Sunday, October 13th

We had plans to go on a hike Sunday morning - however, we had two strikes against us: 1) Jim woke up feeling less than outstanding, and 2) all of the trails we had thought to trek were closed due to the government shutdown.  However, after a relaxed morning with multiple rounds of breakfast for the kiddos, Jim mentioned really regretting his decision not to snag a couple more shirts from one outlet store we'd visited the day previously.  They were really a great fit plus a really great price... so we decided to head up there and pick up those couple of things and let the kids play in the food court again :-)

After we were finished, we headed home for some quick down time before getting the kiddos changed and taking them to AWANA.  They were really excited to go and thanks to Grammie and Nana playing with Waverly at home (she was very tired from all of our running around!), Jim and I managed to have dinner together!

I had made the kids breakfast, then an hour later they had second breakfast.  When I finally made breakfast for Jim and I they were majorly pilfering for some bacon... it was thick cut, which they usually don't care for but this time they went crazy for it and I had to cook up the other half of the package :-p  When it was ready they swarmed the plate and there was a bacon frenzy in full effect.

Back at the outlets - they got one ride again, and this time chose the four wheeler :-)

At the very end of our shopping excursion, Jim let them pick a treat at the Ghiardelli chocolate shop - they opted to get a small bag of mix and match items.  They spent ten minutes choosing their various goodies (most were saved for savoring throughout the week) to fit into the smallest mixed bag we could get, and then another five or ten minutes sorting them out at a table and choosing a couple to have right then.  Serious work, as you can see from their expressions ;-)

Kids were at AWANA, baby was home with Grammie, and THIS was happening at dinner for me and Jim :-)  It was great to have a few minutes to sit and chat together!

Sunday, September 29th

After a late, adventurous night camping outside (and/or in Nana's room) the kids all woke up ravenous on Sunday morning.  I made breakfast and the kids played inside and outside for a couple of hours before we headed out to do our camp supply shopping.  We all took a great nap in the afternoon before getting around and taking the big kids to their very first AWANA meeting!  I participated in AWANA from the time I was a kindergartner til I believe sixth grade, and loved-loved-loved it; I was really excited when our friends, the Phillips, told us they had found a good location and invited us to join them.  The kids had a total blast and were already asking for specifics about exactly when they could go back :-)

I made the kids some hot, gooey cinnamon rolls and a pot of tea.  Everything smelled delicious!  I had to quickly make up the adult's breakfast so that I would not eat all of the rolls, haha :-)

Warming up with tea while the rolls were in the oven.

Waverly is getting so grabby - its a fun stage, and I always enjoy watching her expressions when someone else is holding her.  You can see when something grabs her interest and she starts trying to maneuver herself into a good position to grab it.  She desperately wanted Jim's bottle, but it was far away on the table, so he got it and held it on his knee for her (we suspect she might think she has some sort of Jedi mind control, since she simply looks at an object and it comes to her, lol).

"Aha, you have come to me at last!"

Lincoln, Scarlett and Victoria - they were so excited to leave and head to AWANA.  They asked me 538 questions on the way there concerning every possible facet of what to expect ;-)  In the end, it wasn't exactly as they had imagined (they later told me), but was even better.  I love that they love it!