Almost Thanksgiving

 Do you ever have one of those weeks where you feel like you just put your head down and push through? That's how this week felt for me.  The kids and I are all off next week and so this week I felt like we were all holding our breath, just counting down the days.

The week started strangely with snow on Monday.  It didn't stick, even for a moment, but it definitely fell as snow for a short time. It may be a sign of a white winter ahead. Counter that with ending the week at a swimming birthday (albeit at an indoor pool) and you have the making of a strange week.

The kids had a good week at school though. CC got to combine crafting into science and the result was this adorable brain hat.

Elsie had a school wide assembly and won an award for leadership.

Merrick had basketball tryouts. He was really hoping to make the JV team over the Freshman team.  Unfortunately, he was never allowed to play with the Sophomores and Juniors during tryouts to show what he could do, no Freshman were.  So, in the end, they put him on the Freshman team, but the coach told him he was a "moving piece" and may get moved up to the JV team sooner rather than later. He told him that he was the guy all the varsity guys are talking about and he's excited to win a lot of games with him over the next four years.  While the Freshman team certainly wasn't what he was hoping for, there was a lot to be celebrated in the feedback.

All in all, it was a good week.  Now bring on the break!

Jeremy's Birthday

 I feel like a broken record, but this was another busy week.  The kids had Monday off and that should have made for a light week, but Jeremy and I both worked and it didn't seem like a light week at all. Part of that because it felt like every spare moment I spent preparing for all the many things that happened this weekend.

What happened this weekend you ask? Well, Saturday was Jeremy's birthday, with shopping and baking to do prepare for that.  We also had lots of other events crowding up our Saturday.  It was our assigned week to clean the church, C.C. had dance, and I had a church activity to attend.

I will circle back to Jeremy's birthday celebration in a second, but it's also worth noting that our Sunday (today) was/is also unusually full.  I had to visit another ward (brand of our church) this morning.  They were having their primary program and for my calling (church assignment) I need to attend and take notes, I now need to write "thank you's" to all of the kids who participated.  Jeremy also had meetings this morning, as usual.  Soon it will be time to go to our church, were I am speaking.  Writing my talk has taken up a large chunk of any free time I had this week.  Also today we will have our month family dinner, Lundy Sunday Funday.  While my assignment isn't extraordinarily large, I decided to take on a big project for dessert, caramel cheesecake bombs.  Why do I do this to myself?

Back to Jeremy's birthday, I think he had a good day despite the business and having to clean the church.  We "watched a movie" during the afternoon and he was allowed to sleep through as much of it as he wanted.  We then went to the church gym.  The girls roller skated and Jeremy was in his happy place, shooting hoops with Merrick.  Afterwards, he got to choose dinner and I went to pick it up while he watched the ASU game.  They won too, which was a nice bonus.  After dinner, we had one of his favorite desserts, homemade Nutter Butter/Reese's ice cream sandwiches and he opened presents.  All in all, I would say it was a pretty good day.

I am thankful for a day to celebrate Jeremy.  We are so lucky to have him!  I am all thankful that in a few short hours all the extra stressors of this weekend will be behind us.

Fall Frenzy

 Update for the week...what happened this week?....honestly I don't even remember. Time has been such a blur.  Merrick is practicing for two sports.  Most days he has to be picked up from school and then taken back a short time later. He then will have to be picked back up and then often taken to and from the church to practice more. CC had her end of season party for volleyball and started dance. Elsie insists every free moment be spent outside riding her bike and playing "restaurant" or "cousins" or at a park/playground.  Honestly, I'm all for that while the weather cooperates.  Most days I work all day, then run the kids all over creation, then we eat dinner, go to bed, and repeat.

On top of everything else, I also took on a new project a few weeks ago. The girls needed new dressers for their room.  I had been searching Facebook Marketplace to try and pick something up second hand.  I stumbled on a set with two dressers and two nightstands for a great price.  I knew they needed some work, but it seemed doable.  I convinced Jeremy and, despite his extreme annoyance, we drove out to the middle of nowhere in the rain to pick them up.  Once we got there, I discovered that they needed more work than I realized and they potentially smelled of smoke.  Unfortunately, I was in too deep with an already annoyed husband.  We pulled the trigger and I accepted my fate of spending every free second for the next couple weeks bringing these pieces back to life.

I washed and washed, did vinegar treatments, did baking soda treatments, sanded, stained, varnished, repaired and replaced knobs. Are they perfect? No. Are they cute, and functional in the girls' space? I think so. Here is the before and after.

This week the weather is turning and this is the time of year, when the weather is yucky and it gets dark at 4:30, I love to stay in and watch a good movie.  Being as we are solidly into "No School November", let's hope for more of that and less running the kids all around.

Halloween 2024

 This week was Halloween.  In the days leading up to Halloween, it was really all the girls could talk about.  C.C. was doing fun activities in almost every class on Halloween and all the kids had the day after off of school.  The excitement was palpable.

The day finally arrived, but unfortunately it came with rain.  Being now long-time Oregonians, we didn't let that stop us.  After school, C.C. went to a friend's house for a pre-trick-or-treating party before heading out all together. Her "Girl Scout who was involved in a crafting accident and then got lost in the woods" costume was the hit of the night. After the pre-party the girls headed out. A few parents, including me, trekked along for the three hour adventure.

As for Elsie, she finally debuted her rainbow unicorn costume. Jeremy took Elsie out on our usual route.  She spent less time than C.C. and got a lot more candy.  When she got home, I counted 24 full-sized candy bars.  That route is definitely the winning route.  C.C. was jealous when she got home and decided that next year, she's not going with her friends, but sticking to our regular route.

Merrick spent the first part of his Halloween evening at basketball practice. He then met up with some friends for the Halloween tradition of eating "the Reaper" from Dave's Hot Chicken and watching a scary movie.

We all partied hard, apparently too hard. Elsie was up most of the night not feeling well and by morning, both she and Merrick were sick. Merrick's sickness was pretty much just a 24hr thing, but Elsie is still not fully well.  She has spent the whole long weekend in her PJ's and hopefully will be well enough for school tomorrow.