8 Years, 10 Months...Good-bye to Ali!

I went to Ali's last 4 Mizzou volleyball games.  After we left the last game, I cried really hard.  It has been so incredible to get to know her and become friends with her and I am going to miss her so much.  She friended Mommy on Facebook and has promised to see me again someday.  We created a book of all our pictures with her and sent it to her after the last game. 

Thanksgiving week was busy!  Our school had Grandparents Day and Nana Arden, Grandma Kathy, and Grandpa Tom came to our school.  I got to go out to lunch with them too.  The next day, we had the Thanksgiving feast at Emily's school, and we left for Washington the next day.  We went to Grandma Kathy and Grandpa Tom's on Thursday and Papa Ron and Nana Carol's on Friday.  We went to the holiday parade before we went back home.  Ali's last home game was on Saturday.  We put up Christmas decorations and went to Nana Arden and Papa Rodney's on Sunday.

Before school, I continued with choir and book club, but they are over for now.  We had our Christmas concert.  The 2nd and 3rd grade classes sang The Twelve Days of Christmas and I had a "solo" with 4 other girls in We Three Kings.  Choir sang Simple Gifts, Do You Want To Build a Snowman, and I played the bells in Jingle All the Way.

I was able to have a play date and sleepover at Cami's house after Ali's last game.  It was a good way to get over my sadness.  We had another play date at Carrie's house and got to see the Magic Tree.  We also got to meet Carrie's twin brothers!  Ella also had me over for a play date and then we had a hotdog and marshmallow roast when Mom and Emily came to pick me up.  It is nice going to my friends' houses for a change!

Mom and I have been reading a lot at night, and Wonder was our most recent book.  We finished it just in time to see the movie in the theater.  It was a really good movie.  The movie was better in some parts, and the book was better in other parts.

I had another orthodontist appointment and I got a power chain this time!  I chose green as my color with red bands on the end for Christmas.  I am pretty much ready to be done with braces though!

The last couple of days, I have had to pee often but just can't get it out.  Mrs. Mantle has been great about letting me go to the bathroom when I need to, and letting Mommy know what she was noticing.  I was fine when I went home, but at 7:50 the first night I couldn't get anything out.  Every urgent care was closed, so we took our first trip to the ER!  I was so scared because that means emergency.  It helped to know that if this had happened during the day, we would have only gone to the doctor's office.  They didn't find any evidence of a UTI, and Dr. Prica didn't either today.  I'm hoping it goes away soon!  I am spending the night at Nana Arden's house tonight!

Playing in the leaves before they are gone for the winter

Emily and I made a "train" with the chairs in the house!

Lila and I got to go to a Mizzou volleyball game together!

We always have so much fun!

Ali is the best!

We went as a family too

And I got to introduce her to my sister

With Truman (and a photo bomb from cardboard Sydney!)

The last game was Senior Night.  It was so hard to see her career end.

I love to play volleyball at home, but sometimes the balloon gets stuck on the ceiling!

 Decorating the tree

Choir portion of the concert

 Helping Mommy with her stocking

 Volleyball player ornament!

 OMG!

 I still love to make creations

 A lazy Friday movie night (even Elmo is lounging in the background!)

 Visiting Santa

Magic tree visit

 With Blake, Brynn, Carrie, and Emily

Owners start looking like their dogs over time...

 My ER visit

Playing in the leaves

8 3/4 Years Old...A Very Full Month!

I finished up the soccer season this month.  I was forced to play goalie when I really didn't want to.  However, I did really well for my first time!  I was ready to stop the ball no matter where it was on the field.  I had several stops and did a really good job on my drop kicks.  I may want to try it again!  My teacher Mrs. Mantle and her son Bennett came to this freezing cold game to watch me.  That was really special that she came.

I also continued and finished Girls on the Run this month.  I had so much fun and improved so much!  One day, I was so proud that I had run 4 miles at practice.  It was fun getting my fingernails painted or earning a bead for each lap.  I wasn't feeling it for the practice run with my running buddy (mom), but I did great on the big day of the race.  My goal was to fun the whole thing, and I did that and so much more!  I cheered for everyone running and finished in approximately 26:00!  Mom said that is better than she did her first year running in high school.  I think I may want to do this again!

With Girls on the Run, I had an opportunity to spend an evening at the MU medical center and have the female medical students teach us some medical techniques.  I had a lot of fun and learned so much!  I have also continued enjoying choir and book club in the mornings even though my after school practices are done for now.

We had some early dismissals and days off school too.  I enjoy helping the teachers (not so much when Mom wants something though!)  On one day off, we got to visit the school that will look like our new school.  Brynn's dad gave us the tour.  It's really big, but also really nice.  It will be a big change next year!  We also got more books from the library.  I can never have enough books!  We finished the Pandora series and are now reading Wonder.

Our EEE class was able to perform our Dig It performance.  Mom and Dad were both able to come to it.

Our family went to the MU homecoming parade.  That is always a nice time to see all the people and floats.  I have had such a blast going to the MU volleyball games.  I can't believe this is Ali's last year and there are only 3 more home games left.  I cry every time I think about it.

I had fun helping Mom make recipes with the apples we picked.  We made homemade applesauce (which I absolutely LOVE!), apple pie, 2 batches of apple crisp, and fried apples.  Yum, yum!

At my last orthodontist appointment, I found out that I am done turning my expander!  That was such a great thing to hear!  I chose orange and black for my colors for Halloween.

We have had a lot of Halloween events too.  Our school had a costume contest and chili supper.  It was fun getting dressed up and seeing everyone else.  The next day, we had our Halloween parade and parties.  Time #2 getting dressed like Ali!  Our class performed my Tower of Doom song.  Then, of course on Halloween Emily's school had their party before we went trick-or-treating.  We went to Nana Arden and Papa Rodney's, both sets of our neighbors, Mr. Kenny's, and then to Brynn's house for trick-or-treating with my friends.  I had too much fun and got too much candy that I can't eat, so we had to do the great candy trade at the end of the night!

I went to Madelyn's house for her birthday party and sleepover, and also to Brynn's house for her birthday party and sleepover.  Brynn's party was Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, so now I am obsessed with watching those shows and will read them soon too.

Mom and Dad left for a conference for 3 days and Nana Arden stayed with us.  She took us to McDonald's for lunch one day and Applebee's for dinner with Papa Rodney.  I love being spoiled by them!  We also had my parent teacher conference when Mom and Dad got back.  Mrs. Mantle said that I am reading at a mid-7th grade level and am at a 4th grade level in math.  My writing has also improved tremendously, and we had our writing celebration today.  Mom and Dad were both able to come to this too.  I wrote a story about getting my braces.  Our class also went to see a symphony perform.  I really enjoyed hearing all the sounds from the different instruments.  Mom had told Emily "rock and roll is music you can dance to", and I continued, "and ends with you saying 'thank you and good night' and then smashing a guitar!

We did our family pictures with Daddy's family and went to Shakespeare's afterward.  Then, I got invited (or maybe I invited myself) over to Corinne's house to play.  As much as I like participating in all these events and hanging out with my friends, I do miss just having a little downtime and chilling at home.

Learning a little infant CPR

And adult CPR

Using a tuning fork to make sure my brain works!

Just Sydney intubating someone...no big deal!

We are totally official

Nothing to worry about here!

Complete focus on the challenge at hand-to make the longest chain with one piece of paper

I'll never get tired of this!

Ali introduced me as her friend to this man she has known since she was a little girl!

Hanging with Madelyn at the game

I helped hook her up with some signatures!

Watching the MU homecoming parade

Family selfie at the parade

My other role model Charlie (the bubble gum machine)

Ready for the Halloween parade

Doing a few crafts

We didn't carve any pumpkins this year, but I painted one rainbow and the other as a volleyball!

Emily and me on Halloween 2017

Trick or treating at Mr. Kenny's

The Halloween gang

I was really into the candy exchange

Posing as Ali with my Ali pumpkin

She's signing my Ali shirt!

OMG, I'll never take this off!

Go MU volleyball!

Ali actually had the team photographer come over to take these pictures!

First time as a goalie

Team photo

I stole Mom's phone to share some love

Laughing with Iris at the library

I think I am a little more enthused about this

My performance

I'm the one in the toga on the far left

A new friend I met (she is a 5th grader and didn't realize I was in 3rd grade until after the performance!)

The Cedar Ridge Girls on the Run team

Our chain links for the laps we ran

Coach Karissa (she's an NCAA Cross Country National Champion, no big deal!)

Me and Madelyn

Me and Ranijah (with Madelyn photo-bombing!)

Getting dolled up with "Happy Hair" and face painting

This is still not completely out of my hair!

Mariyah, me, and Madelyn

Bella and Carrie were on their school's teams too!

The finish!

Mom was so proud of me she cried-what a weirdo!

I think we may do this again sometime

Selfie with Ranijah and Mrs. Mantle before the symphony

Learning infant CPR

The self Heimlich maneuver

Making 2 stops as goalie

Performing Tower of Doom

I found Iris at the library and this is what we decided to do

Girls on the Run Finish