Halloween and Thanksgiving

Much to my sadness, they did not have a matching Halloween costume theme this year. Grace wanted to be Rey from the new Star Wars and the boys did not want to be Star Wars characters. Conversely, they wanted to be Ghostbusters and Grace didn't. So, they didn't match. I was a little sad but they liked their costumes so I didn't complain. It was super warm this Halloween - no need for coats or long underwear. They went trick or treating with the neighborhood kids and were gone for a long time! After that we drove up to the Hoefs grandparents house like we always do. Halloween was on a Monday, so we had to get home and get to bed (Tuesday was tough!)

Maddie and our newest niece, Evee.

Our Thanksgiving was nice. We did Thursday at the Niebuhrs and Friday at the Hoefs. We were able to spend quality time with family and the kids had a blast playing with their cousins. We had lots of good food and watched football on Friday. Saturday and Sunday of the break we spent doing Christmas decorations and shopping. Not much relaxing over this break! Hoping for more relaxing over the Christmas break!

5th grade - first day of school!

People - can you believe that the kids are in 5th grade. 5TH GRADE! I cannot handle it - they are growing way too fast! They are so independent this year. We hardly ever help them with homework. They've done all their own projects, we occasionally take them to the library or help them find some materials, but they never ask for help. They're in all diff classes and doing great. They've had huge growth spurts this summer and fall. Xander's feet are gigantic (size 9 men's) and he eats more than I do. They are all wearing size XL clothes and are almost ready for adult size clothes (hello expensive!) 

A big change in our house this year is I'm teaching full-time for the first time since before they were born. I'm in the same building as I was last year (behavior skills program) but I am gone later in the afternoon than they are (we are a late start school, their school is early) plus I have a lot of afternoon meetings. We got don't have a babysitter anymore and now they are home alone every afternoon. When the weather is nice, they ride their bike to piano. Grandma Pam comes and takes them if the weather is raining or cold. Wednesday and Thursday they are at school until 4 for chorus and orchestra, but still come home to an empty house. They have been pretty responsible at home alone, doing homework, practicing piano and strings and whatever else they need to do. I get the occasional phone call about fighting amongst themselves, but for the most part they do pretty well. 

Another big addition to our schedule is that the boys are in the Lincoln Boys Choir. It's been a pretty big commitment, rehearsing for an hour and a 15 mins every week and having many concerts (4 in December alone) but they are enjoying it and have learned a ton. It is pretty expensive: tuition, tickets, tuxedos and fundraisers. I don't know if we'll stick with it forever, but it is fun for now. Between sports, music, boy scouts (Grace quit girl scouts), karate, dance and church, we are for sure keeping busy!

Summer camps

For the first time, we sent the kids to a sleep away camp and it was glorious - for both mom and dad and the kids! They spent a week at Carol Joy Holling in Ashland, which is a Lutheran Outdoor Ministry camp. They had a blast. They got to sleep in tents, they did daily bible studies and service projects, but did tons of fun outdoor things like hike, high ropes and zipline, and swimming. They really did have fun and we loved hearing their stories. They immediately wanted to go back, so I think we will definitely send them back next year! These pictures were taken by the counselors and I downloaded them off their website. The boys got buzz cuts before camp so they wouldn't have to worry about brushing their hair every morning - it was so wierd to see them with short hair! Grace came home with a tick behind her ear that we didn't find. It eventually disloged and she popped it when she felt it behind her ear. Then she got inflamed lymph nodes from the bite. The doctor said she shouldn't have anything like Lyme disease and she never really did get sick, but we sure will check closer next year for ticks!

The kids also went to Sail Camp for another year. They really do enjoy playing their string instruments, and have gotten pretty good at them. This year, they are taking private lessons and have made great progress this fall. Here are a couple pictures from the Sail Camp final concert in August (right before school started!)

Spring and Summer Sports

We kept busy with spring soccer and (what was supposed to be summer) softball. They did recreational soccer in the spring for the last time (we went to competitive in the fall). Grace signed up for competitive softball, and little did we know that it would start in April and completely overlap with soccer. It was a busy month of late April to early May, but we made it and Grace enjoyed both sports. 

The boys' also did soccer in the spring. Their team was pretty good and went to a soccer tournament in Beatrice in June. It was a gazillion degrees that day and they played 4 games but they came home winners of the tournament and got a cool medal. They had a lot of fun and handled the heat like troopers - lots of gatorade and water! One of the boys from the team ended up in the hospital for heat exhaustion, so it was no joke that day!

10th half birthday party

We celebrated the kids' half birthday in July like we normally do. We had an emoji birthday party, and all of our family came. We ate breakfast for dinner, and cake and cupcakes, because who doesn't need cake after eating pancakes!