We finished out October and brought in November with a busy week!
We began the week in Missouri celebrating Grandma Cindy's birthday!
We ate too many carbs, Papa's delicious homemade cheesecake and homemade chocolate ice cream, and enjoyed each other's company.
I didn't take photos of my kids with Grandma (sigh) but here she is with her oldest grandson....
and youngest....
The middle aged kids played outside when it wasn't raining and in the playrooms when it was. Artie got his choice of attention.
The Grandma and Papa trick or treat bags grew out of their gallon size baggies and had to be housed in garbage sacks this year. My kids were overjoyed as they declared our "treats" bucket to be in great need of grandma's help.
Granny Sara sent us home with 90 snack bags of Goldfish crackers for trick or treat on Saturday, and the Beelers rejoice (wink). So thankful for grandparents who do grandparent things.
We headed back to the Iowa Sunday afternoon and the kids played outside for an hour or so while we unloaded the car.
Monday brought beautiful temperatures. We did a regular day of school. Mike worked nights this week, so he was home until around 10, which gave me a little time to get a couple of errands done before he left.
Picnics all week! We love eating al fresco.
Of course Monday was high with excitement and anticipation of trick or treating. We had an early supper and then I took the children out on the town!
Natalee had early morning therapy on Tuesday so she showered and got to bed when we got home from trick or treating.
End of October outdoor hours update:
We finished October with 144 hours of outdoor time, putting us at 917 hours and 28 minutes for 2022. I love how much more conscious of getting outside that the 1000 hours outdoor challenge has made us!
Sorting candy, bright and early Tuesday morning. Being a child is such a gift.
Mike took a few hours of PTO and went with us to the city for a play at the playhouse. Many of our co-op families met as a group.
The play was Harriet the Spy. We worked hard to get the book read before we went to the play and only finished it because the audio came available and we listened to it on the way to Missouri and back!
The play was very well done. Our reviews on the book were a bit mixed. This was actually not a book I had read before, and I appreciated the imaginative inspiration it gave my children in "playing spy." However, we didn't love how Harriet focuses on people's outward appearance plus she's pretty naughty. A lot of talking points as a family! I love giving our children the gift of live theater, so I'm thankful we had the experience.
Evie was such a good girl.
We drove straight home and Mike went to work. I made an early supper (the play was at noon - such a hard time!) while the kids got hours of time outdoors. Then showers, and PJs!
Wednesday brought another beautiful day and this gorgeous nativity puzzle in the mail. My Aunt Val and Uncle Rich sent it to the children and my goodness has it gotten a lot of mileage already!
It's challenging enough to engage the older kids, but also Evalynn will.not. give up on it, and she's almost got it!
Our morning time game was Scrambled States of America and then we went outside to do our reading.
We started a new book in our morning basket and are still working through The Game of Silence from the Birchbark House series. We also still do our theology book, art flashcards, poetry book, Bible trivia, and sometimes a science read aloud. We don't do every piece everyday, which helps our time be flexible and keeps it fresh.
Silly putty is the winning read aloud activity the last few days.
She made a snail!
We spent the rest of the day in our school books and playing outside as much as possible.
Evie playing in the "resort."
In her PJs.....somedays are like that. She played all morning, then I showered a layer of dirt off of her before she napped in my bed. It was so warm that she was sweaty and needed cooled down. After nap I got her dressed for Awana!
I gave Ameliya's hair a good mom scrubbing and a deep conditioning mask treatment Wednesday afternoon and then she finished her science while it towel dried and then sun dried.
Clean and ready for Awana, working that puzzle!
It was pizza night at Awana and I was thankful for the "hand up" from the church without having Mike around.
Thursday morning I basically forced the children to be outdoors most of the day, during school, and after to play. Thursday was our last forecasted day of gorgeous Indian summer temps and I wanted us to appreciate it fully!
Natalee and Xavier working on their exercise challenge for PE...
A conversation with friends encouraged me to go get out the thankful kit I'd bought end of season last year and get it out.
We headed to hippotherapy midmorning and the other kids rode scooters and worked on school outside.
After lunch, I sat down on the porch swing with a book and had Evie curl up next to me for an outdoor nap. Dirty little feet....
Success!
Mike worked 9-7 Thursday since there were no evening classes, and took the boys to try something new at the college when he got off - wrestling club.
This is new for alllll of us, but they both had a good time. Zayden was especially excited about it!
The girls and I prepped for an upcoming Friday activity by attempting to watch Winnie the Pooh. Poor Evie's heart was too tender it seemed....
Friday brought rain. Buckets and buckets of rain. We headed back to the city although the gray rainy cold day would have rather been great for lounging in our PJs. LOL. We were up and out by 8 a.m. and Natalee had an in office appointment to meet a clinician that she usually only sees via zoom at 9:30. She enjoyed the sand table.
Then it was off to downtown for another play! This time Winnie the Pooh! I was very excited for this play and, despite her emotional reactions to the movie the previous night, Evalynn seemed cautiously optimistic. Zayden was probably most excited, having always been a fan of Pooh.
Parking was as nightmarish as I had expected. We were too big for the garages, it was pouring rain, the center was unwilling to make accommodations for our vehicle or needs because we don't have a placard (I had asked prior to going). We finally found a spot four blocks away at a meter and managed to successfully download the appropriate app and pay our $4 to park. By that point I would have paid someone a lot more to do it for me. Ha. So thankful Mike was along (it was his day off after working 4 tens).
I had allowed us plenty of time for the parking dance and in these types of circumstances I try to remind myself, "next time it'll be a little easier."
We were plenty wet after walking the four blocks. I had shoe regret. The children did not complain, besides the littlest trooper who was cold and damp, and I'm still glad we went.
No photography throughout the play, as per normal, but they did say we could take one during the ending bows.
I didn't realize the play was cross between large stuffies and puppetry, but it was adorable. The voices were all so well done and the energy was perfect.
Rabbit and Owl were there, too, but they shared crew so not everyone got to bow!
After the play we went north and found our college girl. She and her friend met us at Texas Roadhouse - our play was again at noon so our crew was plenty hungry. She and her friend had just had breakfast/lunch but had a drink with us and shared some delicious rolls and cinnamon butter.
Not only did Emma get to see us but she got to pick up her trick or treat goody bag from Grandma and Papa. I wonder which she was after more? {wink}
We had a quick run to Target and then worked hard to get out of the city. There were lots of accidents (I guess the rain?) and we had stand still traffic a couple of times.
We got Natalee home in time to eat a quick sandwich before swim practice. The rest of us vegged after a rainy day in the city.
Saturday was swim meet day! Swimmers get up early.
We had decided that Mike would go to swim so I could prep for co-op, then Natalee reminded me we didn't have co-op this week. In the end Mike still went. We both really want to be there and it's a difficult sport to have extra kids at, so Mike got to be the winner this time.
She took Dutch Blitz to play with friends.
Our Y is struggling so our pool temp is cool, the gym is cold, and it's a struggle to stay warm between events. These aren't complaints as much as facts and something that leaves me trouble shooting as a mom. I'm not sure what the key is but we need to do something so she can stay warmer between events.
Natalee worked hard at the meet. Her first event was a relay, then the 50 free, 50 back, and another relay. She didn't beat any of her event times this round, but I know she'll conquer them this season!
The rain finally stopped midday and so the kids went outside a bit after Mike and Natalee got home. A hot shower helped her out a lot.
We used Saturday evening to get caught up on our World Watch news before heading to bed to suffer the time change!
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