And now for something completely different...: December 2016

I promised Katie that over Winter Break I would update the blog since we were many, MANY months behind.

A lot has happened in these three months...so, let's get at it, shall we?

October is the "Month of Giving" (or something like that) at Huzbend's company.

Sometimes giving coincides with fun events.

A Pay-to-Pet Petting Zoo was one such event.

Once you paid your suggested donation, you could pet to your hearts delight.

And the children did just that.

First up, this giant rabbit looking thing that is not a rabbit.

It's a Patagonian Mara.

And then actual rabbits, guinea pigs and chinchillas.

Many minutes spent petting these guys.

Mikey especially loved his bunny, Blackbeard.

There were also mini-pigs, pygmy goats, sheep, and chickens.

Mikey pet a chicken.

He was very excited.

Mikey. Not the chicken.

And last, but not least, wallaby.

Wallaby that like to be brushed.

Oooooooo. THAT's the spot, kid.

Mikey learned how to make pizza bagels.

A very important component in a non-celiac child's diet.

Notice Ralph strategically placed to catch any misplaced mozzarella cheese shreds.

He is such a help around the kitchen....

Since it was inching ever closer to Halloween. The creepy factor was turned up.

Katie created this Medusa inspired masterpiece.

I am always amazed at the creativeness that can come out of construction paper, Scotch tape and boundless kid imagination.

Speaking of creepy.....

Mikey created a haunted house for Huzbend to walk through when he got home from work one day.

Each room had a different theme.

A horrific stuffie massacre.

Who could've done such a thing!

Giant spider in the closet.

Gah!

Look at all that blood!

The horror!

Creepy stuffed animals staring at you as you open the door.

And an evil guy popping out of the toilet.

Mikey tried a Sunbutter and jelly sandwich for the first time.

He said it was "okay" but really hasn't asked for one since.

Oh well.

Katie ended up getting pretty sick around this time. Head cold, cough and such and some Crohn's symptoms.

At her Saturday IV infusion, she was so dehydrated they couldn't find a vein.

They tried about 6 times before giving up and sending her home.

And, so, we had to go back on a Tuesday to try again.

It was also the night of the first PTA meeting of the year. Double bummer.

They ended up finding a vein on her wrist (the worst possible place - super oweeee) after a few tries.

There were a lot of tears and quite a few screams.

Not fun.

As soon as they found the vein, I left Huzbend and Mikey in charge and had to drive back home to lead the PTA meeting.....which started 30 minutes late due to a scheduled school speaker that was not on time.

Grrrr.

Again, not fun.

With all the drama out of the way it was a good time for Granma to come and visit.

A "Remi-cake" was promised to Katie because of all the times she had to be poked

(her IV medication is called Remicade).

We were supposed to head up to Canada with Granma for a weekend trip to Vancouver, but a giant rain and wind storm was tracking towards our neck of the woods.

So, we cancelled.

Of course, that meant the storm was a non-event.

Just a lot of rain and a little bit of wind. Not the catastrophic event they were predicting.

Oh well.

We headed to the pumpkin farm instead.

In the pouring rain.

It was quite soggy.

And muddy.

That didn't stop the fun, though.

It was perfect weather for rubber duckie races.

We didn't get any photos of the kids actually picking out their pumpkins because the fields were a huge mucky mess and it was really, REALLY pouring out.

The next day, we headed to the Museum of Flight.

We looked at the historical exhibits first and then headed out to walk through some planes and jets and stuff.

Inside the museum, they had all sorts of hands-on stuff.

The kids were able to make their own paper helicopters.

They then took those flyers home and Huzbend rigged up his own version of the fan,

courtesy of our leaf blower.

Granma's visit came to an end.

Bye, Granma! Thanks for braving the rain to pick out pumpkins with us!

Maybe next time we can head to Canada.

The next day was the school's rollerskating night.

Katie and Mikey both did a great job making their way around the floor on their four wheelers.

It was only their second time on skates.

Mikey even went around without me this time.

There were some falls, but nothing serious.

Next time, Katie says she wants to try inline skates.

Right around this time I attended a Middle School Registration Night for Katie.

She's off to Middle School next year.

Wow.

Enough about that.....

Soccer season was still in full swing.

The field Mikey played on was right near one of the many biking/walking/jogging trails around here.

We had just picked up new bikes for the kids and one Saturday, after soccer, the kids and Huzbend rode back home (well, to a playground off the trail really close to home).

And then the rains came.

One Sunday afternoon was spent....GASP....reading!!!

Beginning in October and lasting until about June, Ralph pretty much just stays damp.

Mid-October makes for messy soccer too.

Hurray for mud!

I was jealous.

After this game, the soccer fields actually got so muddy they wouldn't let the kids play on them anymore lest they be destroyed. They had to move to turf fields.

Friday the 28th brought with it the requisite school ~~Halloween~~ Harvest Parties.

5th grade didn't do costumes. They did a pizza party with lots and LOTS of candy.

Katie didn't partake in the pizza but I made sure to bring her some candy.

You can see the stash next to her butt on the chair.

Right after that, I headed to Mikey's classroom for his party.

This year, there's another kid in Mikey's class that has several severe allergies so we stayed away from special treats and stuck with the basics - tortilla chips, fruit, popcorn and juice.

Om-nom-nom.