Fall Winds Blow

Well, we just finished a wonderful week with my Grandma…actually she’s been gone for a week and I STILL haven’t updated! I can’t believe that I haven’t written anything in November and it is almost over. The weather has officially turned yucky here. It has been raining and blowing like crazy. It is fall!

We do miss Gigi. She was immersed in our life for a week and saw what it is all about it. The girls enjoyed playing Slap Jack and Go Fish with her. She helped them with their homework and did more dishes that I should have let her!

On her first day we even got a little blue sky and sun, though it was much colder than Arizona! We went out to lunch in LaConner and enjoyed a few of the shops.

We went home and when the girls got home from school we had a little tea party. Gramma got me this special two-tiered plate in LaConner. I just LOVE it! I have wanted a little dish like this for a long time for the tea parties me and the girls have every now and then. Now I have a very special treasure and we’ll think of Gramma every time we use it.

  Playing Slap Jack

On Friday I had to volunteer at the school for Tegan’s class, so Gramma came along with me. We cut lots of paper for the kids to make turkeys and then were charged with the job of building a fireplace to decorate their classroom. I was pretty proud of the final product!

On Saturday Gramma joined us in the culture of running. Mike ran a 10K race called the Fowl Fun Run. The girls all joined in and did the 2 mile race. I went with Anika, but the big girls ran on their own. We are very proud to see them trying so hard.

Each girl got a ribbon in her age group! Tegan got first, Kelby got second, and Anika got third. This time Mike didn’t place in his age group.

That night Mike and I got to go on a date. The girls enjoyed hanging with Gigi, eating pizza, playing games, and watching a movie while we drove down to Alderwoord to see the 3D Disney’s Christmas Carol and enjoyed dinner at PF Changs (my favorite!).

We had a nice Sunday morning at church, then Gramma made me clean the garage! No, I’m just kidding. It was a good idea and she helped. We got it all cleaned up and organized. I just love a clean garage! Mike even did some organizing in the shop.

On Monday Gramma, Anika, and I went out to lunch and shopping

On Tuesday Gramma came to Girl Scouts with us and watch me run around like a chicken with my head cut off. I always try to get more done than we have time for. I’m learning as I go, but I LOVE it!

That night Gramma took us out to dinner at a local Greek restaurant called Neapolis. We were the only ones in the restaurant, but it was super yummy and we loved it.

On Wednesday we took Gramma to the airport to send her home. We’ll miss her. We enjoyed our time and hope that she’ll come again soon…maybe when the weather gets warmer.

Kelby had a project due on Thursday that she was had waited to work on. Gigi got to see me break down in frustration in dealing with it. I ended up talking to the teacher and she calmed me down. Kelby didn’t end up being too far behind. (She would have been in trouble if I hadn’t stepped in though.) She worked hard those last two days and made this cool boat (The Santa Maria) from air-dry clay to turn in on Thursday.

On this Saturday the girls and I spent the whole day at a Girl Scout workshop. I took a couple classes on leadership and Kelby and Tegan got to enjoy some science workshops. I was nervous that they would be bored with three hours at a time in the classes, but they had a blast. Both girls learned about and played with slime in one workshop. Tegan also got to learn about the brain and Kelby got to do a CSI class where they used science to figure out who stole a birthday cake! Anika just played with the other Daisies all day and loved it. We all enjoy the Girl Scout way of life. It keeps us busy though.

We are all looking forward to Thanksgiving! What are you thankful for?

Speaking of Christmas

I found this old draft that I forgot to post! It didn’t have any pictures, so I added some.

So, since Halloween I had only a couple things on my mind. Our November Ladies’ breakfast at church was on Saturday. I got to do a few fun things for that this month. I love making little gifties for the ladies. Since we had a bunch of clear ornaments left over from a Christmas event a few years ago, a couple friends and I glittered and decorated them to give out to each lady.

Then I was a speaker that morning. I shared about “Not Spending More than you Have” at Christmas. It was about finances, but also time, physical and emotional energy that we over do during the holidays. It is always a lot of work to put together a talk like that, but this really reminded me that I enjoy it. It was nice because I felt like all the little pieces came together for me…by a little divine inspiration. It’s always nice when that happens! Although, I still stayed up until almost 3:00 am the night before for all my last minute preparation. Oops!

Since is was our “Holiday” Her Place I also put together little Christmas planners for each lady. I enjoyed every minute of the preparation and the morning of the event went fabulously. This has really become a neat opportunity for our church ladies. We are able to meet each other and get to know each other a little better. I think God is glorified in all the work that goes into it.

Besides that we’ve had a lot of Girl Scout stuff going on. I LOVE being a leader. It is SO rewarding. I love getting to know the girls and helping them to do things that make them proud of themselves.

On Sunday we had an Investiture Ceremony that was put on by our Service Unit. All the troops came and each age group got to do a special part of the ceremony. It made their “investment’ or “rededication” into Girl Scouts a very special moment.

Our troop got asked by our school principal to do the flag ceremony for the Veteran’s day assembly on Tuesday. An older troop of girls came and taught my girls how to do the ceremony. For the assembly, they dressed up in their uniforms and did a real good job bringing in the flag and doing a closing ceremony. They were a little bit nervous beforehand. The WHOLE school saw them as Girl Scouts and they were so proud of themselves afterward. The girls wore their vests and looked sharp.