Nelson Family Blog: October Things.

Well, here we are 10 days into October already. We continue to have a busy fall. The weather continues to be warm, dry, and windy. We are consistently in the 80s still. The leaves are really changing around here and everything looks beautiful.

Last week was a really tough week. My cousin, Julie, was living in Marion, NC when a devastating hurricane, Helene, hit the town. The house Julie and her fiancee were staying in was completely destroyed and washed away, and Julie ended up washed away as well. She was missing for 8 days, before she was finally located, and she did not survive her injuries. It was an emotional week, but I am glad the family got some answers and some closure. Hurricane Helene caused a lot of damage and many deaths, and now yesterday Hurricane Milton hit Florida. The weather continues to be a crazy, dangerous force.

Emma is just about done with volleyball She had her last practice on Monday, and then the player/parent game is on Saturday at 10:00 am, and then she is done for the season. She really enjoyed volleyball, and she had a lot of fun with the Good Shepherd girls. She is actually going to trick or treat with some of them this year, and she is really excited about that.

Elliott continues his soccer season. His team got their first two wins last weekend, and Elliott scored his first goal of the year. He was super pumped, and we were very excited for him as well. The weather has been great for soccer, and Elliott really enjoys hanging with his teammates and playing soccer. It's been a fun season. He has two games left, and 3 practices, so his season is starting to wind down as well.

This past weekend was a super busy one for us. On Friday evening, the kids and I went to For King and Country at the Denny. The concert was so good. Elliott had never been to an official Denny Premier Center Concert, and he loved it. He said it was the best concert he had ever attended. Emma also really loved it. They had stages that went up and down, awesome lights, energy, and overall just a great show. I'm really glad we went. John decided he didn't want to attend, so he dropped us off and picked us up for the concert, which worked really well. It was a fun evening, but it went until around 10:00pm, so we were all tired and ready for bed by the end.

On Saturday, Emma and John went to Jerry Auto's 45th Anniversary Party, which was partially for work, and Elliott and I went to his soccer game. After the soccer game, Elliott and I got a free lunch at Hy-Vee, shopped, and then stopped at the library. After all that, we went home. John and I ran to Lupulin for Octoberfest and a beer. Then, we picked up the kids and went to the Stampede Game home opener. I got free tickets from a co-worker, and we got the kids some free jerseys. We ate an expensive supper at the Denny, watched two periods of hockey (they still aren't very good) and then we headed home. We were not home much at all during the day, so we were ready to get home and relax.

On Sunday, we did the church, Sunday school thing, Then, we had another Elliott soccer game in the afternoon. Elliott scored a goal! It was very exciting. After soccer, we headed home to clean up and load up the truck, and then we headed to Hartford for our 4-H meeting. It was election of officers time, and Emma was elected to be secretary, so that was exciting. She seemed pretty pumped for it. I was proud of her for accepting the position. After the meeting. we headed out to Jim and Barb's house for supper with Samantha and Jeff. We also hauled out some lawn clippings, the animal zoo, and other odds and ends.

It was a very busy, very tiring, but rewarding weekend. This week has flown by pretty quickly. We've had some practices, and Monday evening was so beautiful John, Elliott, and I decided to take our bikes to the bike trail while Emma had volleyball practice. It was a beautiful evening to bike ride. We put on a solid 6 miles (we ran out of daylight) and then John and Elliott played catch in the park for a while before we went to pick up Emma.

On Tuesday, Emma and I went to Elliott's practice and played volleyball in the park, and walked around and just enjoyed the weather. It was another beautiful evening. Today, I had the day off from work. So, I spent the day doing some deep cleaning, going to the gym, running errands, and just overall enjoying myself. The kids and I are on our own tonight because John is on his work retreat. They went to Sioux City for today and tomorrow. So, tomorrow I have to shuffle kids to Tomczaks' house in the morning, and go into work a little later. It will work out, but it does take a little extra shuffling.

Tonight, the kids and I are going to eat at the new Quickstar, and then just enjoy a quiet evening at home. The kids might play some Nintendo Switch in their fort they made downstairs, and I plan on watching some playoff baseball. The Royals, Tigers, and Guardians are all still in the playoffs, so they have been fun to watch.

This weekend looks a little calmer for us. We have one soccer game for Elliott, a sleepover for Elliott, and that's about it. The rest we will just fill in as much as want to, and try to not be as busy.

It's my favorite time of year, and I am loving every minute of it!