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Ren Fest 2016


Hunting season is right around the corner...'tis the time of year where the kids and I get to spend A LOT of quality time together!  Scott headed up north early Friday afternoon, so I needed to be home to meet Ava when she got off of the school bus that day (got to the house the same time she did!)  And I loved seeing little G's excitement when he realized that I was picking him up.  Plus, I had an extra benefit of missing all of the rush hour traffic, and then was able to shut down my work laptop at 5:30pm for a clean stop. 

We had a great dinner of buttered noodles on Friday night, followed up with a bath in the "big bathtub" (the tub in our bathroom.)  Once G started talking about pooping in the tub, Ava ordered him out, and bath time was officially over (note: he did NOT actually poop in the tub.)  We then enjoyed a kids movie on Netflix, and flavored up some popcorn with caramel, ranch, and buffalo spices (separately, of course!)  And everyone slept very, very well that night!

On the flip side, yesterday was quite possibly, the longest day, ever.  In the morning, we kept ourselves occupied around the house, and then around noon, picked up Grandma Karen to head to the Renaissance Festival.  I hadn't been there in years (as in, the last time I went, I wasn't even married yet) and when my co-worker offered to get us in for free, I decided to give it another shot.  At least I was smart enough to know that I couldn't do it on my own!  Overall, we did have a good time, but next time, I think I'd leave the little guy at home  Ava had a good time, and did really well paying attention and listening, but G was...well, a toddler.  There was some beautiful stained glass that I wanted to look at, but at that point, didn't have the energy, or the patience, to deal with a child who didn't really know what he wanted to do. Or, what was making him scream.  Or, if he wanted to sit in the stroller or not.  So, next time, 8 years and up, only!  Overall, it was a gorgeous day, and a fantastic way to spend some quality family time outside.

One highlight was when Grandma Karen and Ava took a potty break.  Ava said she didn't need to go, but I asked her to try anyway.  G and I sat down and enjoyed watching people while they were gone for 5 min.  Fast forward 20 min...and Ava said she needed to go (she didn't actually go the first time.)  Grandma Karen took Ava to the "privy" (again) and I explained to G where they were going.  He just looked at me and said "Again??"  Indeed, my little boy...again!  And we took that time to sit down and watch more people!


Entertaining ourselves during the first potty break




Ava had been asking to go the Culver's that just opened near home, so I decided that we needed a treat. Plus, I had been carrying around a Culver's gift card since before G was born, so it was nice to finally get that spent. After dinner, we needed some quiet time so we settled in to watch another movie.  The neighbors had planned an international food and hot tub party, and as much fun as it sounded, I just didn't have the energy left to leave the house.  I desperately needed some down time after being with people for 12 hours solid.  And, I'm pretty sure that I was sleeping before 10pm!  I do have to give my neighbors props though, when I let the dogs out at 4:45am (downside of them being used to Scott's early morning schedule during the week), the party was still going, as they were still in the hot tub.  I happily went back to bed. :)

The kids are being so good right now.  Ava told me she cleared her schedule to hang out with G all morning.  She was putting together a list of the things they are going to do.  #1 is officially complete (playing kitchen), but I don't think #2 is going so well (playing Barbies...G didn't seem overly interested in that.)  I think we are very blessed that they get along so well.  The five year gap has worked well for us, plus Ava is very maternal towards G, and cuts him a lot of slack.  LOVE those kids!

I had a very busy week at work, as one of my projects has officially launched, so I was able to breathe for about two seconds.  But, I have another one launching in a week, so will have another busy upcoming week.  And THEN, I hope I can go back to normal work hours.

Over the summer, the tree (up north) where Scott's deer stand is, was blown over by a storm. He went up this weekend, expecting the worst (completely ruined) but it sounds like that while the tree was blown over, there was minimal damage to the stand.  Awesome!  I think he was pretty happy about that.  It sounded like he was having a great time this weekend, hanging out with his best friend Dan, and his family.  But, we will all be very happy when he's back home!

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