A League of Their Own

A League of Their Own indeed!!! I never cared for Halloween much. I didn't enjoy dressing up as a kid. In fact, by the time I was 10 years old, I opted to stay home and handout candy instead of going out for treats of my own. Maybe it was just my introvert personality. Halloween as the mom is so different. I love helping my girls get into their costumes, transforming into characters so different from who they may really be. Every year we've had a theme and last year and this year are by far my favorites. Two classic Gary Marshall movies from my own youth, that are now  favorites of theirs, too. Hocus Pocus and A League of Their Own are on repeat in this house. It's so fantastic to listen to the girls quote these films.

Every year we do Boo at the Zoo. I know Leah will soon outgrow these traditions so I'm enjoying it while I still can. The past two years we've joined the Swim Team for Boo at the Zoo. It's a chance for the kids to socialize and have some fun outside of the pool deck. There was a family walking behind us this year. The girls were singing a song from Beetlejuice, quoting A Leage of Their Own, and I heard the mom say "I feel like those parents are doing it right!" And I had to laugh. I turned around and said "You should've seen them last year!" She asked what they were. So I pulled out my phone and showed her our Hocus Pocus, Sanderson sisters picture. She just looked at me, smiled, and said we should do that every year. At least I know I get Halloween right EVERY.SINGLE.YEAR! I'm gonna miss this.

Indian Knoll Pumpkins

The past few years we've loved exploring our trust Radar Farms Pumpkin Patch up in Bloomington-Normal. We almost always go after a swim meet. But this year the weather didn't cooperate. With October slowly winding down we needed to get to a Patch FAST! On Friday night we had family pictures in Springfield. As I was looking at the GPS I saw a nearby "patch" in Mechanicsburg. I knew it would be a quick drive so on Saturday morning after swim practive we jumped in the car and went in search of our pumpkins.

The girls enjoyed checking out a new place. They had a play area that did not disappoint. Leah played Tether ball with Mitch while Kiersten was climbing hay bales left and right...and Hattie loved the swing. They each painted their own pumpkins. Leah made Mike Wizowski from Monsters Inc. Kiersten made Harry Potter, and Hattie painted a black cat and some ghost on hers. We went out the field and picked three perfect pumpkins and even enjoyed some tasty baked goods. Before leaving the girls were learning to play Checkers on a giant homemade board with mini-pumpkins. We love being able to find adventures in our own backyard. Glad we tried something new this year.

STEM Sister

Well it finally happened. Mitch got to use power tools with one of his girls. Last week Kiersten came home with an assignment. They needed to create something using simple machines that would be useful in the home. She floated a few ideas around and then we decided to turn to Pinterest. We looked at lots of ideas. I thought we were set on an Archimedes screw...you'll have to google it, and then she jumped tracks and was determined to make a nutcracker. She and Dad looked at the webpage and went to Rural King. They got home and an hour later we had a functional, actual nutcracker. She was hands on. Drilling holes, tightening nuts and bolts. It was absolutely her project. This kid definitely has a thurst for knowledge.

With a Splash!

We kicked off our 2018-2019 swim season this weekend at the Rachel Dean Memorial Meet in Bloomington. First meet, first event and Leah's relay qualified for YMCA Illinois State meet. She's got some work to do to make sure that she stays on the relay. She came out and swam great in several of her events. She dropped 10.5 seconds in her 100 breast, and I'm really wishing we would have had her swim fly.

Kiersten continues to improve. She's kicking off her second year and took 4th place in the 50 breast, an event she's never swam before and 6th in the 100 free...it was the first time she swam either event. Looking forward to lots more fun at the pool this year!

Play Ball

Mitch is in China. What was supposed to be a simple one week trip turned into a two week trip (just like I knew it would) and we were sad!!! So I decided the girls needed a distraction. We needed to get out of town so that's just what we did. The Cardinals were playing and Busch Stadium is my happy place, so we grabbed Ellen and headed South for the day. The temp was just right, high 70's but the sun made it feel like so much more. But that's okay...Dippin Dots to the rescue. We saw one of our faves, Matt Carpenter, hit a home run and Leah was seriously impressed by Harrison Bader. The Cardinals ended up winning 9-2. It was the perfect little getaway!

Hike for the Hive, 2018

Bittersweet...that's the only word that comes to mind. This past Friday we particpated in our FINAL Hike for the Hive. The end of the first quarter is coming up quickly and if I blink she's going to be moving on to the next school. We adore McGaughey, and this little lady is growing up too fast!

Our annual fundrasier brought in over 17 thousand dollars for the school this year. Hattie set a big goal for herself. She wanted the Foam Finger...which means she had to raise $200. She easily surpassed that goals thanks for our wonderful family and friends. She told me she was going to win a trophy. I said "Probably not"...so imagine my surprise when they called her name to come out on the field as one of the highest fundrasiers!!! She didn't get a trophy but she did get a movie theater gift card. I love that she loves supporting others. Look out Grade School, shes coming for your dance-a-thon next year!

Grandparent's Day, 2018

How fortunate are the girls to have grandparents close by to make these days extra special. Gigi and Papa were both able to make it to all three schools to spend some time with the girls. On Tuesday they visited Leah's class. Mrs. Jozwiak had a 9/11 activity for them to do together. Leah and Papa have a shared love of American History.

Today, they got to visit both Kiersten and Hatties classrooms. Kiersten had a sheet filled out about what she likes and knows about Gigi and Papa. She loves going to the movies with Gigi and eating custard with Papa. She would get Gigi and box of jewelry for a gift and she would give Papa a new electric guitar. She loves making cookies/cake with Gigi and she loves the way Papa entertains with his guitar. I hope these are the things she will always remember about her grandparents. Tonight they visited Hatties class. They got to see her room, and spent some time on the playground but I think the highlight of the night was getting a Strawberry Sundae from the Mr. Softee truck. Sometimes its the little things in life.

Mitch's Birthday Surprise

Well I did it! This weekend I pulled off a surprise for Mitch's birthday! Back in May/June when we were getting ready for my birthday he made a point of telling me that he didn't want a party for his birthday. But I couldn't let it pass without any fanfare. Afterall, 40 is a big deal! So back in July I started talking to our friends. I managed to purchase 10 tickets to the Cardinals game and made plans for every one to meet us in St. Lou. I told Mitch we were going to a game with Don and Holly...easy enough.

On our way to the hotel, Mitch saw a message on my phone from Bailey's Range. He asked if I made a reservation. Thankfully, one of the last times we were there we had to wait, so I told him better safe than sorry. When we arrived he was totally oblivious to the fact that the waitress set out ten menus. We sat and pondered and sure enough friends started to arrive. Mitch just looked at them and said "Hey are you guys going to the game today too!" He didn't get it...so I told him "Surprise! We are going to the game together for your birthday!" The look on his face was priceless. Jill and Jason weren't able to meet us at the restaurant, but we were happy to catch up with them at the game. We had great fun...the game was tertrible but the company more than made up for that. No man is a failure when he has friends...and man, do we have some good ones! Happy 40th, Mitch...and technically it wasn't a party. Just friends enjoying a game.