Football is in full swing. We spent the first weekend of September in Starkville, and Mark went back the following Thursday for the AU game. Mark, Turner, and I all attended the first half of the Clemson game and Turner got the special treat of sitting with Tootsie during the game. Apparently she entertained the entire section with her enthusiastic cheering and unusual knowledge of the game. (Mom had to explain to one passerby that we do watch a lot of sports at our house...) The pictures below are from the Clemson game, I have no pictures of the following week when Mark and I attended the South Carolina game without Turner - thanks Melissa for having Turner over for a slumber party! Auburn is quite the place to live during football season and we are fortunate to be able to see Tootsie and Pop regularly during this time of year!
Football also has a funny way of making anything-and-everything-non-football-related revolve around "off game" weekends. So as expected, on the off game Saturday after the MSU game, we hosted a super fun baby shower for our friends the Dunns. They just adopted sweet Cooper, and this evening was a lively and awesome evening for friends and family to express our excitement for this new addition to their family.
Then mid-September hit, and things at work got a little crazy. Well, a lot crazy. Who am I kidding - I work with middle schoolers - it's always crazy! :) But at this time of year, we always take a team field trip to Camp ASCCA for the purpose of team-building and creating meaningful relationships with new friends. (We have the unique opportunity to see 6 elementary schools merge into one 6th grade class - almost everyone is a "new student" of sorts when you are no longer with your core group from elementary school.) This is an all day field trip filled with canoeing, low ropes course, team building games, a giant water slide, and a zip line. It's hard to tell who has more fun - teachers, parents, or students?
Check out the pointed toes! Good thing I don't have pictures of the next round down the slide - head first. When I basically skidded to a stop about halfway down.
This is Russ - who has been one of my Panther teammates for 9 years now. Russ and I are a lot alike and we both enjoy the opportunities when we get to "play" while we work.
The beautiful view from the water slide.
Taking a short rest after hoisting myself up the tower to go down the zip line...it's sort of an annual test for me. If I am too out of shape, or too old to get myself up to the top then I need to rethink what I am doing!
This is me mid-air just before I flipped upside down (I couldn't let Russ show me up)! I am so disappointed that they didn't get a picture of that, though I imagine they were in utter shock that I could even do such!
And as if a trip to Camp ASCCA weren't enough for one week, three days later we had the first pep rally of the year. I don't have enough space here to describe the insanity of pep rallies at our school, but if I get brave I'll upload a video one day. The Camp ASCCA trip was Monday and the pep rally was Thursday - so by Friday we were completely exhausted! But - the team building and relationships that were solidified that week are invaluable to the unity of our team this year.
Turner and Kate both joined us for the pep rally - Kate makes Turner look like a giant! (We didn't realize why until we measured Turner last week and realized she'd grown almost 2 inches in 2 months!!)
At home, September has been filled with so many hilarious and memorable moments. Turner is the joy of our lives and we are constantly amazed by her personality, wit, and inquisitive mind. September was also filled with some confusing and humbling parenting moments (I am certain they won't be the last of those...) and we are constantly reminded of the precious, fleeting moments we have with Turner at this particular age.
Here's our newest memory verse. You'll notice the sweet little voice and the clarity with which she proclaims the truth of Luke 6:31 "Do to others, as you would, have them do, to you." And then also you'll notice the quickness with which she becomes totally offended by the fact that her merit badge has become unstuck from her dress. Reality folks. Aren't we all a little like that? Yikes.
Last Friday night, while we were waiting on Jacob and Annie (and kids) to arrive for a weekend visit, Mark decided to let Turner take a bubble bath in the big tub. She gets in there regularly, but only on certain occasions does she get to put in bubbles and turn on the jets. It was slightly out of control with the bubbles but it was hilarious! We have precious video of her squealing and jumping in this mountain of bubbles.
Joshua (Jacob and Annie's youngest) and Turner have become fast friends in the short visits they've shared, but this weekend they absolutely had a blast playing together. Matthew and Christina, their two older kids are absolutely precious and are sweeter than I knew teens/tweens could ever be to the younger kids - especially my sweet Turner. When they arrived Friday night it was like a party - jumping on the air mattress like a trampoline, squealing and playing, late night visits to other bedrooms, etc. I SO wish Jacob and Annie lived closer - we so enjoyed your visit and can't wait till we can see you again!
While Jacob, Annie, and kids attended the game Saturday morning, I took the opportunity to get some of my Halloween/Fall decorating done. It's always a work in progress, but it definitely makes things a little more festive at this time of year!
In September, things at work have been wild, weekends at home have been busy and full, and quite honestly Mark has probably drawn the short straw for my attention and energy. Yet, the last two weekends he has surprised me with flowers. Just to let me know he's proud of me and the many roles I play on a daily basis. It's amazing how much a surprise can do for your mental state! This last weekend he also brought home a special surprise of one of my favorite Fall treats - a cinnamon broom! YUMMY.
In the past few months, Turner has become quite the helper in the kitchen and really enjoys making muffins/cupcakes. Over the weekend we discussed making some sausage cheese muffins to send to Mrs. Rhonda's to share with her friends. Tonight we decided to dive into the project and Turner distributed all the muffin cups to the pan and helped me dump in ingredients, etc. Then she decided we needed to make them blue using food coloring or "colors" as she calls it. (Since the little bottles look like crayons in a box apparently...) I convinced her that I could only do one color - and she picked blue. So, tomorrow morning we'll be delivering 12 blue sausage/cheese muffins to Mrs. Rhonda's house. Fun stuff!
October promises to be just as fun (maybe in a different way) than September - so many fun Fall activities on the horizon, starting with a trip to the Lee County Fair tomorrow night. Turner has been talking about the fair for months so we are all super excited for it to finally be here!
Stay tuned, more posts to come this week. I have one post I started back in August, perhaps it will be finished by Christmas?
3 comments:
Turner is so so so cute! and i love your halloween decorations! :)
Sarah - I want the recipe for your muffins!!!
We had SO much fun on our whirlwind trip and were so grateful for your hospitality! We wish we had more time for the kids to play together! So glad you got some photos of the Josh and Turner from the weekend! We miss you all!
Post a Comment