November 2019

November was so good and so busy that I felt too overwhelmed to try and capture it. That's what always happens to me. Whenever we're busy and doing things I really want to remember, I end up getting behind in journaling, because the task is too daunting.

We started off November with Matthew turning 5! Some days it's hard to believe that he's 5 already, and other days it feels like he's 10 years old. He is an excellent reader, and while I don't know for sure, I would guess that his current reading level is about 2nd grade (possibly 3rd) at this point. What I most admire about his reading is what he does when he gets to words he doesn't know. He mumbles the general sounds of the letters and just moves on. Sometimes he figures out the word and will correct himself, but either way, he never lets not knowing a word hold him back or slow him down. Matthew is also incredibly thoughtful. He is so good at perceiving needs of the people around him and jumping up to fill in. He helps with Alex and Michael all the time and reads books to all of the kids frequently.

Just helping himself to something for breakfast

Birthday wall pictures have become a bit of a tradition

Chick-Fil-A is the top requested birthday location lately

You know you grew up with a big sister when...

SO excited to finally have a remote control car and then SO devastated when it broke only a couple days later

One present had a book, and he obviously had to stop to read it right away.

Andrew has officially taken over as the cake decorator in our family because look (!) This is the stuff he churns out!

The day after Matthew's birthday, we were treated to a visit from Andrew's parents who had just gotten home from their 18 month mission in Mexico City. They read a lot of books with our kids, went to the Bay Area Discovery Museum with us, watched little kids during the big kids' music class, watched all the kids and worked with Andrew while I substitute taught, and treated us to dinner. It was a quick little visit, but fun for them to meet Alex and reconnect with everyone else.

Building machines at the museum

Teaching Alex to make me dinner

This is my favorite ever picture of all my kids. I get a smile, or even laugh every single time I see it. I love that they have become such good friends with each other, and I hope that they are always each others' best friends. 

Gram and Grandpa brought gifts from Mexico for each of the kids.

I happened to look out and see these two passing a ball back and forth

We got to attend a baptism and came home with lots of veggies for the kids to inhale.

It seems like once she lost her 2nd tooth, they just started jumping out of her mouth. I think this was number 6?

On Veterans Day we squeezed in a trip to the zoo with some of our friends.

The day after we went to the zoo, Adaline and Matthew started a ranch immersion program where they get to help feed and take care of animals, help in the garden, do crafts, and learn about other areas of ranch life.

Back in August or September, we decided we wanted to do have more family vacations, so we planned a short family getaway to South Lake Tahoe just to take a small break and spend some time as a family hiking, swimming at the hotel, etc. On Wednesday morning, we started the three hour drive to our airbnb. Less than 30 minutes into the drive, Michael started saying he felt sick (all of our kids get carsick), then threw up in his mouth and managed to hold it there until we were able to pull over and help him. I was so impressed with him (he's barely 3!) and hoped that that would be the extent of our car sick adventures. Unfortunately not, he threw up again, then Adaline threw up shortly after. When we stopped for at the apple orchard to get a snack and look around the market, Matthew took his first turn throwing up. After every ate lunch and donuts, we started on our way again, only to have more throwing up. By this point we figured the kids had caught some kind of bug, but we were closer to Tahoe than our house so we figured we'd just keep going and weather it there. Every time a kid threw up, they seemed to feel fine and asked for food again, so there was a lot of barfing. We utilized every toilet and trashcan in our rooms, plus the hotel lobby floor. In the morning, the kids were starting to perk up, just as Andrew and I started coming down with it. The 3 sick kids watched TV allll morning while I took Alex on a walk-since he was the only healthy one and going stir crazy- and later went to CVS for crackers, ginger ale, and a movie. By late afternoon, the kids seemed totally better so Andrew and I pulled ourselves together as much we could to take the kids swimming, bowling, and out for ice cream. Thankfully, the next morning, Andrew and I could tell we were getting close to the end. We took the kids swimming one last time and then stopped by the beach to play on our way out of town. We were so disappointed that we were sick for our whole trip, and barely even went outside, but we also noticed the silver lining that we were at least somewhere with two toilets and plenty of trashcans to pass around.

You would never know they'd been busy puking all morning (and would continue well into the night)

Alex and I exploring the town

We may have set a record for the slowest game ever bowled, but it was probably also the cutest.

They're impossible to photograph

We hurried back home and then off to the airport to pick up Keller for a little visit and adventure. The next morning we trekked into the city to hike in Muir Woods, explore Strawberry Hill, take a quick peek at the Painted Ladies, and eat ice cream from Salt & Straw. The ice cream was the highlight of the day for me, partly because I was doing an experiment with my diet at the time and couldn't eat dairy or eggs. The vegan ice cream was amazing, and I was SO happy to be able to eat ice cream again. We had flavors like blood orange and cranberry, sweet potato pie, Thanksgiving dinner, caramel pumpkin,...I only tried mine, but everyone raved about their own. That night we hurried back from the city to catch the end of our ward's talent show. Everyone did so well and I had no idea about some of the talents people showed.

Photo Credit: Matthew

It was a SUPER foggy day in the city

 Early Sunday morning, Andrew went out of town for a short work trip and I was so grateful to have my brother in town to keep my company and play with the kids with me. That evening we went out for Mexican ice cream, and the next day we stopped by Chick-Fil-A on the way to take him to the airport.

Andrew came home, dance class resumed, doctor appointments, book club, and a delicious pie night with friends all rolled around.

I love having a house full of the fun kind of crazy, and I don't know why my kids are always on the kitchen table

Shenanigans while Andrew and I were on a date getting me new running shoes

On Friday, 3 of my kids had well checks at the doctor office and it was our last time to see their pediatrician since she retired a week later.

 On the way home from the doctor's office, I needed to stop at the grocery store for some book club treats. While I was facing away from the cart, Alex stood up. I pulled the cart forward without looking and then heard the most terrible sound as Alex hit the floor. There was instantly a crowd of people and blood everywhere. I ditched the groceries while a small group of women helped me load up my van and rush to the nearby urgent care. Somehow they were able to see Alex right away and get his forehead glued back together. He doesn't appear to have any neurological damage which is a huge blessing and this is where I remind all of you moms to always buckle your kids into the shopping cart. I know they can usually escape the strap anyway, but it at least slows them down. It was a difficult afternoon and I felt so bad because it was completely my fault. Thankfully, he is all healed up now and just has a small scar. I am so grateful that kids are resilient.

Getting ready to host Thanksgiving

Pin the hat on the turkey. The talented artist is Andrew (of course) with assistance from his children for the coloring

We got to babysit some cute kids for a couple hours and Matthew was in heaven. He has always had a soft spot for babies, and he stayed nearby entertaining this guy the whole time.

Matthew loves robots and building, so this LEGO set where he gets to build and program various robots is a huge hit with him and something he always wants to work on.

Just a comfy place to hang out and read a book.

Thanks to everyone who came and visited us this month. We loved getting to spend so much time with family and close friends.