October started out with the neighborhood garage sale. It was so nice to get all the stuff out of the living room. We were starting to look like an episode of Hoarders. Normally, all the garage sale stuff would be kept in the bonus room but if you remember from last month's blog, the bonus room is in the middle of plaster-sand-repeat. Steve and the boys manned the booth while I took Naomi to her soccer game. She did really well and enjoyed playing the whole game without complaint. That is a new thing for her. We really like AYSO. When we got back to the garage sale our booth was looking much roomier. We got rid of most of the big stuff. The rest we donated to Goodwill. That afternoon Naomi and I returned the clarinet she had been renting. Her band teacher was in the music store helping out when we arrived. Naomi told him all about her new instrument that was all hers. He said he couldn't wait to meet it on Monday. I love her band teacher. He makes it fun for the kids. Steve and I finally had time to go to the grocery store in the evening. While we were loading up the cart with items on the long list I got a text from the bank asking if I ordered a $230 pair of shoes and a $300 cell phone. I quickly called them back and told them no. Thank goodness for a bank that is quick to realize that this spending was waaaaay out of my financial habits. Even though the whole thing was cleared up relatively quickly, it still bothered me that someone would steal my credit card number and think it was okay.
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| Garage sale prep |
October 5th Naomi and I went to our six-month cleaning at the dentist. The news was not good (a.k.a very expensive). Naomi only has one baby tooth left and is ready for braces. Her wisdom teeth are also coming in earlier than usual so we will probably have to get those taken out in the next 18 months. On top of it all, I had a cavity. WHAT???? It turned out to be a baby cavity that didn't even need to be numbed to fill, but still - WHAT?????
October 7th was the day of the big surprise party for Sandra. Sister Ford told me that Sandra was a little suspicious that something was going on but she did not think it would be a full-blown party. We all arrived a little early and parked down the street until everyone was there. Sandra would know something was up immediately if a bunch of cars started parking in front of her house - especially cars she recognized. We snuck up to the door and rang the bell. When Sandra answered she was overwhelmed and surprised. It was fun to see the big smile on her face, but even better to see the huge impish grin on Sister Ford's face when Sandra asked her how she had arranged all of this. We had yummy hors d'oeuvres, drinks and a double fudge turtle and caramel cake. The night was a huge success.
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| Me and my partner in crime. BEST PARTNER IN CRIME EVER!!! |
October 8 Charlotte got hit with the outer bands of Hurricane Matthew. It rained very hard for the better part of the day. If we were getting hit this hard on the edges of the storm, it must have been really intense at the coast. We stayed inside all day and painted the bonus room. We were finally done with the plaster, sand, repeat phase and I had spent the last couple of days getting the room cleaned up and prepped for painting. The yellow we picked out was even happier on the walls than I had imagined. Perfect for the bonus room.
That night we went to the Muller's annual Halloween murder mystery party. This is the first time Steve and I have not been a character or had to dress as old people. The theme was tropical and beachy so we dressed in our Outer Banks gear and went to just solve a mystery. As always, Sara had the place completely decked out complete with a bar for tropical drinks. The party was amazing.
October 13th - Naomi-ism for the month - "A fart is your butt cheeks applauding your digestive system."
October 14th - This year the annual trip to the corn maze was a little different. We decided to forgo the pizza beforehand in favor of a fire pit and roasting marshmallows afterwards. We weren't sure how the girls would feel about this, but no one complained when we were able to leave directly for the maze once we were all gathered. Once we arrived and had purchased our tickets we divided into groups. It was the Beehives against the Miamaids and Laurels. The Beehives were confident about a win since we beat everyone by 20 minutes last year. We should not have been so confident. Jessie and I let the girls lead. They were racing through the maze and after about a half an hour I got a call from Kellie saying the Miamaids and Laurels were out of the maze. This is when Jessie and I took over. The Beehives, in their excitement, had not checked every path. They would look down and see what they thought was a dead end and pass it by. We ended up walking in circles. Jessie and I noticed this but didn't say anything because the girls wanted to do it themselves. Once we took over we explored every path and found that some of what they thought were dead ends actual lead to the exit of the maze. It was a good life lesson. When you feel you are going in circles and getting nowhere go and explore some of those dead ends and you might just find your way. Once out the maze we found our group and our bonfire and made S'mores. The leaders talked while the girls played in the corn pit (a new addition this year and a favorite with the girls). All too soon it was time to get on the hayride back to our cars. This night is always so much fun and a highlight of the year.
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| Before heading into the maze. |
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| My nearly perfectly-roasted marshmallow caught on fire. NOOOOOOO! |
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| The corn pit... |
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| ...where the girls spent most of their time once we got out of the maze. |
October 15th we were up really early and on our way to Buena Vista, Virginia, the home of Southern Virginia University for an open house. The drive was beautiful and uneventful. We arrived just in time to get checked in, talk to a few people in several of the booths before the official day started with an information assembly in the gymnasium. Both Jeremy and Nicholas were signed up to take some classes to give them a feel for what it would be like to attend SVU. Mr. Lund, Jeremy's school counselor, had encouraged Nick to participate since he might want to attend SVU after high school as well. They both had a great time in their classes. Jeremy took Psychology and English (no surprises there) and Nick took Art and Philosophy. While they were in their classes, the parents stayed in the gymnasium and went through what a day at SVU will look like for their student. The class sizes are small and the professor knows each of their students personally. It is not uncommon for a professor to stop in and check on a student if they student misses class. This is due to the fact that many of the professors are in the bishoprics or stake presidency of the student wards. By the end of this presentation I was ready to sign Jeremy up. Once the boys returned we were taken on a tour of the campus. It wasn't very large, but there was a lot to see. Jeremy and the boys got to see the inside of the boys dorms. Naomi and I stayed in the lounge area and watched soccer with some of the students. We then toured some classrooms, the theater, the quad area and ended up on the main hall. The kids each got an SVU tshirt after they filled out a survey and then we were shown to the mess hall for lunch. This is where Jeremy would be eating his meals if he decides SVU is for him. I was impressed with the variety of foods that Jeremy could eat. My apprehension over sending my baby so far away from home was melting by the minute. The bookstore was the last stop. We had fun looking around and seeing what was available. Jeremy, Nick and I got clearance hoodies. These were especially cool because they were green and said "KNIGHTS" on them. Jeremy will go from being an LNC Knight to being a SVU Knight. By the end of the tour Jeremy decided he had found his college home. It felt right.
As we were walking around campus after lunch enjoying the view, Nick found a hill that was irresistible. He started running down the hill and towards the bottom got going so fast his feet got tangled up and rolled the last little bit. This would not have been so terrible except that at the very end of the hill was a 5 foot drop off onto more grass (thank goodness). I had to really suppress the momma instinct to run down the hill after him to help because I knew I would trip and fall as well. I stood at the top of the hill and yelled, "Nick, are you ok?" He didn't move or respond to the first couple of calls. Just before the real panic set in he rolled over and did a thumbs up to let me know he was okay. When we finally met him half way he told us he couldn't yell because he had gotten the wind knocked out of him. After a careful, but thorough exam of his ribs he said he was sore, but okay.His ribs were sore, but he seemed to be okay. All the prospective students and their families were invited to the football game, but we decided to head out since we still had an hour drive to our hotel in Roanoke. One of the routes we could take was along the Blue Ridge Parkway so of course we took that route. It was beautiful.
We found our hotel in Roanoke, unloaded the truck and then went in search of dinner. We finally decided on Lonestar Steakhouse. Jeremy was really excited about all the menu items he could have. I keep forgetting that it is only recently we have been able to go out and eat at a restaurant that wasn't McDonalds or Chipotle. The dinner was amazing and we were all so full we decided to wander around the nearby mall. We ended up spending most of our time in the bookstore. I love that the kids like to read and want to spend hours exploring the book stores where ever we go. We eventually ended up back at the hotel and slept well that night.
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| The coy fish pond in the middle of of the quad |
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| In front of the school mascot - a knight |
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| The main hall |
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| Naomi and Jeremy had a great view of Nick's fantabulous spill down the hill. |
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| The view of Buena Vista from the Blue Ridge Parkway. Jeremy always said he wanted to go to college in the mountains! |
October 16th we got up, had some breakfast and started the drive home. I have always wanted to see Mt. Airy, NC. It is the birthplace of Andy Griffiths and the model town for the "The Andy Griffiths Show". Also, mom told me she loved the pork sammich she had at Barney's Cafe when they toured around after helping us move to Charlotte. It did not disappoint!!. There was a huge street festival going on with a little something for everyone to enjoy. I also got my pork sammich at Barney's cafe and it was just as amazing as Mom said it would be. It was a great day and we got home just in time to take showers and get to bed.
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| Checking out the street festival in Mt. Airy. |
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| Lunch at Barney's |
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| The street art was amazing. The kids really liked this banjo. |
October 18th Nick had complained of his eye hurting and scratching the night before so I did an examination and found a large sty on the underside of his eyelid. I didn't want to mess with it and had to sub so Steve took Nick to the eye doctor first thing in the morning. The eye doctor gave him some antibiotic eyedrops for the sty and steroids to stop the swelling due to a scratched cornea. Poor kid. That day after school, while driving home, Nick stretched and we all heard a loud POP followed quickly by a yelp of pain from Nick. He said it hurt to breath after the pop sound. I dropped off our carpool friend and took Nick straight to the Urgent Care to rule out a broken rib. After an x-ray and a physical exam the doctor was pretty confident there were no broken ribs but Nick did have some deep bruising from the fall. Nick would have to take it easy in physical conditioning for a bit until the bruise healed a little bit.
October 19th we had a youth activity in the Hansen's backyard. Studio C is a comedy show out of BYU and has become really popular around the world. It is clean humor that the whole family can enjoy. I love the show. Every once in a while the church will do a show called Face to Face where they interview people of interest in the church. They have done Elder Bednar and his wife and the new general authorities. Now it was time to interview the cast of Studio C. Some of the stories were humorous and some were heart-wrenching, but at the end of the night the youth had heard the personal testimonies of each cast member and that really stuck with them.
October 20th was the first day of Fall Break for the kids. The day started with a visit to Dr. Higgins for Naomi's yearly check-up. Nick saw Dr. Black to follow-up on his allergies. I went to Parent-Teacher conference with Mrs. Walker to hear how Naomi was doing. Mrs. Walker said Naomi was doing really well in everything, but especially well in math. Her MAP scores were higher than most of her classmates. Mrs. Walker recommended that Naomi try Math Club. Mrs. Walker said she had approached Naomi already about Math Club and Naomi was very hesitant to give it a try. I told her not to worry. I would get Naomi to attend at least one meeting.
Back at home it was finally time for Naomi to go to the much anticipated birthday party at Great Wolf Lodge. Morgan, the birthday girl, had been planning this for months and it was finally time. When I dropped Naomi off the other girls were busy exploring everything in the lobby. I must admit the place looks amazing and I would like to stay a night there just to get to play in the water park. The time finally came for the girls to go into the hotel and see their room and play in the water park. I gave Naomi a hug and told her to behave. I would see her tomorrow.
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| Naomi, Morgan, Victoria and Anusha |
October 21 Naomi arrived home talking a mile a minute about all the fun she had during her stay at Great Wolf Lodge. She even talked the whole time she helped me get all the Halloween decorations put up. She did stop talking when we got to the school to see Jeremy perform in the school plays that were going to regional competition the following week. The kids did a phenomenal job. Steve missed the first play, That's Not How I Remember It, but arrived in time for Flowers for Algernon. At the end of each night Mr. Willits auctions off a signed copy of the playbill as a way to raise money for the Theater Department. Steve and I talked about spending the money on a tribute in the yearbook for Jeremy since it was his senior year but decided in favor of using that money to bid on the playbill. It was fun to keep forcing the bidding up and up until we finally won! Jeremy was beyond thrilled and we knew we had made the right choice when he grinned ear to ear while looking at "his" copy of the signed playbill.
October 22nd, Steve was up early to meet a group from the stake that was heading to South Carolina to help with Hurricane Matthew clean up. The whole family would have gone except Jeremy had his play, Nick was on lifting restrictions (his rib still hurt) and Naomi had a soccer game. I stayed with the kids and Steve represented our family.
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| Everyone who helped got a t shirt. A lot of the youth went just to get one of these. |
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| Coming up with a plan. |
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| This yard was full of downed trees. |
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| This was the house of an elderly couple who hadn't left the house since the hurricane came through because a tree had fallen in their driveway and they couldn't get out. Steve said they were very grateful to be able to drive to the store. |
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| Lots of tree cutting. |
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| Steve's crew. |
Naomi got to play goalie for the first time this season and I was a nervous momma. On the bigger fields the players can come into the goalie box and the chance of the goalie getting hurt is thus increased. I shouldn't have worried. She did an amazing job! She can now do her drop kick and it doesn't almost score a goal. She loved it.
Steve didn't get home until around 8. After dropping everyone off he decided to stop at the gas station to fill up with gas before heading over to the school to pick up Jeremy from his play performance. I got a call not to long after this telling me he found a nail in the tire and it was going flat. I would need to pick Jeremy up. The only thing I could think was how grateful I was that the flat tire happened so close to home. After all the debris Steve had been driving through down in South Carolina it truly was a blessing to have made it home without a punctured tire.
October 23rd church was cancelled due to the fumes from the gym floor being resurfaced.
October 25th Nick woke up complaining of a toothache. I got out the flashlight to take and look and sure enough his tooth was turning pink which meant it was about to fall out. After I dropped the other kids off at school I called the dentist and they said to bring him right in. I stayed in the waiting room while the dentist did his job. Afterwards the dentist himself came out to get me. He told me the tooth needed to be pulled but that wasn't what was causing all the pain. Nick had a HUGE cyst under the tooth that needed to be drained. As a result of the draining Nick now had a large, recessed pocket where the tooth used to be. He would need to be on antibiotics to make sure the infection was gone and we would have to wait for the area to heal before we could move to the next step. This baby tooth was one that did not have an adult tooth underneath. As a result, Nick would need a spacer to hold the space until he was old enough to have an implant, around 20 years old.
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| Another tooth extraction. His cheek is swollen because of the gauze. |
October 26th was Decades Day at the middle school. Originally, Naomi was going to wear her 50's poodle skirt but changed the night before to the 80's. Luckily I still had a box with my old dance company costumes from high school. She found her perfect outfit. We cropped a white t-shirt and cut out the neck band so the shirt would fall off her shoulder. I had a rubber stamp set with geometric shapes and she stamped her shirt with colors to match the skirt and bow. Before she went to bed we put her hair up in five french braids to give her the perm look. The results were really fun and she loved her decades outfit.
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| My 80's child. |
October 27th was superheroes day at the middle school. Naomi planned to wear her Neo costume we had been working on for weeks. I though she might change her mind because this was the morning of her first appointment with the orthodontist. Nope! She wore her costume to the appointment and it turns out that she fit right in. Everyone at the office was dressed in their Halloween costumes as well. I love this orthodontist! They took pictures and xrays and impressions and everything and by the end of the visit we were looking at 26 months in braces with a Herbst appliance which replaces the headgear. Naomi was excited.
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| Naomi as Neo in her characteristic pose |
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| Now you can see the full effect. |
After I dropped Naomi off at school I took the truck to the shop to have the tire fixed. By the time this was done it was time to head back to the school to volunteer in the library. Back at home after school we backed cookies for the Young Women activity that night, had dinner and then left for the church. The Beehives decided to decorate pumpkins for their activity. It was fun to watch the girls decorate and interact with each other.
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| Holding the cookies with their wrists since there is paint all over their hands. Silly girls. |
October 28th Jeremy competed in the North Carolina Theater Competition in downtown Charlotte. Steve had arrived late the night the family went to see the plays he went to the performance for the competition. He called me when they were done and told me it was incredible. The audience really loved it. That night we took Nick shopping for more pants. The kids won't stop growing!!!!
October 29th we got Jeremy to the school bright and early for the second day of competition. Naomi and Caitlyn practiced their number for the Activity Day Girls/Beehive talent show. Naomi played a great soccer game. They lost, but they played their best. Nick and Steve went to help out with Ezra's Eagle project while Naomi and I got the grocery shopping done for the week. The day ended with finding Nick some good running shoes so he can start getting ready for track tryouts in February. Jeremy called around 9 to tell us "That's Not How I Remembered It" was going to states. He was so excited. Jeremy got home around midnight after the cast party and he was still really excited about winning.
WHEW!!!!
