Homecoming

Avery was asked to homecoming by Abby, a super sweet girl on his cross country team.  Because the whole girl thing makes Avery nervous, he initially wanted to decline.  However, after discussing the pros and cons, he decided it might actually be fun to go with a 'girl.  He wasn't disappointed.  Avery's homecoming group began their evening at Megan's house, where parents took pictures, and the kids ate dinner and played games.  After the pre-party, which helped everyone get comfortable and work the nerves out, some parents drove the group to the dance.  Avery said his homecoming group danced together most of the night.  He also danced with Abby for some slow songs and survived without stepping on her toes.

Amelia went with her entire freshman class to homecoming.  In fact, Luke's parents were brave enough to host the class for food and pictures for the pre-pary party.  After being shuttled to the dance, she spent the evening dancing with a group of girls which were occasionally joined by some boys.  She enjoyed  getting glammed up for the dance and professed repeatedly to having a 'really good time'.  

Note:  I went with Avery to his pre-party and Shane went with Amelia to her pre-party.

 

Homecoming Week

Monday (missing): PJ Day

Tuesday:  decades day  

Wednesday:  favorite team day

Thursday:  rock vs. country day

Friday:  colors day

They also had a lip sync contest at the end of the day.  The freshman came in 4th, and the sophomores came in 2nd.  The freshman came in 4th because they stepped out of bounds  multiple times (whatever that means)and were docked points.  Otherwise, the word on the street was they were pretty good. 

Note:  Because Avery's first class of the day is weight lifting, and he was dressed up in workout clothes every morning, I wasn't able to catch him decked-out everyday.

 

Pumpkin Patch in September

We decided to headed to Vala's Pumpkin Patch the end of September and avoid the October rush.  Other than being a tad warm and a bit on the early side for pumpkin patches, it turned out to be an excellent idea.  It was extremely pleasant exploring Vala's without large crowds, long lines, and muddy trails.  We will be sure to hit Vala's early again next year.  

 

First Day of School

In a blink of an eye, summer was over and the first day of school beckoned our attendance.

Avery (15) sophomore, has no idea what he wants to be - may want to be a doctor but feels this is generic.  

Amelia (14) freshman, may want to be an occupational therapist - but has not idea what the job really entails.

Audrey (11) 6th grader, wants to be a small animal vet - this may come to fruition.

Aggie (4), preschool, wants to do/be whatever her siblings are doing/being.   

Back to School Feast

For our Back to School Feast, we headed to Kobe steak house for an evening of entertainment on the grill.  This was Aggie's first time watching a hibachi chef do his thing.  She wasn't overly partial to the dramatic flames, but enjoyed watching each family member attempt to catch sautéed shrimp mid-air with just their teeth.  The older kiddos forgot how much fun a hibachi grill can be, that portions are rather generous, and the end result along with the sauces is super yummy.  They were most pleased to have left-overs for the next day.  

Before opening our family theme for the school year, everyone participated in a guessing game similar to Johnny Carson's Carnac the Magnificent.  We all had a good chuckle hearing everyone's guesses, and some were more spot on than others.  Our theme for this year's feast came for Chuck Swindoll.

"Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it."

Man, the entire family needs work in this area.  Hopefully, with upcoming challenges in high school, work, and at home we all embrace this quote and strive for a calmer less stressful  approach to what life throws our way.