With Halloween in the rear view mirror, 2025 will be over before we know it. The same can be said about our backyard landscaping: this will feel like the work was done in the blink of an eye. We were very impressed with not only how hard everyone worked but also the artistry that went into what they did. Below are a couple "before" photos:
During: Demo day, drain and new sprinkler system put in, concrete poured, planting day, flagstones going in, and mulch added.
The night of demo day Michelle threw an autumn party at the Pumpkin Ranch and our house. After some time picking their pumpkins from the patch they ate fish tacos with us, carved or painted some of the most creative gourds I've ever seen kids make, and made candy apples. These girls are just the most polite high schoolers you've ever seen and they all seemed to have a really good time. I'm glad they were here and am continually impressed with how they are still getting together often even though they are now going to three different schools.
Hubby and I also got to cheer on Michelle at the annual SCLA awards ceremony. She now has over 165 volunteer hours on her record but I'm sure she's missing a few hours here and there. For a frame of reference, she is supposed to have at least 25 hours per school year. So at this point she could stop volunteering for the rest of high school and still have more hours than she needs but she loves it!
Natalie is loving the fact she still gets to see her softball teammates once a week at the gym and in October they got to have a "big sister, little sister" workout with an 18U team. She said it was a super easy yoga type day since the other team had played a couple games the day before but Natalie didn't mind.
Good luck trying to find Natalie in the Quarter 1 4.0 Awards photo. I had to have her point herself out to me! We had her annual IEP meeting and she is doing so well in school and in her testing that she no longer qualifies for her dyslexia and now a 504 instead. This is a big deal and we are so proud of her grit! This was also an eye opening experience to hear how much she hates school work but keeps trudging along because she likes school other than the actual independent work and homework she has to do. We got her added to the list for the counselor to check on periodically in case she starts to burn out before middle school is over but I have a feeling those meetings are going to be unnecessary.
Danny had so many fall league games but I was only able to go to 4 of them! It was great to see him on the court again but my photo/video skills have gotten rusty. For instance, I sat in the wrong place because when Danny had not one but two beautiful 3 pointers, the referee blocked my phone's view and I had to lean over to partially see them. One of these days! I also had the privilege of not only sitting next to some great basketball moms that I've missed but also was joined by Danny's girlfriend, Jane. She is a wonderful human and was honored she chose to sit by me instead of her friend that was also there at the first game she came to. Then for the second game she attended (where Danny got to play against his best friend) she was brave enough to text me so she could find me right away. I asked Danny if I was scary and he said she just wanted to make a good impression. Awww. These two are so cute. You should have seen Michelle helping Danny put together flowers for Jane when Danny got all nervous and asked her for help. I love what great siblings Danny and Michelle can be to each other. He has been doing a good job getting her to school on time this year too.
Michelle organized another successful hike. It is fun to see the such neat students get together and now with an official sponsor. This time they went on the Anne U. White Trail at 3.2 miles with 485 feet elevation gain. They are trying to get a variety of hikes in and it is kind of amazing to watch how many details Michelle has to juggle to get this club up and running. I'm so proud of her having an idea and making it a reality.
Taking about making things a reality, we were constantly amazed at how much work our landscapers could get done in a day or two. One day there were 9 men working back there on everything from the flagstone patio to the sprinkler system. Hubby, Natalie, and Michelle all helped to get our chairs put together. First came the rocking chairs, which took a bit of time but we are so happy with them!
Dinner in a pumpkin with scary eyes for dessert (or appetizers or both). lol
This year Natalie and her best friend were Mario and Luigi. Loved this idea! Super simple too because she used a hand me down shirt from Michelle and hand me down overalls from Danny so we just needed a little kit that came complete with mustaches. And when it got cold she could wear a whole 'nother outfit underneath to stay warm.
With Natalie at Annabell's, Michelle at Elle's (dressed at Mater from Cars while Elle dressed as Lightning McQueen), Danny (as Clark Kent) at a couple different parties, and Kate trick or treating our neighborhood with Ava (as a clown), Hubby and I got to sit by our pallet of yard furniture and solo stove with our new rocking chairs to pass out candy together. We didn't have a ton of trick or treaters but we did take turns showing our neighbors the new back yard progress!
And just like that Halloween was over, the pumpkins got thrown in the compost along with trimmings and leaves from the front yard, Hubby put together the table and chairs at lightning speed and the weather was nice enough for most of us to eat lunch outside together. Now all we need is the electrician to come and run power to our hot tub and the backyard will be completely finished! Well, the sun shade will go up in the spring, making it obvious what those two posts are actually for. The pictures don't do the designer and the landscapers justice. There is a whole new feeling back there and we are so excited to see what it looks like after all the new plantings have a few years to grow.
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