Halloween Spooktacular

Old picture, but this was Micah for about 48 hours before hurricane Irma

Natalie has joined chess club at school. She has only gone one week, but is excited to go back.

Only a couple of weeks left of soccer!

Which is too bad, because watching these kids warm up by trying to run backwards tends to be the highlight of my week.

We took the kids up to the Seaworld Halloween Spooktacular last weekend and had a great time.

 Though, we had no idea that the antatrctica ride would be so cold

Natalie's feelings on the Penguins

Mornings are rough

They finally returned and collected our yard waste from the hurricane! Yay!

Angela hates playing alone and I am getting tired of her endless expectation that I be her play companion. Gonna need to invite more friends over to play, I guess.

We did our annual murder mystery dinner- a western themed game this time- and it was AWESOME. Had one couple from Micah's work and 2 couples from church join us for a boot-stompin', horse-wranglin', (IBC Root) beer-chuggin' good time.

On Saturday, we went to see the My Little Pony movie. Angela said it was the best movie ever. Natalie thought it was a little too scary. We also went to a community fall festival yesterday and got some candy, took a hay ride and played some games. This coming weekend, we have our church trunk-or-treat and Natalie's school fall party. And maybe a 5k.

Natalie got her first term report card and did really well in some areas- like math and science and reading categories. She got low marks, however, in some areas in the "social/emotional development" and "learning skills" categories,  like "is attentive", and "comprehends information through listening". Her teacher has been in touch with us about some recurring issues stemming from Natalie not paying attention to directions or her surroundings. So, hopefully, she can grow in those areas through the year.

Today was the primary program at church. Natalie said her part very well and was adorable. She didn't do too much singing but had some pretty enthusiastic dance moves during most of the songs. She was beside a boy who kept making guns with his hands and shooting at the music leader, so Natalie's choreography wasn't too distracting.

I've been having ups and downs with my calling in relief society. Many of our snow bird seasonal members are returning, activities are picking up for the holidays and January will bring a brand new lesson format for us to coordinate. It's mostly overwhelming and exhausting, though there are small moments that are inspiring and I feel it an opportunity to serve. Though, honestly, I half wish that I were inactive/antagonistic towards the church because, frustratingly, those are the individuals who get all the help, support and attention. It would be nice for someone to care about nourishing active members. I'm still doing zumba on Mondays at the church and our group has grown steadily, so it gives me something to look forward to at the start of every week.

Micah is starting preseason wrestling practices at Melbourne Highschool and plans to volunteer regularly with them again this winter. His deacons quorum has grown now to a whopping group of 3 boys (up from ZERO not too far back) and the scouts program continues to be a bane that draws his time and attention to managerial matters and approval from adult parties with little stake in the boys'  lives instead of just planning and executing activities that would be valuable and enjoyable for the young men.