1 Family x 12 (Oct)

 

It never fails - October is almost always one of my favorite family photos of the year and this year is no different.  

Braces (another first!)

 

It's been 18 months and just like that, we're almost on the other side of braces for this beautiful girl!  She's got her top braces off and the bottoms are soon to follow.  I bet we'll be fully out of braces before Christmas (fingers crossed!).  It's wild how different she looks without them.  Like a grown up!

Abby's 8th Grade Dance (a first!)

 

OMG!  I think it's official - Abby is cooler than I was when I was in 8th grade.  Not only does she already have a boyfriend (Jayden...the same one from earlier this year) but he also came over, with flowers and gifts, to ask her to the Jr. High dance.  It really was the sweetest thing.  His mom texted me that he wanted to ask her and that he had something special planned and my heart exploded for her.  Its very sweet.

I knew this was in the works so the weekend before Mom and I took Abby out to try and find a cute outfit for her.  A few weeks earlier I asked her "Hey, would you want to go shopping at Kohl's to see if we can find you a cute outfit for the dance?"  She said YES, of course! 

But - the best part of the story was that two or three days later she asked me "hey Mom, you asked if I wanted to go to Kohls, what's that?!?".  😂  I couldn't resist.  "It's a VERY FANCY designer store that has high fashion outfits...it's going to be perfect".

Kohls was a giant disappointment, especially after my tee up.  But, Target and Grandma came through in the end.  This adorable little outfit fit her SO PERFECTLY and it was perfect for the theme (Black and White). 

Its really true - Abby is cooler than me.  That happened.  It took 13 years and honestly, I'm proud of it.  It's called winning as a Mom - making a kid that's cooler than you is the whole goal.  And I love her so so much for it.

OMG!  That is all there is to say, OMG!  We have 5 years left til college and I think that reality is finally starting to feel real.  

Anthony and Brittany's Wedding

 

We went to the most fun wedding we've been to in quite awhile - Anthony and Brittany's wedding.  It was a great night...the venue was beautiful, Brittany's dress was beautiful, the food was good, the drinks were great, the appetizers were amazing.  I had the best chocolate chip cookie I can remember and my outfit was not only cute, but comfortable!  We danced for hours.  Truthfully, one of the most fun weddings I can remember.  I kinda wish we could do it again.  I mean, not tonight.  Tonight I need to go to bed and drink only water and eat only veggies for three days to recover.  But, I'd be ready to do a repeat on this night at any point.

(He does it to himself!  These are the photos he gives me to choose from...but also, I love this man!)

Look at this cute group!

Halloween Camping (our list trip for the 2025 season)

 

Last year we stumbled on Halloween camping at Skillet Creek (near Devil's Lake) with the McCarthys in a late season camp trip and we had such a good time we knew we needed to recreate it.  This year we brought the Brackemyers with us.  I think it was a HUGE success. 

As we were packing to get ready for this last camp trip of the year Abby said "I'm so excited for this weekend.  I love camping.  I love being with our friends.  Thanks for taking us Mom."  It was in that moment I knew we'd done something right along the way.  Sometimes when I slow down enough to recognize it I realize how lucky we are.  We're living "the good old days" right now...they are playing out before my eyes and I want to remember every moment of it.  

You know what that's a photo of?  That's a picture of the 1st and 3rd place winners of the pumpkin carving contest.  Yes, you read that right, 1st and 3rd!  Abby won first and Bridgette came in third.  They both did such a great job.  I think Abby worked on her pumpkin for 1.5+ hours.  Everyone else had moved on and was swimming and she was just working away quietly...and boy did it pay off.  She won a cute rainbow silicone cup but more than that, she won bragging rights.  Last year she placed "runner up" and this year she moved up to first.  Pretty hard to top that!

The kids had less luck with during the costume contest but honestly, I'm proud of them!  They came up with group costume ideas all on their own.  I said I'd donate $15 to their costumes and they both stayed in budget.  Abby found hers at Goodwill and Hazel pulled everything she had on from around the house and I donated to the blue wigs.  

Penny had her first experience with sand I am here to tell you she was the happiest dog in all the land.  She could dig and dig and dig and we didn't yell at her once.  I think she dug until she couldn't dig anymore.  She would dig a whole til she got tired, lie down in it and then pop up to dig a second hole 5 feet over.  It wasn't until she dug herself a long skinny trench to lay her entire belly in that she finally laid down and took a nap for awhile.  It was hilarious!

All that digging really took it out of her.  I wasn't sad to have a snuggle buddy that night.  It was warm during the day (around 90!) and then it cooled out quickly and we were able to snuggle in by the fire.  It was the perfect mix of all the seasons.  The last dog days of summer with hits of cool and what's to come.  Fall is my most favorite time of year and I feel us right on the cusp of it.

Kid gang life!  This picture cracks me up!  A gang of kids with their Halloween haul!