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Where's the Red-Nosed Reindeer?

Last Saturday was a very full day for all of us. Scott opted not to go hunting, so he scheduled some more side jobs for himself. In the meantime, I headed to downtown Minneapolis for a convention with a friend (and then lunch afterwards), and G was dropped off to play with his cousins. He had so much fun, and it was a great way to start his day!

After I picked him up, we had a very short amount of time before he needed to be at Rockin' Jump for a birthday party. I have never seen it so busy there! I happily dropped him off and took Ava across the street to grab a late lunch at a bowling alley, and then she and I browsed through Target until it was time to pick up the little guy. 

After such a busy day, I think we were all happy to get home and find quiet areas of the house where we could each relax. But not for long, as the next day, G and I were on the road again to see the Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer musical at the Ames Center in Burnsville. The musical followed the original story very closely, and at the end, the entire audience got to sing along with the cast. It was so well done, and I can't wait to see what other plays/musicals G might like to go to in the future. I opted not to see The Nutcracker this year, which means Ava was off the hook for attending a performance with me. :)




In other exciting news, Ava tested for her second stripe for her gold belt, and she earned it! G didn't come to class that night (his knuckles were cracked and bleeding from the dry air...which would have made it really uncomfortable for him to hit the punching bags), but he was very supportive and happy for Ava when we came home and told him. I wasn't sure if he was going to be upset that he didn't have a chance to test for it, but...he surprised us!



Tonight we're going to the Christmas tree lighting celebration in Rosemount. I think there will be treats, music, and a visit from Santa. As a bonus, we're meeting a few other families there, so the kids will get to burn off some energy outside. We've also been prepping for our Christmas mini picture session, which will take place tomorrow afternoon (Sunday.) It's a nice way to get updated family photos, without making it a huge adventure. The studio is here in town, and it's a 15-minute session...short and sweet!

We're moving quickly into the holiday spirit, and are trying to check things off the mandatory holiday bucket list. Christmas cards ordered ✔, plans to decorate the house AFTER Thanksgiving ✔, cookie date set with my mom ✔, and we've made excellent progress on buying Christmas gifts for everyone. Whew!

As a side note, both kids' schools ran a food drive these past weeks, and since G is backup for student council in his class, he helped make one of the posters that are up around school. It was neat to see him work with another classmate for a good cause. Nice job, kids!



It's another beautiful fall day in Minnesota...a perfect day to finish up any lingering outside chores. Before we know it, the snow will be here to stay (did I mention it snowed earlier this week...a perfect snow globe snow...but it was gone fairly quickly) and we won't want to go outside!

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