Our Week

We processed another pumpkin. This latest one weighed 7.4 lbs. I don't think there are any more pumpkins left in the garden. 

I took Luci to our closest splash pad.  That's a fancy term for a place where water squirts up through the ground.  It was lots of fun for Luci.  I still got some sunburn, even though I sat in the shade the whole time.  I also got to visit with a homeschool mom, Sara, as we watched our kids play.  That part was fun for me.

One thing we learned is that a kid can get an accidental enema from these jets.  Poor Luci. I did get her to the bathroom before the explosion hit, and I was able to clean her up in the van.  Good thing there were some extra clothes in the van.  The next night on the local news, there was a story on E Coli contamination in area splash pads.  How timely!  Testing the Waters, Channel 19. 

Thursday, after working at the Friendship Center, Luci and I headed to Huntsville to get a Smurf at Build a Bear Workshop.  They were out of girl Smurfs, so that was a bust.  Except that Luci ended up with a teddy bear instead, which cost half as much as a Smurf, so we both were happy.  We visited Redstone Arsenal to get groceries at the Commissary, so it was not all about Smurfs.  We did some good stocking up, too.

Luci's highlight of the day (since the Smurf was AWOL) was riding the Cow-levator.  What's that, you ask?  It's the elevator at the mall that has a Chik-Fil-A cow painted on the door.  She kept telling me she wanted to ride the Cow-levator...I didn't even remember the cow.  But she did.

When she told me she wanted to ride the ask-a-lator, I figured that one out much more quickly.

Busy Week

This has been one hectic week. Homeschooling? It's been more like "Traveling Zoo."

Last Saturday was busy. Then this week happened.

Church. Karate. Boys' class on early US History. Orthodontist. Karate again. Library--don't forget to bring something that begins with R, and what happened to that DVD we checked out last week?! McDonald's playdate for Luci with BFF* Kalyn. Bryan's trip to Gatlinburg for Winterfest Youth Convention. Penguin Party at the library to celebrate reading lots of books. Soccer evaluations for Upward Soccer (which Luci performed in her Princess ball gown). Dinner with Daddy at Cracker Barrel (need I mention that this is my favorite thing all week?). Trip to Huntsville for soccer shoes, Build-A-Bear Workshop field trip with new homeschooling group, then to Redstone Arsenal for groceries. JT's Black Belt Clinic in Russelville.

Too much. Especially when Mom's dealing with a sprained ankle (it's getting better, but all the walking is taking a toll...the sprain happened last week, otherwise it would've made it on the list above). Even things "in town" are at least 23 minutes away (yes, I timed it). We did manage to keep on track with schoolwork and get it all done! So that makes me happy. Next week's calendar has two EMPTY days! That makes me even happier!

*BFF=Best Friends Forever

Here are some snapshots of today's trip to the mall in Huntsville:

A nice group! 13 kids and 5 moms.
Pretending to be a mannequin at the video game store.
Dreaming!

Retail Therapy

Oh, my goodness! I had such a nice time today. Luci and I ran off to Huntsville to the Build a Bear Workshop. The boys were supposed to be doing their schoolwork while we were gone. Suffice it to say that they are doing their schoolwork now. Luci and I had a grand time chatting about lots of things (almost all of her choosing, of course--there's only so much you can talk to a four-year-old about). After choosing the perfect (purr-fect?) Hello Kitty and a camouflage bear for JT (we named it Daddy Bear, of course), Luci and I had lunch in the food court. She loves the mall. Any mall. But this one had escalators and an elevator (which our one-story mall does not) and she was in hog-heaven.

"Life is all about ME," says Luci.

Blue's Clues just came on. Joe said, "It's my birthday!" Luci said, "Hey, I have a birthday! He has one like me!"

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At soccer practice Thursday night, the identical twins Mason and Nate had on different colored shirts. Coach, clarifying which boy was which, said, "Mason, you're wearing red, and Nate, you're wearing green." Then Luci (the only Asian on the team, the only one with black hair, and at that moment the only girl) piped up, "And I'm wearing white!"

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Today was all about J.T.--Luci and I took him to Huntsville for a Tang Soo Do clinic at the YMCA. Leave the house at 7 a.m. and home at 6 p.m. Once we got to the YMCA, Luci says, "Come on! I want to go to the mall!" We passed a mall on the way to the Y. She's a shopper through and through. We've only been to that particular mall once before, and Luci remembered the Build a Bear Workshop (we have a lamb in a wedding dress now), and the Chinese food in the food court (their fried rice was our lunch).

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Friday we studied the human body...the skeleton was the topic. A few hours after lessons were over, Luci kept telling me her "skillet" was sore. Finally, in frustration, she said, "You know! My skillet! Where my bones are!"

What we did today

We went to Build a Bear Workshop and got a couple of bear-y cute outfits for the kids' bears with John's messages. Here's Luci with the mermaid Ariel. (Bryan wants everyone to know that his bear did NOT get an outfit.)


Luci is looking more like me everyday!

When we woke up this morning, the snow was still here! The temp got up over freezing, though, so now most of it's gone.
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JT took these shots this morning. This is my favorite. A view down the road.

The back yard.John! Look at your truck!

Build a Bear Workshop

Today I took the kids to Huntsville and we met up with John. We all went to the Build-A-Bear Workshop, where the kids picked out a bear. John made a message for each child, for them to listen to while he is on his trip. It was really sweet!

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Two hearts are in each bear, one for Daddy's heart, and one for the child. Luci was very happy to be there and do all the "heart magic." Here she is putting the hearts into her bear.

Two other children were with us besides Luci. They made me promise to not mention them on the blog. So I won't tell you that two male children, who happen to have the same last name as us and are ages 12 and 16, were there, too. The 12 year old had some fun but the 16 yo made me pick out his bear and put the hearts into his bear. If they see this, I don't have any idea where the photos came from!

Loving her Daddy Bear.

We got the idea from stories like this one.