Gardening

The carrots are gone.  The tomatoes are gone.  The cucumbers have all become pickles.  The kale is still living, but we are done with eating it.  We finally had a couple frosts, though, so I was able to dig up the very last bit of my garden.

I only got a few parsnips, but it is very satisfying to still have something fresh from the garden to eat in December.

I fried a couple up for dinner.  The kids wouldn't touch them, so Michael and I had more to enjoy.  I was not disappointed.  They were delicious and I look forward to eating the rest.  I'm hopeful I can grow more next year.

Trees

We started out the season, as we have for the last several years, by attending the Idaho Capitol Christmas Tree lighting.  After weathering the line for free cookies and cocoas, we were able to hear some lovely (and some over the top) music while awaiting the actual lighting of the tree.  We also ran into several people we know, including these reprobates:

Seeing as they are my sister's kids, we decided to make the best of it, and let them tag along with us. Hooligans.

The tree was finally lit and I even managed to get one child to smile in front of it.  The kids also each received a free book while we were there, hence all the books in children's hands.

We came home, ate a dinner that was warm and ready, thanks to my Instapot, then put ornaments on our previously-erected tree.  After the grand adventure to cut down Charlie Brown's tree last year, we decided to dust off El Fako. 

I forgot to take pictures of the actual tree decorating.  Here is everyone pretending to decorate the tree to humor me.  Some are better actors than others.

This year we broke out the new star I bought in the after-Christmas sales last year.  The kids were horrified; they wanted the angel back.  I bought that angel the year before Michael and I got married to decorate my family's tree, and only chose it because it was the least ugly topper I could find.  I thought the kids would be happy with a new tree topper.  I was very wrong.  They are still asking if we can get the angel out.

The topper was also much more difficult to secure to the tree and took a concentrated effort from several people.

But secure it we did. We are ready for carols and mistletoe!

Worth Being Thankful For...

 

 Strange teens...

 Evangelical frogs...

 Frisbee fetchers...

 Dancing fools...

 Mellow friends...

Quiet moments...

Random songs...

Breakfast chefs...

Pink clouds...

Thankful children...

Tennis balls...

 Sunday walks.

This is Halloween

The finished pumpkins!  Ethan looks like he is getting a mug shot. I don't even bother asking why anymore.

The pumpkins in their glowing glory.  The picture is blurry so use your imagination.  If you cannot tell what Ethan carved, he will be very disappointed.  It is the Hamilton logo.  He's a trifle obsessed.  Libby was devastated when she realized her spelling mistake.  Michael was able to fix it, but she was still upset. 

On Halloween night Ethan ditched us to go a party (where he happened to be the only boy).  He is a putz.  He is also the white rabbit from Alice in Wonderland.

Libby's friend (a sorceress), Libby (a rock star), Grace (giraffe), and Sam (a kangaroo) decided we were cool enough to hang out with.  We ate dinner together and then the older girls took the younger kids trick-or-treating.

Ethan came home a little later, with a lot more candy.  Grace was eaten alive by jealousy.  

In the end everyone got to dress up and got way more candy than is good for a person.  Everyone ended up completely satisfied. Except maybe Grace.

Noggin Trouble

The kids seem to find great joy in tying their hands and feet together with scarves and trying to free themselves. I tend to ignore this game, because while it is odd, it doesn't seem too inherently dangerous.

Sunday evening they were playing this game when I had to change my mind.  Grace was hopping around with her hands tied behind her back when she fell.  In mid-leap, a rope she was trailing caught in the door and she caught her fall with her head on the living room floor. She cried; a lot.  She calmed down after a bit, then started acting tired, whiny and complaining of a headache.  We debated whether she needed to be taken to the doctor to check for a concussion.  Then she started vomiting.  Decision made.

There was no line at urgent care and the staff was incredibly kind to my sick little girl.  Grace has been terrified of doctors for years but she meekly held out her arm for a blood pressure and pulse check, and willingly had her temperature taken.  While talking to the PA, Grace started puking again (thankfully in the provided bag).  It was at that point they decided to send us the the ER.  The PA says she has comfortably sent kids home who have fallen from much higher heights and with more force, but she (and the doctor, and I) were concerned about the vomiting.

So off to the ER we went.  Grace refused to talk to the staff but she meekly accepted all the procedures.  They also gave her some anti-nausea medicine and liquid Tylenol, which she took with only a bare minimum of coaxing from me.  This is her face after a couple more bouts of throwing up and shortly after she took her medicine.  

As she fell asleep in my lap, I will admit I got a little teary eyed.  I have not been able to get Grace to take any medicine without a huge fuss for several years now, and just a couple months ago she hid behind me and cried at the dentist's office, to the point they could not do any exam.  I knew she was sick and miserable, but I was so proud of how well she was handling the poking and prodding  she was undergoing.  She didn't cry, fuss, or carry on.  She just let the medical professionals do what they needed to do.  I was so proud of how she was dealing with a tough situation.

After Grace slept for a few minutes it was time for a CT scan, where she had to lie very still on a bed as it was moved through "a giant doughnut".  Her eyeballs looked like they were about to pop out of her head as they darted around the room, but she kept the rest of her body perfectly still and they were done in just a few short minutes.  Goodness, I'm tearing up now, remembering how brave she was.

It was finally decided she had just a minor concussion, and her brain and skull were entirely unharmed.  We came home to eat a late dinner Michael had waiting for us and tuck her away in bed.  It was a rough night and we were all exhausted, but we are also all well and Grace faced a huge fear, and owned it!