November Happenings

Community Parade
Our school participated in this parade for the first time. Our theme was "Out Of The Box Education" and it was a fun chance to spend some time with our school community.

Our adorable helpers on the way to put together the float. I spy Lorelei, do you? ;)

DI had its own banner following the float.
(Makin didn't join us because he had a golf tournament that afternoon.)

That white thing on the back of the pickup was the eagle mascot (who was turned around for the pic).
It was a huge hit with parade crowd.

Art/Bowling Afternoon
We had an art "field trip" where the kids made stained glass using glue and food dye. They really enjoyed it! Following up that afternoon we also had a 5th grade bowling event which was lots of fun with friends.

5th Grade Girls Bowling

The siblings and David (a dad) played on the other lane.

Outdoor Time
I always love our outdoor time. It's getting harder to fit it in but we try!

Lorelei's go-to is a bike ride.

Makin's go-to is usually catch, or really any game will work!

Museum With Friends
We headed for one last trip to the museum before our membership ends. The kiddos always love going with friends.

House Projects
I have an ambitious list I was hoping to get completed by the end of the year...while I've basically given up on getting it ALL done I just determined to get done with as much as I could...this meant a lot of hard work over Thanksgiving break since its so hard to fit this in when we have busy home school days!

We tackled L's bookshelf on a day separate from the rest of her room.
Don't worry, these are the keeps stacks. ;)

Reading Time
They were both totally thrilled to check out the third Harry Potter book for the break! One of my favorite things about them reading these is that they are very bonded with their love for these books!

Father/Daughter Date
As we looked forward to Frozen 2 coming out, Brad reminded me that he took Lorelei to the first one as a date six years ago. Makin said he really didn't care about seeing it, so this time it was a movie date again! (I will just have to wait until it comes out for movie night!)

Waco and Birthday Fun
I headed to Waco and Mary and I had a kid-free meet up for the first time! We enjoyed our usual cupcakes and chatting before heading to check out a few shops around town.

I was totally spoiled on my birthday this year. I had so many thoughtful cards and gifts from friends and family. I spent the day reading and then went out for a girl's night that evening for a holiday escape room and supper out! What a nice treat having a birthday on a Saturday!

Thanksgiving 2019

We started out our day with the usual Macey's Day parade...while I also attempted to melt the Jello that hardened much more quickly than I anticipated. Did you know you can re-heat Jello?

The Scotts (Minus Big Charlie, who is a nurse and took the holiday shift) joined us in the afternoon for our Thanksgiving meal. Brittany came prepared with some fun Thanksgiving Trivia for the kiddos. We grown-ups had some Friends Thanksgiving trivia.

This year I made three pies: Pumpkin, Pumpkin Cheesecake and Paleo Apple (which Brad was very thankful for!).
We ordered a fourth because Makin informed me a little late that it was very important to have an apple pie that was not Paleo. ;)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Fall Extracurriculars

Trying to find the right balance for these activities can be a big struggle at these ages. Right now the kids are technically managing three activities each, but trying to keep it more low-key and spread out with not having horseback as often as well as not much overlap of soccer and golf. It also helps that DI is the same time and location for both kiddos. They want to do everything and we say no to a lot, BUT here is what they have been up to with extracurriculars this fall!

Soccer
This season went by quickly! Makin enjoyed the time with his friends on the team.

Destination Imagination
The program is going strong at the school again this year. Brad and I have a bit more experience under our belts when it comes to running the program, but still find more ways we can improve (such is life right!?). Brad is challenged as a coach this year taking on the younger set of kiddos as he is coaching the team with Makin on it made up of 3rd graders and one 4th grader with quite a variety of personalities. I'm coaching (although I would have preferred to assist for many reasons) Lorelei's team. This is 5th grade with one 3rd grader. I'm out of my comfort zone with this, but thankfully have some great kiddos I'm working with! The regional competition is set for February 29th.

Polynesian Movement
Lorelei has a different class dynamic this year but still overall likes the class. It is a lot of older girls who act pretty "rowdy" (mom would say typical silly middle school girls!?). She had her first performance mid-October and will have several others throughout the year.

Golf
Originally Makin had decided to focus on golf as his sport for this season because his coach and teammates weren't forming a team for soccer, but then they changed their minds and he really likes playing on a team, so Sept/Oct became focused on soccer (with only time for one golf tournament Columbus Day) and then he played in several tournaments in November. We love how much he enjoys this sport and the tournaments really help him understand what it is like to golf competitively.

Horseback
We intended to start this back up in October but kept putting it off because life is busy! We got started back up again for November and plan to go every other week and we are not sure how long we will keep it up before taking a break again. :) Lorelei would hope never!