Where did October go?

The slacking bloggers have returned. I don’t think a whole month has ever passed without a single post. My apologies to anyone who has checked back frequently looking for an update. How about I recap a busy month all at once? Scroll on down for pictures in the next post.

October started with Emily receiving a “Star Student” certificate from her teacher. The note that accompanied the certificate said that Emily had correctly identified each of the letters and numbers and had recited the months, days of the week, and the pledge of allegiance.

Football is always a big part of this month. For the Ga. Tech game, we met some friends to tailgate. We even ran into Matt. It was a night game, so Em cheered hard through the first half but crashed in Daddy’s lap before it was over. On the 24th Emily and I went to the Florida game; it’s not every day you get to see the #1 team play. Jeff was out of town but several of his relatives were there, so it was fun. We’re proud of the way the Dawgs hung in there!

Part of why we didn’t post last month was the grownups' crazy schedules. Jeff was gone overnight for 10 nights (spread across 3 trips, but still!), and I had a 4-day conference also. In addition to all the travel, I had to prepare for comprehensive exams to complete my master’s degree. Exams were the 23rd, right after my trip, so I had to study a lot while Jeff was gone. To make that happen, Emily went to spend a week with my parents. It was a great time for all!

During her visit, Emily and Nana had an outing every day. The one day nothing was planned Em woke up and asked “Where can we go today, Nana?” So of course they went shopping! For the end of the week, her cousin Russ came to play. Then Miss Jennifer, Addie and I met Em and the grands at the corn maze on Saturday. Like last year, the girls had a ball in the mazes and with the animals.

A souvenir of the corn maze trip was a pumpkin to carve for our first jack-o-lantern. Em and Jeff worked hard preparing and carving their creation.

Then Halloween festivities began. On the 23rd, Emily and Addie went trick-or-treating downtown. Em was a cowgirl, and Addie was a “horse.” (Yes, she looks like a zebra, but she said she’s a horse) It was a new activity the downtown merchants put on and the girls had a lot of fun. Our friend Dinah came along for the fun too.

For Halloween, the gang gathered at our house for a pre-T-o-T pizza party. After everyone was stuffed, we headed out to trick-or-treat a bit in the neighborhood before going to the Fall Festival at Jack’s church. We capped off the night watching the Dawgs beat UK back at our house.

Whew! Now you see why we didn’t get to post in October? Here's hoping for a calmer November.

Love, Amy, Jeff and Emily