Halloween 2018

October 31, 2018

It was the most pleasant weather on Halloween. It was sunny and in the 70s and even when the sun went down it wasn't cold. It was amazing trick or treat weather.

Johanna wanted to be a skeleton this year, and we found glow in the dark pajamas that made it an easy and versatile costume.

Bridget was a character from the Pick Riordan series Percy Jackson. She was one of the Hunters of Artemis, Phoebe. She made her t-shirt and put together the whole costume on her own. i just helped with a little bit of spray paint.

Megan didn't dress up but did throw on a Kermit the frog hat for school.

Rachael put together a witch costume and invited her boyfriend Josh over. He was ironically a black cat to poke fun at the standard high school girl costume. They carved a pumpkin together and then headed to a friends house for a night of table games.

We had a fire pit in the front yard and the Shumakers and Brinks came over to Trick or Treat. Our ratio of candy eaters to trick or treaters is not a favorable one, but the kids did get plenty and spread it out on the floor to sort and trade as they watched a movie inside and the adults hung out by the fire.

Volleyball

October 2018

   Before Freshman year academics got going the sports teams were on the fields and courts. Megan decided to check out volleyball. She went to the clinics over the summer and then got ready to try out for the volleyball team.  Sadly Megan came down with a fever again (she had a series of high fevers over the summer and fall, the doctors said it was probably virus) and had to miss the first few days of tryouts. Her fever subsided and even though she wasn't 100% the next morning she went to the last day of tryouts. She came home looking terrible and spiked a fever again. Megan didn't make the team and we weren't surprised because she was sick and was new to the sport, but she was disappointed. They offered her a JV manager position but somehow she didn't get on the email list. We had a few days of confusion but soon she got the schedule and began the daily practice schedule.

School started and the practices were either until 4:30 or they had study hall after school and they practiced until 6:00. They wound up being long days but she was forging relationships and getting homework done. Megan always came home starving and never packed enough to eat.

I went to their breast cancer charity game and the normal blue and gold uniforms were replaced by pink jerseys. Megan ran the score board and kept stats for JV. The team also had special dress days for team spirit and they played a game throughout the school day called Spoon Assassin that involved tagging an assigned teammate and collecting spoons. The last game of the season, Jim brought the sisters to go cheer on the team at Western Tech high school.

Being a part of the team was a good way to start the year and maybe it will carry to years to come.

Harry Potter Birthday Party

October 21, 2018

We hosted a party for the Fall birthday cousins and did it with a Harry Potter theme. We celebrated Lillian 10th, Benjamin's 10th, Johanna's 6th and Ellie's 4th. Since there were four of them each one picked a wizarding house from Hogwarts as their theme for their cake.

We already had a bunch of Harry Potter themed decorations that we have collected over the years, so we only added some themed food and Bridget drew the Hogwarts school logo. Megan created a flock of owls and turned the mud room into an owlrey. We brewed some butter beer, and polyjuice potion. We planted a mandrake and made a cake. The girls helped me with dyeing fondant and Johanna helped make the ropes to trim the cake. Bridget cut out the Raven for the center of the shield.

Rachael spray painted the Quiditch goal posts. And we set up a game field that involves bouncing ping pong balls through the goal posts. I also printed images for a Harry Potter "Who Am I?" game.

Jim wasn't able to get the day off of work so the party had a different feel. And Emma was also working so we missed her too. But the party went well and all of the birthday kiddos had a good time. Johanna even got to invite 2 of her friends from the neighborhood, so there was an even bigger group of little girls than usual for the celebration.

Happy Birthday!

Johanna plays soccer

Fall 2018

Our active Johanna asked to take dance classes again this year, but after last years disinterest in repetitive motions I decided not to sign her up for dance. Then my brother Joe mentioned that the OLV soccer program had a relaxed 5 year old soccer program and invited Johanna. This was just the right type of thing that she would enjoy: team sport, lots of running, some independence, and scoring. It was perfect for me too: consistent time, short commitment, outside physical activity.

Even though the season had already started, Joe slid Johanna onto his team and we started the Saturday morning routine. We dug through the buckets and found the little shin guards. We tried on a few pairs of cleats and came up with ones that fit. Johanna got her green jersey and socks and she was ready to play. Johanna was thrilled to find out that her cousin Victor was also on her team.

They had practice before each game and then played a 45 minute game. They didn't keep score or call penalties at this age level. It was just a focus on ball control and figuring out which goal they were aiming for. Some weeks Johanna was into the game and others she wanted to sit in my or Jim's lap and needed prodding to get back out there. Each game she got a few touches and sometimes dribbled and moved the ball effectively. Her attention ebbed and flowed but liked being there. We lucked out with good weather most weeks even if it was muddy and we only had one rain out.

In all it was a great experience and Johanna was happy to be on a team.

Antietam Visit

October 13, 2018
Antietam Battlefield


Our next Girl Scout adventure was to visit the Antietam National Battlefield. Bridget and Johanna had soccer and dance in the morning so we would be late and miss the organized GS ranger program but I decided we would go and explore on our own.  I got lunches packed and wrangled the little ones. When I told Rachael it was time to go, she notified me that her friend was visiting earlier than planned. With Rachael backing out Megan got mad. "If she doesn't have to go than I am not going" I got mad too. And so I left the teens at home and took Bridget and Johanna with me and a lot of extra food for the gorgeous drive out west to Sharpsburg. I am glad it was a long drive because I needed it to reset my mood. On the way Bridget read some chapters of the Magic Tree House book "Civil War on Sunday" out loud for us, it was a good kid friendly introduction to the civil war.

We got there and watched the introduction video. The bloodiest day in US history is a hard subject for adults and was daunting for Johanna to process. The video wasn't gory but it was accurate and she was ready to get moving after that. It was a chilly day and the wind was sharp. We went out to visit some of the monuments, including the Maryland State monument, which was interesting because it had memorials for both union and confederate soliders. The rangers gave the girls Junior Ranger packets and we took the Bloody Lane Trail as I narrated from the trail map and hiked the 1.6 miles. We crossed paths with a Ranger tour and got to listen to his explanations for a little while too.

We were glad to get back to the visitor center and explore the museum exhibits out of the wind before we got back in the van for snacks and our trip home.