Happy Halloween

Halloween this year was quite a haul...though Waunakee was a little light on the Milk Duds.

Homecoming

Homecoming 2016

Taylor had two offers for the night.  A Freshman dinner hosted by a few of the parents at a large beautiful barn on Schumacher Rd and a small dinner at a friend's house.  I convinced her to do both.

Dress shopping was interesting...we found this little black dress for under $20 and she picked up the shoes at a resale shop.

 The refurbished barn was amazing.  The weather was amazing. And the view was amazing!

After dinner, I took her to the other dinner party and she carpooled with them to the dance.  She called me about 10:30 to come pick her up.  She said she had a good time.

Musicians

Music is some of the same and some different.

Waunakee has just one band that is both marching and concert, so Taylor got her first taste of marching band during the Homecoming half-time show.  She is still playing flute, and is wearing the pink sweatshirt in the front.

 At her first HS football game~I had to relearn the school song  #useitorloseit

Molly decided not to continue band but she did want to continue choir.  She is in white during this 6-12 concert early in the fall.

 Front row: blue headband.

Fall Soccer Season

The fall brings new soccer teams!

All the girls are playing in Waunakee this year.  Our location made travel to soccer practice convenient for most of the practices.  "Are you going to ride your bike to practice?" Yay!

As a Freshman, Taylor will play club for fall and then some indoor in the winter and then she will try out for the HS team for the spring.

Start of School

 In just over a week it was time to get ready for a new school year.  Lacey would be entering 3rd grade.  The building she is in was Grandma Dar's high school and my middle school!  She is enjoying her class and made friends easily.

 This happy face belongs to Lacey's teacher...Mrs. Meixelsperger...the kids call her Mrs. Mike

 **************************
Morgan is a 5th grader this year.  She attends a brand new school~just opened up in 2016.  It is a 5-6 building.  She recognized some names of her classmates from soccer and church which made some parts of the transition a little easier.  Morgan has really blossomed this year and is happy that she has made so many new friends.

We ran right from soccer practice (hence the soccer clothes) to her open house where she met her two teachers for the year.  Mrs. Kind and Mrs. Martin.  Mrs Kind's first year of teaching was 5th grade to some of my classmates (she wasn't my homeroom teacher but I remember her being a teacher~she was a Miss Zielger back then~she looks amazing...because I am OLD!)

Morgan had two teachers last year too, so that was not new for her.

 ******************************
Molly entered 7th grade.  Oh, 7th grade....the grade I teach...the grade very few look back at with fond memories.  A year that is in between a little kid and a big kid.  Size wise, Molly had been to a similar size school last year in SP, so that was not such a big deal...she had already had to learn some organization skills for lockers, folders, classes, etc.

Unfortunately, Molly got a nasty bronchial infection (it was a long 5 hours at Urgent Care that night) the first month of school and missed a bunch of days, and that led to getting behind and anxiety about catching up and making friends. I'm happy to report that by November, she had found a little group of friends and is feeling much better about school.

********************************
Taylor is in 9th grade~ a Freshman!  She attends my alma mater but it certainly has changed since I was there.

The obligatory first day of school photo. 2016-2017

My commute this year...hello sunshine...

Movie: Summer of 2016

Welcome Home

So the couple that bought our house (teachers none the less~one being a HS teacher in Waunakee~weird right!!!) had used the same realtor as we had so we were able to negotiate a good move in move out scenario.

The couple that sold us their house was down sizing and moving to an apartment before a longer move across the country to Texas.  Knowing that most of their stuff was going into storage we decided to ask them if they were interested in selling us their basement furniture.

They offered it to us for $1000.  Then we got the appraisal back and found out that there was a significant difference between the appraisal of the house (what the bank is willing to loan us) and what we negotiated as a price. In talking with our realtor this rarely happens and when it does the buyer and the seller usually meet in the middle of the difference. Our buyer was not willing to move so I spent several days with a throbbing pain in the back of my head that I have determined must be the bank part of my brain.  After a few days we figured everything out but we were not in a position any longer to buy their basement furniture.  

A couple of days after the bank drama our realtor calls me and tells me that she and the buyer's realtor both feel bad that the buyer was not willing to compromise on the price, so they were going to each chip in half and buy the furniture for us~WOW

We did get a POD to help with the move~it was AWESOME!  We gradually packed and moved items into the pod.  Then we hired College Hunks as our movers.  I had a rep come to the house and take an inventory and we set a date for the move.  Then I didn't hear from them.  24 hours before the move I called to confirm and was told that our move was scheduled from 8-12 with two guys.  Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!  I confirmed the size of the house and the items to move and the person I spoke to agreed with me that 8-12 was not going to be enough time.  She asked if she could call me back.  *Breathe* Ten minutes later she called me back and assured me that she had 3 movers available and that they were available the entire day. *Exhale*

After a restless last night in the house, we woke up to rain!  At 7:30 I get a call from the HUNKS wanting to know if I wanted to postpone~*WHAT* *NO*~I perhaps not so politely informed them that I expected there to be 3 hunks at my house at 8:00 to move my house.  Then the girls and I headed out while Chris supervised the moving of the furniture.

The hunks arrived and they were in Waunakee by 3 to unload.  Turns out, they were the EXACT same movers that had moved our buyers out of the house....deja vu! 

A huge shout out and thank you to family that helped us move!  My brother, sister, and brother-in-law helped haul boxes and assemble furniture. My mom hosted and made meals. My uncle and aunt helped organize and have been very helpful since moving day with building deck stairs, garage set-up, and landscaping advice. Chris's mom and Gene loaded their vehicles up with last odds and ends. 

All the girls had beds to sleep in the first night, Chris and I had a mattress but our bed wouldn't arrive for a few more days.

The next day, I went back to the old house and cleaned and scrubbed.  My last task was to dig up the Saint Joseph and take that with us.  Of course, I had no shovel to accomplish this and had to go ask my neighbor across the street if I could borrow a shovel~they were more than happy to help!  

I shed a few tears as I closed up the house for the last time.  Our first home.  All the girls came home to that house, all the girls took their first steps in that house. They learned to ride bikes on that sidewalk and trick or treated on our neighbor's doors. Raspberries were eaten straight out of the garden and smores were made in the fire pit.  The park around the corner held curvy slides and tire swings. Soccer games were played and softballs were shagged.   You will all be missed!

****Thank you SP for an amazing 15 years**** 

These three bottles were waiting on the counter at our new home....courtesy of our realtor who bought them as restitution for calling Chris "Chad" several times.