November

 

November 6 was the rescheduled date of the Women's Only 5K, which raised money for breast cancer awareness and screenings.  Our team, Winterhoff's Warriors, had 38 people, and was the second largest in the entire race.  It was an emotional day for me, and I felt surrounded by love:

"You are so brave...We love you."

Survivor Photo = WARRIORS!

The race raised over $88,000 for women in our community, and I will remember this day forever.  It was a celebration of how far we've come this year, what we've endured, and the support we've felt through it all.

Now, onto something a bit fluffier...  some pictures of Miss Millie.  She really is the best thing that we didn't know we needed.  SO. MUCH. PERSONALITY  in this dog.  She's my sidekick, my snuggler, and my daily dose of fluff therapy:

Favorite sleeping position.

Teefies.

"Hi, Mom.  Whatcha reading?"

She LOVES pasta and sits here waiting for the noodles to cook.
 Every single time.

Just a Doodle watching basketball.

Another favorite sleeping position.

Donning her turkey scarf.

We attended a Wake Forest football game and a basketball game in November.  This crossover season of sports means lots of Demon Deacon attire/pride in our house!

November weather is still perfect for more porch s'mores.  We had a great time when JoJo and Emma visited and we loved spending time with these dear friends:

November brought another milestone with Luke's first high school Homecoming dance.  This was such a great group of kids who went out to dinner together before the dance and willingly posed for pictures (as all the parents oohed and ahhed over these newborn babies who grew up in the blink of an eye!):

Midnight Ice Cream date after the dance!

We did a breakout room over Thanksgiving break, and got out in time!  This Clue-themed Escape Room was really fun:

We wrapped up November with Thanksgiving in Williamsburg.  We have so much to be thankful for this year, and it was a wonderful weekend with family:

Viking Band 2022

 

Luke recently completed his second year of fall marching band.  This is 4 months of pure joy for our favorite sousaphone player.  Here are (lots of) photos of him doing what he loves:

Band season begins with 3 weeks of intensive band camp.  These kids are outside in the summer heat from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. every weekday.  We are amazed at how something that begins like this ends with a Friends and Family performance at the conclusion of Band Camp (which includes the kids marching and playing the first set of their fall show).  First they practice formations without their instruments:

One week of band camp includes theme days.  This is always a highlight for the kids, and includes Mc. Math Day (dress up like the band director):

"McMath-isms" written on his shirt.

There's Pink Day:

Red, White, and Blue Day:

and Sectional Day (the sousas chose to be minions):

Here are some candid photos of our boy taken by our talented Assistant Band Director, Mr. Greene:

Caught doing push-ups (their accountability when they miss a step):

By the conclusion of band camp, they are ready to perform in front of an audience for the first time:

Group Huddle with Mr. McMath.

A beautiful symbol over the stadium during rehearsal:

Sousaphone section:

The marching band adds so much to the home football games, and they perform their show at halftime:

Standing at Attention.

Marching into the stadium.

National Anthem.

Stand tunes are one of our favorite parts of the games, and Mr. Brooks did an amazing job this year expanding the band's repertoire and directing music throughout the games:

Friday Night Lights:

Saturdays involve morning rehearsals and traveling to competitions to compete against other bands.  Our band is amazing and wins dozens of awards each season, including First in Class, First Place Percussion, Drum Major, General Effect, Visual Performance, and Grand Champion.  It is so much fun to cheer for this talented group.  Their show this year was "Beetlejuice", and was incredible.  The marchers even had a wardrobe change partway through the performance as they all transformed into Beetlejuice:

Winning trophies is lots of fun, but even more rewarding is the sense of community in this group.  We host  Fall Festival at our high school each year, which is a huge marching band competition.  All families and students work together to pull off this event, and it marks the final weekend of marching band season.  Luke was chosen to perform the National Anthem at Fall Festival:

The evening ends with our band taking the field in exhibition, and watching these kids play their hearts out one last time is emotional:

Green Lights on the Sousa Bells for their final performance.

We are so incredibly lucky that Luke has found something that he adores so much.  What a blessing this group is, as these kids learn important life lessons and are led by adults who pour so much time and love into them:

We love this band!!