What A Week

Wow, I feel like this week had 21 days in it. I don't think we've slowed down for more than a few hours to sleep. Things started getting crazy last Thursday. Broc had his Halloween party at preschool. He was very excited to finally wear his dragon costume. After school the girls had soccer practice, then right after practice, their pizza party. They all had a fun day, but it was pretty late by the time Thomas got them in bed. I left a little early and went into Carson to swim laps with some friends. On Friday, the girls didn't have school due to Nevada Day, which is actually Oct. 31, but always celebrated the weekend before. Thomas ended up with the day off also, so he and the kids got lots of stuff done around the house. Broc had a birthday party that afternoon so he, Cheyanne and I went into town around noon to get a present and drop her off at Sabrina's for the night.

With no soccer for the holiday weekend we spent most of Saturday in Fallon at Lattin Farm. They have a corn maze and a hay ride to the pumpkin field to pick your own. Plus small animals to feed and a lot of fun trees to climb!! David and Laura met us there and Chey came with Sabrina's family (the farm is owned by Sabrina's grandparents). We had a great time there. After a quick late lunch at McDonald's we hurried home to get ready for the trunk or treat. Kallie and I had to especially hurry because our friend Staci was going to braid Kallie's hair for me. Dorothy has to have braids and I can't braid well at all!! So about an hour later Thomas and the kids met Kallie and me at the church and we got the back of the van decorated just in time. The kids had a great time with all their friends and roaming around the parking lot. We won a prize for best decorations, which really wasn't much decorating at all. I think I won because a friend propped her baby in a pumpkin outfit in the back of the van so she could walk around with her 2 year old!! He almost blended in with the blanket I had thrown back there to cover the seat, and with the lights he looked really cute when you finally saw him!! We got home late and everyone was exhausted.

Sunday was the kids Primary Program. They all did an excellent job with their parts. K&K had theirs memorized and said them perfectly. Chey had a whole long paragraph so she had to read hers. We had worked on getting Broc's memorized but he froze when he got up to the pulpit and needed a bit of help. The songs they sangs sounded great, you could really understand all the words, which is always a concern with 60+ 3-11 year olds singing. Thomas had early meetings and after church meetings, so the kids and I were on our own for most of the day. That is a real change for me. Sunday is the day he usually takes over the kitchen and most everything else. This new calling of his is going to take some getting use to for me!! That night we carved pumpkins. It was great, the kids were all big enough to cut their own faces and do all the work themselves. They were very creative and drew exactly what they wanted to cut with sharpies. Thankfully it was a pretty warm night so we set everything up in the garage. Every ones turned out very cute.

Monday Broc had swimming and we got some much needed food shopping done. I had been putting it off hoping Thomas could go with me, but we were running out of food and he hadn't had time so I begrudgingly got it done! The kids were all suppose to have soccer that afternoon but due to really heavy rain showers they were all cancelled. It worked out good because we were having Broc's team pizza party right after practice so we just moved it up to practice time instead. It was a nice party and everyone had a great time. After dinner we went to Fowlers house to celebrate Brynn's first birthday. We didn't stay to long, just enough to watch her rip open some presents and have some cake, ice cream and cider. But yet again, everyone was really tired by the time we all got home and in bed.

Tuesday was suppose to be my rest day!! But I got a little panic stricken moments about not being ready for the baby and pulled up all the baby clothes buckets from the basement and got them separated and washed. Then I moved furniture around in Brocs room to make room for the crib and reorganized his dresser and closet to make room for the baby's clothes. By the time I had to pick up the girls from school and go straight to piano, I was beat!! But trying to keep with my schedule I dropped the kids at Dave and Laura's for Thomas to pick up after work and Laura and I went into Carson to swim. I've been doing really good at going 2 times a week and didn't want to miss a night. Went I got home around 7 the kids still needed showered and Kassie and Chey needed rollers put in their hair for the next day. It was yet again, a late night to bed.

Halloween morning we had to get up early and leave the house 30 minutes early so we could get Kallie to Staci's to braid her hair again. They were all excited about all parties at school and the parade etc. Broc had swimming so afterwards we hurried back to the school to help the girls get into their costumes. All the class parties were great. Broc walked in the parade with Kassie, and we bounced between their classes sampling lots of yummy nutritious food. Yes, all the classes made sure there was more healthy food brought in than sweets, great idea!! I have to give a great big THANK YOU to my mom. She did a fabulous job on the girls costumes. They love them. And they are so much more special because granma made 'em!!!! And they were a big hit every where they went too!! So THANK YOU SO MUCH MOM, LOVE YOU!!!!That evening we went back to Fowler's where Shannon and I, and her mom stayed home to great trick or treater's. Thomas, Cory and Shannon's dad and brother in law took the kids out door to door. Cheyanne was invited to Sabrina's so she spent the evening there. The kids had a great time and were gone much longer than I thought they would be. They were all having such a great time, they just kept going. They ran into David and Laura so they walked with them for a while too. Thomas said they were quite the sight. They had 17 kids with them, a little overwhelming when they all walked up to the door at once!! We finally got Chey picked up and back in bed around 10. Way to late for my kids.

Thursday I was hoping to get some rest, but yet again, it didn't' happen. I had a chiro appoint. in the morning, then just enough time to pick up a t-shirt and shoes for that night before I had to get back to the school to pick up the girls who had 1/2 day for parent teacher conferences. Broc went to preschool with Shannon and Avery so I didn't have to worry about him. I was asked to help at the boosters booth to answer questions for an hour, so we all sat there for awhile and the girls read and listened to their mp3's. I got into Kallie and Kassie's conferences without a problem. They both went great. The constant message from all 3 was they are really smart and so they rush and finish fast without checking for mistakes. They all need to slow down and double check their answers and their reading. They all scored way above average on their testing so they are trying to find different way for all of them to reach their potential in class. I'm afraid their bored and would rather finish quickly and pull out their book than to double check their work. So we are going to be working on slowing things down with homework and stuff too!! And while rushing they neglect their handwriting. So that is another area we will have to work on at home. After the 2 PTC's I was suppose to see Chey's teacher, but she was running behind, so we had to rush and pick up Broc and Avery from preschool and then go back to her class. Not something I wanted to do with 2 5 year old boys, but actually they were very well behaved. They sat at a desk with K&K and made shapes with blocks. They were all very good while I talked to Chey's teacher. With those over with we got back home in time to get the girls ready for practice. The boys stayed with Thomas and the girls and I left for the field. Later Thomas dropped off the boys at Avery's and met us at the church. It was the annually Achievement Girls Daddy Daughter Dinner Night. It was 50's themed so we hurried up and got the girls cleaned up and changed out of practice clothes into their poodle skirts. They all looked very cute and had a great time. Thomas took a few minutes and taught all the dad's and daughter a few swing steps. They all danced for a while after dinner, then had root beer floats. It was a very fun night. By the time we got home I had decided that Friday, today, we weren't going anywhere!! I told the girls to sleep in, we were skipping school and staying home. Everyone was so excited to sleep in. I don't' think I heard a thing until about 9:30 this morning. They all got up eventually and ate, dressed, got their chores done and have been outside playing for a few hours. I slept pretty late also, which felt great!! We do have our last softball game tonight, so we will all head in this evening. But until then, we are pretty much just hanging out and trying to recover from the last few weeks. With our last soccer games tomorrow and driving to Nevada City afterwards it will be another busy weekend, so I figured they all needed a day of nothings!! I think everyone does sometimes. I am really thankful for all the wonderful friends we have and the opportunities the kids have to participate in lots events and activities, but some days I just like my little family at home to myself. Hope all your days are as exciting as ours!!