So Very Thankful

Despite the appalling lack of photographic evidence, we had a great Thanksgiving in Ohio.

We started the trip at Brad's dad's. He allowed Brad and I to do the cooking this year, and we had a blast. He also snapped this picture which is the only evidence we actually left the state:

 From there, we went to Brad's mom's, where we met her new puppy! The next day was spent playing with Rosco and the cousins. I never get tired of watching my two play with their cousins, and they can hardly wait for more at Thanksgiving.

Friday, we headed to Napoleon. After lunch with Papa, we went to Nana's for one last Thanksgiving. Saturday, we were able to visit Granddaddy before a cold took me out. We had plans to go to the zoo, but we ended up staying home to start the decorating. We were terribly amused as the kids arranged everything in conversational groups:

 I also love the Santa Wolf:

 On the way home Sunday, we picked up our tree:

 Yes...it is short. We are going a different route this year and doing a table top tree. I'm adjusting. It was just easier this year. Brad is moving to a new office,  and we still have a puppy. The kids are in love with the idea, though. They are also thrilled that this guy is back:

He was waiting for us when we got home Sunday, and this appeared Monday morning. He hung Christmas light balloons in the doorways--super fun.

I'm still down with this pesky cold, but I'm so grateful we had time with family. Bring on the holly jolly!

Our Nation's Capital

We had a great trip to our nation's capital with a great group:

We arrived on Thursday and toured a really cool high school before settling into our hotel. After a brief break, we headed out to dinner and then took a tour of the monuments at night. FDR's memorial is so powerful, and we were all struck by how very much his words apply today. This depiction of his fireside chat was particularly powerful:

This was also my first visit to the MLK memorial:

And the Super Moon beside the Washington Monument was quite the view:

We ended our tour with Lincoln, which I always find to be such a powerful place.

Our guide was incredible, and this was such an interesting time to be in DC. In the aftermath of the election, there was something very compelling about watching government continue. Watching the city prepare for the smooth transition of power that has been our hallmark.

Friday morning, everyone scattered to various museums. It was one of my proudest moments when I watched them divide not but typical friends groups but by museum interests. They all ventured out in little groups and met back up in the afternoon for another great school tour.

I spent Friday morning touring the botanical gardens, which I had never seen before. The replicas of the monuments made from living materials were amazing:

They were also starting to decorate, and I loved the tiny Christmas tree beside the Washington Monument:

Friday night we went to see a play at the Kennedy Center, and then Saturday morning we hopped on the bus and toured Mt. Vernon on the way home. I took three terrible pictures, but Mt. Vernon was by far the highlight of my trip. Washington was such an interesting man, and to see how he designed his estate and the way he lived was fascinating. I learned so very much, and we ended our tour with a wreath laying ceremony at his grave. We performed the same ceremony that heads of states observe when they visit, and it concludes with someone reading Washington's Prayer for His Country:

"I now make it my earnest prayer that God would have you and the State over which you preside in His holy protection ... that He would most graciously be pleased to dispose us all to do justice, to love mercy, and to demean ourselves with that charity, humility, and pacific temper of mind which were the characteristics of the Divine Author of our blessed religion, without an humble imitation of whose example in these things, we can never hope to be a happy nation." -George Washington June 8, 1783

My student did a phenomenal job reading it, and I might have gotten teary.

I was home by dinner on Saturday night, and then we had our annual Thanksgiving for friends last night:

I continue to be so very thankful. Thankful for amazing students. Thankful for the ability to travel and the opportunity to learn. Thankful for good friends. Thankful to always come home to my family...

On the road...

I'm writing from a bus on the way to D.C. with 15 future teachers. We will spend the next three days drinking in history and culture and education. We will tour schools and reflect. We will laugh.

And right now, I'm listening to the low hum of voices and giggles. Watching smiling faces. Loving life. Bring on the adventure...

Because We Need a Little Christmas...

We really try to take holidays one at a time at our house. But...work is super stressful right now. The end of the semester always is. It makes looking forward to the holidays even more special.

I'm so excited for Thanksgiving next week! We can't wait to see family, and I'm already starting the prep for our Friendsgiving on Sunday.

And...we are starting to let a little holly jolly slip in. We've always had Christmas weekends in November. We do most of our shopping and creating and prep so we can slow down and truly enjoy December. And...I have discovered end-of-semester grading is much more lovely with Christmas carols. They might be playing in my office. I'll never tell.

Chicago Adventures!

We had a wonderful weekend in Chicago with Aunt Shannon and Uncle Jeff! 

We arrived Friday evening, and went straight to Eataly for dinner and exploring. I think both kids ate their weight in meat and cheese, and I am a huge fan of their pizza. After a little research, I have discovered he adds white wine to the crust dough, which I am quite certain is the reason it is so perfect!

The kids loved falling asleep watching the sky line, and I loved staying with Shannon and Jeff. Usually, Brad and I stay somewhere else and sneak in a date, but since this trip was so fast it was great to just have the time to spend with them.

Saturday morning, we went to brunch right across the street from Shannon's place, and the kids ate the best breakfast ever: pancakes with sprinkles inside, whipped cream on top, and syrup on the side. It was ridiculous. And they made a vanilla butter that Evan insisted on calling vanilla ice cream and would have happily eaten all by itself. 

Once we were all properly in a food coma, we headed to the Museum of Science and Industry to explore the super cool Lego exhibit there. I will have to get Issa's pictures of the actual Lego displays, but they were recreations of several architectural wonders, including the Colosseum and the Golden Gate Bridge. The whole exhibit was designed to help kids think like engineers and architects, and the giant pulley experiment was a clear favorite:

 They also loved building:

 Issa added her name to the wall:

 Evan made this:

 Shannon and I were excited to explore parts of the museum we remembered visiting. The baby chicks we remember as being part of the farming exhibit are now part of the genetics exhibit, which was a clear winner for Daddy:

 The new business exhibit was one of Evan's favorite. I've never thought of a business plan as a rock wall, but they made it make sense:

 We also got to tour the coal mine, which was just as cool as we remembered!

From there, we made the requisite trips to the Lego store and American Girl before going home to swim and make a feast from ingredients acquired at Eataly.

Sunday morning, we enjoyed very special donuts at Aunt Shannon's. Evan is still grumpy I didn't let him eat the entire two-layer sprinkle donut. We then headed out to the Art Institute to see the Thorne Rooms, and Aunt Shannon captured this great shot:

 Issa has read a series of book about the Thorne rooms, so we were all a little stunned when Evan enjoyed them more. He loved looking at the tiny rooms and trying to place them in history. Later, Issa explained that she loved the rooms she hadn't read about, but the others weren't quite as cool as her imagination. That's my girl! The glass paper weight exhibit was a huge highlight for both kids, which was another big surprise.

We ended our trip with deep dish pizza because...Chicago:

We are so incredibly grateful Shannon and Jeff allowed us to invade their world for the weekend. We made fabulous memories, and I will be forever grateful for the time...

And Still I Rise

I don't talk politics here. But...today is feels different. It feels necessary.

Last night was brutal. We tucked the kids in, and Brad and I snuggled up to watch the results full of hope. And then the night wore on...

I felt the same pit in my stomach that I have felt only a few times before.

I vividly remember sitting on Gramps's lap watching the tanks stand still on the Kuwait border, watching the clock literally tick towards war. I was little and unsure of what this all meant. I could feel him willing movement. I also saw Gram making applesauce in the kitchen and doing laundry. When I asked her how she could do that while we were waiting to see what happened she simply said, "You will still want lunch and Gramps can't sleep without his pajamas." Life went on.

I remember watching the Towers fall in 2001. I remember my advisor being the first real adult I talked to, and I asked if we were going to be okay. She said she didn't know. I wasn't little any more and there was no protection from this new reality. I also remember my mom driving to Toledo that night for a Girl Scout meeting because the girls would need that community more then than ever. Fear wouldn't win. Life went on.

That feeling was back last night, but for the first time I was the one with little ones I would need to answer to this morning. I couldn't rehearse the conversation. I had no words.

While I was desperately trying to sleep, I heard Maya Angelou's voice: "And still I rise."

I'm holding tight to those words today. For myself. For my children. For my country.

This morning, the kids asked as soon as their eyes were open who our president will be. Evan was pragmatic. Issa cried. Then we got dressed, ate breakfast, and went to school where we picked our ornaments off the angel tree. Still we rise. This doesn't define us or our day. We will not succumb to fear or despair. We practice what we preach. We hug those who need one. We find a way to be the light. We face uncertainly with dogged resilience.

I know good people whom I love dearly who have voted both ways in this election. I know good people who are breathing a sigh of relief this morning and those that are truly grappling with grief and fear. But we can't stay here.

The world is watching. More importantly, our children are watching. I believe in us. Not a system. Not a single leader. I believe in the good of us as a nation. I believe that we will rise. I believe it's not wise for us to wait for anyone else to start the healing. We have to do that. We have to start with those closest to us. We have to rise above the noise and listen. We have to rise above the vitriol and start forging a path forward. We do. If we preach love trumps hate, we have to live it--for everyone.

And so...I rise. I refuse hate. I refuse defeatism. I refuse to believe that one night is a destiny for our nation. It's always darkest before the dawn. Let's be the sunrise....

Happy Fall!

This weekend, we were able to get in our annual leaf raking/leaf jumping day in! I will be so sad when leaf piles no longer sing their siren songs:

 The jumping was so fun, and they looked so little sitting in the giant piles:

 I believe the pile then became a canoe:

 It was too much fun.

We also did our Christmas card photo shoot. It went nothing as planned, and it is of course top secret. However, this is too sweet not to share:

This is my most favoritest time of the year!

Another Belt

Our little ninja had a big night last night:

He is now officially a yellow-black belt! It was one of those crazy nights where Issa had dance and he had graduation, so I dropped Evan and Daddy off at the dojo for class and then ran to the studio to pick up Issa and then sprinted back to the dojo. We had hoped to get there in time to see him test, but we arrived just in time to see him bow to the black belts. I almost cried. Thankfully Brad got it on video, and we were able to see him get his belt.

He is now so excited because he can apply to be part of the mon jin, the group that commits to training until black belt. He is 10 belts down and 13 away--but who's counting?

An Adventure

We got to see a fire truck last night! All is well, but we had a friendly visit from our local department.

Our carbon monoxide detector went off. It stopped, but it had never actually gone off before. So...I called the non-emergency number at the station to seek guidance. After a lot of conversation, they advised I call 911 so they could be dispatched with their meter just to be sure. They were pretty sure it was a faulty device, but when one is dealing with carbon monoxide it's better to be safe.

Thankfully, they did not come in with sirens blaring--just lights. Within a few minutes, we had the all clear and the knowledge that our detector was old and needed to be replaced. Brad did so last night.

I certainly slept much better knowing all was well, and I slept even better knowing that as soon as our neighbors saw the truck they came out to check on us. Keith across the street offered that the kids could come on over if they were frightened or cold--they weren't, but I certainly did appreciate the offer. And I know that had it not been a false alarm, we would have had a whole village to help us last night.

Happy Halloween!

I want mom of the year status for the next ten Halloweens because I let this happen at our house:

 In case you weren't sure, Evan is a zombie and Brad and Issa are his edible victims:

 Like legit edible. The blood is Karo syrup with food coloring and little bits of pink fondant to look like clotting. We died spaghetti red for the guts. Issa had strips of fruit roll-ups tucked in her leg and arm. Brad had jerky mixed with the blood for his heart. Evan happily nibbled on them all night:

 It was so gross:

 The whole thing started because of the clown mess in the headlines. Evan said clowns weren't scary, and if he was going to scare people on the edge of the woods he would be a zombie--and he would hire people to be his victims. And thus the idea was born. I thought certainly it would die, but alas no. Yesterday afternoon I helped cut holes in clothing and staple zip locks in to be the pouches. These three were so very proud of themselves.

But there was no way I was participating. I did dress up though:

Happy Halloween!

End of Week Wrap-Up

This week has been long. Teaching two nights a week and still coming in at 8 every morning makes for a very long semester. But...I am on the downhill side of the semester, which is always a good thing. An end of week list:

1. Did I mention teaching two nights a week is starting to catch up with me? Last night was also our mentor dinner, which meant it was an even longer night. I love that dinner, but I do not love getting home so late.

2. I got a legit holy hell migraine on Wednesday. I haven't had one in about forever, but I think fatigue just finally got the better of me. I'm so grateful Brad was home and could step into the gap when I went down. I made it through work, but that was about the end of that.

3. We are headed to a haunted hike tonight! It should be lots of fun. Wildlife educators will be stationed along the trail with ravens, hawks, and owls. I can't wait!

4. We also have to make Halloween costumes this weekend. They are still top secret, and I'm really praying these ideas actually come to life.

5. We have no where to be on Sunday, and I can't wait...

A Birthday Celebration

We celebrated a very special birthday yesterday--Daddy's! We all had to work and go to school, but we spent the evening celebrating in a big way.

Daddy requested French onion soup, steaks, and broccoli. I have no idea how I ever made French onion soup without spiralizer:

I must say, dinner came out super well:

 Even I enjoyed the broccoli, which is a birthday miracle! We ended the evening with apple pie:

 It wasn't the world's fanciest dinner, but it was so lovely. He is certainly a man to be celebrated, and I am so very glad he is ours.

Progress

Mom came this weekend for a visit, and she is one step closer to moving! She brought her first load of stuff--and hopefully my last box! We also got to go check on her house, and there actual walls going up! It's so exciting! We can hardly wait to have her down here full time.

While she was here, she went on a field trip with Issa, baked cupcakes with both kiddos, and got to see Evan at the dojo. We also managed to squeeze in brunch and a trip to the olive oil store. It was a few very packed days!

Now we are officially counting down the days to our Chicago visit!!! A girl could get used to this much family time.

They Are Listening

I took the kids to get their flu shots yesterday. That was totally non-eventful. However, the drive there was a bit intense.

Out of the blue, Issa asked when I was going to vote. I told her my plan was to vote early to avoid the lines. And then all the questions started.

Kids are listening. We've had several conversation around the dinner table about this election, but I had no idea how much conversation was happening in the cafeteria. We cleared up some misconceptions. I explained the way I think about the world. They had good questions.

Issa had already put a lot of thought into this. She had already thought through what could or couldn't happen depending on who becomes president. She knew many of the promises being made couldn't actually happen. She understood the way the government works, and I'm a bit amazed at how nuanced her understanding of politics is. It's a little scary.

She then asked why kids couldn't vote. And then the kids had a hard time understanding why you are legally an adult and can vote at 18 but can't drink until 21. It doesn't make sense. And then Evan said this: "Grown ups just don't think through the rules."

Sometimes, buddy. I just hope we all remember that little ears are listening...

Fish-acolypse

Well...all is not well in Evan's room. We lost three fish last night. One of the light bulbs burned out on Sunday, and I'm afraid the stress of swimming in and out of the light might have gotten them. (I'm sure there is some great metaphor there.)

So...we cleaned the tank and got new bulbs and are hoping for the best. Evan has decided not to replace this crew, though. He has an eye on converting the tank to a happy little lizard home. I'm really hoping the rest of these fish make it!

Now That's How You Weekend

This weekend was perfection. We kicked it off Friday with the school's Latino festival, which never disappoints. I took exactly zero pictures because I spent the first third eating from food trucks, the second third snuggling babies that were being passed around, and the last third working the tissue paper flower table. I know I made at least 100 of those things with kiddos--and some adults! This annual event really is one of my favorites!

Saturday, we set off to explore an apple orchard/pumpkin patch. The very first stop was the pumpkin chunkin' station! The kids loved trying their hands at the pumpkin catapult, and I am beyond tickled with these pictures:

 From there, we took a hayride to the apple orchard. We were there right at the very end of the season, and Brad was a bit annoyed because they confined us to a very small section of the orchard, but we came home with a full peck:

 We have found that this particular version of Arizona black apples make fabulous pies and applesauce, so we were very happy campers:

 Once we had our peck, we hopped back on the hayride to go to the pumpkins. Because of the hurricane, they had to pick all of the pumpkins off the vine. They did scatter them around the peach orchard, though, so we could still hunt and "pick" our favorites.

Issa chose this unique funky one:

 I found a very fun lumpy gourd:

 This is actually Daddy's lumpy bumpy one (and the only half-way decent picture I got of Evan all day--the family picture was a disaster):

 Evan chose that behemoth perched on Daddy's shoulder:

 Please note Issa ended up carrying hers on her should because the boys were:

 We ended our time at the pumpkin patch with warm cider donuts and cold cider slushies. The kids tried their first tire swings, and we just enjoyed fall.

We were home in time for dinner, which may or may not have been the apple pie Issa and I made as soon as we got home. While Issa and I were baking (and she was laughing about all of the odd tweaks on the family apple pie recipe that each generation has made, passed on, but refused to write on the actual recipe card) the boys were cleaning Brad's birthday present:

 This big shiny grill came to live with us last Thursday. Brad has been waiting for a great sale on a gas grill all season. A neighbor posted he was upgrading and just needed this baby gone--free to anyone who would come get it. I stopped on my way home from work and thought it looked great but couldn't figure out how to get it in the van. I called Brad, who arrived on the scene and confirmed that it wouldn't fit in the van. So...he rolled it home. It was on wheels, so aside from the dreadful racket it was a pretty easy task. It needed a good cleaning, and Brad even got the lighter switch repaired. Now...it's as good as new:

 Our first task was to attempt smoking our own jerky. It was amazing!

 Sunday, the boys cleaned the garage, mowed the grass, and detailed the car. Issa and I went to the ballet:

We were home in time for grilled chicken on the new grill, and now we're running headlong into what is looking like a really crazy week! I'm so glad I have the memories of this weekend to keep me going...