Fallin' in Love with Fall

 Here are some candid moments from our lives these past two months. Maggie has become quite the artist with her colorful coloring book creations. Riley battled a stomach bug earlier this week and rarely falls asleep during the day, but he snuggled with Dad on the couch and dozed off.

 For those that know me, you know I have a love for homemade artwork especially involving the kids. They have gotten a little too big for hand and footprint artbwork, but we were able to have a special time last weekend collecting leaves and using them to paint a new masterpiece to use as part of our fall decor.

My work has been a lot of fun so far this year. I've got a great assistant, Mrs. Miller, who pushes in to help four students with special needs, but the truth is she really helps me in so many ways as well! I LOVE this balloon celebration that I do each year to celebrate launching ourselves as authors. We have had a lot of themed days as well this year like Crazy Hair Day this past Friday. And my team is so supportive and creative too. I'm so thankful to have a positive work environment. Some of the other great things I've enjoyed so far this year include: Twitter challenges like #MyMotivation and #PanthersEngaged, dressing up like Charlotte from Charlotte's Web and our admin team buying blow-up pig suits for the Three Little Pigs, having monthly duty-free teacher luncheons from places like Salsaritas, indulging in WOW Wednesday treats and doing a Baby Boy Brunson gender reveal when it was our turn to contribute, planning days, E3 (extra planning time), and having a recess and lunch duty schedule that means extra planning time as well. Teaching can be a tough job, especially with all the demands and high expectations we place on ourselves, but things like this help bring the joy back into our days and make it easier to remember why we do what we do! Hint: It's not really for the pay! :)

 We got in our Fall Festival fix for this year by heading to Woodland United Methodist for some family pictures! Then I took the kids to Carowinds for The Great Pumpkin celebration there.

 The kids had a good time dressing up for their Red Ribbon Week which included themed days like wearing red, wearing bright colors, wearing superhero shirts, and wearing sports team gear (like the picture above where they were pretending to be enemies).

 On Halloween, the kids got to participate in their fundraiser called Tiger Trot, but the weekend before Chris and I did our own run (Pancakes and Beer 5K). Chris was awesome and stuck by me at a steady, slow pace to help me meet a goal of running the whole time. We finished in about 34 minutes. Not really something to write home about, but it was neat to do it together and enjoy a unique celebratory breakfast afterwards!

 This year for Halloween allow me to introduce you to FrankenPumpkin, Pretty Kitty, and Harry Potter Jr. These guys had a good time trekking all over the neighborhood with Kane (from next door) and some new neighbors and their kids (Addie and Jake).

Fall wouldn't be fall without at least a few bonfires, s'mores, and football games. We participated in this S'more event at church after we made gift baskets for DSS workers. And Chris took the family to a Fort Mill Friday night football game so we could cheer on the Jackets. We didn't stay for the whole game and unfortunately, the Yellow Jackets didn't win, but we had some gooberish fun in the stands with selfies and with concession stand snacks!

 Maggie lost yet again another tooth and wrote the tooth fairy a great note (asking for candy of course). One of my favorite bedtime routines is having the kids read! Look at these cute little bookworms!!

 Riley AND Maggie are now doing Scouts. Chris has helped lead the girl group for the past month and Riley has been working in his Bear den to learn how to carve using a knife. He created a turtle out of soap and is still working on the tree that he is making from a block of pinewood.

 Earlier in September, the kids got to celebrate Parker's birthday by painting their own pottery. This was a really neat party and the kids had a blast!

 September 28th was Dad's official last day of work!! We celebrated his retirement in style by joining Mom, Dad, and Connie at Firebirds for a delicious dinner. Just a few weeks before for his birthday, I had made Dad a sticky note countdown calendar.

 I think kids enjoy life so much because they make so much of it about play and games! Maggie has learned some neat gymnastic moves from Delaney and Eliza. She also loves to use her hands to play with slime and homemade Play-Doh. The picture below is where Riley and Maggie set up a "laser beam" game in the basement and had to use their stealth ninja moves to survive!

 

Here are a few other candid moments that bring a smile to my face. Maggie has labeled our chairs around the dinner table to give us assigned seats. Riley and Maggie both love to put on musical acts and shows for us. Riley is using a shaker, bells around his ankle, and a harmonica in his mouth while Maggie does interpretive streamer dancing. 

Our sweet neighbor, Mrs. Jeannie, let the kids pick roses from her garden while they were away for Labor Day holiday. The kids absolutely loved the smell and variety of all the different blooms! I absolutely love the beauty of each season that we are blessed with. The different ages and stages of the kids, the changing of temperature and activities, the beauty in the fall colors around us, and the knowledge that every good and perfect gift is from above (James 1:17).