Fall Fun

Considering it's now 2014, maybe I should catch up on last FALL.  Holy night.  I used to think that just our summers filled up and the holidays flew because we always travel, but bottom-line, we're busy.  This homebody is adjusting.  Truth be told, I love my couch.  And my pajamas.  And days when I don't have to leave either one.  So much of my life is scheduled that I really like the days that aren't.  But on the flip side, we are SO blessed with friends, family, and experiences that are becoming the girls' childhood memories.

In September, we had the 6th Annual Memorial Softball Tournament for my brother.  It was the first year that we didn't have beautiful weather.  It was rainy, cold, wet, miserable, messy, and amazing.  I keep hearing that God doesn't allow anything bad to happen without something good coming out of it.  This is definitely something good.  Every year we are able to give numerous FFA scholarships to my old high school and I can't even explain the bittersweet support we continue to receive almost six years later.  Even when it was pouring and wet and miserable, not one of the ten teams backed out.  Everyone wanted to play.  And it's not like there's a cash prize at the end or a big-time title.  Everyone there PAID to play softball and support the scholarship fund.  It's a whole other level of dedication when you can't find the bases because they're buried in mud (yours truly) or "grounders" never make it past the pitcher.  I can't even explain what it means to our family.
 

This was the sky by the end of the afternoon. SO symbolic: after the storm, blue skies. 

Love the scary Uni--I mean, Photo--Bomber in the back!

The next weekend we camped with Grandma and Pop and guess what?  It rained.  Luckily we stayed in their camper and it cleared off by Saturday afternoon.  We stayed at a great site on a nearby lake and hopefully Grandma and Pop make a few more visits--Grandma retires soon!  We had a lot of fun--the girls fed the ducks and catfish, Grandma brought a cool skeleton craft, and Mama got in lots of reading by the fire.  Heaven!

Sassy made her debut at our town's annual craft festival parade.  She joined Girl Scouts this year and got to march with her troop.  She LOVES it and is now selling beloved Girl Scout cookies (insert shameless plug here) if you would like to order some!

Because we only had one free weekend night in October we decided to fill it up by taking the girls to see Shepherd of the Hills.  It's a local famous play based on a book that was written here in the Ozarks and performed in a beautiful outdoor amphitheater.  We probably would have waited a few years, but due to finances and health reasons, the owners were shutting down and it was the last weekend for production.  Did I mention that it was outdoor?  Yep, it rained.  The. Whole. Time.  A constant, heavy, not-gonna-let-up rain.  We did pretty well staying as dry as we could, but it was obviously less than ideal.  The girls took a little bit of time understanding the storyline, but then they were really into it and LOVED it.  And I loved hearing their giggles and gasps. It made the rain a little more tolerable!

We also went to our friends' annual pumpkin carving party which became a pumpkin painting party.  :)  Fine by us!  Usually we start carving, the girls are interested for about five minutes, then we're left doing all the work alone.  I kept meaning to get around to carving one here at home but I finally cleared said uncarved pumpkins from the front porch just in time to put up Christmas decorations.  (In my defense, I swear we just went trick or treating last week!)

Daddy and I got to join my siblings at a Kansas State football game at the end of October--and no rain!  In fact, it was gorgeous!  You never know with Kansas weather, but it was perfect for tailgating!  Add in some horribly fattening food and laughs with the sisters and it was a good weekend.

Halloween coincided with the 50th day of school so Sassy got to dress for 50s Day.  That night she was a rock star and after two casualties with Minnie and Merida dresses, Keke was a cupcake this year (thank you, Cousin B!) My favorite part of Halloween this year was going out to eat afterwards at a local Mexican restaurant.  Sitting there in this little restaurant with people who can order their own food and ask for refills made me realize how much I enjoy the PEOPLE my girls are becoming.  We can sit and enjoy a meal and actually talk and laugh with relatively little stress.  Of course, it probably would have been a good idea to remove Cousin B's costume before giving the Honey Badger cheese dip. . .

In November, we had a few visitors.  Aunt B, Uncle S, and Cousin S came and we did a local corn maze.  Going AFTER Halloween was brilliant.  It was dead!  The girls loved reading the clues and figuring out where to go and the weather was beautiful.  We had a really great day.  It's so nice to know they're just a few hours away now.

The next weekend, the W family stopped on their way to Branson.  We tried to do Lambert's. . .   uhhh 1+ hour wait at 3 pm = fail!  But of course, Bass Pro is always a hit.  :)  We had another beautiful weekend so the kids were able to run around outside and they had a blast together.

Finally, Sassy had her First Reconciliation right before Thanksgiving.  After worrying and stressing (again, hello Mini Me!) she did great and had the biggest smile on her face!  Thank you, God, for loving and forgiving us!  Each student had a little sheep pillow to represent God calling His lost sheep.  Afterwards at the reception, Father told R that Sassy was a smart young lady.  :)  I can't believe how big she's getting.  First Communion is right around the corner!

Seriously, I don't think we've had a free weekend since maybe last spring?  But it's all good.  Someday in the not-so-distant future, they won't be trick or treating on Halloween, they'll be the ones tailgating (gulp!) and they'll be catching pop flies at the tournament (hopefully more successfully than this generation. . . )  I keep telling myself I'll have plenty of couch time before I know it.  I wonder if Ry can put one on his sailboat?