Happy Post Thanksgiving Full Tummies!

Here's the picture of Lyndsi's lost tooth. The two in the front are twisted around but not coming out!

Oh my.... I think I ate more over the last few days than I have in months! Oh, it was so good, though! My dad was having treatments on Thanksgiving so Robyn and Kim got dinner started for us all. Erin and I pitched in with food we prepared in our home and Linda brought some yummy salads and a relish tray. By dinner we were all together and it was unanimous. This was the best tasting Thanksgiving we've had in a long time! The company was good and there was just enough of a mix to make everything taste fabulous. I love being home with my parents and my sisters and this year seemed especially enjoyable.

All us girls hit the stores Friday morning as we sought the best deals. I think Erin probably did the best with her pre-7 am shopping. I couldn't bring myself to get out of bed that early :) Lyndsi even joined us and, I'm proud to say, I think she's a born shopper! Never a complaint out of that girl. I'm sure the free donuts at Fred Meyer and the popcorn at Target helped a bit!

We came home yesterday, instead of our planned Sunday return. We've been so busy this fall that Steve really wanted to get home to get something done before Monday rolled around again. Besides, we'd had some car trouble and didn't want to risk something happening on a Sunday. All was good, though.

Sun Mountain was, of course, beautiful! Exactly the kind of weather I was wishing for. No snow yet just gorgeous fall briskness and colors. We took a nice long walk, soaked in the hot tub and had a great dinner. Julia and I even had pedicures this time! The Sullivans were there with baby Paige so we enjoyed their company for a bit. My only regret is that I didn't do my job and let everyone know we were going in the off chance that other families could have joined us also. Maybe I'll do better next time!

Here are some of my favorite pictures from Sun Mountain -

Aidan and Dylan leading the way - Patterson Lake in the background

Dylan and Aidan playing on Beaver Pond - no it wasn't frozen solid. We were lucky no one fell in!

All the kiddos on the deck of the lodge.

Is There a Full Moon?

Let me tell you about my evening. I know it's late but I feel the need to share what can happen in a matter of about 30 minutes.

Soo...Steve is off playing poker with a few guys from work. They do this once in a while, which usually means the host's family is banished for the evening. This time Jeff invited a couple of guys over so Amy, Max and Zoe decided to take in a movie. Being the good friends we are, the kids and I tagged along! We scarfed our popcorn as we enjoyed Madagascar 2. Not my top choice but appropriate and fun for the kids in the group.

Amy picked up Kendal to come along so we stopped by her house on the way home to meet her new puppy. The kids played with Hopper while the adults checked out the house, which is also new to Shawn and Kendal.

At about 9:00ish, we left. So did Kendal, who was going back to Amy's where Shawn was also playing poker. Now, mind you, Shawn and Kendal are the only human inhabitants of their home so when Amy left with Kendal, no one else was home. They pulled out of the driveway before we did. And yep, you probably guessed by now that I couldn't find my keys. My keys were not in my purse, nor in my pocket, nor in the ignition, nor on the ground, nor anywhere I looked. So, the kids and I were stranded in a driveway on a dark abandoned street on the edge of the city of Omak - lots of fields, not many houses. Mind you, I am not a brave soul and my kids have inherited their love of the scary darkness from me. As my cell phone was back home on the kitchen counter, I thought of no other solution except to walk 2 blocks to the hospital to use their phone. So that's what we did. I had a kid on each hand, both in tears, one in shorts and one with wet pants. I pretended it was no big deal but I kept glancing off into the dark fields watching for those monsters I knew were out there.

Fortunately, Amy and Kendal were back at Amy's so they came back and I found my keys inside Kendal's house, right where I'd left them!

By now, both kids are exhausted from their fears and ready for bed but not liking coming home to a dark house. I was still trying to play the brave mom, thinking of all the fun things I could. We pull into the driveway and the first thing we notice is the glow from the flames on the burn pile that was supposed to be out. Dylan has a fear of the house catching on fire so he started immediately wanting to call the fire department as Lyndsi starts in on her fatigued hysteria. Dylan was on the phone to Steve before I even made it into the house! When Dylan started out to wake the neighbors I eased his fears by saying I'd go take care of the fire. I have to admit, I hoped the flames were within the confines of the burn area but they had me a bit worried. I'm not fond of burning in the middle of dead brush, no matter how wet it's been.

For the second time that night, I found myself trudging through the dark. The burn pile is at the edge of our yard in the empty lot next door. Just beyond our backyard is a whole lot of emptiness that we lovingly call, "the desert". At night, it's a bit scary! I could hear the kids crying from inside the house. I dumped a bucket of water on the pile of burning leaves and walked back to the house.

In the meantime, Dylan had called Steve again. Being the good father he is, he said he'd come home to check it out. I don't know why my kids don't trust me in the eyes of danger!

Steve assured the kids that all was well as I tried to brush Lyndsi's teeth. Keep in mind that it's late and I just want the kids in bed so I can relax! Those of you who have seen Lyndsi in the past 6 weeks know that she has had several very loose teeth. I swear, she's going to keep them until they disintegrate! Well lo and behold, I must have brushed a little hard because I brushed one of those teeth right out of her mouth! Yee haw! She lost her first tooth!

So now we had to have the whole, "How does the tooth fairy get in?" discussion and I had to ease some fears once again! Steve had already returned to his poker game so I was on my own. Fortunately, these fears were short lived and both kids fell asleep quickly.

Just as I thought I might head downstairs and turn on the computer to check email I noticed a small, white animal peeking out from behind the ottoman. I was debating about whether to pick it up and put it in one of the kids' bedrooms when, suddenly, it ran across the floor to me! It took a second to register that the stuffed animal I was looking at was really French Fry, our white gerbil! This wasn't necessarily a scary ordeal to me but I sort of felt like falling to the floor in a fit of tears! French Fry doesn't go back to his cage easily and it usually takes to of us to trap him in a corner. By now I was completely exhausted myself!

I walked toward the gerbil and tried a couple of tricks, none of which worked. However, in this little adventure, I noticed that French Fry seemed to be following me. When I walked to his cage, he did too. When I walked back to the living room, he did too. When I stayed in a room, he did too. I even tested my theory by walking around the table and into the kitchen and then out the other door to the living room. I looked behind me and guess who was there? It was pretty fun! French Fry would run right up to me but wouldn't let me pick him up. So I walked back to the cage, sat down by it and waited. French Fry came with me, poked around his cage a bit, then walked into the door I had opened for him. Easy! Too bad I didn't learn that trick 2 years ago!

As I said early on, this may sound ho hum to some of you readers but it was far from ho hum for me. Several odd things happened tonight. I'm sure the moon must be full.

I'd share pictures of Lyndsi's cute smile but I'm too tired. Those pictures will just have to wait!

An Almost Sleepover!

Because I strive to be thoroughly exhausted all the time, I decided I could handle having a birthday party for six year old Lyndsi on a Friday night. Yep. I'm crazy.
Don't tell Lyndsi, though, because I think she had a really good time!

At 5:00 this evening, 9 girls and Dylan invaded our home. The girls all wore their pajamas as this was a "pretend" sleepover. All the fun of a sleepover but you get to sleep in your own bed. Perfect for kindergarteners! We danced, created picture frames, had photo shoots, ate dinner, watched a movie, had popcorn and M&Ms, opened gifts and had cake and bubble gum ice cream. All in just under 2 hours! I had planned for the party to take about 2 and a half hours but these girls cruised through everything! They were so excited about what was to come that they couldn't stay focused on any one thing for more than 10 minutes! For about an hour tonight it sounded like my classroom on party day, only with more high pitched screaming!

Lyndsi and her guests had a great time and they all looked so cute in their jammies! My favorite scene from the evening was watching them when they first sat down to watch their "Little Pony" movie. I set the popcorn out and 10 little hands reached into the bowl. You can see the mess in the picture.

Isn't she cute! I can't believe she's almost 6!

Check out the popcorn!

The pajams set the fun mood for this party!

Halloween seems like ages ago! Both kids raked in about 2 1/2 pounds of candy during trick or treating. Fortunately they still have most of it! If we allowed the candy to stay in the bedrooms, it would be gone by now! The party at the Cheesemans after trick or treating was relaxing and entertaining. The adults sat around the fire pit in the backyard while the kids took over the house.

Souther Belle Lyndsi and Pirate Dylan

Dylan and Lyndsi were able to spend the weekend after Halloween in Spokane with my parents. They went to a children's concert and Dylan went to a Gonzaga basketball game with Papa. We had 2 exhausted but happy kiddos on Sunday evening!

Soccer is over for Steve as of Wednesday afternoon. Unfortunately his high school girls lost their State playoff game so will not advance. I'm loving having him home and available! Life may calm down a bit for the next few weeks.

Next weekend we are heading for Sun Mountain Lodge, our favorite weekend destination. I'm looking forward to spending some time with the family and our friends, the O'Connors. I might even get a pedicure with my birthday money!