183 months old

Well, hello November!   October was in and out like a roller coaster - ridiculously fast and no idea how it all went by in a blink of an eye.   Britton is slowly but surely chipping away at her driving classes.  She's had 7 two-hour sessions where she drives for one hour and observes for one hour.  Her last 3 lessons are one-hour sessions, and she's only got 2 sessions left.  We will spend the rest of the time (until August)  doing parent-led sessions.  I'm not ready!

Britton spent Halloween not trick-or-treating this year, but instead managing the playlist and handing out candy.   She dressed up as a witch (Barrett was Wolverine) and did a great job interacting with all of the kids that stopped by, complimenting their costumes and delivering candy into waiting hands.

She also had her first debate competition!  No parents were allowed to watch, but she did a great job and got the nerves out. I'm so impressed with her ability to go into public speaking with minimal nerves, something I still struggle with as an adult.

Likes: honeycomb ice cream

Dislikes: getting up early for Barrett's football games (but goes anyways and cheers him on!)

barrett: 137 months old

What a busy October we've had!  Barrett is deep into his flag football season and really enjoying it.  He plays defense, and is now actually looking forward to going to practice twice a week!  He's got 2 games left, then the end-of-season tournament.  He's also rocking it at school, with good grades and keeping track of all of his homework on his own.  Bonus - he's joined the Pokemon Club at school, and they had their first meeting today.  He said he got some good traded cards, and I'll take his word for it because I don't know much about Pokemon cards!

Likes:  football, Madden football video game, Nutella on waffles

Dislikes: ravioli

Throwback Barrett - 10 years ago!  Covered in paint

182 months old

 

We're in October!  And the hubs and I were away playing in Charleston, SC with Aunt Jessica and Uncle Tim, so I'm posting late.  Britton is definitely in her groove with school now - the first six weeks are always the hardest to get back into the rhythm, but she's over the hump now and doing well.  This year Britton is taking Debate for her speech credit, and is really enjoying it!  She's definitely not her mother's daughter, as I went well into my 30s before I could talk in front of people without sweating and shaking.  She's got a tournament coming up in November, and the hubs has agreed to volunteer as a judge!  I love that she's getting comfortable having her say and speaking her mind, all while thinking on her feet.  

Likes:  Strawberry Shortcake's friend Plum Pudding as a Halloween costume

Dislikes: softball practice has started focusing on running, Britton's exercise nemesis

barrett: 136 months old

We're in September!  Barrett has started 6th grade at the junior high, and is now a pro at finding his classes and working his locker.  He also started flag football a few weeks ago, and had his first game yesterday.  He's playing offensive lineman and is getting used to the position, as he was previously practicing as a defensive player.  His team lost against the Cowboys yesterday, but no worries, they've got an entire season ahead them to change up those stats.  He's having a good time and getting exercise, so I'm all for it!

Likes:  playing the new Madden game

Dislikes:  getting up early for math tutorials this week

181 months old

I'm a little behind because Britton was traveling home on the 2nd - her first plane ride solo!  She went to visit her friend Jody in Virginia over Labor Day weekend, and Jody had an extra ticket to see Mitski, a bonus!  Britton got home late Monday night, and I totally forgot to get her monthly photo, then school and work and life caught up to me and well, here we are a few days late.

Britton is trudging away at the new school year.  She has her first AP class this year (World History), and also Algebra II, French II, Debate, Chemistry, KAP English, and softball.  She's killing it in all her classes, and she's found a new love for chemistry.  She stays on top of her classes herself without us having to remind her about homework and tests, and when we met her teachers they all said she's a delight to have in class and applies herself.  As they all put it, they never have to worry about her.  

Britton has recently picked out a ton of holiday-themed earrings and is wearing her new Halloween sweatshirt in her photo.  A girl after my own heart - I love Halloween!

Likes: Chemistry, her teachers (she got some great ones this year), debate - she's going to do a few tournaments this year!

Dislikes:  Algebra II

No reason for this - just a pretty rainbow I saw tonight!

 

barrett: 135 months old

A *bit* (2 weeks) late, I know, but we're getting back into the swing of things with school starting back up, so please pretend I've gotten this up on time!  Barrett spent his early August trying to fit in all things SUMMER before the end of summer vacation.  He slept in, playing too many video games, swam in the pool with his friends, and was just living his best life.  Then, reality hit, that he was heading to a new school, new grade, new teachers and new classmates, and we headed up for a tour of the school and his schedule.  Barrett is now in his second week of school, and while he has way fewer people in his classes than he knows from elementary school, he's taking it all in stride.  For the first time, he's riding the bus, and he has a locker.  And he has his first school dance on Friday!

Likes:  Jurassic Park/World/Dominion/everything

Dislikes:  the bus stop being so far away (it's not that far)

15 years old!

I think I'm in denial that I now have a 15 year old!  Britton decided she wanted pho for dinner tonight, so we rounded up Memaw and PawPaw and Britton's friend Emma, and treated ourselves to spring rolls and pho.  Then we headed back to the house for cake - a tiramisu cake from 85 Degree Bakery.  It was incredible!  Britton's party is tomorrow - she wanted a golf party at Top Golf, so we will be there with her friends tomorrow evening, eating more birthday cake (this time cupcakes!) and trying to stay out of the way of teenagers.  

Likes:  no LOVES her new iPad

Dislikes:  when Nella won't snuggle