Thursday night
--Pick up my sister, Erin, from the shuttle stop. Yay!
Friday (Matthew's bday!)
--No school for any of the kids (parent-teacher conference week)
--Sing to Matthew and let him open bday presents after breakfast
--Exercise at the YMCA with everyone (I tried GRIT Strength followed by CX works...I'm still a little sore 5 days later)
--Visit the Trinity Lutheran Church Pumpkin Patch Fundraiser (purchased a couple HUGE pumpkins and several wonky gourds for a good cause)
--Cut, scoop, dump, repeat. Thankfully, the kids were totally into this all on their own so Erin and I didn't have to get too messy. They all ate raw pumpkin flesh, not the guts, and liked it. James took more than a few bites.
 |
| James is engrossed in a piece of pumpkin that he turned into a rocket car dinosaur creature |
--Break for lunch
--Finish carving the pumpkin, planning costumes, and getting things ready for the Trunk-or-Treat
--Piano lessons in costume. Robert was a red ninja, Alice was Agent Olive from the Odd Squad. Alice snuggled right up to Erin and all three of us almost fell asleep during Robert's lesson
--Trunk-or-Treat. We were a little late because of piano lessons, but managed to eat and win an honorable mention for my Veggie Beef Stew before the games began. Perfect weather for a trunk-or-treat, though a little windy for the paper jaws I made for our trunk. Oh well. It was here that we discovered Matthew's lollipop dance. We gave him a sucker after dinner and he was thrilled! He swaggered, shuffled his feet, and swung his hips with that sucker in his mouth. The whole time. He said "trick-or-treat" at all the right times and seems genuinely surprised that people gave him candy for it.
-Kids' sleepover in James' room.
Saturday
--Slow morning, but not quiet. It's a shame our guest bedroom is RIGHT off the kitchen. Sorry, Erin, for waking you up WAY before a civilized hour.
--Robert's swim lesson at the YMCA. Erin and I exercised a little more. This time I tried the indoor track and discovered that I could jog 1.25 miles without stopping. I have never liked running. Never. I have never run that long in my life, either. It wasn't a spectacular time, but it was a good pace for me. And it felt good. I'm so stinkin' happy about my fitness progress these last 8 months! Robert also discovered he could swim backwards the entire length of the pool without a paddle board or noodle! Way to go, Bud!
--I think Erin took the kids for a walk about this time. She was showing them Pokemon Go and they ended up at Meadowbrook Park.
--Chores, chores, chores, and final preparations for "Josefina's Gift", a play/musical that Alice and her friends had been rehearsing the last 5 Saturdays to perform. Well, they only rehearsed the play itself a couple times. Most of their time together was spent making tickets, planning the intermission show, working on bows and voice projection, and other such minutiae that are so much more fun than actually rehearsing lines. The play was well-attended by parents and siblings. Alice and Erin had prepared a pumpkin cake together, which received rave reviews. I don't think I'll be doing anything like this again for a very long time, though. One of the many posted signs informed me that flash photography was prohibited, so I didn't snap any photos.
--Quick drive back to Meadowbrook Park to get in a little more Pokemon Go. I tried not to get too interested, but the kids' excitement was contagious
--Empanadas for dinner. Yum! We ordered them from the only empanada place in town. I always think I'm going to like the mushroom thyme one, but this is the third time I've ordered it and it tastes like dirt. Too much thyme :(
--Game night! We broke out the kids' Halloween candy and played games the rest of the evening.
Sunday
--Pumpkin pancakes, turkey sausage, and homemade cranberry sauce. I could do that again. Yummy.
--Play, play, play all morning
--Quick trip to Scott Park in Champaign for a little more Pokemon Go action. It was disappointing, but I got a few more pictures of the kids
--Attend church with our newly-formed congregation. Because of our Pokemon Go adventure earlier that day, Matthew's nap started late, and I had to wake him to dash to church. There was no time to change his clothes! So, he went to church in a godzilla t-shirt, but I changed him right after Sacrament Meeting.
--Miracle Berry Party Campfire. After dinner, we started a little campfire in our grill and had ourselves a "sour party." There's this fruit called "Miracle Berry" that has the power to change how your tongue perceives sour. Everything sour tastes sweet. I had wanted to try it ever since I heard of such a thing, and Erin's visit gave me the perfect time and place. I ordered some tablets (the whole fruit is a lot more expensive) and everyone but Matthew tried one. It was AWESOME! Totally, totally bizarre. It worked really well. My favorite was sucking on a fresh lime, but the freakishly sour tangerines we had on-hand were also very, very good. We tried an assortment of vinegars, citrus fruit, and some War Heads super sour candy. So fun!
--Kids' sleepover with Erin. After the campfire, the kids and Erin had a "sleepover" in Alice's room. They watched a movie and told stories and played games until late. Then, after the kids were asleep, Erin moved back into her own bed.
Monday (Halloween!)
--Another day off of school! This time, it was for some sort of teacher training.
--The car wouldn't start, so we spent most of the day at home preparing for our own "Fall Party." Erin and the kids chose a variety of games/activities they wanted to play: pin the nose on the witch, pumpkin curling, eyeballs game, digging for gummy worms with your face in a pile of whipped cream, witches brew, etc.
--Bobby came home from work early so I could use his car to get groceries/supplies for the activities. We also managed to jump start the car and take it to a car hospital :)
--Fall Party Activities. I didn't see any of these because of the car problems, but I think the kids enjoyed themselves. Alice's neighbor friend came over and joined in the fun, too. Everyone left with a prize.
--Trick-or-Treating with friends. My friend invited us over to their house for trick-or-treating and dinner with a few other families. I love, love, love hanging out with this particular friend because she's just plain comfortable to be with. Our van was still out of commission, so we could only take 5 people max. Bobby decided to stay home with James and Matthew. That ended up being the best thing ever because there was a lot of walking on this trick-or-treating route...crossing streets, dark sidewalks...a stroller and/or a tired preschooler would NOT have worked well. As it was, Alice and Robert were the perfect ages to enjoy themselves and manage themselves splendidly. Then we all regrouped for a casual taco dinner. Erin, the kids, and I had a table to ourselves so we could chat comfortably with each other. I felt it was the perfect end to a wild and crazy weekend of fun.
Tuesday
--Kids return to school :)
--Erin heads back home :(
--Some time after school, I can't find Robert anywhere. He's supposed to be bringing garbage cans in from the curb, but he's not out there. He's not responding to my calls. I hear a muffled sort of gasping sob from somewhere nearby and get a little frantic, "Robert, I'm freaking out and I need to know where you are!" A shaky voice comes from our guest room, "I'm in here." I find him totally wrapped/buried in a mountain of bedding that now smells like my sister Erin. He's not showing me his face, but I can tell he was crying. "Are you sad, Bud?" "Mm." "Wanna talk about it?" The whole pile shakes back and forth as a "no." He comes out on his own a few minutes later. I'm dying to ask him more about it, but manage to restrain my curiosity. I think he ended up missing her more than he thought he would.
--Kids talking about the next time we'll get to see Erin...
Posts
What an amazing weekend!
ReplyDelete