October!

October was busy as always!  I continue to be thankful for normalcy that I took for granted prior to 2020.  We started out with a fairly quiet rainy weekend, ending with a date afternoon to what I thought was a play that my mom friend Jenny was in, but she actually was not in it this season!  Whoops!  Bob and I still enjoyed doing something out of routine.  The week of the 3rd was busy with the usual events, ending with the Oktoberfest adult social at StMM.  On Saturday the 8th, Anna tried an open gym at a volleyball club in Fuquay.  She did a great job, but ended up deciding to do winter indoor soccer instead of the club.  Our wallet appreciates that!  Bob, Erin, Finley, and I took a boat ride while Anna was shopping with friends.  Sunday, we enjoyed a NCSU/UNC women's soccer game at UNC, and then Bob headed north to New York City for the week.

We ladies and Finley held down the fort the week of the 10th, including dance observation week (they have one in the fall and one in the spring).  Erin did a really great job!  

Anna also had her last volleyball game of the season on Thursday.  They did a really great job but couldn't quite make the win happen.  Still, to only lose one game all season was pretty amazing!  Way to go, ladies!  It was so fun to watch them improve and gain confidence this season.  

On Saturday the 15th, we had a busy day including a day trip to Charlotte for the annual Buddy Walk at UNCC!  It was a beautiful day, and we had a great time!  Then we all went back to Elliott's house and had a great lunch/birthday celebration for Erin.  So much fun!  

On our way home, we dropped Anna off at Addie's for her birthday sleepover.  Sunday, Bob, Finley, and I went out on a boat for a few hours.  It was warmer than the week before, peaceful, and very relaxing!  Anna and I also went to the 7pm mass at the cathedral because she missed Sunday morning.  That was beautiful, and we really enjoyed it.

Anna went on her class trip to DC from the 18th to the 20th.  They walked a LOT, saw a LOT, and had a really great time!  We missed her!  

They timed it well, coming back Thursday night and then having a teacher workday on Friday to recover.  Erin had a blast with her friends on Friday - they came here and then we went to Kabuki for dinner!  

Erin was busy on Saturday with a piano group meet-up as well as a dance master class, then baking her birthday cake.  

Sunday was Erin's actual birthday, which you can read more about HERE.  

Monday the 24th was back to normal, plus Bob took a 4-day trip to tropical Detroit for work.  Anna had a sick day on Tuesday, but it was just a cold.  I did a few things at school, and we were just generally busy.  Friday was a really fun and busy day - school trunk or treat and middle school dance!  We did a movie theater-themed trunk, Bob helped at the Knights grilling tent, and the girls broke it down at the dance.  Such a fun night! 

Saturday, we enjoyed a yummy and fun lunch out with Grandma and Grandpa F., and Anna also had her first real babysitting job that evening for a family in our neighborhood.  She did a really great job helping to put the boys (Charlie, age 5 and Jones, almost 2) to bed and then helping Jones get back to sleep when he woke up a little while later.  She was there until 11:30pm and didn't even fall asleep!  It was a big weekend for Anna, between the dance and that!  Bob enjoyed going to Martinsville for a NASCAR race on Saturday with Chris, Logan, Ben, Doug, and Sean, and we ladies took it easy and I also helped sort fundraiser shirts at school that afternoon.  We carved pumpkins that evening, too!

Monday was Halloween - the kids got to wear their costumes to school, and Erin went trick-or-treating at Vera's while Anna had friend Gracie over here.  We had a fun time at neighbor friend Ms. Karen's annual potluck dinner in her driveway, then braved a short rain shower and enjoyed seeing kids in costumes and scoring lots of candy.

So, that was October.  It was fun, busy, and I am now excited for my favorite month of the year!  Bring it on!