We hosted Marin & her group of girls for their Friendsgiving last night. She & I had so much fun setting the table & getting ready for the party. We laughed that the table looked very "fall-ish" but if you turn in any other direction, it was all Christmas! haha The table turned out great & the girls were so happy when they arrived.

They did a great job prepping most of the dishes they brought. They did have to call Gary upstairs to help them cut the ham. Made us laugh. But they had quite the feast! 

Once they finished dinner & dessert, they migrated to the basement and scattered around the couch/bean bags to snuggle in for Home Alone.

So cozy! xoxo

 It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas in the Brown house... 

And we all couldn't be happier. Love the cozy feeling of the lights & sitting with the fire on. 

I bought a new door mat that reads: We're like really into Christmas. 

Thought it was fitting for our house. 

xoxo

 This weekend we drove down to Milwaukee for a weekend with the Veraghens. The weather was super mild & it felt so good to get out and do some exploring. We've been so low key every weekend with trying not to get exposed to Covid. I just don't want to miss work. Wishing it would all just go away, but it is not looking like it will any time soon... so we enjoyed an awesome weekend outdoors. Much needed for all. We explored/hiked Holy Hill. All the years living in Milwaukee, we had never been there. 

Whole crew....

I kept calling the church Hogwarts. It was so large & beautiful, reminded me so much of Harry Potter!

Two days of fresh air was great for all of us. The leaves changing was a bonus. It was all so pretty!

We had to line the kids up in their same line from the picture we took of them years ago at the church in St. Louis. They've all grown up so much.

Soaking up our last warm days outside. Feels like winter is so far away on weekends like this... but we know it's coming!!! xoxo

 It's officially fall when the yard is full of leaves! I felt like they stayed on the trees much longer this year. Maeve has been waiting to play in the piles. Today was the day!

Margaux thrilled to be helping me get them all together onto a tarp. I think she enjoyed it a bit!

Done for today... I'm sure we'll be back at it again tomorrow. xoxo

 Marin's first high school cross country season is done & tonight we attended her banquet. Always so fun to see her with her teammates. They have developed quite the bond this year. Even more fun to hear her coach talk about her before he gifted her a varsity letter. It's such an accomplishment as a freshman & his words about her & her growth/determination were so great to hear. Sadly, he's retiring this year. He's a great guy & even more fun was that he was one of my high school teachers. We definitely owe a lot of Marin's great season to him.

The varsity team. Boys wore beach shirts & the girls pajamas. Gone are the days of dressing up!

They are all about pictures all the time. One last picture with their coaches.

Very much looking forward to next season! xoxo

 Year two of our Day of the Dead celebrations. The kids & adults were all looking forward to it. This year we followed the tradition & prepared food that our deceased loved ones enjoyed. It was fun! A little hodge podge of food, but no one minded. I found a sugar skull cookie kit. The kids did great decorating them.

Unfortunately, they looked much better than they tasted. But they turned out so cute!

Katie hosted last year, my mom this year. She set up the shrine in the living room. Sadly, it grew a little this year with my mom losing her aunt Jeanette, uncle Donny & our dear friend Linda. 

Acre & I had some fun with the snapchat filters too! Love him to pieces.

xoxo

 Halloween 2021. Maeve's costume arrived. We had two children dressed in Christmas costumes, I loved it. I am ready to put my tree up now! Also just thankful I got a photo of the three of them together because they were all headed in different directions! 

Marg & Marin with their crew of girls...

And Maeve with her group of friends. No snow this year, but the wind was cold. 

Katie's kids were so darn cute as the statue of liberty, uncle Sam & the eagle.

Marg's hair was a bit stressful for me. I am so not good at doing hair, but it turned out pretty well in the end. People got it that she was Cindy Lou Who from the Grinch & Maeve was a Christmas elf. 

They all ran around enough to stay somewhat warm but were not out too long. Probably better, we don't need all the candy! As soon as Maeve came back inside she asked to put the Christmas tree up. Love that she and Margaux share my excitement for Christmas. Tonight I am tired, maybe we'll start decorating tomorrow! xoxo

 Last night was Halloween party night for Gary & I with a few from my high school crew. The theme was dress as your spouse & I think we did a darn good job! So much fun & a lot of laughs. For as cold as it was, I lasted most of the night (close to the fire) in shorts & a tank top.

Seeing each other dressed as our spouses was so funny Lot's of great costumes.

Marin & her friends can't miss an excuse to party either! They had their own costume party. Fun for them to get the big group together. 

xoxo

 Finally a free night to carve pumpkins! We carved at Katie & Mike's, their garage is heated and has much more room than ours. The girls had their carving ideas & got right to work...

Margaux got done with her carving first & then helped Sloane with her spider.

They all turned out so cute! 

Maeve (with a little help from Gary) carved a Hamilton pumpkin, Margaux an Among Us character & Marin went for a good old fashion jack-o-lantern.

All three looked so great all lit up. Gary & I felt a little relief with the girls all being able to carve on their own. My sisters kids were the exact opposite. Been there, done that. I was thankful to be past that stage when it came time to carve.

Looking forward to Halloween! Let's hope Maeve's costume arrives, everything is so delayed. xo

 Marg had some fun last night at the football game with her friends. The dress theme was black out, so they were all in their matching all black. Margaux thought it was so funny when some of Marin's CC friends showed up & took pics with them. 

Today was Marin's sectional cross country meet. She was so nervous, but also sad knowing the end of the season was here for most of them. They all looked so cute warming up. Marin was not supposed to run because sectionals meet only runs the top 7 runners. Technically she's been the 8th runner or as we like to call her, the caboose! But Marin wasn't going to settle for that. She ran her heart out the last 3 weeks & placed 6th & 7th in all the meets so her coach bumped her up in the order & that qualified her to run today. Love that she's developed this competitive motivation!

She ran her heart out today & had another PR. She shaved time off each & every meet she ran this year. It was pretty incredible to watch her improve each week. And of course having her friends & family there to watch made it all the more special.

So much fun cheering her on all season. The other two as well. We've officially become a family of runners. I think I may be the one who runs the least! At least lately. 

I snagged a pic of the board with her time of 22:16. So stinking proud!

The girls team did great but the boys did even better. Their whole team qualified for state. The first time in many years. Very exciting for them all as a team. Great season for all! xoxo

 One positive of Maeve having Covid a few weeks ago, was telling her while she was quarantined that we bought her Hamilton tickets! Made her day, week, 10 days! I told her that her positive covid test meant that when her 10 days were done, she'd be immune for at least 90 days.. which meant she would 100% be great for Hamilton. Yesterday was the big day. She drew this on my classroom board in the morning, knowing that we'd be leaving right after school.

It was a date for Gary, Maeve & myself. We stopped for dinner on the way & watched Marin run her meet via Facetime. Maeve talked a million miles a minute the whole 2 hour drive down to the theater. Once we got there it was nothing but smiles. So stinking excited!!!

Once we entered the theater, the excitement grew when she saw the stage. Also, our seats were amazing & so close. Really great that Maeve could see the stage so clearly. 

They were really strict about no photos in the theater. Maeve was so paranoid that we'd get caught, she was terrified to even take pictures. It was so funny, she is definitely our little rule follower.

Showtime! And of course I snuck a few pics so Maeve would have some memories. Her face was priceless. Even masked, we could see that she was singing along the entire performance. Worth every penny. 

The Warrens were also at the show, so we visited with them during intermission.

And a quick stop at the merchandise stand for a Hamilton t-shirt & water bottle for our little fan too! Show was done around 10:45 & then we headed home. Late night, but worth every minute & dollar we spent for the tickets. So much fun. xoxo

Happy Birthday Mom! Pumpkin spice cake for dessert while we celebrate grandma. Always fun trying to get all the kids to look. The pictures always make me smile.

And a photo from school today. Jody & I being scientists for our students. Never a dull moment in the life of a 5th grade teacher. 

xoxo

Homecoming 2021 for Marin. Another high school first for her. All so new for us. By the time the other two girls attend, we'll be regulars! The girls got ready at our house. They all looked beautiful.

Early afternoon we headed to Titletown for some more pics with the whole group before they had dinner together.

Estelle & Marin with a few of her CC friends.

Addy's dad (our friend Brad) is working on a project at Titletown so he brought the group up to the rooftop for pics with Lambeau in the background. 

Look at this amazing view!

After more pictures, they headed to school for the dance which is being held outside because of Covid & them not wanting to deal with the contact tracing. AND it is currently raining! haha I am sure they'll have a blast regardless. xoxo

 Today is Estelle's birthday. The girls wanted to celebrate with lunch at a nice place so Kristin & I took them to one of our favorites. They thought they were so fancy with their n/a margaritas.

Growing up fast! She's 15 so she can officially get her temps now & start driving. I can't even believe Marin's turn will be here before we know it. Granted, her bday is not until next summer so we've got some time. Which I am okay with! xoxo