Other Happenings In October and Early November

In a newspaper, I found a picture of a voting line in Berlin.  I sent it to my favorite German, because it kind of looks like her (but it isn't, she voted by mail.)

Emily bought me a lovely llama pin (that is quite heavy) for my birthday.  I went that afternoon to buy a sweater that had a heavy enough weave to support it.

I also got my repaired and cleaned wedding ring set back on my birthday!  The stone was loose, so I had taken it in a few weeks before, with no estimated date of completetion.

Our front tree dropped all of it's leaves over night.  I did a large section of the yard, with a rake, but there were still two trees full of leaves, so I knew it was a losing battle.

After we took down our Halloween decorations, I got to decorate my pumpkin with the turkey kit that I got from somewhere in the last year!  Isn't it cute?

After a long, long absence, the kids (and I) were so excited to have Avia back!  

Sadly, her plane from Detroit was delayed a couple of times, so we ended up grabbing some McDonald's while we waited.  Sadly, we missed indoor dining, so we had to bring it back to the airport.

At one of the rummage sales we went to, I scored Sarah a bag of maps!  Some of them were old, I think this one is from 1923?  She was actually excited by them, which made it totally worth my $1! = )

I read an article a couple of months ago, that interviewed people who were picking up food from a local food pantry.  One of the things they lamented was rarely having cake mix.  So, as a group, the kids and I discussed what we could do.  We decided that every birthday we celebrate in our family, we would make up a kit with cake mix, icing, oil, birthday candles, and egg money (hidden under the icing lid.) William was the first child's birthday we celebrated, so he got to be the first to give away a 'birthday cake'! (I did it for my birthday too, but did not take a selfie.)

Zoey's mom invited our whole crew, minus Billy, over for a Friday movie day!  Grace was delighted, and most of the kids, not so much Alice, had a fun time exploring and playing with her toys.  We had a fun time!

It's always a sad day for me when I winterize my sandals. = (

Grace scored a super fun toy at one of the rummage sales: a toy garden kit! Even Alice played with it, what a win!

Netflix had Saved by the Bell, 9 seasons worth of the original, college years, and several specials.  I narrated all of my thoughts to Erin Elise as I watched.  I'm sure she's super glad that's over. ; )

As incentive to come to my first MOPS meeting of the year, Alice got to pick out some goodies from out favorite international market.  I like to be *slightly* adventurous each time we go, and this time I picked a pomegranate drink with basil seeds.  It was a lot like drinking jello.  The flavor was not really strange, but you could chew the seeds, if you could catch them between your teeth.  I wouldn't seek it out again, but wouldn't add it to my never again list either.

Another rummage sale find for grace was a make your own marker kit.  The box was open, but all the packages inside were sealed and new.  She spent hours making her own colors.  She even made a set to give to Zoey.

I met up with some of the Dimondale Busy Moms at Horrock's.  They have a massive Bier Garten there that I didn't even know about!  Since then, I've even brought Billy by to see it!

The food truck on site:

Before the weather turned cold, we walked to Dime's, where we could eat outside, the kids could drink their root beer, catch some pokemon, and then let Emily and the twins, or William walk home once they were bored.

October was a nice warm one this year, I felt so happy all month!

later days

Thanksgiving 2018

We were really fortunate this year that Billy's family came to us for our Thanksgiving meal!  The Crockers came in the weekend before, and Aunt Wanda, Uncle Wayne and Aunt Barbra came in on Wednesday.  My mom came over that morning and brought a green bean casserole to add to the table.

The turkey took forever to cook! I had thawed it plenty early, double checked the temperature, and weight, but it was so pokey.  Eventually I resorted to blaming my oven for not heating properly. Turns out, I forgot to take out the packet of giblets. Oops. lol.  So, we ate plates full of sides while the turkey finished, and then Billy carved the troubled bird.

The kids were highly entertained by Aunt Wanda, who taught them how to make a conga line. = )

After the meal, they enjoyed watching family movies that had been recently converted from 8mm to DVD.

The kids enjoyed hanging out with Uncle Wayne and Aunt Barbara. And, since they kept coming back, I guess it wasn't too bad for them. ; )

On Friday Morning, the kids had their first round of Christmas.  Bill and Brenda spoiled them with toys and treats galore.  They were soooooooooo thrilled. = )

 

Once the mayhem was cleaned up a bit:

And my much anticipated gift, the wok of my pan collection!

Emily was very excited to open up a set of Christmas crackers that evening.  These had whistles in them, and they were numbered, which was odd.  Then, we found the music as we were cleaning up, and it all made sense.  It was entertaining to watch, but didn't sound much like a song... lol.

The Crockers had to head out Saturday morning, since they were driving back to Texas.  That evening, we melted the hot chocolate snowman, Carl, that Aunt Wanda had sent our way.

It was quite the event for the kids.  And Billy had me beside myself with the hot wok of milk (the first time I used it!!!) on an unstable table surrounded by our children.... but it all worked out and everyone enjoyed their taste of Carl.

On Sunday, their flight was in the evening, so we headed over to the skating rink and had their awesome pizza for lunch.  I was pleasantly surprised by the crowd.  I figured it would be far more packed than it was.

It was very fun to meet some of Billy's extended family, and have a full house for Thanksgiving.

later days

Thanksgiving Week

Thanksgiving week is a short one, just like we're used to.  Emily wanted to hide her "tom" as a hair piece.  It wasn't an assignment to hide him, just Emily being Emily. = )

Sadly, it didn't stay in very well.  = (

I subbed at the big kids' school sometime that week, and William's teacher took a picture of the two of us.  His hat was attacking my face, so my eyes were closed, but it just looks like I'm concentrating really hard on hugging him. = )

Turkeys on parade!

Short post for a short week.

later days