It was that time again.
Time to go on the roof to clean out the gutters before it got too cold and wet.
It was actually a nice day when I went up this year.
Found this gem in the gutter.
Leftovers from a squirrel, I'm guessing.
Unless Ralph can fly now and has decided to nibble his food instead of inhaling it.
Mikey got a new bike.
His old one was too small.
He rode his bike to and from his friends house, who lives about a mile and a half away.
Huzbend rode with him there, but he rode back by himself.
He was quite tired that evening as the way back was almost entirely uphill.
Jog-a-Thon time!
The VERY LAST Jog-a-Thon EVER.
They don't do that sorta stuff in middle school.
Sniffle.
Katie's 8th grade history class was working on National History Day projects.
The theme this year was, "Breaking Barriers".
Her class visited the libraries at the University of Washington to do research.
Searchin' up some sources about Marie Curie.
A glimpse into the future....
"College Katie".
She was very proud of her stack of books.
She got mad at me because I didn't get a picture of her carrying all these books to the table.
The kids spent hours tracking down books and taking notes.
They got to take a break midday and eat lunch in the student union building.
When the day was over, they visited an empty lecture hall just to see what it was like.
Mikey's school had a Veteran's Day assembly.
I had never been to one. I decided to pop in as Mikey said he had a "part".
It was a speaking part right at the end.
The kids sang songs, pictures of their relatives who had served were played in a slide show and the kids set up and explained a "Fallen Comrade Table".
They were well behaved and very respectful.
Mikey closed off the ceremony with a thank you and instructions for visiting Vets on how to get to their breakfast.
He did a good job.
During that same week, Mikey began to mull over cutting his hair.
He decided he needed a change.
He was happy that he grew out his hair.
He told me that it gave him new perspective that he shouldn't judge peoples gender based on appearance alone.
Here is the before picture.
He wanted to cut it, but not super short.
He still wanted it just a little bit long.
AK.
That's a lot of hair.
The after picture.
He wasn't so sure of the new cut.
He asked me, "Why do I look MORE like a girl now?"
But, he decided to give it a week trial.
It didn't last a week. It didn't even last an hour.
By the time we got home, he decided that he actually wanted it shorter.
Off to haircut place #2.
This time, he was SUPER happy with the results.
Most expensive hair cut EVER.
Ralph is ridiculous.
He has no shame.
Speaking of Ralph, he met Santa!
"Santa give me treats?"
"Katie give me treats?"
"Anyone? Treats?"
Ralph did get a dog treat from Santa.
And then, he almost knocked down the table next to Santa in a bid to sneak another one.
As well as to try and grab the candy canes that were next to the dog treats.
Hmmm.
Good thing there's not a naughty list for dogs.
Another Katie picture request.
A chip with a hole in it.
It came out of the bag this way.
And I quote, "Like a cute little mouse had eaten away at it."
The month was filled with meetings and more meetings.
A few doctors appointments for Katie.
Mikey was elected Secretary of his school ASB.
Half days for Mikey and his friends during conferences the week and a half before Thanksgiving.
The usual.
The day before Thanksgiving Break, it was time for the middle school annual Turkey Trot Square Dancing competition.
This year, Katie was asked to join an all female team.
There were some friends of hers that had never competed and they wanted to try before they left for high school.
They had a Hogwarts Houses theme.
I literally printed the house crests the afternoon before and they pinned them to their shirts.
Not fancy, but it got the job done.
The calm before the storm....
Getting ready....
Time to dance!
Halfway through the competition, there's a bit of a break.
The girls took this time to practice and I snuck down onto the floor to take more pictures.
"MOM!"
I'm so mean.
I made them pose for a picture.
Yes.
I'm STILL taking pictures of you.
Sigh.
The last Turkey Trot for these two 8th graders.
That happened fast.
One last picture with Dancin' Dave, the square dancing caller.
Time for turkey!
No matter how many days we leave our frozen turkey in the fridge, it's always still frozen.
That's when you get out the hardware.
A long screwdriver to be precise.
Use it to chop the ice chunks and to remove the neck and bag o' organs out of the turkey, of course.
This was our table decoration this year.
Fancy.
Katie couldn't wait.
Yum.
Just looking at their plates makes me hungry.
Katie had a full plate.
She took one of the turkey legs and ate about 3 pounds of mashed potatoes.
No potatoes for Mikey.
He did, however, eat a little bit of turkey.
He also loved the cranberry sauce, the gravy and the GF stuffing.
He hated the carrots.
He ended up eating five crescent rolls dipping them in gravy, stuffing and cranberry sauce.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Mikey actually got full.
Well, his "meal stomach" did.
There's always his backup "dessert stomach".
On Black Friday, Katie had an IV infusion.
She watched Mickey Mouse shorts on Disney+ for the entire time.
When she got home, she made herself this Remi-cake.
She decided to forego the frosting in lieu of a nice icing.
She was very proud of her work.
It was delicious.
