one month in

 The first month of school has officially lived up to the crazy-busy it promised to be!

First Day Pic - Steve is always good about taking these for me. Notice the pile of laundry on the living room chair over Emma's shoulder. That pile got put away, but I promise that some version of it has been on the chair ever since.

Emma is back with her Frisco Fusion soccer team for another year. They had a fun pool party to celebrate the weekend after school started.

And all of her hard work learning a new sport over the last 9 months or so paid off - Emma made the volleyball team, along with her bestie!

After just a few practices, the girls had a night of district pool play where the girls won two games and lost one. It was a good start! Super proud of Emma for proving herself and making "A" team.

A few more pics from Emma's birthday celebration. She wanted crab legs ... so we ended up at Red Lobster. Steve and I hadn't eaten at one since we lived in KC!

It was a double dessert night!

Emma was not thrilled about petting Larry the Lobster, but she got close enough for a couple photos.

I have to document the 6-7 ... I still don't know what it means, but maybe someday when the girls look back at this, they'll have some vague recollection of the trend.

Emma's first game after pool play was a good one! They played a tough team and came out victorious after three well-fought sets. She's on a team with a few girls whose main sport has been volleyball for years, so there's a lot of opportunity for her to learn and grow this season.

Sara was thrilled to finally receive her letterman jacket! (Emma had to get in on the pics ... some things never change.)

She's so proud of this jacket and is eager for the temps to cool off so she can wear it!

Her team has cheered several volleyball games recently. The VB team is super good and the student section at the games has made for a fun atmosphere ... maybe a little taste of what basketball will bring.

Her team also had their first pep rally and FNL. Sara tumbled solo during the pep rally and nailed it in front of a very full gym. I'm so proud of the work she puts in.

Last week's theme was Western, so the girls wore boots for a portion. I love this shot that a student photographer got of Sara.

FNL was cut short because of lightening, but they got a full half in and looked great. The football team is 2-0, and we are looking forward to seeing a full game this week.

And ... the Cyclones are 3-0! We've made it to all three game watches so far and have had lots of fun with our DFW Cyclones. During the Iowa-Iowa State game, Sara participated in the traditional corn-eating contest and won a $25 gift card! The shot below is a still from the video Steve took, and she was locked in. We loved that she showed up after volunteering and entered herself in the contest. Emma missed out due to a soccer game.

This week is homecoming! We'll attend the parade and community pep rally tonight, football game on Friday, and then Sara has plans with a group of friends on Saturday night. The cheer moms got together on Sunday evening to make "leg mums" for the girls to wear while they cheer on Friday. I was pretty proud of my craftiness - hopefully it doesn't fall apart mid-game! 

Not pictured: Sara's first car breakdown in the midst of traffic. Ugh. Not fun, but she handled it well. She also started back at Dance Upon a Star. When Emma's not at a game or practice, she's become a regular attendee at 8th grade and Varsity VB games ... and they've both kept busy with plenty of homework. Our schedule doesn't currently show any signs of slowing down, so we're just rolling with it - running in a million directions and trying to soak it all in ... while attempting to get a tiny bit of rest and maintain some sanity. #teenagers