Happy Halloween 2025

Happy Halloween from our chef/butterfly and fireman! The Halloween festivities kicked off several days ago with our church's Fall Festival Trunk or Treat on October 17th. The date snuck up on me, and we were scrambling for costumes just before we had to head out the door for the event. Eli claimed his cousins' fireman costume quickly, but it took us a little longer to throw something together for Emmy. It felt like a #momfail since I had not planned ahead by ordering or shopping for a costume. In the end, Emmy was a good sport and went as a chef, using her apron and hat from our annual Christmas cookie baking. I promised her that we could work on finding a different costume in time for the 31st. At the Trunk or Treat, the kids collected bucketfuls of candy. While we were walking around, we were able to capture a photo of the four cousins. I don't think any year can top when they dressed up as Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, and Toad. I'm glad we were able to coordinate their costumes for that one year; it's hard to know if we would be able to convince them to do it again. 

In the time between the Trunk or Treat and Halloween, we were able to come up with an alternative costume for Emmy. Thank goodness for Aunt Megan; she allowed Emmy to borrow a butterfly costume for trick or treating around our neighborhood. Daddy joined us this year for the first portion of the walk. Then he returned to the house to check off a few Friday chores and to hand out candy, while the kids and I completed the loop. Once again the kids got a ton of candy!

Other activities this week included pumpkin carving, Emmy's 3rd Grade chorus performance during the school's Literacy Night, a Halloween party at school for Eli, and a birthday party for Emmy's friend Logan. As we say 'so long' to October, we look forward to all the fun ahead in November!

Whirlwind Weekend

I am still trying to catch my breath from the whirlwind of the weekend. It was quite possibly the busiest stretch of 48 hours that we have ever had! It started on Friday afternoon, immediately after the school day ended. We thought that Emmy's travel season was over after the tournament on October 11th. However, she was invited to join the 8U "Black" team for their "Friday Night Lights" tournament in Statesville. So off to Statesville we went! The first game started at 6PM, and the team was asked to be there by 5:15PM. Boomer and I had to pick up the kids, quickly consolidate into one vehicle with all of our gear, and make the hour-or-so drive west. When we arrived, there was an awesome playground, which was wonderful for all the younger siblings that were dragged along to the ballpark. After the girls' first game at 6PM, they played another game immediately afterwards. Then we all moved to a different field for the last two games of the tournament. The girls had big wins (double digits!) and went 4-0 to win the championship! Emmy played catcher in all four games and made an exciting out in the championship game when she caught a foul ball. Over the four games, she laid down three perfect bunts to get on base and advance the runners. It was exciting for Emmy to play with such a talented group of girls. After the girls posed for photos and collected their bling, we made the drive back home and finally pulled into our driveway just before midnight. Whew what a day! Even though we were tired, the championship win made the late night worth it! 

You would think that after our jam-packed Friday we would take it easy on Saturday, but nooooo! Saturday was a full line-up of sports and birthday parties. The morning started with Maddox's birthday party at 10AM. Then Eli and I made our way to Walkertown for his 12PM game. Eli played 2nd base. Sadly his team lost 4-2. Grammy, Grandpa, and Emmy joined us at the ballfield, and then the kids and I headed to Walnut Cove for Luke and Laurel's birthday party at 3PM. For our last event of the day, we went to Incendiary Brewery in Lewisville to celebrate Caroline turning 40. It was a fun ending to the day, with all of my girlfriends there and our kids running wild together. While the kids and I went to all the various functions, Boomer was with his guy friends at the Wake Forest Homecoming game vs. SMU. Several of his buddies came from out-of-town, and they got an AirBnB in Winston for the weekend. Boomer joined them on Saturday morning and hung out with them all day and into the evening. Wake won the football game in the last minute, with a career-long field goal for the kicker, for a final score of 13-12. It was a great game for the guys to see. On Sunday, Boomer met back up with the guys for the Wake baseball exhibition at 11AM, while the kids and I went to church and then out to lunch for Maddox's (actual) birthday. After lunch, Boomer and I traded off with the kids, and he took them to Emmy's spring Yadkin Ignite tryout. I am not sure when we might hear the outcome of the tryout, but we are hoping she will get the opportunity to continue to play in the spring. The last hours of the weekend flew by with Awana and then getting the kids to bed. As we did our usual Sunday preparations for the week ahead, it felt like the weekend had passed in a blink. We are already looking forward to the next one!

Amidst all the running around, I have enjoyed some one-on-one moments with each of my kiddos: a breakfast date with Eli before his dentist appointment and a Krispy Kreme stop with Emmy for her report card. It's always special to have this time individually with them. 

October Happenings

Life has resumed as we knew it before the cruise. And for Boomer and me, there was no easing in - we jumped right back to a full gamut of activities: three softball games in four days for Emmy, a trip to the pumpkin patch, preparation for the Student Council elections, and our final Saturday travel tournament. The last tournament was on October 11th in Greensboro, and sadly it was the least successful tournament for Emmy's Yadkin Ignite team. The girls went 0-2 in pool play and then won the third game, which positioned them to play the #1 seed again, which they had faced already earlier that morning. It was a sad ending to our travel softball Saturdays, but as a positive, Kessley's 12U Knockouts team happened to be playing in the same tournament, so we were able to spend the day with all the Kennedy family. We bounced back and forth between the fields, and after Emmy's team finished, we stayed to watch one more of Kessley's games. It was impressive to watch the older girls play and to imagine that Emmy might be playing at that level in a few years. We have some work to do before then, but I'm hopeful that Emmy will have the drive and passion to stay with it. Overall, we've enjoyed our first travel experience this fall. 

This week has been another full week of activities. Eli's kindergarten class had their first field trip, and they went to the Apple Family Farm in Kernersville. Eli loved going down the big inflatable slide and riding the tricycles. I wasn't able to go along on the field trip, so I was thankful that one of the other moms sent me pictures from the day. On Friday evening, the elementary school had their Fall Festival, and the kids enjoyed using their tickets to play games and earn prizes. Tickets could also be used for sweet treats like cotton candy and snow cones, and you can see that the Kennedy kids got BOTH. I thought for sure their teeth would be blue the rest of the weekend, but luckily it wore off after a good tooth-brushing. This evening, we went to the Clayton's chicken stew. It is an annual event, usually with around 200-300 people attending! In addition to the chicken stew, there was a bonfire with s'mores, a live band, and hayrides. It was our first time attending, and we felt lucky to have scored an invitation. Our families have enjoyed being together at the ballfield this season with the Claytons. Looking at the calendar for the next two weeks, we have lots more fall activities ahead. October has been a fun month!