few other 3rd graders got to help deliver snacks from the Happy Cart to some of the 1st grade teachers. She especially enjoyed seeing Mrs. Pride, and it sounds like Mrs. Pride loved seeing her too!
That evening, Brooklyn went to Addy’s birthday party and got to tie-dye a t-shirt…
Meanwhile, I caught Savannah and Abigail reading together at home on the couch :)
On October 14, Travis ran the Monte Sano 15K with Matt…
We also had soccer games on October 14. Abigail played first at 10AM at Palmer 4. I got this cute picture of Abigail with her teammate, Abby, before the game. Abigail scored 2 goals today and played really hard. It is so fun to watch her on a breakaway, kicking the ball with her left foot all the way to the goal!
We had a new situation after that where Brooklyn and Savannah were playing on side by side fields, Palmer 9 and 10. Savannah’s game started at 11 and Brooklyn’s was at 11:30. So for a while, we were trying to watch both games at the same time by standing in between the fields. It was pretty wild trying to catch everything in both games! Savannah’s team played the “other” Savannah, who is super talented. The Ice Pops won 3-1. Savannah scored one goal and had a nice cross to Gabriella for another goal. We were proud of her effort! Brooklyn played nice defense today…she is really getting to be a solid defender…and she almost scored a goal during the quarter she played center mid. She kicked it hard but straight at the goalie. Her team ended up winning 2-1. It was a good day of soccer!
That afternoon, Savannah went to Chloe’s birthday party. It was pig themed and sounded so fun!!
On October 15th–before church–Abigail lost tooth #2!!
We had Sunday lunch with Baugay at our house this month, and the kids enjoyed watching football after lunch. Abigail must have been worn out from all the excitement by that evening ;)
October 16th marked one year since Payton died, and we released some orange and blue balloons that day with a few others to remember him.
On October 17, Brooklyn and Savannah had a dentist appointment in the morning, so I took them to Firehouse Subs for lunch as a special treat before they went back to school. After school, we all went to the shoe store so Brooklyn could try on some new winter dress shoes for church. Her feet are growing so fast that she needs new shoes just about every season!
This season, Abigail and Brooklyn both practiced on Thursday night at different fields in Palmer Park. Brooklyn was feeling chilly while she was at Abigail’s practice waiting for her own practice to begin. I told her she could put Abigail’s jacket on since she didn’t have hers with her. Even though the sleeves were too short, it cracked me up that she was able to zip Abigail’s 4T jacket up!
On October 20th, Savannah’s team had their first game of the 9U tournament at 5:30 pm. They are playing all of the other 9U girls’ teams from Madison this weekend. The other team wasn’t much competition, and Savannah’s team won 8-0. Savannah scored 4 of the goals! She sat out the first quarter with Gabriella, and they were so excited to finally get in the game after that. Savannah scored her first goal about 15 seconds after she got in the game. I actually got one of her goals on video tonight! She was very excited about the win and says she still has plenty of energy for the remaining 3 games this weekend 😉
On October 21, Abigail played the first game of the day at 9 am at Palmer 4. Today she had several spectators in our cheering section – Cici, Gigi, Mr. Phil, AND Mr. Mike! She scored several goals, including one that ended up being the last play of the game. She had a lot of fun and was already talking after the game about wanting to play spring soccer. We have enjoyed seeing her get to know her teammates and giving them high fives after one of them scores a goal.
Brooklyn’s team played next at 10 am at Palmer 7. Her team ended up winning 5-2, I think. Brooklyn scored one goal for her team when she got to play forward during the last quarter. She played the whole game and played defense for the first half and center mid for the 3rd quarter. It seems like her stamina has improved since the beginning of the season, and I thought it was one of her best games yet.
We ate a quick lunch at Freddy’s with Phil and Gena before going to Savannah’s game at 1:45 pm at Palmer 9. Her team ended up winning 8-0 again. Savannah played a great game!
On October 22, Savannah’s team played their 3rd tournament game of the weekend at 12 pm, so we hurried there right after church. Savannah’s team won 1-0. Alexa scored the team’s only goal. They had plenty of other chances to score that just didn’t go in. The girls definitely seemed a bit tired and sluggish today, but that’s not too surprising since they aren’t used to playing multiple games in the same weekend. Coach Bob’s wife is a photographer, and she took some pictures of the girls’ before and during the game. Love how these turned out!
We had a couple of hours to rest after the game, and we were all feeling just like Abigail! ;)
The Ice Pops’ last game of the weekend was at 4 pm that afternoon. Savannah was only able to play the first half because we needed to leave for church after that. This game was against the “Other Savannah’s” team who is so good. Savannah played lights out for the part of the game she was there. It is really fun to watch the Savannahs go head to head against each other. They are both very fast and aggressive. Our Savannah scored the only goal of the first half, so the score was 1-0 when we left. Our team ended up losing 2-1 because the other Savannah scored two goals after we left. But we will have a rematch in the championship game next Saturday! Can’t wait to see it! Savannah is very excited (and nervous).
This month was sports overload…haha. Brooklyn and Savannah both decided they wanted to try basketball, so we signed them up through the city’s rec league. Savannah had basketball tryouts after soccer practice on October 23. It was pretty quick and simple. She just had to dribble around some cones and then shoot the ball from different spots on the floor. The longest part was just waiting for her turn. She saw several girls from school that she knows, and she is getting excited to try a new sport. Hopefully it will be a fun season! Brooklyn had her tryout on 10/26, and it went well too. She was nervous about it, but it was pretty quick and simple!
One thing that I love about Mrs. Borys is that she frequently shares pictures of what her class is up to during the week. I love seeing what Savannah is doing at school! This week, Savannah presented a slideshow she made to the class about red pandas, and she also helped with a Best Buddies service project one morning. She and some other kids put together goody bags to be passed out during the pre-k treat or treat event at school. They also learned about how some students communicate differently and helped make “AAC” (Augmentative and Alternative Communication) Trick or Treat bracelets to give out to some of the pre-k students that would assist them in communicating during trick or treating.
Abigail enjoys playing Taco Cat Spelled Backwards with me and has gotten the hang of how to play it!
All week, Abigail had been complaining of her throat hurting, but she wasn’t running a fever, so I assumed it was probably just allergies. She mentioned it to Mrs. Curry one day, so on October 26, I decided to keep her home to take her to the doctor. Abigail drew this picture for Dr. Dudley, which was so sweet. I felt terrible when she ended up testing postive for strep. It was so weird because she acted like she felt fine other than her throat bothering her. Thankfully, we were able to do a few doses of antibiotic before her field trip the next day, so she didn’t have to miss it!
The last week of October is always Red Ribbon Week at school. October 27 was Career Day, and Savannah and Gabriella decided to dress like soccer players :)
Abigail had her first ever field trip on October 27 as well. I enjoyed getting to go with her. I drove over to Gullion Farm with Michele, and we met the buses there. Abigail was really excited. We got to see a lot of different farm animals, and the kids got to go down a big slide, go on a hay ride, a wagon ride, play in the corn crib, pet animals in the petting zoo, ride a pony, and gather eggs in the hen house.
These pictures of Abigail riding the pony deserve their own slideshow. She was SO thrilled!! :)
It was an exhausting day but so much fun. It was also very dusty because we hadn’t gotten any rain in weeks. I felt like I had dirt in my eyes and nose and everywhere by the time I got home. Abigail had a great time, and it was neat to meet her classmates that I’ve been hearing about this year. I was also glad to see her following directions and listening to Mrs. Curry.
Abigail told me she “almost” fell asleep on the bus ride back to the school, but the pictures Mrs. Curry took sure make it look like she was actually asleep…haha! She played hard!
As if that wasn’t enough for one day, that night we went to a Trunk or Treat at school and visited the book fair afterward. It was great to see some of our former and current teachers and friends dressed up in costumes. I especially loved the dad and daughter we saw in line ahead of us dressed as a pilot and flight attendant. Such a creative idea! They even had a drink cart that they were pushing. As for our kids, this year Brooklyn really wanted to be a vampire for Halloween. I wasn’t crazy about the idea, but we found one that wasn’t too scary and didn’t involve any blood or fangs ;) Savannah decided to be a fox, and Abigail wanted to be Isabella from Encanto!
Abigail had her last game of the season on October 28 at 8 am. She scored two goals! Coach Tyler said the team they played was the same team that they played during the first game of the season, but it was much more competitive this time. The girls have really improved over the course of the season! Abigail grew to love her teammates and coach and is saying she does want to play again in the spring. I worried that she would miss Madison a lot this season and it wouldn’t be the same, but thankfully she has found other soccer friends and still loves to play. Her team went to the playground for a few minutes after her game for cupcakes and to get their medals. It has been a great season!
Unfortunately, Savannah and Brooklyn both played at 10 am on fields that were NOT side by side. (One was on Palmer 1 and the other was on Palmer 7). Since Savannah’s game was the championship game of the 9U tournament, neither one of us wanted to miss it, but we also hated to not have someone at Brooklyn’s game. So we played “rock paper scissors” to see who would get to watch the 2nd half of Savannah’s game, and Travis won. We switched at halftime, so I started out at Savannah’s game and watched the 2nd half of Brooklyn’s. Savannah’s team played hard and went up 2-0 at halftime. Savannah didn’t score, but did a good job of playing defense and trying to keep the other Savannah from scoring. They ended up winning 2-1. Brooklyn’s game was tied 0-0 at halftime, and then all the scoring happened in the 2nd half. I believe they ended up losing 4-1. They had played the other team once before this season, and that team has several tall girls with strong legs that can kick it far. Brooklyn was disappointed, but she still has the area tournament left to go so she’s not quite done with her season.
We enjoyed some gelatis from Jeremiah’s with Paw and Rae Rae after we were finished with soccer, and then the girls had fun watching some football when we got home. Brooklyn and Savannah especially have really turned into big football fans this season.
Savannah got a medal for winning the 9U tournament, and Abigail’s team got participation medals for finishing the season ;) We got some pictures of them in the backyard with their medals that afternoon.
That evening, we went with Cici, Alisha, and the boys to see the Jungle Book at the Fantasy Playhouse. It was a fun time spent with family!
On October 29, Brooklyn woke up not feeling well with her tummy hurting, so she stayed home from church. She ended up throwing up that morning and running a 102 degree fever later in the day. She had to miss the Halloween party at the Hoods’ house that night unfortunately…
Travis took Savannah and Abigail to the party, and they said they had a lot of fun. Savannah said she mostly played with Carter, and Abigail played with Adelyn. I took Brooklyn to the doctor the next day to make sure she didn’t have strep throat like Abigail did last week, and she tested negative for strep and flu. The respiratory panel actually came back showing she had the common cold, which is pretty crazy based on her symptoms. Thankfully she was feeling mostly better on Monday and was able to go to school on Tuesday.
On October 30, while Brooklyn was home from school, she decided that she wanted to pack up her American girl doll, Julie, and all of her accessories. We decided to put it all in the top of her closet so that she could get it down if she wanted to. She’s growing up! That night, we drove over to see the Halloween version of the Woodard Family Lights. It was neat, but we still prefer the Christmas songs!
On October 31st, the kids were allowed to wear their Halloween costumes to school if they wanted to. Brooklyn decided to dress up as a “zoologist” and wear a leopard print sweatshirt. Savannah wore a Halloween shirt and candy corn hairbow, and Abigail wore her Isabella dress. Savannah’s class did several Halloween themed activities that day!
That night, we trick-or-treated around the neighborhood with Sarah’s girls and Emily’s girls. We were out from about 5:45 pm to 7:15 pm and went up and down 3 of the 5 streets in our neighborhood. It was a pretty chilly evening, but I don’t think it’s the coldest Halloween we’ve ever had. The girls did use hats and mittens, which helped. They all got tons of candy…pretty much a full bucket each. We also passed out candy after we got home, and the girls enjoyed answering the door. It was a fun night!
Notes and Quotes from October 2024:
- 10/4/23 – Abigail saw an airplane flying at dusk with its lights on and said, “That’s a two-headed airplane!”
- 10/7/23 – Abigail: “My heart started beeping because I was running so fast!”
- 10/11/23 – Savannah: “If you make a typo, but it’s on paper, is it called a ‘write-o’? Haha! :)
Thanks for reading!
