I had to skip last week's posting because of all of the fun that we have been having! I almost didn't have time to do a post today, but figured I should make time for it; otherwise, the photos and stories will just keep adding up.
Let's see, what have we done in the last two weeks?!
Ava was asked to move onto the Performance Team for baton...she seems to be enjoying it so far, and it's pushing her to learn more tricks with the older girls. She has her first performance coming up in a few weeks, so it'll be interesting to see what she's learned in this short time frame. When I peek in to see how she is doing during class, I'm impressed by the tricks and new skills they are learning. Way to go, girls!
We finally made it to the cool Pumpkin event at the Minnesota Zoo...over 5,000 carved pumpkins, on a trail that was separated by different time periods. It ranged from the dinosaurs, all the way to up a memorial section honoring the famous people who have passed away in 2018. It was a very neat event, and the weather was perfect on the night we attended. So glad we were able to check that off of our bucket list!
Ava had her final Harvest Party at her elementary school, and then proceeded to attend the birthday party of a boy in her class. She was the only girl in attendance, which I thought was sweet. She had a really great time, too!
We spent last weekend prepping for, and then having, G's 5th birthday party on Sunday (the main reason I didn't have time to post to the blog last weekend!) My mom was a HUGE help and assisted with all of the food, the decor, the games, and the treat bags. She also helped wrangle the kids for the actual party...G had 5 little friends attend, and oh wow, it was chaos! We had planned 3 games, cake, and gift openings, and promptly ran out of things to do with 45 minutes left of the party. Thank goodness we had a lot of toys in the garage, and they could all run around being loud little kids! It was fun to get to know some of his buddies from daycare...and very eye opening about how rowdy little boys are compared with the sweet little girls who also attended. Fun, but chaotic! It was so crazy, I forgot to take pics of the party, and we forgot to sing Happy Birthday to him!
After the party was done, we celebrated with a nice birthday dinner with my parents, and made up for the fact that we didn't sing to him that afternoon with his friends. G didn't seem to mind. :)
G's real birthday was on Monday, 10/29. I can't believe we have a five year old! Where has the last five years gone?! I'm so impressed with him everyday (except when he's being naughty.) He's such a little sponge, and is really interested in sounding out words, and reading signs that we see.
The next night I picked up Ava from baton, and whisked her away to her fall conference. She is doing very, very well in school. Her teacher made a comment that he has absolutely no concern about her upcoming transition to middle school. He also mentioned that it's rare that he has a student that he doesn't hear anything negative about from other kids...but Ava is in that situation. He has never heard anyone say anything negative about her. She is doing very well socially, and plays well with everyone in the class. All of this makes my heart happy as she was bullied during her Kindergarten year at the school in SSP. Moving to a different city/school district was the best thing that we could do for our children, and for our family, in general.
Halloween was the next day, and it was busy from morning until night. Luckily, I took the day off of work to accommodate all of the fun plans! My mom and I helped out at G's preschool Halloween party (the kids recognized us from his party on Sunday!) and then she and I spent the day shopping, and enjoying quality time together. I made it home just in time for G and I to meet Ava at the bus stop, and whisk them over to our neighbor's house for a pre- Trick or Treating dinner, and then TWO rounds of begging for candy!
The kids made out like bandits and brought home SO MUCH CANDY. Oh wow, I'm not sure how they're going to eat it all...
Thursday was a day/night of rest (we still worked, of course) trying to catch up from the activities of the previous 6 days. Scott prepped to go out of town, since it was deer opener this past weekend. I worked from home on Friday, so it was much easier to get the kids after work on Friday, since we were all in the same city, and I didn't have to fight rush hour traffic to get home and get both of them by 6pm.
We enjoyed pizza and a movie on Friday night, and then went to TWO different craft shows with Grandma Karen on Saturday. Ava did great, but G was not impressed with the walking, or the overall idea of craft shows. He was bored most of the time, and made his voice (literally) heard. I bribed him with food items, and we finally made it home where the kids could chill for a bit.
We met up with my friend Tina for dinner on Saturday night, and the kids talked her ear off. We had an amazing waiter who was so engaging with the kids, and made them feel special. G was still talking about him this morning. Plus, it was great to catch up with Tina - it had been several weeks since I had seen her!
Thank goodness the clocks fell back, because we needed the extra sleep this weekend. Just kidding, I'm the only one who tried to catch a few extra zzzzs. The kids were up super early, and were very loud. I finally gave up on resting, and bundled them both up to get G's lovely, long blond locks cut back to a manageable length. Long gone are the days where he cries about getting his hair cut, thank goodness! We celebrated the grooming success with a trip to Caribou, and then welcomed Scott home (without a deer in tow.)
Scott's making some sort of potato/ham soup right now, and the house smells amazing. I'm interested in snuggling into the couch and watching a movie. I'm tired, and needing to recover from the last two weeks. :)
Let's see, what have we done in the last two weeks?!
Ava was asked to move onto the Performance Team for baton...she seems to be enjoying it so far, and it's pushing her to learn more tricks with the older girls. She has her first performance coming up in a few weeks, so it'll be interesting to see what she's learned in this short time frame. When I peek in to see how she is doing during class, I'm impressed by the tricks and new skills they are learning. Way to go, girls!
Happy Tuesday - another round of arm painting for the kids! Ava celebrated her "promotion" into the Performance Team for baton!
We finally made it to the cool Pumpkin event at the Minnesota Zoo...over 5,000 carved pumpkins, on a trail that was separated by different time periods. It ranged from the dinosaurs, all the way to up a memorial section honoring the famous people who have passed away in 2018. It was a very neat event, and the weather was perfect on the night we attended. So glad we were able to check that off of our bucket list!
Ava had her final Harvest Party at her elementary school, and then proceeded to attend the birthday party of a boy in her class. She was the only girl in attendance, which I thought was sweet. She had a really great time, too!
We spent last weekend prepping for, and then having, G's 5th birthday party on Sunday (the main reason I didn't have time to post to the blog last weekend!) My mom was a HUGE help and assisted with all of the food, the decor, the games, and the treat bags. She also helped wrangle the kids for the actual party...G had 5 little friends attend, and oh wow, it was chaos! We had planned 3 games, cake, and gift openings, and promptly ran out of things to do with 45 minutes left of the party. Thank goodness we had a lot of toys in the garage, and they could all run around being loud little kids! It was fun to get to know some of his buddies from daycare...and very eye opening about how rowdy little boys are compared with the sweet little girls who also attended. Fun, but chaotic! It was so crazy, I forgot to take pics of the party, and we forgot to sing Happy Birthday to him!
Grandma Karen helped with the "pin the nose on the pumpkin" design...her first pumpkin looked a bit odd, so she redid it. But I appreciated the effort!
We hand-dipped and "eyeballed" all of these monster rice krispie bars!
After the party was done, we celebrated with a nice birthday dinner with my parents, and made up for the fact that we didn't sing to him that afternoon with his friends. G didn't seem to mind. :)
G's real birthday was on Monday, 10/29. I can't believe we have a five year old! Where has the last five years gone?! I'm so impressed with him everyday (except when he's being naughty.) He's such a little sponge, and is really interested in sounding out words, and reading signs that we see.
Giving Ava a big hug for the gift she gave him!
The next night I picked up Ava from baton, and whisked her away to her fall conference. She is doing very, very well in school. Her teacher made a comment that he has absolutely no concern about her upcoming transition to middle school. He also mentioned that it's rare that he has a student that he doesn't hear anything negative about from other kids...but Ava is in that situation. He has never heard anyone say anything negative about her. She is doing very well socially, and plays well with everyone in the class. All of this makes my heart happy as she was bullied during her Kindergarten year at the school in SSP. Moving to a different city/school district was the best thing that we could do for our children, and for our family, in general.
Halloween was the next day, and it was busy from morning until night. Luckily, I took the day off of work to accommodate all of the fun plans! My mom and I helped out at G's preschool Halloween party (the kids recognized us from his party on Sunday!) and then she and I spent the day shopping, and enjoying quality time together. I made it home just in time for G and I to meet Ava at the bus stop, and whisk them over to our neighbor's house for a pre- Trick or Treating dinner, and then TWO rounds of begging for candy!
Our little SWAT Cop and Unicorn!
The kids made out like bandits and brought home SO MUCH CANDY. Oh wow, I'm not sure how they're going to eat it all...
Thursday was a day/night of rest (we still worked, of course) trying to catch up from the activities of the previous 6 days. Scott prepped to go out of town, since it was deer opener this past weekend. I worked from home on Friday, so it was much easier to get the kids after work on Friday, since we were all in the same city, and I didn't have to fight rush hour traffic to get home and get both of them by 6pm.
We enjoyed pizza and a movie on Friday night, and then went to TWO different craft shows with Grandma Karen on Saturday. Ava did great, but G was not impressed with the walking, or the overall idea of craft shows. He was bored most of the time, and made his voice (literally) heard. I bribed him with food items, and we finally made it home where the kids could chill for a bit.
We met up with my friend Tina for dinner on Saturday night, and the kids talked her ear off. We had an amazing waiter who was so engaging with the kids, and made them feel special. G was still talking about him this morning. Plus, it was great to catch up with Tina - it had been several weeks since I had seen her!
Thank goodness the clocks fell back, because we needed the extra sleep this weekend. Just kidding, I'm the only one who tried to catch a few extra zzzzs. The kids were up super early, and were very loud. I finally gave up on resting, and bundled them both up to get G's lovely, long blond locks cut back to a manageable length. Long gone are the days where he cries about getting his hair cut, thank goodness! We celebrated the grooming success with a trip to Caribou, and then welcomed Scott home (without a deer in tow.)
Scott's making some sort of potato/ham soup right now, and the house smells amazing. I'm interested in snuggling into the couch and watching a movie. I'm tired, and needing to recover from the last two weeks. :)
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