Halloween '23

 Ok, I was super lame for Halloween. Ryan was flying in from a business trip at the same time as our Ward Trunk-or-Treat, and I just never really thought about it. 

Katelyn was the only one who seemed to care. I ordered her Luna Lovegood (from Harry Potter) costume on Amazon a month ago.

The boys just dug through the costume box the night before.

While Ryan has been gone, a friend of mine in the neighborhood has been bringing Katelyn home from soccer on Thursdays. Somehow, she mentioned that she wanted to make radish earrings to match her costume, so my friend Sarah invited Katelyn over last Friday to make these beauties out of polymer clay. I love Mom-Friends! 

I did sub at the kids' elementary school on Friday, so that I could be there for the Book Character Parade. Here is Ethan in Ryan's old Kermit costume.

And Katelyn, as one of the MANY Harry Potter characters. She was THE ONLY Luna Lovegood though, so I count that as a win! 

The day after the Ward Party, we went to a friends' party, but apparently I didn't take any pictures. Ryan wore his red suit and Afro wig, and it was awesome. We were running late, and we had to leave early, so that's my excuse for the lack of photo documentation.  The only picture I took that night was Katelyn with her friend Knox.

Happy Boring Halloween from us! 

10 years for E!

 Happy 10th birthday, Ethan! 

Ethan's birthday was Monday. For his activity this year, he chose to go to Six Flags with his friend Logan. Ryan took him on one of the few Saturdays this month we were available, which happened to be back on October 7th. They rode a bunch of rides (Pandemonium, Sky Screamer, and Roadrunner) and played Minecraft & Fortnight in the new video game area. 

It got super crowded in the evening (with people arriving for Fright Fest), so then they headed to Red Robin for dinner - cheeseburgers, unlimited fries, and a stack of donuts with dipping sauces. 

On his actual birthday, he had french toast sticks for breakfast. I was subbing in his grade-level, so we got to eat lunch together out in the courtyard. I also got to do his recess duty, and he brought chocolate cakes to his classmates. 

For dinner, Ryan came home early to grill cheeseburgers. He also wanted baked beans and Spicy Doritos. 

We are totally out of ideas for these kids for gifts (not good as we head into Christmas season), so he got a new Lego set. Ryan spent a good long time putting together one of the cars included, even though he was flying out the next morning for Japan and still had to pack and put together slides for a presentation. What a Dad! Turned into an all-nighter for him even. ;-(

For his cake, we tried a new store-made one - Boston Cream. It was not very good, but he still ate the fudge off the top. ;-)

* * *

Soccer

Ethan is still playing goalie and defense in soccer. Another player's mom was a goalie in high school, so she has been working with Ethan during some practices. It's amazing the difference a little training has made! He even dove to try to save a goal this past weekend. He's still got a power kick in the back, and he is still loving his team. 

Math

They started long division this past week at school, but Ethan begged to learn long division back in 2nd grade after he learned his multiplication tables. Anyway, this week he begged his teacher to let him to the class! He is still such a whiz with numbers.

YouTube

Ethan is quite the tablet-addict. He used to come home and immediately put on noise-canceling headphones, but I've outlawed those. Now he has to stay on the main floor, and the noise must come out into the air. Ryan wants me to limit their hours, but on the best nights they get a max of 2 hours, and I'm usually so tired after school that I just want to relax and veg out too. We'll see. 

Robotics

Ethan starts after-school robotics this week. He's looking forward to this school club. He did a n online programming class a few years back, so I'm hoping we can get him more into computer things, like Collin. 

Happy 10th, E!

Ring of Fire Eclipse '23

San Antonio is in the path of totality for two eclipses this school year. This one was called an annular eclipse, and is nicknamed "Ring of Fire." 

We had lots of plans and ideas, and everything kept falling apart, so we finally found ourselves as a nearby park. It ended up being relaxing and perfect. 

The kids played, and we took breaks to watch the sun - with safety glasses, of course. Brennan went for a run on the trail, and we kicked around the soccer ball. We even flew the drone for a bit afterwards. The weather was perfect, and it was a great fall day together. 

I think the ring shadows may have been my favorite part. So fun! 

The next eclipse is a total eclipse, and it will be on a Monday in April. I am hoping to get us camping reservations, since school is canceled that day. We'll see though. 

Happy 8th, Katelyn!

Katelyn's birthday was actually while we were in Europe. I prepped a bunch of stuff before I left, and Nana really pulled off a feat making her feel loved and appreciated. Happy 8th, Katelyn! 

Date w/ Nana

On the Saturday before her big Monday-birthday, Nana took Katelyn to Build-a-bear, Cheesecake Factory, and Claire's. 

BirthDAY

I had asked Brennan hang the birthday banner on Sunday evening and put this bag at her breakfast spot. Inside the bag was pink icing and sprinkles for her birthday Eggo waffle. There was also another gift bag with her school treat and napkins for her class. There was a t-shirt and headband to wear for school that day too.

We called - from Barcelona between our Parc Guell and La Sagrada Familia tours - to wish her a happy birthday right as she was waking up in the morning. 

I included animal crackers for an afterschool snack with more of the strawberry icing.  I also threw in gummy bears, since they are her favorite. 

For dinner, Ryan had pre-grilled carne asada and froze it, so Nana reheated it in the souz vide for tacos. I had also bought an Oreo cream pie, so they sang and ate that for dessert.

Baptism Weekend

The day after Ryan & I finally got back from Europe, Papa and Gpa & Gma arrived for the weekend. I was in no condition to host, but they were patient with me and it all worked out. 

The highlights were a lot of pizza (purchase by my husband who knew I had no energy or brain power for a grocery trip or cooking), some card playing, and a couple trips to the neighborhood pool. 

Her baptism was Saturday morning. Luckily, I had done most of the planning before we left (printing the programs, taking photos, picture frames), and the rest Gma & Nana helped with (Crumbl cookie order, last-minute grocery trip). A lot of church friends from both wards came to support her, and even her student teacher from last year and a friend from school too. Gpa & Papa gave the talks, Brennan & Ethan gave the prayers, and Gma & I were the the witnesses. Nana was the chorister, and Collin played interlude piano music while she changed. Ryan, of course, performed the baptism and confirmation.  

Afterwards, we went to lunch at Texas Roadhouse, as she requested, followed by a trip to the pool.

Since it was Labor Day weekend, everyone stayed for Monday as well. I booked us tickets to the limestone cave here 10 minutes away - Cascade Cavern. It was ok (with having been in Slovenia the week before, not much could have matched that). Brennan had an anxiety itching attack less than half-way into it, Collin started running a fever about 10 minutes after that, and Grandpa had an asthma attack on the 100 steps out after the tour. Yeah, it didn't go too smoothly. 

Afterwards, we stopped for ice cream and Mexican treats at Snow Heaven. 

On Tuesday, Nana & Papa and Gpa & Gma all flew home. Ryan returned to work, and all the kids returned to school. Sigh. I hope I can get a routine going here soon for myself too! 

* * *

Ok, a little about my baby on her 8th birthday. 

Booster Seat

First off, we was so ready to ditch her booster seat in the car. She's been the only one needing a car seat for a couple years now, so she kicked that thing to the garage floor as soon as she was allowed. I will say that it is so weird to not have any car seats anymore. With such a large car, I hardly feel justified in being a mom without also needing child restraints in it. So weird. 

Soccer

Katelyn is now playing Academy soccer. They practice for 90 minutes twice per week and play 10 months of the year. She started the beginning of August, and she'll only have December and July off. She has games all over San Antonio and Austin, sometimes with more than one game per Saturday. It's a lot for her (we've have yet to have a single day under 100 degrees since she started), and it's a lot for me (the practice soccer fields are 30-traffic-filled minutes away, and the game fields are 60-90 minutes each way depending on the week). As the baby, the older kids also have places and activities to get to, so it has been a burden already, to say the least. I pray she works hard, learns a lot, and loves the game.

Third Grade

She's in 3rd grade this year, which is the first year that state testing begins. She is working hard with review packets for each unit, homework each night, and Challenge Lab extension projects. Her reading-aloud is still very stilted and rough, but her comprehension is nearly perfect, so we are letting her read to herself for her daily minutes in order to avoid the constant battle. 

Friends

This girl has more friends than all her brothers combined! Everyone loves her - the old, the young, her peers. There must have been 50 people at her baptism! She very politely spoke - of her own choosing - with each person and thanked them for coming. She smiled and took pictures and politely accepted gifts. It was just about the best thing to watch! I'm not wizard of friendship, so I am taking lessons from her now. Go Katelyn! 

Happy Birthday & Baptism, my little princess!