I guess it's been a few months

I didn't realize it had been so long since I've updated. We had a busy crazy fall as normal. Valynn and Mason both ran cross country. The Princeville girl's team placed first at sectionals and got 8th at state. Valynn had a good year and was consistently 2nd or 3rd for her team and she placed 20th at the Detweiler meet. She fell while running at state, did a somersault and continued running. Mason made the sectional team and was their 5th runner at sectionals. The boys got 2nd at sectionals and placed 10th at state.

Mason and Kyra both played travel soccer this fall. Mason was the top scorer for his team. They placed first in the Springfield tournament in overtime and second in the FC tournament. Kyra struggled to find her place on the team, she played all positions. The week before the FC tournament she took a header in practice and was diagnosed with a very mild concussion. After sitting out of practice for almost two weeks she come out playing with a vengeance and was their top scorer in the FC tournament and her team placed 2nd. 

Kyleigh not to be left out started tumbling this fall and she loves it. 

Princeville schools started 3 weeks late this fall due to construction which added the challenge of me working in a different school district. I started a job this fall as a 1 on 1 aide in a Life  Skills room. I work with a severely autistic boy that is just the sweetest. The kids don't like all the field trips I get to go on, at least once a month we are going somewhere and eating lunch at a restaurant. My neighbor was a huge help, she fed the kids lunch and kept Kyra and Kyleigh for a few hours so Valynn and Mason didn't have to watch them the whole day. School is going well for all four kids. Valynn (8th) is taking a high school Math class and on online high school Astronomy class because she was bored at school with all her study halls. Mason (6th), Kyra (3rd), and Kyleigh (1st) are all enjoying their classes although at times they tell me they are bored. 

Over Labor Day weekend we did the most ambitious thing we could think of as a family and biked the whole Rock Island trail. The trail is 26 miles from Toulon to Peoria. We biked from Toulon to Peoria the first day, Mark pulled the trailer with the tent, cooler, etc. I had Kyleigh on the attached bike behind me and she took turns riding with Kyra who ended up biking most of the way herself. 

Earlier this summer we biked as a family from Safety town in Peoria to the Riverfront, it was an 8 mile trip. It was a great warmup for the longer bike ride. 

Thanksgiving we went to Minnesota. We spent the whole week there. The kids did their usual of helping with the cows. We stopped in Mankato and had lunch with the Scheel family. I met up with Christy for lunch one day as well.