Thanksgiving

Zane's class took a field trip to the Hoyt Arboretum before Thanksgiving Break. It's a gorgeous place with many trails and species. Most of the kids did great despite the cold and ambitious path and lecture.

 Miss Hannah is down with a sickness again. We're on day 5 of coughing, mild fever, and no appetite.  Our sweet neighbor gave her some tattoo pens just because she thought Hannah would like them and they've been coming in handy for a low-key activity.

 Our Thanksgiving plans were altered because we didn't think traveling for 3 hours up to Seattle, eating in a house full of people, or skipping naps was in anyone's best interest this year. Instead Mason braved the grocery store in the morning and managed to pick us up some Thanksgiving fare for a quiet day at home. Hannah was content in her nest.

 Zane tried out the nest while Hannah was napping.

 After our 2:30 dinner we took a stroll around the park so we wouldn't burst. It was a chilly 35 degrees so we bundled the kids up and covered Hannah in a blanket in the wagon. In the past 2 days her illness has come and gone...we think she's better and then it comes back. This was one of the "we think she's better" moments.

 She even had energy!

 Thanksgiving selfie!

 After the walk there was dessert! Piecaken. It's a pumpkin pie inside a spice cake a la mode. Delicious.

 Our tree of thanks.

 Hannah drew a picture of the family :)

 Hannah said she was thankful for dragons. Who isn't?

 Zane's red on red is hard to read, but it says "ice cream."

 "Zane is fed" and "luv"

 I wanted to document the tiger stripe in Zane's left eye. He didn't have it when he was a baby, and we're not sure how long it's been there, but it's here now. Pretty cool.

Hannah wanted a pic of her eyes too.

Ice Skating + Other Occurrences

Way back on Vereran's Day we went ice skating with a buddy from Zane's class. When we made the plans I was assuming Hannah would be at daycare but she was delighted to come along when we found out Luchia had the day off. Weeeeee! She and I had to paint our nails blue before we left so we could pretend to be Elsa and Anna. Zane picked right up where he left off last time.

All the kiddos did great! It was hard to get them off the ice to take breaks because they all wanted to keep going.

I skated with my hands under Hannah's arms to keep her up. Plus, we could go faster that way than if I held her hands...and she likes to go fast!

I'm figuring out my new fancy schmancy iPhone...slowly. I don't feel qualified for this level of tech. The cameras on them are supposed to be great but I'm still struggling to get it to do what I want it to do (it took me a few DAYS to figure out how to get the photos off of the phone!). I was messing with it at Zane's basketball practice.

 The kids were delighted to help our friend celebrate the big 4-0. Anytime cake is involved they're delighted. Hannah, of course, had a pile of jellybeans instead of cake but thought it was fun to pull the candles out for the other kids to lick.

 Hannah blew my mind the other day. As we were walking home from dropping Zane off at school she stopped and pointed to this splattering of bird poop on the sidewalk. I thought our potty talk loving little girl was going to say something vulgar, but instead said "This is like a Jackson Pollock." Um, what?!!!!! Holy cow! She loves a show called Creative Galaxy where Arty the alien zooms around in his spaceship to different art themed planets (my favorite is Fabrictopia) to collect art supplies and experiment with different techniques. Apparently she's paying attention!

 We had a really stormy day yesterday. So stormy that I drove the 3 blocks to Zane's school to pick him up. Here's Hannah being a cutie patoot while we waited for the bell.

 Books with Papa to wind down. Love all of these people!

Pretty Tile + Reading

Our shower remodel is complete! It has been for a while, but I haven't gotten around to uploading photos. It's SO nice! We can now mentally take a spa break in there instead of cringing and trying not to touch anything. 

 It took 8 days (and some creativity for us to find locations to shower) but it was well worth it! The reason this whole project started was because the tub started chipping and we were worried that one of the kids would cut themselves in the bath. We hired someone to resurface the tub, Mason took the whole area down to the studs, and we hired someone else for the tile and plumbing (he moved the shower head up so Mason doesn't have to crouch down to wash his hair anymore!). Zane's favorite part is the soap dish. Ahhhhh....

The Verboort Sausage Festival happened. It was a soggy experience but fun was had by all. We had zero intention of standing in the line that zig zagged around the entire property of the hosting church to purchase sausage or kraut, or purchasing meal tickets for all of us (and having the kids either not eat it or Hannah not be able to) so we stuck with the games and crafts. We also met up with one of Mason's old co-workers for a chat and met Louis Verboort herself! I learned that they're of Dutch heritage and their sausage reflects that. She is not a fan of German sausage. What a hoot!

While Mason tried to track down his friend, we waited under the cover of the Sequoia trees the church transplanted years ago. 

Zane's reading is coming right along! He was just moved up to a higher reading group at school and we couldn't be more pleased and proud of his progress! Go, Zane, Go!

A Soggy Halloween

We had a VERY wet Halloween this year. We were skeptical if we'd even go since it was still down pouring moments before departure. These kids were not to be deterred and we prepared for the rain. 

Hannah dictated Mason and I's costumes this year. She'd decided to go as Tinkerbell and I was supposed to be Fawn, Tink's friend, but at the last minute she changed it to Elsa and Anna (from Frozen). Well, we don't have an Elsa dress but she decided the Cinderella one would do. In the end, as long as we were both covered in glitter, she was happy.

 We put the jack-o-lanterns under the awning of our garage with our bowl of candy while we all went traipsing around in the rain.

We went with 2 other families from our street. This is how we walked - umbrellas, rain coats, and rain boots!

 Mason's costume got a lot of comments. Some guesses we heard from passerby were E-cigarette, vape pen, shell casing, paper towel holder, and tampon. Obviously, he is a pen.

 The deluge let up after a bit. It was nice not to have to worry about umbrella coverage, but some of the huge puddles weren't seen until it was too late. Luckily, kids and adults alike had great attitudes and everyone came home with a full treat bag. It was a memorable, fun night!

 The sorting out of allergens. After the kids passed out, Mason and I watched Beetlejuice and ate all the Butterfingers.