A Few Pictures

I need to catch up on my picture so this post will be composed of some random shots throughout October.

Becca and Patrick running Cross Country.

Lia and I stopped for a selfie.

The XC team, 5th through 8th grade.

5th grade girls.

Running Hattons.

7th grade boys.

Tilly barking at something, probably her own reflection.

Mom and George selfie.

Tilly was not a fan of the blanket on her but we thought it was funny.

Becca selfie.

 Just in case you need a pick-me-up, here is a video of George dancing at breakfast one day.

We have left XC behind us for the year and are in the middle of basketball season.  Both Becca and Pat enjoying the game but don't see a lot of playing time.  All the kids continue to do well at school.  Stay around for more pictures.

Still Busy

Its been a month since I posted last and we've done a lot since then.  I'll start with some pics from George's Den meeting.  We toured the Dement-Zinzer House here in Washington.  George was allowed to sit on the swing.

Here is the whole den, and one little brother, in the waiting room of the Doctor's Museum.

We had our annual block party in mid September.  Mary enjoyed the food despite the chilly temp.

Becc and her buddy Anna were decorated like dragons.

With the fall comes another soccer season.  This year we just have Lia and George playing, with Mike coaching both teams of course.

Girls middle school basketball has already started in Illinois.  Becca and I enjoyed the Mother-Daughter Jersey Ceremony.

The 5th grade basketball team.

Patrick has begun his journey to Confirmation (its a 2 year program).  Here he is signing the contract.

Becc'a taking the floor for her first basketball game.

Cross Country is coming to a close with Sectionals next Saturday.  Here's the kids chillin' before a race.

Mary found this book in the waiting room of the doctor's office, looked at the the smiling girl, and declared "That's me, Mommy!"

The potty training is in full swing as well.  Mary enjoys wearing her underwear in many places.

She even got to wear the dress Grandma & pa Sullivan bribed her with to use the potty.  She not totally there yet but she's very close.

As you can tell, we are on to go a lot.  I worry about Becca being so busy but she's handling it with grace..mostly.  Patrick is enjoying the challenge of Algebra and a tough ELA teacher.  Cecilia is having some trouble adjusting to the long hours of school and is extremely whining because of it.  Why she won't just take a nap or go to bed a little early, I don't know.  George had a rocky start to 3rd grade but seems to be in the swing of things now.  And Mary is busy being two, fighting with the dog, and riding in the car with me as we cart someone else around.

Back to School Already

Again, it has been a month since my last post.  We have been having lots of fun with the computer system and I managed to delete most of my first day of school pictures as well as our trip to Iowa.  But let me give you what I got.  Here is the group shot: Patrick (7th), Rebecca (5th), George (3rd), and Cecilia (K) all ready for school while Mary and Tilly stayed home with me.

Becca also decided to run Cross Country this fall.  This was her first meet about two weeks ago.  They had their 6th meet on Tuesday in which Becca ran for the varsity team.  She's not the fastest but her potential is good.  Patrick's running has been up and down but he did well on Tuesday and I see him doing well if he puts in the effort.

Too bad George doesn't like Tilly.

With nowhere to go, Mary has been potty training the last two weeks.  She is very good about getting the pee in the potty but still apprehensive about the poop.

George is following both families traditions and has an over crowded mouth.  This week he had 4 teeth pulled out to make room.  He did amazing!  I enjoyed his conversation while still under the influence of anesthesia.  They wouldn't let me take pictures.

This week at the XC meet, Mary and Lia made a friend from another school.  Thank God they aren't shy! 

I didn't know Mary knew how to play Ring-around-the-Rosie.

Mary wants to have her hair done like her sisters and always asks for two pigtails, which she pulls out within 10 minutes.  Yesterday I decided to do it a little differently.  Becca said she looks like a unicorn.

Trips

We once again headed to Wisconsin to celebrate the birth of the nation.

Mary was showing off her how good she is at being 2.

A back-lite picture of Mary and Grandma Jan.

Lake life is rough.

Love to count!

Patrick had fun with the dogs.

Grandpa gave the kids these awesome pewter mugs.  The kids enjoyed doing shots of milk with Mary's mug.

Again, lake life is rough.

We also took a day trip down to Springfield to finish up a merit badge for Patrick.  Here are several pictures from the Illinois State Capitol.

Our tour guide seemed to know a lot but she talked very fast so it was hard to catch everything she said.  The kids were blown away but the detail and artistry of the building.  George was not a fan of the open doom and had to be carried (by me) at times so I could see him.

Okay, that's all the picture on my phone from this summer.  Come back soon and I should have more of our upcoming trip to Iowa.