Huh, November is almost Over . . .

Wow, it's been about a month since I've posted! That's probably the longest since the pandemic began. That makes sense - not much is happening! That's probably why I've been so cranky. I am getting way too bored with life. Plus, it's hard with the kids - I mean, we are so lucky compared to so many others (like my family in Maryland that will only have online school for the whole school year), but it's still hard on us. Honestly, I am not meant to be a homeschool mom and my kids are not meant for homeschool either - basically meaning we need our space from each other for optimal enjoyment of one another. :) There really has been some positives and I have enjoyed our time together - but if I am being honest, I don't think it's been awesome for us. But, again, we are lucky to be able to do all the activities we are doing. Like working, at least part-time schooling, gymnastics, climbing, etc. 

Cute, but terrible, Bella. Such's so tough, yet so wimpy. She'll hike 20+ miles with us. But if it's a bit wet or frosty out, she won't pee or poop outside. Waaaaaa.

I took the girls to Pizza Hut because Lucy earned a coupon from school for reading every day in October. So we had a good, little outing. Not a single other soul was dining-in, so we were good and happy!

The sister missionaries (who are The Best) challenged us to do some service one week. So we raked some neighbors yards . . . plus the girls had seen this craft on Pinterest and wanted to turn it in to a service project. We made mugs with neighbors' first-name initialed on it and put some cider and hot-cocoa packets in it. We've only delivered a couple so far, but it was great!

The girls' "prize" for our Black Canyon Ascent race (way back when) was gift cards to Amazing Glaze - a pottery place where you pick out your pot, paint it, then pick it back up after it's been fired. So I finally took the girls on a Saturday and they had a lot of fun. Lucy painted a cute bowl and Emmy did a mug. Emmy always gets bummed at how her craft projects turn out, so I helped her find a great idea (a cute snowman) and it turned out really well! Yay.

Luckily with a bribe to pick up Colorado Boy pizza on our way home for those who hiked, everyone agreed to go on a hike last Saturday. :) Ben hadn't done the Ouray Perimeter trail and so we did that one. It's awesome and it was a good, albeit a bit cool, day to get out.

Thanksgiving was . . . eh. It was okay. :) I worked the whole week - well, the work-week of Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. As well as Ben. It was just busy with work, making dinners, getting groceries, etc. On Wednesday I was done in the kitchen . . . after working, I had to come home and make our family dinner, plus dinner for the elders and dinner for the sisters. I was glad to do it, it was just a lot! Then we helped the kids all get started on their Thanksgiving assignments:

Jonas made the pumpkin pie.

Lucy made the cranberry salad.

Miles made a pecan pie.

And Emmy made the sweet-potato casserole.

It was good to good some things started the night before!

Thursday morning I had organized a small unofficial Turkey Trot. I knew our running group wouldn't be doing one, so I just put it out there that my family would be running and we'd provide treats. There were maybe 2-dozen of us, plus about another dozen kids/grandkids of a lady in our stake. So it was a decent-enough turn-out! Emmy ended up chasing after Aiden and Jonas and ran the whole time with them - well, Jonas took off when Aiden stopped to walk for a few seconds (mainly because he wanted to beat Emmy, I am pretty sure). Aiden was awesome with Emmy - he kept encouraging her to keep running, etc. Their time was like 38:49 or something. Almost 3 minutes faster than last year for her. She was crying when I came in because she probably over-exerted herself and wasn't feeling too grand . . . :) But after a few minutes (maybe 10), she felt much better and was super happy to have run it in a good time!

I ran with my neighbor Heather (oh, and Brigham - who was a major pain because he can't stand not being in the lead!) and we had a good finish . . . somewhere in the 40-minute range. Lucy rode her bike with a few other friends and finished "first" - bikes sure are faster. :) She and her friends had a lot of fun riding together. Miles, Ben, and Bella walked it and enjoyed it. Unfortunately I really didn't get any pictures. Boohoo. Well these are what I have:

The post-run treats I made that morning: Pumpkin Pie Rice Krispie treats. Yum! The middle "filling" was flavored with pumpkin pie spice and was quite delicious. We also served apple cider. Yummy.

My good friend Sarah Bugarin (Aiden's mom) brought her family along. They all, with the exception of Aiden, rode their bikes. Sarah grabbed this picture of Heather and I.

This is Emmy and Aiden running . . . how cute. :) He's a pretty fast runner and so it was really nice of him to hang back a bit and run with Emmy.

Girls and selfies. :)

The rest of the day was spent getting ready for dinner. We did Zoom with my parents and my sister and her family and played some online games together. It was a lot of fun actually! We ended the night not watching Doc Hollywood (we started it, but stopped it after a while . . . it wasn't too great for the kids. . . there was plenty of nudity and cussing . . . etc.) and watching some Spiderman movie. The kids loved it; I really liked it; Ben hated it. I guess you could say he is not grateful for Spiderman movies. :)

Anyways, here's my last November picture:

Emmy is finally learning how to french braid - yay! So fun!

I can't believe it's almost December!