Quiz Time: Our Year in Review

I was reading some of Mom's old blogs and realized she had a lot of quizzes on hers which inspired me to make this one. Good luck!

1. What house fixing projects did we get done this year?
2. How many states did we visit?
3. Who visited us this year?
4. Who did we visit this year?
5. How many ribbons did I win at the fair?
6. Where did Ben get a new job?
7. How many graduation parties did we attend?
8. Which one member of Ben's family did we see in person this year?
9. How much fabric has Joanna bought this year?

I can't come up with another question to make an even 10. Answers will be posted in one week.

Good luck!

Our Christmas in pictures (and a few words)

Meghan looks like she is up to no good. She has the expression frequently.

Yes, they got a bounce castle. It isn't fancy, just like an inflatable mattress with inflatable sides. It has been fantastic at burning energy, but will be coming down before Ben goes back to school. I see good use from it in the future.

One year ago at this time of night, we had just found out when I needed to be at the hospital to have my right thyroid lobectomy. I was trying really hard not to freak out. I was super nervous. I don't know how I was able to sleep that night. And, it wasn't really fun recovering from it either. I was miserable for such a long time afterwards.

With time, I have gained some good insight about the ordeal and good things to know for the future.

Surgery teams really do care about you and want you to be comfortable. I felt like they were wheeling me to the operation room forever. When I got into it, it was scary, but the surgical techs, nurses, and whoever else was in the room when I went in really took good care to make sure I was ok. As they were putting leads and monitors on, they kept up a nice friendly conversation to help me not think about what was happening. Even as they were putting me under, the nurse anesthetist had me talking about how Christmas was, about the weather, etc. I didn't even realize that I was going out.

Taking time to recover is really important. I always follow Mom's tradition of taking down the Christmas tree on New Year's Day. It had been four days since surgery, so I felt like I could comfortably help with the Christmas clean up. It was just taking light ornaments off the tree. Well, that was too much, and I felt so much worse later that afternoon and the next day. If I would have just hung out relaxed on the couch, I probably would have felt better a few days sooner.

I have some really awesome friends here. We had at least three people offer to watch Russell and Meghan while I was having surgery. One didn't even have kids, and two of them hardly know the kiddos. My good friend came over the first day Ben went back to school after break and spent the whole morning playing with the kids, she got lunch ready for them, and she even brought us dinner and a treat for family night. That same day another one of my friends came over on her lunch break simply to put Meghan in her crib for her afternoon nap because I couldn't lift over 5 pounds. And, the next day the other primary counselor texted me in the morning saying she was bringing dinner and would take the kids to play at her house for a day (on top of her own three kids who weren't in school and the three others who would come home after school!). I was feeling fine by then, so I told her not to worry (her sister got sick and she ended up watching her two kids instead).

Lastly, there are many people who will go out of their way to help others who need even just the littlest help. Like my friend who came over to put Meghan in her crib. I felt so awkward asking her, but I knew I couldn't do it. I had to give up my pride and let others serve me. That taught me what true Christlike love and service really is. Not a single one of them felt burdened. And, they all came happily with big smiles and many offers of future help if I needed it.

So, even though there were some good lessons learned, I still am really happy I am not having surgery this year.

Family Pictures

A while back (when the weather was still beautifully fallish) we took some family pictures to send with Christmas cards and to Ben's parents so that they would have a more recent picture of our family. This is what we had to choose from.

And, then my personal favorite.

Make sure you zoom in for a good look at everyone.

Fall, Fall, Fall!

I have always loved this poem from Emily Dickinson.

The morns are meeker than they were.

The nuts are getting brown;

The berry's cheek is plumper.

The rose is out of town.

The maple wears a gayer scarf,

The field a scarlet gown.

Lest I should be old-fashioned,

I'll put a trinket on.

Yesterday was a very unseasonable start to November. It was in the mid 60s and sunny as could be. The kids and I took the opportunity to enjoy the fall weather outside. We borrowed the neighbor's yard and tree and leaves for a fun afternoon.

 I told Ben I really wanted a burning bush because I have always loved them. It is really beautiful, but no one can see it because we have a political sign that they put right in front of it. Oh well. It looks like it should survive the winter just fine. Next year there will be no political signs to block everyone from seeing it.

 The leaves off our neighbor's tree are huge!My phone is in there for comparison.

 Here is Roxy. The neighbor's dog. The kids love her, and she loves the kids. They race and play games . She always insists on coming out when she hears Russell and Meghan outside.

 I put the Thanksgiving decorations up. They are some of my favorite ones to put up each year. Two years ago I got the pilgrims, and then this year I splurged on the cornucopia. I'll have to get more fruit for it because all I have is grapes.

Meghan

Meghan took a little dance class. Each week she got more involved until the very last one where she kept telling me she was scared a kept running away from the teachers and other kids. But, she liked it and still does some of the dance moves at home. Hopefully these videos will load so you can catch her in action, because it was kind of a rare occurrence. The first one they are galloping back to the line. The second one she is behind the teacher. They were doing beach ball arms and walking on their tip-toes.

They did this little turtle dance. Part of it was balancing the turtle on their heads. She was the only one who could keep it on her head.

Her bangs/front hair was getting really long and getting in her eyes. A couple days I got more creative than the typical two piggy tails and did this.

 She is getting to be a big girl, but I can still get her to snuggle with me like my baby.

Mudroom Renovation

It wasn't high on our priority list this summer to get the mudroom finished. It was functional. All the old stuff had been removed/covered. But, it also wouldn't take too much to get it done, so Ben got the bee in his bonnet to finish it up. It has been convenient to not have outside gear all over the kitchen have one place for shoes/coats/outside gear. Before Ben finished it it was all everywhere.

Shelf

Hooks

Shoe storage and bench

 Ben did an awesome job building this from scratch and from the plan in my head. We stained/polyed the bench seat. I love it. We are still looking for a rug, but the only one we have been able to find in the right dimension in town is a Frozen one. The only other one we have been able to find online in the right dimension are a city playmat (which Russell would really appreciate).

Mom had these blocks and I finally got around to crafting them.

So, let's have a look at what it originally looked like so we can all be grossed out at this disgusting house. I can't believe we actually bought it. It smelled of dog terribly. The door into it was also bolted shut, so we had to go outside in order to get into it.

This door was all we had protecting our house from intruders. 

We are all much happier with the new and improved mudroom. It is perhaps my favorite room in the house right now, but I'm sure once it gets really cold outside I won't be so in love with it. We better get a rug or cut a carpet scrap.

Olympic Celebrations

We just finished watching the closing ceremonies of the Olympics. Over the past 17 days we have done lots of Olympic things besides just watching all the sporting events on tv.

We had a kids Olympic party with several friends.

Our Olympic Flame

The medal stand. Meghan was just trying it out.

Track events

Field events

Lunch

We also took Sarah's tradition of eating the hosting team's food. We had these chicken enchiladas things that took way too long, made way too many dishes, and was only so so. We had bauru, a roast beef sandwich, which was very tasty. We also had beans and rice. I wasn't going to bother with feijoda, when regular beans and rice is a favorite in this home. I also made this teddy graham swimming jello. It was the most appreciated food by Meghan and Russell. 

Ben and I each took a turn trying to be Simone Biles. You know that spin she does on one foot with the other leg extended while she is crouched down on the ground? I made it almost a half turn around, while Ben fell over almost immediately.

While it has been fun, I have really appreciated moments like Hamblin and D'Agostino helping each other, and several athletes talking about how having children has been the most important thing they will ever do. I also was impressed with how many athletes acknowledge their faith in Jesus as what helped them do so well. I'm a little bummed that I didn't get to see any synchronized swimming. Next time.

2016 Olmsted County Free Fair

This will come as no surprise, but we went to the fair! We chose the hottest day of the week, and the day after our super miserable try at camping. But, everybody had fun and was happy for the majority of the afternoon we were there.

The most exciting part of the fair, though, was that I entered some things into it. I picked to enter a children's outfit, this honey wheat bread, chewy ginger cookies, and fresh apple cake. The food all had to be entered on the same day, so I was slaving away in the kitchen for several hours trying to get everything done. I managed to get it all done, and drove it all three blocks to the fairgrounds.

For the outfit, I used this pattern and sewed another runway shortie for Meghan to wear next summer. I got the fabric from Hancock Fabric before it closed and got a pretty good price on it.  I had to size it up, and was really afraid that it would be huge. When I tried it on Megs it looked just big enough for her for next summer.

I ended up winning first place for all my things! Not only did I get the first place ribbons, but I also ended up winning $7.50. Yay! It might have just barely covered all the costs to make everything.

It felt good to be a winner, especially since I am not usually a winner. The rules state that everything has to be made or finished in the past twelve months, so I am already starting on what I am going to enter for next year's fair.

Scoresby Reunion 2016

Most of you people who read this blog were there, but here are pictures anyway.

Nice throw, Macey!

Everyone's favorite--Head of the Rapids