2017: Week 43

Sunday, October 22
Today was markedly colder and rainy, so we kept ourselves indoors and relaxed and recuperated from our long hike the day before. Quiet couldn't stay for long, however, as Elaina kept sweetly and insistently reminding me that I had promised the girls that they could carve their pumpkins today. So while Josh got chicken smoking on the grill, and before I got stuffing in the oven, we scooped out the guts and watched It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown! When Josh came in, he helped them design and carve their jack-o-lanterns. Everyone was really happy with how they turned out!

Monday, October 23
Today was a day of much excitement. Ellie came bounding off the bus, waving a tiny brown envelope while shouting, "I lost my tooth! I lost my tooth!" Sure enough, after wiggling in her mouth for what has seemed like months, her tooth finally fell out, as she tells it, when she took a bite of her chicken patty at lunch. She was so excited, and she so sweetly wrote the Tooth Fairy a thank you note for the goodies left behind after her accident last year. Josh and I breathed a sigh of relief that she seems no more traumatized by the incident (wish we could say the same) and was happy to put her tooth under the pillow to retrieve a sparkly dollar bill the next morning.

Tuesday, October 23
I've probably said it before, but the hardest thing about having moved at work is leaving the house before anyone else is awake. Thankfully, I was able to FaceTime with the girls this morning to hear about the Tooth Fairy's gifts, and later, Josh sent me a sweet picture from the bus stop.

Wednesday, October 25
Sequined shirts are all the rage right now. I bought the girls matching shirts a month or so ago, but it's been too warm and to unseasonal to wear them before now. They loved the shirts, and especially loved watching the light bounce over everything. When we got to Rita's to drop them off for our workout, we found Arcadia was wearing a sequined shirt, too. They lined up in the sun and danced with the dancing light.

Thursday, October 26

Yuna usually grumbles when I cuddle with her on the couch, so imagine my surprise when she cuddled up with me tonight. She kept me nice and toasty warm, and her head was well scratched as a reward.

Friday, October 27
Josh and I had a vacation day today, and the girls didn't have school, so we got to spend the day together. Much of it consisted of getting ready for Elaina's birthday party the next day--a mid-morning run to the Evil Empire, lots of cleaning, lots of planning, etc. We did a decent job of pacing ourselves and made sure to make time for Merchant Night, where local businesses host a Trick or Treat event downtown for the kids. It was, of course, freezing cold, but the girls trooped along and came back with a decent haul of candy (though sadly, only one Almond Joy which Elaina ate). When we'd warmed back up, we headed over to Pearce for their Halloween Spooktacular event--lots of games, prizes, and family fun. Elaina even won two dinner tickets, so she and Ellie had their meals taken care of. It was a lot of fun, and I imagine we'll go again next year if they have it.

Saturday, October 28
Today was all about Elaina. Though her birthday is technically the next day, today was the day of her party. The girls were gracious enough to let us sleep in a tick, and then the action was on from there. We ran to Target in the morning for a few goodies, then to Avantis to get "the sandwiches what has meat and cheese and lettuce and bread" before coming home for final preparations. Everyone was here a little after 2:00, including Elaina's best friend, Reese. We ate, played Pin the Head on the Skeleton, and attempted to make slime (which was a horrible failure because apparently I had the wrong kind of contact solution--wouldn't have hurt if the Elmer's Glue website had specified that, but it makes for a fun memory). Then it was time for birthday presents and the chocolate chip cookies she requested instead of cake. Elaina had a great, great day. I don't know that I've ever known someone to enjoy birthdays as much as she does. She is a joy in our lives, and it was such fun to celebrate her.

2017: Week 42

Sunday, October 15

Today we headed up to Rockford to celebrate Nehemiah's birthday a few weeks early and to have our family pictures taken. After stopping at what Josh aptly described as  the carny-McDonalds on the way up, we arrived around 10:30 and got to spend a few hours hanging out with Mom and Dad and Rachel and her family. When Jeremy and family arrived, we headed over to the arboretum for our pictures. It was a beautiful autumn day, but very cold, but the proofs I've seen thus far were very much worth our frozen fingers. Unfortunately, the day went downhill from there.  We headed back to Rachel's for presents and cake, but poor Elysia developed a nasty migraine, and we spent a half hour in a dark bathroom. When she got sick, we called it and went home. Poor baby. She recovered, but it was a rough day for all of us.

Not feeling well, but smiling

Birthday boy opening his gifts

Happy early birthday, Nehemiah!

Monday, October 16
Because he is utterly brilliant, Josh recommended that we take today off when we knew yesterday would be busy with travel. We got to put the girls on the bus together and then came back and didn't do much for awhile. I introduced Josh to The Young Riders (he was clearly deprived when it was originally on television), we cleaned and organized a bit, and then headed out for lunch and some shopping. Josh got the girls some Halloween window clings, and they had a good time decorating our patio doors when they got home.

Tuesday, October 17
Today was kind of a long day, and nothing very notable happened. We worked, we had dinner, the girls had tumbling while Josh and I worked out, and we came home. I caught Elysia reading to herself on the couch (her reading is out of this world), and she obliged me with a couple of pictures.

Wednesday, October 18

Elaina came home today with a colorful paper of leaf impressions, or transfers--whichever they're called. She and Ellie headed outside for awhile and came in with handfuls of leaves, and then she proceeded to show Ellie how this creative project is completed.

Thursday, October 19

Tonight Josh worked on shoe-tying with Ellie. She has the basic gist of it down but became a bit frustrated when the loops didn't hold together as they should. I have faith she'll be tying shoes quickly and easily in the days to come.

Friday, October 20

Today was such a gorgeous day, made even better when Josh got off of work a tad bit early. We enjoyed a simple dinner, and it wasn't long before Elaina started in on her nightly request to "go to a p-a-r-k" (yes, she spells it out every time, and yes, it's hilarious every time). Tonight we obliged the request. The park the girls chose was unusually busy, but they didn't seem to mind the extra foot traffic, and I was thankful for their choice because we got to enjoy a truly stunning sunset. When they were off to bed a bit later, Josh and I continued our Halloween movie extravanagza with The Ring. He'd never seen it, and I'd only watched it once in college. Still just as freaky as I remember!

Saturday, October 21

Today was a great, great day. Because Josh's folks are out of town and we are out of punches for the childcare at Pearce, we decided our workout for the day would be a hike. I'm thankful we are committed to going to the gym, but it was so nice to have a Saturday morning off of that routine. Instead, the girls let us sleep in till almost 7:30, and we lazed around a bit before packing up the money they've earned for Disney and heading off to the bank to cash it in. I think between the two of them, they saved about $150 in 8 months or so. Really proud of them and all their hard work! After lunch, we headed to Pimiteoui Trail. It was a gorgeous day--mid-70s with a nice, noisy breeze. The trail is not easy, but the girls did great.  I love listening to the girls talk as we hike, seeing what treasures they find (Elaina usually finds a leaf or rock for the taking, while Ellie usually finds a nut or two for Piglet), and taking in the beauty of our area. We hiked the trail, then went over to the Nature Center trail and hiked some more before heading back up Pimiteoui to the car.  By the end, we were all pretty tired--the last bit up is quite steep and quite long--but it had been a wonderful experience for our family. 

Watching their money get sorted

Elaina's expression in the background accurately and hilariously summarizes our state at the end of the hike