November was a fun and busy month for us. We finally took the kids to Avila to get our apple cider for our Thankgiving and Christmas dinners. It is one of our annual splurges- raw apple cider is the best! We hit up the barn so Emma could feed the animals too. Of course, she loved it.
We have a funny dog. James made a new rule that he can't sleep on the bed anymore. Too much hair and mess. Marley is very insulted. One night when James was working, one of his pillows fell on the floor and Marley capitalized on this moment. I took a picture of Marley laying James' pillow and texted it to him! James was so upset and told me to get him off.
I was going to, but when I looked back he had curled up like this and I just couldn't do it! Doesn't he look so comfy?
The Littles watching a show.
Brad received his Wolf Badge and is now just enjoying the last few weeks of being a Wolf scout before he moves up to a Bear in January. They took a trip to the fire station. Emma loves it when she hears the sirens of a fire truck or a police car or an airplane. She will stop whatever she is doing and ask to go see whatever she hears. We thought she would love seeing the fire trucks up close and personal. She did like the trucks but just wanted to crawl inside them and was super shy around the firemen.
Ben is still enjoying his photography class with 4H and takes his camera with him everywhere! I got him his own digital camera for Christmas which he is going to love.
Bradley is finally done with soccer! The rain postponed his final jamboree tournament twice. It finally happened today. It was eventful, but not in the way he had hoped. They not only lost all 3 games but he got hit in the face with a soccer ball, cut his lip, and chipped his front tooth. It was a total bummer. He handled it so bravely but the poor guy was really upset!
One of the James' fellow officers gave the boys camouflage nets when we visited the station one morning. They built forts and hid under the nets all day. James came downstairs and Brad was lying flat on the living room floor, frozen, with the net thrown over him. James said, "Dude, I can totally see you." Brad got up very frustrated and yelled, "I know! This thing is worthless!" That was the end of that.
Our Thanksgiving was quiet but lovely. We had a beautiful dinner which we were able to enjoy with James on Thanksgiving for the first time in 5 years! He left for work and I hit some awesome Black Friday sales! I got these darling boots for Emma along with almost all of our other gifts. It was a bit hectic and crazy (and there were some totally rude people out), but overall it was worth it! I saved on average 50%! I wish I could say that meant I spent less but I just ended up getting everyone more! We will be having a nice Christmas. I am so grateful for the ability to do that for our kids. Not all of our Christmases have been so fortunate.
James' early birthday present! I am 15 days into it now and I absolutely LOVE it! I finished the first phase of my Rev Abs strong and lost several more inches but then decided to try out Asylum. It is only a 30 day program, and then I will get back to the last 2 phases of Rev Abs. It's fun to switch things up, and MAN does this program kick your butt! It is hard and crazy, but super fun. You are constantly moving, changing exercises, using cool tools like an agility ladder, jump rope, and free weights- it's an amazingly good workout.
Here are my current reads! I wish I had more time to read. I have finally come to terms that this is not the season in my life where I will finish every book, take long notes, write thoughtful responses, and share all my knowledge. I may do that some times with some books, but it is okay to just dabble; to learn a little here and there when I get 10 quiet minutes to myself. Learning is fun, and I have much of it to do!
Emma trying out the agility ladder.
The boys learning to jump rope.
