Not So Scary

Saturday morning Nathan drove Mason and me to Farmers Valley Cemetery. Some might think this a terrible idea the weekend before All Hallows Eve, however it was anything from scary. Who knew that such a special place was only a few miles away. It was a gorgeous fall morning and could not have been more peaceful tucked back in the trees. So much history!

 

 

To wrap up the Halloween weekend, we carved TWO pumpkins, one for each child. You see, Nathan I have grown much wiser over the years with the whole pumpkin carving with kids ritual. This activity has the potential be very frightening, but this year we pre-gutted the pumpkins outside while the kids were away/napping. Then we filtered and pre-selected easy stencil options from which the children could choose. 

When all was set up and ready, the kids got to do a small amount of carving and in a short 15 minutes or so the project was complete. 

The mess was minimal, the kiddos were happy and we all went to bed at a decent hour. See not scary at all. 

Happy Halloween!

Math Nerd

In the middle of my work day, I received a very unexpected text message from Jentry's teacher.

"Look who was the only student to get a 100% on their math test!"

I was blown away. This coming from the girl who hates math and struggled for months trying to pass her math facts last year. She practically made herself ill. 

I could not have been more proud. She studied very well the night before her test and her hard work paid off. 

She said, "When I was the only student to be called up front, I got really nervous and thought I had gotten all the answers wrong."

I am hoping that this will give her confidence a great big boost.

Way to go Jentry!!!

Purple Dragons

This year Jentry tried her feet at soccer. Her team, the purple dragons, practiced twice a week and played games in Sutton on Saturday mornings in September and October.

She was much more aggressive than I had anticipated and I even had a few people tell me that she has pretty good footwork. Her favorite position is defender and her least favorite is goalie.

Even though she only got to play in two games, she was excited to get to practice with the team during the week. I thought she might be upset about not being to participate in more games, however she said, "I really just want to learn how to play, mom, and I can do that at practice." What a team player!

Mason didn't understand why he couldn't play on the field with Sissy.

As a bonus, I got to cheer for a purple team again! 

Go Eagles Dragons!

Girl's Game Day

Nathan decided last minute that he needed to stay home and work instead of going to the football game. We tried to sell our tickets with no luck. Nathan felt someone needed to use them so he suggested I take Jentry. My response, "Oh...well....I never thought about that option. Let me think about that." Jentry's response, "Ummm.....what time would we have to leave? Would we have time to go shopping too?"

I'm not sure what Nathan's thoughts were but his face was priceless. I am certain that no male has ever responded to such an offer the way us girls did.

Saturday morning came quickly and off we rolled to the college town with absolutely no agenda and lots of free time. First stop, the student union. I gave Jentry a quick tour of some of the hot spots on campus. It was a beautiful day and I was excited to reminisce on my old stompin' grounds. Surprisingly, Jentry was having just as much fun.

She is just the sweetest young lady who loves her mother so.

Looking out from Love Library.

Next stop, good ol' Smith Hall. Now there is a blast from the past! Jentry had a ton of questions about dorm life. I told her as much as was appropriate for an eight year old.

Then we walked toward the stadium. 

A crowd was forming to welcome the players when they arrived.

Next we checked out the kid's zone.

On our way to lunch, Jentry had to stop and check out the art in front of the Sheldon Art Gallery.

After some yummy cheeseburgers and way too many fries at 5 Guys, we sat down to watch the band perform and march into the stadium.

Jentry was quite concerned that I wouldn't be able to find our seats without Nathan, but somehow I got lucky and we found our spot in the sea of red with no problems.

We lasted through the first quarter before we had to find some dessert.

Jentry tried to persuade me into leaving the game early so we could get pedicures and to avoid traffic in the parking garage I agreed. We enjoyed the 4th quarter on the TV at the salon with our feet soaking.

After the game, Papa and Onnie offered to take us out for supper before we headed back home. Of course we couldn't pass up eating out one more time. 

If you know me, then you know I am absolutely a planner. However, I am the first to admit that this spur of the moment girl's game day was more than I ever could have planned. Nathan may have started something he will later wish he hadn't. We may be asking for his tickets more often.

Thank you Nathan for the grand idea and graciously allowing us to use your tickets and thank you Jentry for a fabulous day of memories made.

Oh and I almost forgot...The Huskers beat the Boilermakers 27 to 14. Go Big Red!