Thanksgiving and Black Friday

We had a small Thanksgiving gathering and Bryan took advantage of our guest's expertise to add an outlet behind our TV.  Gracie also helped.

On Black Friday, Taylor, Mickey, and Zac joined us for soul food and games!

Look at some of the exciting prizes!

Happy 16th Birthday, Lydia

 Lydia's birthday landed on Thanksgiving for the 3rd time in her 16 years!

We decided to get a Cold Stone cake.  It was so delicious!

Grandma and Grandpa were visiting, so Grandpa made Lydia a special pancake!

Bonnie also stopped by to wish Lydia a Happy Birthday!  

Lydia received a Packer's ticket, a new gym bag, and some treats for her birthday.  We are still working on getting a day on the calendar to celebrate with her friends.

fall flies by

It always seems like fall is busy between school, sports, holidays, and birthdays.  This year was particularly full with visitors and projects.

Sadly, in September we said goodbye to one of our guinea pigs.  She had the sweetest personality and genuinely seemed to enjoy being with us - rather than just tolerating the humans who feed her.  She would curl up in my sweatshirt and take a nap when I was watching TV.  I miss her.

Also in September, we all traveled to Green Bay to tailgate with the family and Bryan, Lydia, and Brett went to the game.  It was against the Vikings and did not go in our favor. In November, Reggie and Bryan went to the Green Bay vs. Detroit game.

We enjoyed a visit from Papa and MeeMaw over homecoming weekend and they watched the kids do their sports.  Then my aunt and uncle came to visit and watch the kids play.  I took a day off and showed them around Stillwater.  It was a lovely fall day.

The next weekend was our fall break.  We went to our favorite pumpkin patch and checked out a state park in Wisconsin.  Reggie and Lydia went on a haunted hayride and toured a haunted house.  The rest of us enjoyed food trucks!  The following week, my other aunt and uncle were in town and we met up with them for dinner!

In October and November, we completed a big house project.  We had a lot of wallpaper in our house.  Over the summer, Reggie, Bryan, and I removed the paper and painted the walls in the laundry room.  Reggie and I attempted to take the wallpaper down in the rest of the house, but it was clear that it would not be coming down without professional help.  Our contractor took down the wallpaper and skim-coated all the walls in the entire living, kitchen, foyer, stairway, and upstairs hallway area. Then my niece came and helped us paint.  It is so nice to have that project done and it feels like a new home!

Reggie's Football Highlights

I'm still working my way through the fall sports, so here are Reggie's football highlights.

This is Reggie's first year of playing football through the school.  Our highschool is in Class AAAAAA, which is largely based on enrollment.  6A is mostly the biggest and most competitive schools in the state, and while Woodbury is big (around 2000 students), it is not particularly a powerhouse when it comes to any sports.  Similar to volleyball, football has 5 teams: Varsity, JV, 10th grade, 9A and 9B). But unlike volleyball, there can be movement among the rosters throughout the season, and there are no cuts.

Reggie played almost exclusively on the 9A team.  On offense, he played as a receiver/tight end and on defense he played outside linebacker.  In the white jerseys he was #6 and in the blue jerseys he was #24. His team had a tough schedule and went 3-5 with wins to Roseville, Mounds View, and East Ridge and losses to Stillwater, White Bear Lake, Forest Lake, Prior Lake, and Eden Prairie.  In the post-season, the varsity could add to their roster, and Reggie was called up to their practice squad.  He got to dress for their game (they only had one 😉) but didn't get to play.

Reggie received the 9th grade Leadership and Attitude Award and the Defensive Player of the Year Award (voted by his team). While there are enough good players who can catch and run the ball, no one on the team tackles with as much power and reckless abandon as Reggie.  I attribute that to his innate personality - and wrestling! He was invited to the varsity off-season workouts, and he has been told they will have a spot for him in the starting lineup next fall if he can put on 15 or 20 pounds.

Ironically, he is currently trying very hard to stay at his current weight for the varsity wrestling lineup, so the weight-gaining efforts are on pause!

Here is the link to the highlight video.