Halloween

This is a little late but Halloween was a lot of fun.  As usual, Peter wore a variety of costumes depending on the event.  Pirate Magician to the trunk-or-treat, Spiderman to his school Halloween party, and a Knight in shining armor w/horse and sword for trick-or-treating. What a blessing it is to have siblings and lots of old costumes.  Especially since his desired costume - Kirby - arrived much too large from Amazon.  He'll have to wait a few years before he fits into that one.  One size may fit most, but that doesn't include my little peanut Peter.

He was a good sport about it and we had a lot of fun at all of the events anyway.  We also had a great time decorating Halloween cookies.  Bella didn't go trick-or-treating, but she and the rest of the marching band wore costumes as they visited middle schools and performed on Halloween.  The whole saxophone section dressed up as Umpa-loompas from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, complete with green wigs and orange faces.  They looked awesome.  I was my usual warm and cozy Tigger.  It's the perfect costume for chilly Michigan October evenings.

No pictures from the school party because I was too busy helping to run the event.  One sad story from that - Peter knew I was coming to help with the party, but when I arrived, I was assigned to work in a different classroom.  He was at recess, so I couldn't tell him.  I hoped his teacher would let him know, but she didn't.  He came in from recess and didn't see me.  Rather than ask where I was, he assumed I was just late and waited.  All the other kids got snacks, went around to different rooms to play games, do crafts, etc. and Peter just waited for me.  I worried the whole time why I wasn't seeing him but told myself surely he's just having fun somewhere else.  After about 45 minutes, his teacher brought him to me, crying.  He collapsed into my lap and cried for a while longer.  Then he stayed in my lap while I attempted to run the game I was leading and simultaneously comfort him for another 15-20 minutes.  Finally he calmed down enough to explore and enjoy the party.  I felt so bad.  He'd been so excited to see me and thought I hadn't come.  Thank goodness his teacher noticed his distress and helped him.

I got a call last week from Peter's principal asking if I had time to talk.  Nothing can make your stomach drop quite like that question.  I don't know why I was worried, though.  He's a great kid.  Turns out he was nominated as the "character champion" of the month.  They have a different character trait (Respect, Responsibility, Empathy, Integrity, Grit, Confidence, Mindfulness, etc) they work on school-wide each month and then each teacher nominates a student from their class as the student who best exemplifies that trait.  Peter was nominated as the one who best displayed "respect" defined as "showing high regard for all."  They have an assembly each month to honor those nominated and parents are invited.  So I got to see him get his certificate from the principal.  Proud of that guy!

He doesn't love school but he does well there and I'm happy about how things are going and what he's learning.  

Bella got her senior yearbook photos this week.  I thought they turned out very cute.  Sorry about the watermarks.  I'm cheap and won't pay the $150 for the rights.

Christian continues to enjoy driving and has been making regular long trips with Kelly on Sundays for the sake of practice.  They also happen to visit some fun and beautiful places while they're out.  I'm really glad Kelly likes doing long drives like that. My nerves can't handle it unless I'm in control of the vehicle.  8 more months and he'll be officially driving on his own!

Last Times

Senior year is so fun and so hard.  Every time you do something you think, "This will be the last time I do this."  Thus it was this week at Bella's last marching band performance at a football game.  It was senior night so we got to walk onto the field with her.

Also, as we carved pumpkins on the kitchen floor I realized this will be the last time I do this while she lives at home.  It really makes you cherish every moment.  I love these fall traditions.  Wish everything went a little slower so we could enjoy them longer.  Kids grow way too fast.

We also had our trunk-or-treat at church.  Peter was a "magician pirate."  We lost the pirate hat so he wore a top hat of my dad's and was happy as can be with the combination.  Kelly decided to match him and the two had a great time going car to car.

Fall Photo Catch-Up

 Fall has been so great here lately.  Perfect weather and lots of chances to be outside and enjoy the cooler temps.  Peter has become such a fan of bike riding that we go out several times a week and ride together. We've also had fun together as he's started cub scouts.  We've gone camping, shot bb guns, done archery, and all sorts of other fun scouting stuff.  I love the scouting program.  It's fun to be involved with it again.

I also got to take Peter to a Detroit Symphony Orchestra concert.  I have season tickets every year and go about once a month, but I've never taken him because the concerts start at bedtime and the venue isn't really for small, somewhat restless kids.  However, they did a free community concert at a nearby church in Detroit and kids were welcome to come.  He was so excited to finally go to the symphony with mom and he had a great time.

The music was fantastic, but his attention span was a little spent at times.  Luckily we had some room to spread out and take a break without disturbing others.

Bella has come with me quite often to the symphony, though.  Our most recent trip was to see Troupe Vertigo perform with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.  That was an amazingly unique show!  The troupe did all sorts of wild acrobatic tricks at the front with the orchestra playing gorgeous pieces which complemented the acts.  I was so sad when it was over.  I could have watched all night.

Of course, marching band continues on.  The kids' shows are doing so well.  They have worked so hard.  It's really impressive.

There is one night when all the high schools in the city get together and perform on the same field.  That's perfect for those families like us with kids in multiple high schools.  The drumlines all did a separate number together.  Still feels weird not seeing Benjamin in the drumline but I love seeing Christian out there doing such an amazing job.

Christian's marching band also played at multiple elementary schools this month for their walk-a-thon fundraisers.  Every school does one and it was fun to include the band to add to the atmosphere of the event.  He had a great time being in the band after all those years of being the little kid and looking up to those big high schoolers and wishing he could be one of them.  Now here he is.  What a cool experience.

It's October and we still have the cat, Pandora, that was supposed to get taken back in September.  We're coming to accept the fact that she might be permanent in our home.  I don't mind very much.  She really is the sweetest thing ever.  However, she's now brought 8 chipmunks into our home and 6 of them were still alive.  That's been wild.  I'm used to cats bringing in dead mice or other things they catch but she doesn't kill them completely first.  She seems to just enjoy playing with them inside.  The first time she dropped it at Kelly's feet while he was in an online meeting.  The hilarious Tom & Jerry scene that ensued as the cat chased the chipmunk around Kelly's desk and feet while he tried to remain focused and composed was classic.  We spent the next hour trying to get the chipmunk out of Kelly's closet.  One chipmunk ended up in Peter's bedroom and so Pandora and I teamed up and cornered it behind his bookshelf where I got it into a live trap and took it back outside.  I have to keep the cat in after that for a few hours, though, or else she's goes outside and brings it right back in!  Yes, that happened once until I learned my lesson.  She's a very smart cat.  This is how we spend most of our mornings together while I work on my seminary lessons.

Other recent activities:

I took Bella to a concert with friends.  The girls had a great time while I took a much needed nap in the car!

Kyler visited us again and went riding with the boys.  It's so fun that he can come visit often.

Benjamin has become a trainer.  He says his new companion speaks better Spanish than he did when he started, so that's been helpful.  But he spends more time than he'd like staying at home going through the training material.  Pros and cons, I guess.  We're so happy he's doing well, though.

Cross Country running continues.  Christian is doing very well.  He came in 15th in the all city meet last week.  Very good for a freshman.

Peter and I enjoyed a trip to the apple orchard - a Michigan fall must-do.  We also had to take the traditional picture on the cow bench.  He grows so fast!

He's also doing really well at school.  He's coming out of his shell and making friends.  He's improving in his writing and math skills.  He's more comfortable talking to his teacher and other adults there.  It's been really good.  Most days he doesn't mind going at all (very different from last year).  He likes the library and music class and art class.  I'm very happy with how it's going, although I do miss him during the day.  He's my sweet little buddy and sometimes its hard to say good bye in the morning.