During the month of September, we stayed busy with school activities, soccer, and Travis also had two work trips. Looking back at my calendar, it was very full. Here’s the recap:
September 1 was the last kindergarten Color Day, and Abigail was supposed to wear brown–not a color that we have very much of in this girl family. I had to raid a bag of hand-me-down clothes to find this brown princess shirt. Abigail also rocked a big brown bow to match :)
Brooklyn’s science class had a competition to see which group could build the tallest tower using only index cards :)
We woke up on Saturday, September 2nd to find it raining outside…no! We weren’t expecting rain, so we were afraid the fields would be closed, but surprisingly they weren’t. Savannah’s game was up first at 8:30 at Palmer 1. It was lightly sprinkling when they started playing. This was her team’s first game because last week’s game got cancelled due to the heat. Her team’s name is the Ice Pops this season. Her coach joked that their theme song should be “Ice Ice Baby”…haha. Her team played great for their first time ever on a big field with big goals, goalkeepers, 7v7, etc.!
I was really excited to see how Savannah would do. Her coach started her out playing forward, and she also played midfield and defense. Savannah really seemed like she was in her element out there. She said she was glad to be playing on a big field now because her “big kicks” didn’t always go out of bounds…haha. She really played great and is still speedy and always trying her best. She is so determined! There was a player on the other team who was really good (also named Savannah, a new girl at Mill Creek), and our Savannah was determined to not let that Savannah score. The other team scored 3 goals during the 2nd quarter while Savannah and Gabriella were sitting out. The score was tied 3-3 for a while until our Savannah scored the winning goal! She scored 2 goals total today. It was a lot of fun to watch! Phil, Gigi, Cici, and Uncle Tyler were all there to watch. Phil called her a “bruiser” after the game because of her playing style. She is very ferocious!
We had a great schedule today because all the games were back to back with just enough time to get to each field. Abigail’s game was up next at 10 am at Palmer 4. Her team is named the Pink Unicorns. Abigail’s team didn’t have any subs, so Abigail got pretty tired by the end of the game. Her team finally scored a goal or two today! The other team had a superstar again this week that scored lots of goals. Abigail was pretty discouraged after the game (she takes winning very seriously) and says she doesn’t want to play soccer again next season. Update: She changed her mind ;) She tried her best and had some big kicks again today!
Brooklyn’s game was last at 11:30 at Palmer 7. By this point, the sun had come out and it was getting hot. Alisha and the boys got to see half of Abigail’s game and all of Brooklyn’s game. It was fun to have a big cheering section today. Brooklyn played one of her best games we’ve ever seen her play. We can tell her leg strength has really improved. She is able to kick it high and hard when clearing it or crossing it. She had two great shots, one that went over the top and one that hit the cross bar. She also had a beautiful cross that went right across the 6 yard box, but no one was able to poke it in. She played mostly defense and midfield. Her team didn’t have any subs, so I could tell the girls were getting tired by the end. Her team ended up winning 4-1. It was an exciting game!
Doesn’t everyone go to the library in their Snow White princess dress? :)
Abigail was looking so sweet in her lamb dress on Sunday. The cousins played “fairy garden” at Cici’s house after church.
We tried something new for a belated birthday outing for Abigail, and we took the girls bowling at Bowl Madison on Labor Day when they were out of school. It was the girls’ first time to bowl, and Travis and I hadn’t bowled in a long time either. I’m not sure we had ever even bowled together…haha. It wasn’t very crowded, which was nice, since we didn’t know how long it would take us. The girls used bumpers, but bowling still elicited a lot of tears and frustration from some ;) It reminded me of them trying putt putt golf and getting upset when the ball didn’t go in the hole as quickly as they wanted it to. I think everyone still had fun overall, but it definitely helped that we ended the afternoon with some treats from Jeremiah’s Italian Ice.
Walking home from school on September 6 and telling Mrs. Sarah about her day :)
One of my favorite events at Mill Creek is Grandfriends Day, where grandparents and other special relatives/mentors come to school to enjoy treats in the cafeteria and then a few minutes with their grandchild in the classroom. They always split up the grades over two days, and this year, 5th and 3rd grade were on September 7 and Kindergarten was on September 8. Rae Rae was able to come on the first day to visit Brooklyn and Savannah, and Cici covered Abigail’s slot on the second day. The girls were all very excited! Each teacher planned activities to do while the Grandfriends were visiting. Brooklyn’s class worked on a history lesson, which makes sense because Mrs. Maynard teaches social studies. Savannah’s class interviewed their Grandfriends and wrote down the answers :) And Abigail’s class sang some songs and showed the Grandfriends around the classroom. It’s always a special time!
Savannah loves to scoop Gabby up and carry her around, and Gabby is usually pretty patient with her :)
On September 9, we had some overlap in our soccer games. Abigail had the earliest game at 8 am at Palmer 4. Brooklyn and I took her to her game. Her team had a great game! I didn’t keep up with the number of goals, but her team scored quite a few and definitely more than the other team. Abigail scored at least 3 goals herself (her first goals of the season)! She seemed like she was having fun out there! I liked seeing her get excited and giving her coach high fives :)
Savannah’s game started at 8:30 am at Palmer 9. By the time we got to her game, they only had about 1.5 quarters left. I think Savannah’s team was losing 4-3 when we got there, and the final score was 5-3. Savannah’s team was playing a 10U team today, and the 10U team definitely seemed more comfortable with passing and spreading out. Savannah played so hard. I know I’m biased, but I think if she hadn’t been out there, the other team would have scored even more than they did. She was very upset after the game that they lost. We were so proud of her effort though and how hard she played! It was obvious that she gave 100% out there.
Brooklyn’s game started at 10 am on Palmer 10, so we were able to just move our chairs to the next field over after Savannah’s game. Very convenient! Her game was a tale of two halves. The first half, they definitely seemed outmatched by the other team. At halftime they were losing 1-0. But something changed in the 2nd half. Brooklyn’s team scored 5 goals in the 3rd quarter alone and ended up winning 7-3. Brooklyn scored a goal and took a really nice corner kick that sailed in the air across the 6 yard box where Diana was able to bring it down and kick it in. She played well on defense, but seemed to get tired quickly when playing midfield. I think she could definitely benefit from running laps before or after practice to build up her endurance, especially since she is getting used to playing on a bigger field now. I love watching my girls play!
Brooklyn and Savannah love to read, and they spent a lot of time reading this month as part of their school fundraiser called Read to Lead. Abigail even got credit for minutes that she spent with someone else reading to her.
I found this warning hanging from Brooklyn’s bedroom door, and it made me laugh :)
On September 10th, Brooklyn was drinking water and lost another tooth (tooth #13!)! Glad she didn’t accidentally swallow it 😉 I think this is the first tooth in years that she hasn’t actively pulled out herself.
Abigail enjoyed having Ella and Adelyn sit with us at church on Sunday night :)
Yeehaw!
Mrs. Borys shared some pictures of Savannah and her classmates doing their schoolwork on September 11.
It’s so special to be able to walk all 3 girls home from school this year!
As part of the Read to Lead fundraiser, different incentives were unlocked when the school raised a certain amount of money. September 12 was Furry Friend Day, so the girls could bring a stuffed animal (or Squishmallow…haha) to school.
On September 13th, I had a volunteer thing at school fall through after I’d already gotten there. Luckily, it happened to be right at Savannah’s lunchtime, so I surprised her there instead.
It didn’t take long after the school year started before Abigail got interested in trying to read on her own. She is following right in her big sisters’ footsteps!
Another fundraiser incentive on September 15–PJ day–always a fan favorite! I love that Abigail proudly chose to wear her Elsa nightgown :)
On September 16, Savannah had the first game of the day at 8 AM at Dublin 9. It was our only game at Dublin Park this season, which I’m not too sad about. Parking is generally much easier at Palmer! It started monsooning about the time her game started. I know Brooklyn has played in the rain before, but I can’t remember Savannah ever playing in heavy rain. They had a lot of fun and were soaked in no time. Savannah played mostly forward and midfielder and scored 4 goals!! I didn’t anticipate her being such a scoring machine this season, but she is doing so well with her dribbling and shooting. Her team ended up winning 8-0. The other team was definitely overmatched.
Brooklyn and Abigail both played their games at 10 am at Palmer, but their fields weren’t within walking distance of each other. Travis took Abigail to her game. He said she scored 2 goals, one of which she kicked so hard that it knocked the goal backward…haha. She had a lot of fun!
Brooklyn’s team went up 3-0 pretty quickly. She scored the first goal and almost had a second goal not too long after that. The other team came back though and tied it up. Brooklyn’s team ended up winning 5-4. She played mostly center mid and center back. I was really proud of her effort and how hard she played today! Savannah had fun playing with some of the other little sisters during Brooklyn’s game.
After the soccer games, the girls had fun battling with light sabers and taking pictures of each other :)
Brooklyn is taking advanced math this year, and one thing that I’ve really appreciated about her teacher, Mrs. Hess, is that she sends home a weekly summary of what they’ve done in class with pictures and captions. It’s obvious that Mrs. Hess loves what she does by how much effort she puts into creating such fun and unique lesson plans. The kids don’t spend the whole block sitting in their desks…they are up moving around and doing activities throughout the room and working in groups. Seems so different from the way I learned math…in a good way!
I ate lunch with Abigail at school on September 18. She eats lunch at 10 am…so early…so it’s more like a brunch ;)
Travis had to go to Atlanta for a short work trip from September 18-19, but at least he got to catch a Braves game while he was there.
This season, the girls’ schedules aligned where we only had soccer practice on Mondays and Thursdays. It was nice to have our Tuesday nights free! On September 19, since Travis was still out of town, the girls and I ate an early dinner and went over to the greenway/creek.
September 20 was Picture Day at school, and Abigail wanted to wear her Easter dress :) She has probably already worn more dresses to school this year than both of her sisters combined since they were kindergarten…haha. On the way to school, we found a cat outside in the neighborhood, and then after school we took care of the Johnsons’ cat, Pixie. The girls can’t ever get enough cats in their lives!
Unfortunately, Abigail threw up 5 times in the middle of the night that night. Whew. There was not much sleep to be had for her or ME. Thankfully, she felt better and better as the day went on Thursday and was able to go back to school on Friday. We both had a lazy day Thursday and did puzzles, rested, took a nap, and cuddled on the couch ;) Surprisingly none of the rest of us got sick! I’m pretty sure it was a stomach bug because a third of Abigail’s class was out sick on Thursday too.
9/23/23 – This soccer Saturday was unusual because we didn’t have any 8 am games. We didn’t get started until 10 am with Brooklyn’s game on Palmer 7. This week, Paw and Rae Rae came to watch! Dad has been dealing with some health stuff lately, so we were especially glad he was able to come. Cici also came to some games today. Brooklyn’s team ran up against a tough team today. I think they lost 5-1 or something like that. I had to leave at halftime with Abigail to get her to her game. Brooklyn did her best and came close to scoring once in the first quarter that I saw. She was still disappointed after the game…I think this was their first loss of the season.
Abigail’s team played at 11 AM at Palmer 4. Her coach wasn’t able to be there today, so the other team’s coaches helped both teams 😊 Abigail scored one goal on a breakaway run from one end of the field to the other. She had fun and seems like she is getting to know her teammates more each week and enjoying playing with them.
Savannah’s game started at 12:30 pm at Palmer 9. Her team won 5-1, I believe. Savannah scored the first goal of the day. She said her favorite play though was at the very end of the game when she dribbled down the field, crossed it to Alexa, and Alexa scored a goal. It was a good team effort today!
The girls are blessed with a big fan club, and we are thankful for everyone who comes to watch them play!
We ate with our small group for lunch on September 24, and the girls enjoyed playing with the Ethridges’ dog, Lexie :)
We got last minute word that Savannah’s game scheduled for September 30 was actually going to be played during their practice time on Monday, September 25. The other team wasn’t going to have enough players to play it on Saturday due to fall break. Ironically, it was the same team they had just played 2 days earlier. Unfortunately, Travis left this morning on a work trip to Corpus Christi, and Brooklyn has practice on Mondays at Palmer, so we had to drop Savannah off at her game and take Brooklyn to her practice. Hated to miss it! (She was also late to the game because the girls’ dentist appointments after school took almost 2 hours…sigh!). She said they won 3-0. She said she almost scored several times, but it just never went in. She was very excited to tell me all about it after MJ dropped her off. So thankful for neighbors/friends who don’t mind helping us when Travis is out of town!
Another fundraiser incentive this month for kids who raised a certain amount of money was silly string recess. Abigail decided she would rather play at the playground than do silly string, which was her choice ;) Savannah and Brooklyn enjoyed their turns though. It cracked me up that the 3rd graders split up into boys and girls and ran at each other with their cans of silly string. There was lots of shrieking and squealing…haha.
September 26 was Johnny Appleseed Day, and Abigail came home wearing the cutest hat that she colored in class. Her class also learned about the apple life cycle, tasted different kinds of apples as well as a few things made with apples, and did some apple experiments over the course of the week.
Savannah also got a special apple treat at school. One of her classmates is the granddaughter of the Isoms, who own Isom’s Orchard in Athens. The Isoms brought apple slushies to school for all the kids in Savannah’s class, which was so thoughtful!
One fundraiser inventive that Abigail DID participate in was the popcorn party on September 27. The kids watched a Garfield episode and ate popcorn and lots of candy :)
Savannah’s soccer practice on September 28 was an interesting one. There was a cat on the other side of the fence, and the girls were so distracted watching the owners try to catch it…haha. They also did pushups for extra “Dojo points” from Coach Bob…they were trying to earn a coupon for a frozen treat at the end of the season ;)
September 29 was House Day! Abigail was super excited to learn that Mrs. Pride was her house mom!! One of the 5th graders picked her up from Mrs. Curry’s room and took her to Mrs. Pride’s room for their activities. She had a lot of fun. Brooklyn and Savannah had a good time too with their house families. I love this tradition at Mill Creek :)
On September 30, Abigail’s game was bright and early at 8 AM at Palmer 4. She played really hard and had fun. I think she scored 3 goals today. The coach of the other team was so impressed with Abigail’s footwork and big kicks that she gave her a high five after the game. I love her determination!
Brooklyn’s team played at 10:30 on Palmer 2. We had time to go home in between games for a few minutes. The opposing team didn’t have enough players, so we lent them a player each quarter. The game was lopsided for that reason, and it was pretty hot by that point in the morning. Brooklyn’s team ended up winning 3-0. Brooklyn didn’t score today…she mostly played center defense and a little center mid, but she made some nice passes and played hard. It was a good morning!
Notes and Quotes from September 2023:
- 9/7/23 – It was the first night of the NFL season, and Savannah asked who was playing. Travis told her it was the Kansas City Chiefs vs. the Detroit Lions. Savannah exclaimed, “Ooh, that’s Jamyr Gibbs’ team!” Travis said, “How did you know that, Pookie?” She said, “I remembered it from the NFL draft! (back in April)” This girl is a definite sports lover!
- 9/17/23 – We were facetiming Travis while the girls were eating dinner. (He was in ATL for a work conference). We had Sunday night football on TV. Brooklyn said, “Hey Daddy! Guess who’s playing! It’s the Dolphins versus the Patriarchs!! Haha! From now on, we will be calling them the New England Patriarchs 😉
Thanks for reading!!
