November 30

 

Elliott earned another stripe at his belt test last night. Clay is now also an instructor at the gym, so he got to give Elliott his stripe.

November 29

Clay took the day off work to go to the dentist. He got recruited to help Kat on an antacid experiment. Baking soda worked better on acid than milk, Prilosec, Tums, Rolaids, or Pepto Bismol. Milk was just as good as the over-the-counter meds.

November 28

 Elliott and Lucy both really enjoy gymnastics class.

Elliott finished his Wilbur pig paper mache art project for co-op.

November 27

Happy Birthday Uncle Stump!

 These thankful leaves were up on the wall at church. I found Elliott and Lucy's while we were at church this morning for piano lessons.

November 26

 Julia was a robber during drama class

November 25

Back to the real world of laundry and groceries.

Clay and the kids did yard work for a couple of hours yesterday. That ice storm that we thought we escaped last week? We weren't so lucky. The neighbor's tree had a couple of limbs come down on our shed. Thankfully there was no damage. Just a mess.

November 24

We were a little slap happy!

November 23

 We helped Nonna and Grandpa string popcorn and cranberries and then decorate their tree.

 Nonna's first time playing Legos!

Julia made Nonna a table runner.

 Elliott and Lucy had fun playing with Grandpa Carroll's childhood wind-up train set.

November 22

Happy Thanksgiving!

We spent the day in IL with Grandpa, Lulu, and most of the extended family. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 One stuffed turkey

 

 Julia gave Grandpa the Harley Davidson t-shirt quilt that she made. This quilt won her 1st place in the junior division t-shirt quilt at the state fair and it also won the grand prize ribbon for all junior sewing divisions.

November 21

Happy 1st Birthday, Nora!

 Elliott's jiu jitsu competition training class.

 Julia's CrossFit teacher wanted to brag on her to me tonight. He said that she has the second best form out of everyone. He was even showing Chewy, one of the owners of the gym how good she is. She is strong, has good mechanics, and learns quickly. He said she is perfect for CrossFit.

November 20

 

Instead of a book report, Elliott's co-op teacher wants the kids to make an art project for Charlotte's Web. Elliott doesn't enjoy drawing or crafting of any kind. When I saw this paper mache Wilbur on Pinterest, I thought that might be an art project he would enjoy. He did seem to enjoy it. I have never done paper mache before - what a mess! 12 hours later and it still isn't fully dry! We have to do at least one more coat of the paper before we can paint it.

November 19

 

 

 Praying over the boxes.

 

 

 This morning the kids and I helped with Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes. This is the third year we have helped with the collection day. The kids are getting older and are pros at it now. I don't have to supervise to make sure they stay busy. They are helpful with unloading the shoeboxes people bring in, stacking them on the tables for counting, and then making sure they have tags and rubber bands before being loaded in the cartoons. Our church is a collection sight for this part of the city and collected over 5,500 boxes to ship on to the next destination before they are shipped all over the world to little boys and girls.

November 18

I love Cane's restroom signs.