Leaves, Sweets, Friends and Family

Another hour and a half appointment with the orthodontist left her with Halloween inspired bands and significant discomfort. She smiles despite herself. 

Her College and Career Prep course had her investigating one of her desired future goals as an FBI agent. She devoured the assignment, going frighteningly above and beyond as she dove into a serial killer from the early 1900's. She scares me a little. 

I have worried a fair amount about our decision to keep Kate on a virtual only school schedule; wanting her to make friends and connections. Teens are persistent and more resilient than we often give them credit. One of her classes started a group chat they used to organize a harmless prank on her teacher. The teacher loved it and has laughed in emails about their ability to overcome obstacles and still be kids. She has friends organizing virtual events and is finally attending an in-person club gathering for her Best Buddies group on Sunday. A new friend has been to the house and a group project was completed virtually this week with success.  Sometimes my concerns are unfounded. Sometimes. 

We visited Kristin and her family for a quick overnight to enjoy time around their new firepit last weekend. Ty and Avry loved exploring the woods, making s'mores and sneaking off to play video games together. The trip was relaxing. We then spent a day assisting Greg's parents with their upcoming move. They have sold the farm and are downsizing in the coming months. We helped prepare for the auction hosted this past week. There is a lot going on in their world and we left feeling as though we needed to be closer to better support them these days. We will miss the property but understand it simply grew to be too much for them as they have aged.

Makenna was preparing to leave for a wedding. As the makeup artist for the wedding party, she was carrying a large rolling cart of supplies. Within seconds of walking out the front door, she returned screaming, "get a gun! There is a snake!" She was dead serious. The sneaky little snake, estimated to be approximately eight inches long was no where to be found and she was not leaving until we confirmed it wasn't hiding somewhere in the cart she abandoned. We laughed far more than we should have as she drove away in tears, convinced it was going to get her in her car because we never did locate it. 

Ty made his first batch of cookies this week and was thrilled with the reaction. His sisters helped him consume the sweet treats and bragged on him enough, they hope he will do it again soon. 

We wrapped the week with Fun Friday milkshakes, a long overdue haircut for Ty and sleepover plans for the girls. Ty thinks he is pulling an all-nighter but his parents doubt he will see past ten. It was a long week spent easing back into the school groove.

Timehop produced this six year old memory. If the moment presented itself now though, he would be repulsed and lecture me about germs. Time flies and as much as I miss those days, this season is pretty amazing too.