Halloween 2021

For Halloween this year, Abby spent the day at Maddie's house. They made Barbie shirts and curled each other's hair and put makeup on. They did the neighborhood trick or treat in Maddie's neighborhood and then ate candy and watched scary movies that evening. It was the first Halloween that Emmy and I were on our own to do Trick or Treating.

When you live on an acreage you pull all your friends in the wagon of the mower to the neighbor's house.

This was the first year that Emmy got to trick or treat with her friend group. She was so excited. We went with the twins Gracen and Corrine and Alaina.

Emmy and her friends went trick or treating all over Hickman. Hickman neighborhoods are so much fun at Halloween time. So many of the houses have fun set ups, people dress up and there are a ton of kids around.

Emmy went as Wednesday Addams. She had the crazy stare down pat! 

I went trick or treating with Emmy while Robb manned the boys party of 10 boys. They played hide and seek, watched TV, and ate lots of junk food. Unfortunately, Corbin was doing a box jump and managed to break his wrist. We didn't know it at the time, I had him ice it and I wrapped it up, 2 days later I saw him as I picked up Bryce and he was in a cast. Ooops!

 

Confirmation for the Boys

Bryce and Caleb had their Confirmation today. This has been an interesting couple years for kids going through confirmation classes. We rarely had in person church, there was almost no in person youth group and no volunteer opportunities. They still had to do some online sermon notes and write a faith statement. It was so fun to see these guys make their Confirmation!

We had a small get together at our house afterward. It was nice to have so many family members come to help them celebrate.

These boys are goofy but really good kids. It has been nice for the boys to have good friends that attend church and church functions.

 

Grandpa Orville's Pickup

Luts's have told the boys for a couple years now that Grandpa Orville's truck could be there's someday. Caleb really wants a truck so it was decided he would take the truck and Bryce would either buy Andy's smaller truck or purchase a car. Caleb has been excited to get this truck for a long time now. Robb and I need the boys to start driving out of necessity but we are really nervous for this step too! They have both started to drive more with us. Caleb is more proactive/pushy about getting his hours in. 

Lets hope this truck serves them well and keeps them safe through the crazy driving teen years.

 

Hamilton

The Lutz's had bought everyone tickets to go to Lion King pre Covid but then everything got cancelled so we went to Hamilton instead. We ate at a very upscale and delicious steak house before heading over to the play. The boys were super excited about trying expensive steak. We then headed over to the play. I had heard wonderful things about this play and Abby and Emmy have watched it on Disney but the boys didn't really know what to expect. I thought it was wonderful. It is the story of Alexander Hamilton performed rap style and the cast was so talented! Bryce really enjoyed it, Caleb said it was good but too long, Emmy enjoyed it but couldn't stay awake after the intermission and Abby loved it. I really enjoyed it and Robb said he enjoyed it too but it was too long, and he needed more leg room. Thanks Bob and Susie for such a fun evening.

 

Scout is feeling better

Scout finally got her stitches out and can stop wearing her silly cone. She is getting around well and is starting to act more like her old self. She is playing with toys again and carrying toys around while doing her "look at me" growl. We are so glad to have our old Scout back.

 

Grammy's Pumpkin Patch

We went to see Grammy and get our pumpkins for the year. She had a good crop this year so the kids each got to pick a couple. The girls also love getting the mini pumpkins and all the fun shaped gourds. It just happened that we had planned to go there on the same day as Ginger and the kids which was fun! Grammy of course fed us a 3 course meal complete with gravy and multiple dessert options. After lunch we asked the kids to help clean up and it was a miracle! All of them were more than willing to help Grammy clear the table, do dishes and put away food. Ginger and I sat in awe of what was happening! There was no complaining or arguing. They were all happily doing chores. Grammy has some magic touch that we don't have!

When we were all playing outside at the end of the day, I got a frantic phone call from Bryce. He said he needed to talk to grandma right away. Well....Zoey had stolen one of the neighbor's chickens and was eating it. My city kids were appalled at this. Grammy on the other hand told Zoey to take it to her house so the evidence wasn't in her yard. We all got a good laugh at that. 

 

Walks on the Trail with Tasha

Tasha and I really enjoy walking on the MoPac trail. This trail is in the country and you get away from the feeling of being in town. It also goes on for miles and miles so we can walk as far as we want. Tasha and I can talk for days, and a 10 mile walk with a friend is so much better than by yourself! Lucy had her ACL repaired this summer and hasn't been able to walk long distances since. Scout had her injury, and we hadn't tried a walk for a while so Tasha and I decided we would cut our 10 mile walk down to a 2 mile walk and take the doggos. Tasha always thinks the dogs are funny because they get so excited to go on our walk. Walking 2 dogs at one time is a little bit of a challenge but we got it done. Scout did really good as a tripod doggie and is getting around really well. She made it most of the way and I help her out the last 1/4 mile when she was getting tired. Tasha thought it was hilarious that I was carrying her and had to get a picture. 

Of course, the girls and I had to go to Scooters afterward to get coffee and pup cups. These dogs are a lot of work but they bring me a lot of joy which Robb will never understand but at least he puts up with them.

 

New glasses

 Emmy got her new glasses. New glasses are always a challenge to pick out because she gets so used to the old ones that she doesn't want new ones. This time she picked a clear frame with purple flowers in it. They look adorable on her and she she likes them so it was a success!

Arbor Day Farm with Emmy's Class

Emmy has went to school in a pandemic from the beginning. Thinking back she has never had a full normal school year yet. They didn't get any field trips last year so she was very excited to get to go on a field trip this year. Her class went to Arbor Day Farm. They learned about bees, apple trees, picking apples and making cider. They also got to play on the treehouse playground which was really cool. It was all these bridges and tree houses that were up in the trees. They even had a trampoline and slides up there. The bad thing was that it was freezing that day. Emmy and I just wore sweatshirts thinking that would be warm enough but we were wrong. It took us the rest of the day to unthaw.

Emmy's class

 

Husker Football

Robb took Bryce, Caleb and Thomas to the Northwestern vs Husker football game. It was a great win for the Huskers that night and they did a special Red Out light show. They had a great time! Not all the games have been very good this year so they went to a fun one.

 

Choir and Show Choir

Bryce and Caleb joined choir and show choir this year. They pretty much joined to be with their friends especially Thomas. Thomas's dad is the choir teacher and makes all of this a lot of fun. It has been so fun watching them perform and learn all these dances and songs.

They have never got to wear the robes so it was fun to see.

They preformed 2 show choir songs at this show. They did such a good job since it was the first time doing these songs.

These boys are such a great group of friends are are such good kids.

Caleb, Crew, Bryce, Thomas, Noah, CJ, Brody