Invitation to the pool!

The kids got invited to a friend’s pool (technically the neighbor’s parent’s pool) so they had a grand time while we were unpacking the house and all that fun stuff.

I might have gotten a little bit emotional because the same neighbors who invited the kids over today (so we could work on the house in peace) were the same neighbors who took the kids the first day we moved in three years so (so we could unpack in peace). Kind of bookending our time at that house. (In fact I’m even getting choked up a bit writing it now.)

The first day of 2nd and 5th!

Long story short, the school schedules all got mixed around this year. Owen used to have to get on the bus at 7:35am (which was perfect because he wakes up around six and he can get himself completely ready all by himself). And then when he was leaving the house at 7:30, I was waking Katie up if she wasn’t already up (which, more often than not, she was still sleeping) to get her on the bus at 8:20.

This year…Katie has to get on the bus at 7:25am…and Owen doesn’t need to get on the bus until 8:50!! Katie has a little bit harder time getting ready on her own (showering and washing her hair) so I have to get up with her—which means I actually have to set an alarm for the first time in two years. At 6am. YUCK.

I had no idea what to expect, but the morning went well. Katie was up by 6:15 and was ready in plenty of time to take first day of school pics. (I did find out after-the-fact that she skipped breakfast so that was a bit of a fail but other than that it went well.)

Usually I take sibling photos right before they get on the bus but Owen had to get dressed quick before she left because he had another hour and a half to wait.

On his way up to shower, he told Katie “If you have to leave before I get out, I love you!” (All together now…AWWWW!) He managed to shower and get dressed before she left for the bus, so he’s now in his first day outfit. Plus he wanted to go to the bus stop with her (and to see Enzo).

And then it was back to the house to waste an hour and a half before his bus.

And with neighbor and friend Nate at the bus stop:

And the official Facebook photo!

Dual pool birthday party…go!!

Katie’s birthday is obviously today and Owen’s was back in February, but both kids love a pool party so we decided to celebrate both birthdays together! (Owen also begged for another pool party!) So we had a 7th birthday and 10.5 birthday!!

The party officially started at 3:30 but we got to the park when it opened at noon so the kids could get in as much playing as possible (and to stake out the best shade seats, as is my usual). I didn’t take many pics because, well, I rarely take pics at the pool… And once people started arriving and the party started it was crazy busy—we had 15 adults and 27 kids!!!

But first, lunch. Of course the kids hadn’t eaten lunch before we left, so they were hungry pretty much as soon as we got there. We asked if we could have some of our party food early and that wasn’t a problem, so the kids had hot dogs and popcorn! (Our party package came with 20 cafe meals but we were bringing in pizza so technically didn’t need all the meals, so we snagged them for lunch! Brilliant!)

The arrival of the pizza!

Once we got it set up it was like a feeding frenzy. You’d think these kids hadn’t eaten in days. For a moment I wasn’t sure we’d bought enough pizza as the boxes were emptying at an alarming rate, but in the end it was perfect and we ended up with about 1.5 pizzas to take home.

Cupcake time came shortly after…

Of course we had way too many. I figured with 42 total guests, 60 would be just right because some kids would have two. But apparently most adults don’t eat cupcakes… So we literally had an entire tray left! I walked around handing out cupcakes to random people then took the rest to the manager’s office (they were happy to get them)!

We left just a little bit of garbage…

Sooo happy to see these guys together again!!

Tom and I went back to the water to cool off (it was still like 85°) and relax and two of our friends snapped pics of us. 😄

Katie was actually done before Owen so she went home with Daddy a little early.

All in all a great day… The weather was hot (I think it got to 94°) but it was perfect around the pool. Everyone had a great time. No one got hurt. Well, I take that back…Tom tweaked his back a bit but he powered through. And I lost my sunglasses on the waterslide—I had them tucked in my suit but they still came out…but they totally disappeared. They weren’t in the pool with me and we couldn’t see them in the pool anywhere. It’s a mystery.

Polar Vortex Day 1

We knew it was coming (school was even called off in advance) but it was still a shock to see it. Feels like -45°.

I stayed in bed because the kids can fend for themselves (and Tom had a late start) but eventually Katie came up to cuddle for a few minutes.

Then Tom went to work and I honestly hadn’t been planning to leave the house but we were invited down to the neighbor’s house for lunch and to just hang out…so we did. The kids had fun playing, we had a yummy lunch and birthday cake (for Enzo’s birthday), and I actually helped Stacey organize her pantry (yes, that’s fun for me!).

When we got home we turned our new heater on…and someone loved it. 🙂

And even though the furnace was working and it said it was 70° in the house I was still cold so pretty much sat under blankets next to the heater…

Halloween 2018

I may have tried a SeneGence cat face… and pretty much failed. I am definitely NOT an artist (this took WAY longer than it should have)…but at least I know it’s not going anywhere. 😂 Also, I’m lame. I don’t even have cat ears.

Katie has known she wanted to be Harley Quinn forever. Owen had no real direction and this is a costume I picked up at the resale shop earlier this week on a whim (I knew he’d love it but didn’t think he’d wear it for Halloween).

The girls wanted to be twins. 💕 I think Katie pulled it off slightly better since she had blonde hair and the hair colors showed up better.

The weather was actually decent and the trees were gorgeous! I had to take a pic of me with one since we don’t have any nice ones in our yard.

Tom ended up carrying the girls’ weapons pretty much from the start.

Friends had come with us, and this is the boys heading home after a successful trip.

The haul!

And sorted…because I like to see what we got the most of… AND because you have to keep the chocolate separate from the candy otherwise it gets nasty.

I have to say at first I thought it was way weird having trick-or-treating on a Saturday afternoon instead of on Halloween night… But I like that it’s in daylight and when it’s over we still have time left to chill and eat candy without having to go straight to bed.

The good thing about this year? Since the weather was nicer, we went farther into the neighborhood and they got more candy! Last year we only hit a few houses and then came home…and then felt guilty so we took them out another night in another city. This year it is one and done!

Surprise! Daddy started a fire after trick or treating! Unfortunately it started sprinkling so the kids didn’t last long… But I did get a cute pic of Katie.

Roar Run, year 2

Of course, yesterday was the most gorgeous fall day and today was rainy and chilly.

They had a bunch of activities in the gym. Katie is a hula hoop rock star.

https://youtu.be/j7ODy4LU2XY

And they both had fun on these. Katie called them feet puppets. 🙂 Tom and I got a good laugh out of that one.

Owen actually looked like a serious runner.

Katie did well this year, too—she knew she couldn’t sit on Tom’s shoulders at all. And she wanted to beat Sophia (since Sophia can’t in right before her last year)… And she did!

Tom and Katie actually both qualified for a medal, but we didn’t want to wait around 1.5 hours until the end so they’ll just get them at school eventually. They all did awesome!!

Katie at Six Flags with friends!

Each kid was playing at a different friends house for quite awhile. Then Katie got invited to Six Flags with them if it was okay with me. Ha! Yes! (These are the same neighbors who first offered to watch the kids while we unpacked the week we moved in. And Katie’s best friend.)

I got this pic in a text…and then a bit later a note saying (and I quote):

We took katie on the condor. She almost puked on Sophia:) she was doing some heavy breathing…didn’t know she did not like big rides:)

After I apologized for not warning them (I thought they’d just be going on the small rides that Katie likes) she said that Katie had been very proud of herself! When Katie came home, she told us about ALL the rides she went on (kids rides, but still…baby steps).

Of course when Owen found out that she had gone without him, he was whiny. Not even considering that

  1. He had spent ALL day playing video games at his friends house.
  2. He doesn’t even like rides.

Kids.

Look who we ran into at the park!

They were just getting done with morning camp and we were just arriving to go to the playground!

Katie loves the pole.

They still like the baby swings. The only rule is that they have to get in and out of it themselves because I am too old to be picking them up, putting them in, and trying to wrangle them out.

Last day of school!

Last day of kindergarten and third grade!! 😳 and 😭

Owen agreed to let us walk him to the bus stop since it was the last day of school.

Katie’s turn:

My last day of freedom!

Papa and grannie bought the kids balloons to celebrate when they got off the bus!

Before—a kindergartner and third grader:

After—a first grader and fourth grader:

First day and last day:

Massage business

Katie was playing down at Sophia’s house. Stacey texted me to tell me the girls had set up a massage business and they wanted me to come see it. I couldn’t pass up the invitation so I went down.

They had a little waiting room set up with books. Each of them was taking turns giving each other massages. Whoever was on the couch got to pick the song that was playing and when the song was over it was the next person’s turn.

Have you ever heard of a box maze?

This is the most insane box maze. When I first heard about it I thought it would be something simple like boxes taped together. Not even close. This is an annual event with a week-long prep with computer drawings and major construction and tons of volunteers and it’s amazing and so well worth a visit. There are slides and tunnels and stairs and rooms and moving parts and fireworks (LEDs on the ceiling) and people throwing “rocks” in certain rooms… They provide knee pads (soccer there’s a lot of crawling) and flashlights (which I laughed off but it gets pitch black in areas). I just wish it was easier to get pics inside (there are lots of kids and people and you follow each other through so if you stop you hold everyone up). Tom and I went through twice and didn’t even see half of it. We let the kids play for over an hour (we saw lots of friends there) and they would have stayed longer.

These two pics are grabbed from the Facebook event page.

And the computer layout they had posted on the wall.

Makeup Galore

I had some old eyeshadows I was going to toss but decided to let Katie have them instead. And boy did she have fun. Owen even got into the game…

As you can see there is no such thing as moderation. Six layers later: “Mom, I’m part Anna and part cat!”

And then Sophia came down and got involved.

And daddy even for roped in.

  
  

Katie’s Halloween Afternoon

While the boys were away at the game, Katie had a birthday party to go to…and some trick or treating to do. (Our city, for whatever reason, holds Halloween the Saturday before.)

She made me a mask.

  

The group of birthday trick-or-treaters. 

It was a tiny bit insane as they literally made a mad dash from house to house. It was also freezing.

  
 

And then they were all tired and cold after only 30 minutes so it was back to the house for a piñata.

A good time was had by all… And Katie even stayed to play and watch a movie so I had the house to myself…