Heritage, Hosting, & Hilarity
We wrapped up football season with a winning record (albeit, not by much), which put us in the running for a bowl game! Trent and I went out for an evening on the town with his co-worker, Megan, and her husband, Travis. We always have a blast hanging out with them and this night was no different (dinner, dancing, etc.). Brayden continued her tennis lessons and is doing incredible. Occasionally, a kid from the previous lesson will stay later and her coach will have the two of them play a match while he works with them on their technique. I took the girls to see the Peanuts movie with Kendall and her boys and we had a great time! Brayden had her nine-year check-up where she measured in at 4’ 4.4” (only an inch and a half until she can ride all of the big rollercoasters at Carowinds) and 56 pounds.
Brayden did a really cool cultural project at school related to her heritage. She chose to highlight her bedtime routine, which is when we sing “You Are My Sunshine” and “Brahm’s Lullaby” to her each night. I had those songs sung to me when I grew up and we have continued that same tradition with Brayden & Hanleigh. She made a display board with the origin of each song, the correct lyrics to them vs. the ones we have adapted over the years, and a bar chart of how many times they have been sung to her vs. me. She even recorded various versions of “You Are My Sunshine” from The Leftover Cuties and Ray Charles to demonstrate the different variations of the song. I enjoyed watching her present this project to us as well as other people during the official Heritage Day at school.
Trent enjoyed an awesome guys’ weekend to the NC State vs. Florida State football game. They actually took a private jet from Raleigh to Charlotte to Tallahassee…talk about riding in style! This definitely raised the bar in terms of future trips, but I’m not sure how realistic it is to expect it continue. They had a blast that weekend living it up and are already talking about where they are going to go for the 2016 away football game guys’ trip. Meanwhile, I went out with some girlfriends to a delicious dinner and local bar. We had a great time (as I always do with the neighborhood crew) and had many laughs and funny stories that we’ll never forget (none of which will be mentioned here). I took the girls to Landon’s birthday party the next afternoon as well.
The month ended with a very successful (and very delicious) Thanksgiving, hosted at our house (for the first time for the Hall side of the family)! We had 23 people in attendance and everyone was so helpful by bringing dishes to share. The weather was beautiful, the kids played in the yard, and we enjoyed another Panthers victory! The day honestly couldn’t have been more perfect!
Brayden-isms:
- I was reading the girls the book “Aliens in Underpants” and we got to the last page where there are sketches of different pairs of underwear. Brayden saw a pair that looked like a NASCAR checkered flag and then said, “I like this pair of underwear best because it is a checkered flag and the winner is your penis.” I was speechless and that doesn’t happen often. Then, she pointed to another pair and said, “I like the spider on this pair because it’s so dusty on your PP area that a spider moved in.”
- We were driving in the neighborhood and saw a boy scout selling popcorn door-to-door. She said, “All boy scouts do is sell popcorn and do nothing.” Cracked me up.
Hanleigh-isms:
- We have been buying Star Wars-themed vitamins lately. Hanleigh said, “Hans Solo isn’t in those vitamins. He probably will be in the Dark Vader ones because he’s going to go to the dark side.”
- Hanleigh and I bought Carolina Panthers shirts from Old Navy, but they were boy’s shirts. We went to breakfast one morning where she pointed at me and yelled to the whole restaurant “She’s wearing a boy’s shirt!”
- Randomly, while riding in the car, she blurted out, “Wouldn’t it be cool, if when you pooped, a Hawaiian girl came out?” I don’t even know what to say to this.
- Once again, we were riding in the car and she said, “If you pick your nose and eat the most boogers, you get ice cream” to which I said, “Who determines who eats the most boogers?”. She said, “I do. I’m the judge.”
