Halloween 2012

The weekend before Halloween we went to a local park for trick or treating and a puppet show.  It was fun and we also managed to finally get our pumpkins carved!

Our cutie kitty...

Tinkerbell...

Halloween was busy and very fun!  Daddy was out of town and Nana was sick, but Papa kept the tradition of joining us for trick or treating in spite of being up since 4:30am.  (He's back to being a working man now.)  I'm still trying to dig out from the ridiculous amount of candy they acquired.

Before leaving...

Afterwards with Papa and candy...

Happy Halloween!

October 2012

One of my favorite activities is simply spending time with friends, though we missed our annual Sever's tradition due to finally getting some rainy weather.  Next year we'll have to see the pig races twice to make up for it!  We did manage to meet our friends at a local indoor park followed by a gluttonous dinner of junk.  It was so good and I'm glad we got some time with our friends.  It's easy to get caught up in the day-to-day schedule and forget the important things (like friends).

We kept busy with all our regular activities and managed to squeeze some other things in like planting bulbs for flowers next year and a nighttime hiking adventure. Daddy got to hang with Samantha exclusively for the first day of MEA weekend and even took her to a Vikings game.  This time they lasted until halftime before leaving, a 50% improvement.  Daddy got some special time with Sofia by taking her to Red Robin for dinner while I took Samantha and a friend out. It's good that the girls have been getting separate time (and it makes for fewer fights)!  We have all been appreciating it!

More time with other friends...

I managed to keep all 4 kids busy baking.  We sang a mixing song while they made their own frosting.

I took the girls to synagogue to celebrate Simchat Torah.

I got a special note from Sofia.  It says, "Thank you for teaching me how to make banana bread.  I love you!  Sofia".  It was unexpected and very sweet.

Daddy and I took some time to go out while the girls went to a local Parent's Night Out event.  They were both kicked accidentally by other kids and marveled at how dangerous it was.  In the next breath, they both said they can't wait to do it again.  Hmmm, of course they're my daughters so I'll appreciate the humor and irony.  

Grammy stayed for dinner on a night so I managed to get pictures...

We let the kids skip swimming lessons so I could take them to the nature center for a nighttime hike.  It's a little spooky, but Sofia made friends with the instructor.  Her name is Lindsay and I was impressed that she remembered Samantha by name!

The month flew by.  I accepted a new job that found me and was busy trying to wrap up my old job.  I worked with wonderful people there and appreciate all the time spent there.

Golden Dragon Acrobats with Rene'

We went to see the Golden Dragon Acrobats with Rene' today.  First we got lunch at one of our new favorite restaurants.  All of us enjoyed the show and clapped enthusiastically!  Samantha told me how cool she thought it was and managed to get an autograph after the show.  

Sofia's Loses Her First Tooth

Just as Daddy was leaving the driveway for another trip, Sofia took a bite of food and lost her first tooth.  It was comical mayhem as both girls ran to catch Daddy to show him.  Thankfully he got to see it.  Sofia really wanted to take the tooth to preschool the next day to show everyone her "lost toothes" so we hatched a plan.  We wrote a note to the tooth fairy asking her to come back the next night.  The tooth fairy granted our request and all went well the following evening.

Going crazy at the end of a full weekend

We have a very full life with lots of adventures, places to be, friends to visit and that means that exhaustion hits us all on occasion.  During these times, there is a lot of tension in our house.  We all have our "triggers" for losing our tempers and when it happens, Daddy and I do our best to apologize and keep going.  When the storm has passed and we can review the events with a clear mind, it's usually easy to see where we lose our way.  Then all we can do is try to remember the next time we are losing our patience.  So we learn from it and avoid repeating our mistakes.  It's vital that we take the time we need for ourselves to simply breathe and look at the big picture of our life.

Even More from September

We devoted a day to go to the Renaissance Festival with the Murphy's again.  Ely even came and gorged himself in discarded food.  Thankfully there were no ill effects, just a very tired dog at the end of the day.  The girls had a ball on rides and all the adults got plenty of time to catch up.  It was a good day!

Daddy had to leave for work again, though we kept ourselves busy as always.  Thank you to the grandparents for helping out in his absence!

We also had Samantha's school fundraiser which was a Family Fun Run.  Auntie She came and we all completed it!  Then we packed a picnic and walked Ely to get him some exercise since we couldn't bring him.  

As if that wasn't enough for the day, we had one more place to be before meeting Nana and Papa (who took the girls so Daddy and I could attend a wedding)... my co-worker Allan invited us over to his house to watch him harvest honey from his bee hive!  We even got to wear the beekeeper hoods.  The girls asked so many questions!  Allan and his daughter Stephanie did their best to answer them all!  It was an adventure for everyone and we learned so much!  For another bonus, we got honeycombs to take home and keep for ourselves!

Today I brought Samantha to a restaurant for lunch after Sunday school and it was nice to be just us.  Sofia got to spend the whole day with Nana and Papa.  At a playground they went to, Sofia climbed to the top of the jungle gym and said, "I've been dreaming of this day!"... pretty funny according to Nana.  Meanwhile, Daddy, Samantha and I took Ely for a long stroll and all had some downtime to rest before heading to Todd and Shelly's for dinner.  The kids all had fun at the park too!

More from September

Both girls are very excited on Monday mornings because it’s school! Daddy and I love seeing them excited. They get a few extra moments of chaos since Brianna and Connor come to our house to ride the bus in the mornings, but all the kids enjoy seeing each other. The hard part has been to get them out to the bus on time because they just want to play!

Sofia especially has blossomed at her preschool so far. A lot of her friends go to the private elementary school, but when I asked her if she wanted to switch she declined. Sofia is becoming more and more articulate.

Samantha is adjusting to more demands on her to be organized. She loves seeing her friends during the day. Like most kids Samantha tends to give up effort when she’s received approval, so I push though it’s usually a gentle nudge by asking, “Is that the best you can do or is it good enough?”. I’m reassured by my messages appear to be sinking in though. Samantha is loved very much wherever she goes!

The girls and I were in a parade with their gymnastics studio.  They got to play on the float with the uneven bars while I dodged gymnasts walking.  It was a long day, but a great experience!  Thank you Papa for coming to watch! 

Samantha made Shabbat dinner herself.  She led all the cooking and didn't need too much help from Daddy and I.

We got to spend some time with Uncle Todd, Aunt Shelly, Jordan and Dylan at the zoo. It was a lot of walking, but very fun to see them!  It has been impossible to get a good picture of the kids all together!

I began the football season with a 3 ½ hour outing with the girls, looking for crafting ideas and enjoying a park.  Samantha took the picture during our "coaching session on the bar".  Did I mention that they love gymnastics?

Shana Tova! I was at a concert with a friend (which was a fun way to start the Jewish New Year), but the rest of the family had fun following the traditional meal.  Samantha also scored with her school fundraising drive!

We went to Goldzilla which is a fundraiser for RAGOM (www.ragom.org).  RAGOM is the organization we got Ely through.  There was a sea of Golden Retrievers!  It was a powerful event because everyone there loves their dogs and you could feel the positive vibe!  I can envision us getting another dog once we (the humans) are better trained!