A dusting of snow this morning helped kickstart our festive day. We continued decorating the house, procured a tree, watched a Christmas show, finished our first Christmas puzzle, listened to lots of holiday music, drank hot cocoa (my best yet, I’d say), and just enjoyed each other’s company.
I think it’s going to be a rough transition back to real life tomorrow.
It wasn’t the weekend we thought we were going to have, but we’re making the best of it. Lots of downtime, warm beverages, puzzling, lots of reading, and some shopping. The holiday decorating has started and there’s talk of a tree tomorrow. All kinds of crazy stuff, I know!
Always thankful for these folks (and the family who wasn’t with us today). Feeling grateful on so many levels today.
Big day over here! We went thrifting. We went book shopping. We ate bagels and puzzled, and had a Tiny Tee party, and read, and watched a Christmas movie. We laughed a lot and came up with a bunch of inside jokes for the group. We even tried out the Wish Paper (https://www.flyingwishpaper.com) I’ve been saving for over a year. It was well worth the wait. We all made our wishes and we’re feeling pretty hopeful about them coming true.
You know what’s even better than a quick getaway? A getaway with some amazing people. The boys have been having a great time with friends they haven’t seen in EIGHT years. Somehow I knew they’d get along without any issues. It makes my heart very happy. :)
The boys and I did a thing! It’s fall break for school so we decided to jump on a plane and head to Michigan to visit friends for a few days. We had flight vouchers from a cancelled Covid trip that were about to expire so it was the perfect excuse.
Robbe rocked his STEAM Fair presentation today. His station was so busy we had a hard time even seeing his work! I learned a lot about the Mariana Trench and if you’re interested in learning more about it, just spark up a conversation with Robbe. He’ll be happy to share his knowledge.
That’s right. It’s the little one’s turn on the recorder. And he’s working hard!
The boys made owl houses as a project after their 4-H meeting. Yes, 25 kids building owl houses with drills was just as intense as you might guess.
They were pretty pumped about it, though.
Robbe rocked his fall piano piece tonight. It was a bit of a bummer to only have one in this recital, but we’ll have a band concert for Chase soon enough.
I can’t get the video to embed, so click here to enjoy Robbe playing Brave Heart.
Robbe’s friend invited him to do some bouldering the other day. He loved every second!
Chase came home with the Shield of Honor award today—given by homeroom teachers to “kids that are good” was how it was explained to us. This one on top of Artist of the Month for September and a Great Knight award last week. We don’t really know what any of these are for but it sure makes us proud. I guess it’s safe to say that the transition to middle school is going pretty well for this guy.
Look! It’s 7am and our 11 year old doesn’t have to walk in pitch black to get to his bus stop. Woohoo!
I walked into the living room and stumbled upon this fall photoshoot.
For those keeping track, the snow has melted so we’re officially back in the fall season, thank goodness.
Chase and I had a lovely coffee/steamer date today. I fully appreciate these moments with my sweet pre-teen.
Sorry to be MIA on the blog lately. I had to make time for the 100-day post and it just wasn’t working out this week. I’ve got a backlog of photos, though, so I promise I’ll be more consistent moving forward.
Without further ado…
FAVORITES: chai tea lattes, walking to the bus stop with Robbe, wrapping up the book festival events, watching the bun wash his face, coffee dates with friends, lake time, finding time to read, the aviation cocktail, wearing flip-top mittens
WINTERY THING I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO: a quieter existence with lots of puzzling and board games
DREAM FOR THE FUTURE: brainstorming holiday crafting
BIGGEST HURDLE TO OVERCOME: deciding what I want to do for my 40th birthday
FAVORITES: salt & vinegar chips, hot toddy season, anything related to pinball, listening to records, trying to beat his P.R. for the mile
WINTERY THING HE’S LOOKING FORWARD TO: getting some use out of our new cross country skis.
DREAM FOR THE FUTURE: hot-tubbing at the lake this winter.
BIGGEST HURDLE TO OVERCOME: getting over the fear that his pinball machine will stop working at any moment.
Age: 11.5
FAVORITES: books (currently enjoying The Fire Within Series), breaking pinball records, setting up Lego battle scenes, playing video games (currently Castle Crashers), social studies as a subject, Mr. Comte as a teacher, delicious beverages, bus rides with friends, getting A’s at school
WINTERY THING HE’S LOOKING FORWARD TO: the possibility of snow days
DREAM FOR THE FUTURE: D&D Club starting up
BIGGEST HURDLE TO OVERCOME: staying warm while waiting for the bus at 7am
Age: 9.5
FAVORITES: watching movies, playing video games, reading (currently enjoying the Keepers of the Lost Cities series), math as a subject, thinking about kitties, how fluffy Flopsy is, sushi, drinking hot cocoa with ReddiWhip, unearthing cast-aside toys, pinballing, running at recess, chatting with friends
WINTERY THING HE’S LOOKING FORWARD TO: playing in the snow/sledding and coming inside for hot cocoa
DREAM FOR THE FUTURE: to become a professional athlete
BIGGEST HURDLE TO OVERCOME: not being able to eat all the Halloween candy
It was a cold one (with snow!) but that couldn’t keep us down. Chase went as Dr. Strange (the first costume I haven’t made, sniffle, sniffle) and Robbe is Nitten from The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel book series.
Chase even went out on his own with a friend tonight. Big Halloween, I know!
Enjoy a quick history of all of the boys’ costumes over the years. I love looking back at all these photos, so I thought you might as well.
2022 - Clone Trooper and Marethyu
2021 - Poseidon and Ares
2020 - Legends of Zelda Family Costume
2019 - Ninjas
2018 - King and Knight
2017 - Scientist and Spider
2016 - Frozone and Tool Guy
2015 - Firefighter and Dalmation
2014 - Hedgehogs
2013 + 2012 - Goldfish and Owl (just Chase)
It’s been a bit again, but we made it back up to the lake for our annual Halloween celebration. Man, it was nice to be away from our space and the crazy pace of life lately.
Just the three of us hanging out and watching a show after the boys went to bed. And he didn’t even pee on the couch this time. Total win!
Good friends and good times over the weekend. Why can’t weekends last longer? We’re all thinking it.
small city | BIG DAYS
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