My Favorite Month

October is probably one of my favorite months of the year, and I can't believe it is almost over!  We have been busy with school activities, soccer, and spending time outside enjoying the weather.  I have loved my mornings with Finley and Atticus.  They have been into building with blocks together lately, and I love how well they play when it is just the two of them.

Soccer is winding down with just one more weekend of games.  They have both had great seasons, and I love to see how much they have grown.
We had the school carnival two weeks ago, and I was in charge of coloring hair.  Andy took the kids around to play games, and Baylor was set on winning a bottle of soda.  I told him I was tired of standing in line for him to toss the rings and I would just get him a bottle of soda.  I didn't get any pictures, but the kids had a great time.
Andy had Monday off so I got McDonalds and surprised the kids at school.  Briley and Baylor have overlapping lunches so it worked out well that I could eat with both of them.
Last Friday the kids did not have school so we did our trip to Louisburg for cider donuts.  I bought two dozen donuts so we would have some for breakfast the next morning.  Andy chose to go on a run, and by the time he got back they were all gone.  I might have to go get some more for him.  My Mom came to town Friday so she went along with us.  It was her first trip to the cider mill which is hard to believe since we go there every year.

On Saturday we had Baylor's soccer game, and then my Mom and I took the kids to Oktoberfest at Prairiefire.  They had games, a band, samples, jump houses, and pumpkin decorating so the kids were loving it all.

And he scores!

My brother and Kelsey got to town later that day, and my Mom watched the kids for us while we went out on the town.  We checked out KCBier Brewery first.  Definitely a place I will go back to.  They have a neat little biergarten set up but it was raining so we stayed inside.  I loved that it was family friendly with kids running around, and a wall of board games to play at your table.  After awhile we went to BB's Lawnside BBQ for dinner.  This has been on my BBQ bucket list for a long time, and we had never made it until now.  It was definitely a dive, but the food was good.  I think we will be back again someday.  The place was set up with long tables, and you sat with other people.  We met a guy from Pittsburgh there for the game on Sunday, and he talked to us in great detail about the lava he saw in Hawaii.  We could hardly contain ourselves while we listened to him talk.

Sunday we did a little shopping and then Briley had a soccer game.  They lost 2-8 the first time they played this team, and this time they won 3-1. So fun to see how much they grown over the season.

Our new neighborhood has got a tradition of booing and ding dong ditching during the month of October.  Andy and I weren't aware of this until one night the neighbor boy came over and rang the doorbell while we were getting ready to go to bed.  Andy and I were sneaking around looking out windows trying to figure out what was going on. We finally saw him ride his bike down the street.  We have had people boo us three times and so I took the kids out on Monday to do a little booing.  We still have some more houses to go to, but the kids loved it.  Last night we again got booed by the boy down the street, and he left a Halloween box filled with salt and suckers stuck in it.

Off to go booing

Andy was busy last week with training new underwriters on Monday and Tuesday and then having to take them to dinner at nights.  He got home late each night, and so Wednesday he went in late and took Briley to be an alter server at Church before school.  That night he watched the kids and I went to listen to an author speak for book club at Avila University.  It was a book that we read that was very good.  Her father illegally snuck her and her siblings across the border to start a new life in California.  She had a very difficult childhood and at times the book was hard to read, but it is reality for a lot of immigrants.

Andy left for Seattle on Thursday, and I went with Finley on her trip to the pumpkin patch.  She and Atticus had a great time.  I only wish the other kids could have been with us.  Baylor went last week, but they only needed a few parents, and the spots were taken quickly.

Baylor and Briley on their field trips

Briley had her field trip on Friday to Arrowhead, and she said it was awesome.  They got to walk on the field, see their locker room, eat in the club rooms, and use the fitness machines.  She had a blast.

Friday night we went back to Deanna Rose for the Night of the Living Farm.  Stefanie and Rex joined us, and we had a good time catching up, but the place was a zoo.  I think everyone decided to come Friday because there was a chance of rain on Saturday night.  It was a beautiful night though, and the kids didn't seem to mind the crowd.  I was thankful to have another adult with me since Andy wasn't in town since it was so crowded.  

Saturday morning we were up early for Baylor's 8:00 soccer game, and then the kids spent the day playing outside in the leaves.  That night we went out to dinner with old friends, and the guys all got tenderloins.  It was a competition to see who could eat it all.  Andy and Jeff won but may have paid for it later.  They both looked pretty miserable.

These guys are now on a mission to find the best tenderloin in the area.

Briley had a soccer game Sunday afternoon, and they won 13-0.  Her team is leading in the goals scored, so that is fun.  I stayed for the first part, and then I took Baylor to a birthday party at the roller skating rink.  He had a hard time learning to skate, and kept asking when it was going to be over so I finally left.  While I was gone he got out there and started skating.  When I picked him up he said he wanted to have a skating party for his birthday so I guess it wasn't to terrible.