October started out with a bang!! Colby burst out of the school with the tiniest treasure box and the biggest smile on his face. He lost his FIRST TOOTH!! I was almost in tears because the fact that he's growing up can be so hard! But he has the cutest smile of all time, so I'll just keep staring at him.
He then told me that his teacher, Mrs. Salinas, was the one that pulled it out!! His tooth was pretty wiggly, and when he expressed concern that it was going to fall out, she asked if he wanted her to pull it out. Surprisingly, he said yes, so she grabbed some gloves and told me that she said, "If it hurts, you can punch me." And as he was distracted and laughing at the silly thought, she quickly pulled that tooth out. She's the best and Colby was just SO happy about it all.
I had my first lunch date with Brooke and Colby!! They didn't allow lunch visitors last year due to Covid, and this year they are only allowing parents on certain days, but I'll take it! They were both SO excited and I loved every minute.
Brooke was about to head to recess and was holding her volleyball at the ready. She's been taking it to recess every day and as I saw with her, several friends passed by and asked if they could play with her today. She said yes, then informed me that she had special permission from the teachers to use the basketball courts and that "probably 50 kids" were playing with her yesterday.
I'm super grateful that their lunches are back-to-back because it makes a lunch visit super convenient :)
As National Bike/Walk to School Day approached, Colby kept asking if we could ride our bikes all the way from our house. That's a solid 30 minute bike ride, and since mornings aren't really our thing, I discouraged the idea. But we settled for driving a few neighborhoods away from the school and scootering over since I knew I could manage two scooters back to the car after I dropped them off.
We even snagged a picture with the Daulton Dragon and the Lake Ridge High School cheerleaders :)
Brooke officially joined the Daulton Dashers, which is a running club that meets before school on Friday to run laps. The expectation is to complete at least 7 laps, which Brooke and her bestie Claire did together. I feel like this is a big commitment for me to have her to school by 6:50 in the AM, but I really love that she wants to be involved in everything, so we'll see how it goes!
The kids didn't have school one day, so we headed to the Dallas Arboretum. I am always amazed at the sheer number of pumpkins throughout the place, but especially in the pumpkin village!
Cutest boy in the patch!! And just look at all the varieties of pumpkins...
And this was Brooke, haha! I took the picture just to document that attitude and to "keep things real" that not everything is sunshines and roses over here. She was super hot (didn't want to wear the outfit I suggested, but instead chose a long sleeve shirt even though it was gonna be in the 90's), and would "rather be having a play date with friends at home." I was super frustrated with her attitude, gave her a brief lecture about gratitude and being pleasant, then asked her to hold some of the cute white pumpkins.
I guess my lecture worked because I saw a big improvement in her disposition and even managed to get a couple of really cute pictures. I'm so glad she allowed herself to have a change of heart and enjoy our time at the arboretum. And maybe next time she'll trust my opinion and wear appropriate clothes for the weather.
My favorite one...
Love them, even when they majorly test my patience :/
The highlight of the day was definitely the face painting! They couldn't believe how quickly these artists turned them into little tigers.
I can't even remember what we had done this day, but he came downstairs from taking a shower, plugged headphones into his sound machine, and promptly fell asleep (so I thought). A few minutes later, he rolled over and smiled, but he told me, "You've got to try this, Mom! It's so peaceful." I think someone was a little tired.
Sunday Selfie :) Kevin's after-church commitments really put a damper on our pics, but I'm glad he's serving faithfully in the bishopric.
Inadvertently twinning with my boy :) Whenever I tell Colby that he's my boy, he'll quickly say, "You're my girl" with the sweetest inflection in his voice. He really is the sweetest. The other day he said, "Can I snuggle you? Because you're the most adorablest girl I know, besides Brooke." This kid knows the way to my heart!
Sunday dinner at Grandma and Papa's house! These girls are always playing barbies...
Colby's class went on a field trip to the Jandrucko Academy for Early Learners and his teacher sent out the cutest pictures...
Had the best night hanging out with one of my hometown best friends! It's amazing to me that we hadn't seen each other in probably 7 years, yet it was so comfortable to just be together and catch up on life. Friends for over 30 years! So glad that work brought Nicole to Dallas.
I picked her up from her hotel in Dallas and we headed over to the Galleria for a fancy dessert. It looked amazing, but was way too hard to eat with those giant marsmallows. I just moved all that to the side and drank the milkshake, which tasted like 100 grams of sugar, haha.
Another week, another lunch date, but I only got a picture with Colby. The parent tables were SO crowded since they are only letting us eat with the kids on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but giving them my undivided attention for those 30 minutes was the best.
Brief lake outing with the littles. The kids and I area dealing with awful allergies this week, but it felt good to be in the sun on such a gorgeous day. Colby assured us that the water was warm once you were in for a while, but Brooke and I had no interest in jumping in today.
My cute girl...
Kevin forgot a hat and complained of his scalp burning, so I dug out Colby's swim trunks (since he was commando in the wetsuit) and solved the problem, haha.
I met up with Daleth and her kids, who were staying at the Great Wolf Lodge for a few days. Gabe made sure that I had my own fuzzy ears and a pair for each of my kids.
I can't remember why Colby was mad at me, but he made these sticky notes of him crying big tears and placed them on the dishwasher while I was at the sink washing dishes. I guess that was supposed to make me feel bad, haha, but it made me smile at his tactics.
The allergies were really hitting us hard, then one night Colby fell asleep while I was reading his dinosaur fact book to him. It was only 6:45, but apparently he needed the rest!! Sweet dreams, little buddy :)
A glimpse into the life of my Kindergartener...
I absolutely love that his teacher posts these pictures!! And I love that Colby was enjoying school each day. The morning battles ended once Colby realized that he could get free school breakfast everyday, even though I also fed him breakfast at home, haha. One day he came home and said, "I got breakfast today." I was surprised and asked if Brooke took him to the cafeteria because I have to drop them off at the front doors. He said, "No, I just dropped my backpack off in my classroom then walked quickly to the cafeteria. They gave me a tray and asked if I wanted a muffin or Cinnamon Toast Crunch. I said, 'Cinnamon Toast Crunch, please.", and then they gave me grapes, and chocolate milk AND apple juice. It was the best!" I laughed so hard as he told me this story. That motivated him to get to school early for a few weeks, but then the novelty wore off and he's had happy mornings ever since. I guess we just had to get in the habit of school :)
One night we had the Sister Missionaries for dinner, then made cards for Josh Felton and his family. Josh has been battling liver cancer for the past 4 years and is really not doing well. They have tried all possible treatments, and it's just a matter of time before he passes. I can't even imagine how hard this must be for their family, so we hoped that our notes and some cookies would help brighten their day.
Brooke found out that younger siblings could attend Daulton Dashers with the 2nd-4th graders, so she knew Colby would be pumped! Then she convinced me to join them as well, so it was an early morning for all of us. It just so happened to be Pajama Day as well, haha.
Another lunch date with my little besties! Last week was crazy busy, but I'm glad I was able to spend this time with both of them. I've said this before, but nothing is sweeter than giving them my undivided attention, and meeting up with them at school is a pretty easy way to do this!
We enjoyed another beautiful "Fall" afternoon at the lake. The warm temps irritate me when we're trying to do Fall activities, like pumpkin patches, but when we can still head to the lake and enjoy the sunshine, I don't mind the warmer weather :)
Living her best life...
Practicing his driving skills...
The wind died down and the boys NEEDED to go wakeboarding! Thank goodness for wetsuits because that water felt way too cold to me.
I mean, seriously! This is the best...
Wacky Day for Red Ribbon Week. I'd say they nailed it...
My sweet girl gave a talk in Primary and my friend Mandy took this cute picture. I wasn't there because I was recovering from surgery (post to follow), but I heard she did a wonderful job. Her topic was "The Lord is pleased when I am faithful" and she wrote the most tender talk of all time about how she was worried about me during surgery, but because she believed in Him, I was okay. I was incredibly proud of her for thinking of what she wanted to say, writing it down, and delivering it in front of all the kids. She is growing up right before my very eyes!
After church, they were playing school or church with Carter, haha. Joanna sent me this picture and it made me laugh. They always have fun together :)
