Thursday, November 21, 2013

Halloween, Family Pictures, and More!

It has apparently been since before Halloween that we posted last! So I have to start out with the Halloween pictures, because the kids helped select and make their own costumes this year. Delaney went ahead keeping the nerd theme going this time with Nerds candy, while Kyle went all out with Minecraft as Steve riding a pig.  We even found a Darth Vader costume on clearance last year for Kenny, that we surprised the kids with -- Kyle gave it a big thumbs up!



I think their costumes turned out great!  Unfortunately, there was also a lot of work involved for me, so I'm not so sure how excited I'll be next year if they want to "make their own costumes" again.  We'll see.  Maybe with time I'll forget, right?

Here's a front and back view of Dee's costume:


 

 
And here's a couple of shots of Kyle's costume:


 


His costume was a tad cumbersome when moving around, but it was definitely unique.  He got lots of compliments while out trick-or-treating, even a "best costume seen all night" from a passerby.  Awesome!

He got his picture taken with his Dad and his PaPa too:


 


The kids are still enjoying some of their Halloween candy (occasionally).  :-) 

Kenny decided we needed some more family pictures taken, and he wanted us to get out to Lemon Lake before the leaves dropped.  So on Sunday, November 3rd, we made out way out to Lemon Lake.  It was a bit nippy, but thankfully not quite as cold as it has been lately.  Since the kids are older, taking these pictures aren't quite as painful as before (but Kyle still only lasts so long before he is incapable of holding still and smiling anymore).  Even so, I think we got some nice shots while we were there.  We're going to update a few photos around the house with some of these too.


 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Kyle has been going through books like crazy.  It's actually been kind of hard keeping him stocked with books here lately.  He now has over 500 AR points so far this year.  He's on a roll!  He's also been helping with the After School Reading Club that Solon is running.  It pairs up kids who are struggling a bit with reading and taking AR tests with good readers in the school.  This last time, I guess one of the much younger kids was a little stressed to read with someone he didn't know.  The librarian said that she had gone on about Kyle's reading accomplishments earlier before the club started, so she then explained to him that he was going to be reading with Kyle.  And I guess he was like, THE Kyle?, so he sat down next to him and was so pleased to read to him.  Isn't that cute?!?

Delaney's Crown Point soccer for her freshman year officially came to an end.  Since our last post was their sectional win, I'll start with how the rest of their season went.  They went on to Regionals and won their first game against Hammond High 9-0.  Then they played Valparaiso in their second Regional game (they had beaten them earlier in the season 3-2), and they just couldn't quite get it and lost 0-1.  It was a heartbreaking loss for the seniors (their crying made Delaney want to cry), and their season ended.  They still had a great season, winning 13 games and earning the 2013 Sectional title!

Last night, Crown Point High School had their Fall Sports Awards Program.  Delaney is now officially a Letterman!  She was a Scholar Athlete and also selected as Rookie of the Year for her team.  She finished the season with 10 goals and 6 assists.  Coach had the three sophomores and Delaney (a freshman) up front; they had accounted for half the goals this season!  Delaney was also an Honorable Mention in the 2013 Times All-Area Girls Soccer Team.  Great job, Dee -- we are so proud of your accomplishments!  It will be exciting to watch next year's team and the rest of the players step up next year.  Can't wait!


 


All the CP Scholar Athletes were given a t-shirt for their accomplishment, and this year the percentage of athletes who earned the t-shirt was 50.4%!  Over half of the CP Fall athletes earned it, amazing!  Each year that percentage has just kept rising, it was up last year from 47%.  They had all the Scholar Athletes stay for a picture, which we missed, but they tweeted it out:



They even had trouble fitting all the kids in the picture!  I think Delaney may be cut off on the right side!  These athletes include: Boys - Football, Cross Country, Soccer and Tennis; Girls - Volleyball, Cross Country, Soccer, Golf and Cheerleading.  The kids have an intense schedule during their season, so what an accomplishment!

Right after her Crown Point season ended, she started practicing with her Three Lions team again.  They were playing together in the Indianpolis College Showcase tournament on November 9th and 10th.  They hadn't played together obviously in a while, and they were playing some tough teams.  They tied one and lost two, and Delaney got a couple of goals.  After that, we decided it was time to shut her down for a bit.  Her back is still hurting from way back in May, when she was flipped over during a Three Lions game on a breakaway (a foul was called).  She's gone to therapy once, but it didn't seem to completely solve the problem.  So this time she is taking a break, allowing her muscles a chance to heal and going to therapy again.  Hopefully this will take care of it!

Last, but not least, the kids and I are HUGE Nathan Fillion fans now.  We watched Firefly and Serenity on Netflix, and now Delaney and I are working our way through Castle.  We've seen season 1 and 2, hoping to watch season 3 over Thanksgiving break.





If you haven't seen them, you are so missing out!  LOL

Love,
Ken, Dani, Dee & Kyle