Halloween...

Our annual tradition of going over to Nana and Papa's was changed up a little bit this year.  Madison was invited to go trick-or-treating with some friends, so I went with her while Michael went with Nathan.  I was sad that I had to miss Nathan's night, but thanks to daddy, I have pictures of him!

Madison had so much fun with her friends!

Nathan still went over to Nana and Papa's house and went trick-or-treating with Chance!

These two had a blast together.  Constantly running and laughing....Nathan finally had someone to keep up with him!

And Michael got the traditional picture of trick-or-treating with Papa!

I was sad to have the kids separated, but I guess that's what happens as they get older.  It helped to see that both kids had a GREAT time trick-or-treating!  They both had a lot of fun!

Trunk-or-treat...

Nana had a trunk-or-treat at her church, and she invited the kids to come up for it.  Because of the rain, they moved it inside, but the kids still had fun and got candy!

This year, we have McKenna (the American Girl doll) and a skeleton dinosaur!

Awards...

Madison and Nathan had awards at the same time today, so I was only able to go to one.  I chose Madison's because she was getting two awards, and I'm not sure if she'll get more throughout the year or not.  Thanks to Gaga, Nathan was able to have someone cheer for him!  He was excited to have her there (probably more excited than having mommy there)!

Nathan got "A/B" honor roll this first nine weeks.  Can't believe my baby is getting real grades now!

Madison got a math and science award!

She also got "A" honor roll for this nine weeks!

So proud of these kids for how hard they work at school.

The State Fair!

Gaga and Doo took the kids to the State Fair today, and they had a blast!  Cotton candy, corn dogs, turkey legs, rides....they had so much fun!  And I'm so thankful to them for taking the kids each year, because they love it so much and mommy and daddy won't go and spend the money!

Watchdog....and conferences!

Today, Michael was Watchdog at Nathan's school.  Nathan was super excited and got right up when his alarm went off!

This kid is sure a daddy's boy...he loves these watchdog days so much!  Nathan is lucky to have such a wonderful dad who takes the time to do this for him.  These will be memories Nathan (and Madison) will have forever, and I'm thankful that Michael puts such a high importance on family!

While Michael was in his class today during Social Studies, they were talking about government versus private businesses/organizations.  The kids thought airplanes were run by the government, and his teacher explained that planes are owned by private companies.  However, she asked them who watched over these private companies to make sure they were safe, and Nathan quickly says, "GOD!"  I love his mind and how it's always on God.  Melts my heart, big time.

I scheduled Nathan's parent/teacher conference today so Michael could attend.  She showed us his test scores, and he scored well above average in everything.  He's reading at a middle of third grade reading level, and he aced the comprehension and math test.  But more importantly, she said he was a super great kid, and that he's mature, respectful, organized, loves learning, and works hard every day.

Madison doesn't have official parent/teacher conferences anymore, but they did have an open house night so you could discuss your child's progress.  Every one of her teachers said she was excelling in the subject (she's making straight A's in her pre-AP classes!), and that she was respectful, sweet, and a joy to have in class.

Of course I like to see good grades, but I'm most proud of their character!  Makes me happy to see them grow into such great kids.  I'm a proud mommy.

Writing...

Nathan has really changed his thoughts about school this year.  He LOVES it.  He says he loves math, science and writing, and he would go to school on the weekends if he didn't have his iPad to play. (Can't give that up).  He loves his teacher and just truly loves school now.  I'm so happy!  He sat down today and wrote this story, and said about 25 times, "I LOVE WRITING!"  He was really proud of his story.

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Once, there was a person named Sally. She was 12 years old and she loved math.  One time, she was playing soccer.  BOOM!! CRASH!!  She broke her ankle and twisted her arm.  Coach Bradley called Sally's mom, and she came running and crying to her.  Then Sally went to the hospital.  When they got a room, the doctor checked her.  "Looks like a broken bone" said the doctor.  "Come back on November 2017 the 10th". "Well, it's November 2017 the 9th" said the mom. "I know" said the doctor, "that's tomorrow night". When Sally went to bed, it was 2:45 in the night. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

At school, she learned cubes. C stands for circle important numbers, U stands for underline important words, B stands for bracket sentences, E stands for ex out words, and S stands for solve.  When Sally got home, all she wanted to do was sleep with her mom and dad all cozy and warm, but she has to do her homework.  When she was done, she saw something strange.  It said "I AM THE ONE WHO MADE YOU FALL DOWN"!!!  She was shocked!!!  When she got in bed that night, she thought about that strange thing she saw that afternoon.  Poof!!!!!!!!  She was gone.  She saw that thing she saw that afternoon and it said "YOUR LIFE IS OVER"!!!!  Right after that she was dead.  The next morning her mom said "GET OUT OF YOUR BED"!!! So she went back there to check on her.  "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA"!!! She was crying so hard!  When she was crying, poof!!!  She was gone.  She saw it and it said "Sally is in heaven right now and you are going to go to heaven right now!!!  Then she saw Sally. "Ohhhh Sally I've missed you so so much" as she was kissing her.  Then Sally said "I love you so so much to!!!!! Then God said "You shall do anything you want".  Then Sally and her mom were so so so so so happy and they had so much fun that they forgot about dad.  Down there he was so so so so sad.  Then poof!!!  He was gone.  Then he saw it and it said "Your life is over"!!!  Then he was in heaven.  God said "You shall do anything you want.  Dad found his family and they had so much fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  And the evil thing was on to his next house.  The End.

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At first, I was a little worried about the whole story being about death, but then smiled when I thought about how he brought heaven and God into it.  This boy loves God, and can't wait to see Him and experience heaven!  He is SO inquisitive about satan, heaven, the Bible, and God, and I just love that about him.  He's really soaking it all in.

Swimming in October!

Nana and Papa's pool is finally ready, now that swimming season is over.  The kids went over yesterday to check it out, and were really excited!

They were dying to swim in the new pool, so we headed over after church.  We figured it would be warm enough since it was in the mid-90's.  But what we didn't figure was that the newly filled pool didn't have a chance to heat up with 50/60 degree mornings!  It was cold!

Nathan was dying to jump in with Madison and thought he could force her!

Brrrrrr!

Still trying to force her...

A little bit of swimming before jumping out and warming up!

They talked daddy into jumping in with them (he's more brave than mommy).  1, 2.....

....and 3!  Madison chickens out.

She finally gets brave, and jumps in with them!

It wasn't a long swim, or what they thought it would be, but I still think they had fun swimming in ice cold water!  They are excited for next summer, to be able to swim at Nana and Papa's!

The joy of being a dog...

I was out of town this weekend at the Women of Joy with my mom, so Michael was with the kids.  While my mom and I were waiting for it to start, I got this text from Michael.  I laughed (actually snorted) out loud and couldn't stop!

As we're driving this morning with the windows down, Nathan is hanging his head out of the car.  He says, "Oh, now I see why dogs like this so much!  The air feels so good, and it tastes like hamburgers and fries!"

This kid makes me laugh....a lot!  His mind is always spinning, and he comes out with some crazy stuff!