Red Ribbon Week

SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions) helped Mt. Zion Schools celebrate Red Ribbon Week Oct. 26- Oct. 30th. There were different themed days for the students and staff to dress up. I can't even remember what Monday was. Tuesday was your future self, Thursday was future college or career, and Friday we got to wear Halloween Costumes. Leah dressed like a nerd. She nailed it with the hair and I loved that her dress had elements from the periodic table on it. I dressed as a Spartan Cheerleader from SNL. I was super pumped that Mr. Weirman was the Craig to my Ariana. We even had some fun doing cheers in the west pod. Our science teachers nailed it as elements. Mrs. Downs was Silver, Mrs. Dotson was gold and Mr. Brunner was lead...lead Ed! I wish I had snagged a picture of our social studies dept. Mr. Kendall was a bottle of Siracha, Mr. Bradley was a monk and Mr. Ellis was Jake from State Farm. I'm so glad that our students got to have a little fun on this Friday. Because earlier today, it was announced that Mt. Zion schools are moving to remote learning for the remainder of quarter 2. My girls are sad, I'm sad. They were really thriving being back in the classroom. We'll make the most of it. And I'm grateful that they had 10 weeks to get to know their teachers and understand the expectations. Wish us luck for the next 6-7 weeks!

 

Carving Pumpkins

 While 2020 has been a bust for the most part, we didn't let it stop us from doing the things that we've loved doing every fall. Mitch has always carved pumpkins with the girls. They're getting to an age where they don't necessarily need a lot of help anymore. 

The girls perused the world wide web to find some templates that they would want to use. I pushed hard for someone to carve a Tinkerbell with pixie dust but I was vetoed very quickly, by all three girls. Leah chose a headstone and she carved out "RIP Leah". Kiersten went with a howling wolf and Hattie chose Jack Skellington, the beloved lead character from A Nightmare before Christmas. They did a great job, and made the perfect decorations for our socially distanced trick-or-treating!

 

Swim Covid Style

 Another great meet for the YDSC Gators! It might not look like what we’re used to, but these kids are doing great work in the pool!!! I absolutely loved seeing all the time drops from this team, especially my Schultz girls. Leah had a big drop in her 100 back, she lacks confidence so much of the time. She needs to just take a deep breathe and reliable she’s got this. It was the moral boost she needed. Kiersten has been struggling with her fly but still shaved off almost 2 seconds, she’s so incredibly competitive. She was training for most of her 100 IM and caught the girl next to her taking second by .04!!! And Hattie successfully completed her breaststroke. It was such a relief that she didn’t get disqualified. A good time was had by all!!! 

And because weekends are overrated I also spent most of Saturday on a pool deck in Champaign!!! Eva Griffith crushed it as the only competitor for Mt. Zion at IHSA sectionals. She had a solid drop in her 100 breaststroke. Proud of all these kids!!! 

Literary Pumpkins

 Intermediate school does a contest every fall with pumpkins. It’s the cutest! The kids have to pick a character from a book and transform a plastic pumpkin. I adored the Skippy John Jones that Leah did a few years back. Kiersten went back and forth with a few ideas this year. But ultimately she decided to go with a golden snitch from Harry Potter. She did a great job and we love the finished project!

Boo at the Zoo, 2020

 Boo at the Zoo is one of our favorite traditions. And in the past few years it’s been a swim team event. But 2020 strikes again. Due to covid restrictions they have to limit the number of visitors and you had to pre-purchase your tickets. I was a bit nervous, because you can never really depend on October weather but we ended up having a perfect night to be outdoors. Our neighbors the Larson’s arranged to get tickets the same night we went so it worked out well to have some friends along for the fun. Grateful for this little bit of normalcy.

Indian Knolls

 No school on Monday seemed like the perfect excuse to hit up the pumpkin patch. So even while Mitch had to work the girls and I took advantage of the day. It’s a quick ride over to Indian Knolls. We found it two years ago and the girls loved that they have pumpkin painting. Hattie made a black cat, Kiersten did Hamilton logo and Leah made a devil. They played on the playground for a bit but then the weather started to turn. We grabbed some apple cider slushees and headed home. Still a good day!!!

Radish Kit

 Oh my! The girls were certainly excited to tackle this. For the past few months Hattie has told me all about neighbor Bella’s radish kit. It’s a monthly subscription that comes with recipes and kitchen tools and an apron to introduce your kids to working in the kitchen. Leah and Kiersten are already pretty comfortable in the kitchen so I signed up, mostly for Hattie. Her sweet little heart wouldn’t have it, though. She decided since there were three recipes they should divide them up. Since it’s October it had a bit of a Halloween theme. Creepy corn dip for the appetizer. Mummy Enchiladas for the main course followed by Tres Leches Cake for dessert. Hattie tackled the appetizer, Kiersten handled the mummies and Leah’s tres leches was fantastic! Highly recommend if your kids like to cook.