Saturday, November 30, 2019

October 2019

Tues. 1st--Calvin and JJ had their first baseball games. This was JJ's first game of all time. He looked awesome (love the pinstripes :) and was ready to play ball! We also had the joy of having Aunt Stacy (Karole's sister) fly into College Station for a visit. I got to pick her up from the airport and take her back to my house before running off again to pick JJ up from his game before taking Calvin to his. Karole had a previous engagement at church and Jared had an appreciation dinner at work, so I was grateful that Jake was able to cheer JJ on for us. 
*Jared was bragging to Dr. Wright at work about how I got his dad's book illustrated and published for his birthday. Dr. Wright shook his head and told Jared, "You'll never be able to beat that." And before the conversation was over, he had the book ordered for his family. Once it arrived, he read it to his baby daughter and sent Jared this picture. :)
*One of the things Jake did to keep himself busy was to "thin out" his ties. Literally. He took them apart from the back, traced the size he wanted from a pattern, trimmed the lining or whatever it is holding the tie shape and then hand stitched it up in the back. This was a process he learned how to do in Hungary. The gold striped tie on the right is a normal/regular size. According to Jake, ties that width don't look very good on a beanpole-sized guy like him. :) The floral tie on the left is after Jake had "thinned it out."
Thurs. 3rd--JJ (#3) at game two, playing as catcher.
And up to bat. 
*Earlier in the day, Jake had received a call from President Sharp who heard from the mission department. He was calling to tell Jake that he had been approved for reinstatement as a full-time teaching missionary and to tell Jake where he was being reassigned. The Ohio Cincinnati Mission!! (The OCM--The Only Celestial Mission--according to their Facebook page. :) Jake was super stoked. The mission department wanted to know when Jake would be available to leave. He told President Sharp the following Wednesday, 10/9. I thought that was awfully fast, but Jake said it would be fine. He could pack in an hour. I was concerned only because he would likely need a phone this time and I wasn't sure how long that would take since he went to Hungary without electronics.

*Later that evening, the large map of Hungary that was on our living room wall, fell to the ground--for the first time since March 2018 when Jake got his call and we put it up. It was almost like the map knew that Jake was officially closing this chapter of his life as a young missionary in Hungary.
*These are Jake's new mission president and wife. President and Sister Ensign. They just arrived in July, so they're new, too!
These are Jake's new mission boundaries.
Fri. 4th--We kept the kids out of school on the fourth so that we could spend the day driving up to Snyder, Texas to welcome home the first of our twin nephews, Cole, from Ghana. He was coming home a couple weeks early to surprise his mom, whose birthday was that Sunday. Missing even a day of school is tricky here in College Station. The schools are almost tyrannical about it. Cooper didn't think he could miss the whole day, so I offered to stay behind until noon when he would be ready to leave so that Jared could be with his brother for the big event. That worked out better for Karole, as well, so the three of us drove up together. Though we missed the trip to Lubbock to welcome Cole home and dinner afterwards, we had an awesome Italian dinner in Snyder at Amore. I highly recommend it! One of the best parts was listening to all the 80s love songs they played. :) 

Jake and Cole. These kids are 9 months apart. Connor comes home in November from the Philippines. These guys are our "triplets" and they've got big plans to tear it up in Provo at BYU together.
 
Sat. 5th--Jared trying to pull his weight and changing the light bulbs in Kevin's living room. 
One bulb was stuck, but other than that, Jared did a great job! I'd never seen light bulbs changed like that before.
*Enjoying General Conference with the cousins and activity packets.
And don't forget the yummy snacks and treats!
*Aunt Chris was a doll and cut our boys' hair for us in between the conference sessions.
Nice Coop!
The Hough Bros. chopping, slicing and dicing to make Cole's favorite dinner.
Cole's guitar that he designed himself! He drew on it with permanent marker. Those are wolves fighting. He's so talented.
*Having fun, waiting for dinner.
*This is Zuzu, Aizlynn's pet hedgehog.
Sun. 6th--Karcyn taking a nap before conference starts. :)
Calvin sitting with Cole.
*Karole and Stacy left for home after our midday meal, in between the two conference sessions. Karole didn't want to drive in the dark. However, we didn't want to miss any conference and stayed until just after 5pm before we made our way back to College Station. The fastest route is still about 5 1/2 hours. On the way home, we talked about our conference experience and some of the talks that were meaningful to us. It was a beautiful drive home because there was a storm building and those clouds, mixed with the setting sun was a real visual treat.
The next two pictures include the setting sun, clouds, and the moon.
Then we had an awesome lightning storm all around us. It was truly spectacular to see across the open Texas plains!
Tues. 8th--It was the birthday of JJ's switch teacher, Ms. Swierc (she teaches science and math to JJ's homeroom class). I love the card he wrote to her all on his own.  
*At Calvin's third baseball game, he got 3 RBI on a triple hit. AND scored two runs to contribute to the 13-1 score. It was so exciting!!
Enjoying the game with Jake knowing he'll be leaving again any day.
Calvin waiting to slide into home from third base.
Holding up '3' for his triple run and three RBI. 
Wed. 9th--Chick-fil-A lunch with Karcyn at Wellborn Middle School. It wasn't as traumatic as I thought it would be. Haha! Though another girl kind of pushed her way into sitting with us. I would have preferred it just be me and Karcyn, but I left it up to Karcyn. And of course, with not one mean bone in her body, Karcyn said yes.
*Later that night Calvin and I went and ministered to our friend Larisa from Activity Days in the branch. It was her only softball game that didn't conflict with our baseball games so we went to cheer her on. She is a great player and pitcher! They won 3-0. On our way home, Calvin figured out how to pair my cell phone with Jared's new car--and succeeded--when Jared had already tried. Haha!
Thurs. 10th--Karcyn was making her lunch and was going to put almonds in for a snack. She read the ingredients listed on the back of the bag and learned that it actually had wheat in it. Karcyn's response was, "What kind of sick person puts wheat in almonds?!" You tell 'em, kid.

*Jake has had a handful of jobs cleaning windows recently. One of those was for an elderly couple from our previous ward. But the night before Jake was going to clean for them, there was a storm rolling through and the next day was looking pretty wet also. So he postponed. Except the couple could only have him clean on Friday mornings. The Friday after that we were going to be out of town and there was a conflict the week after that. Sadly he never got around to getting it done. On the 10th, Jake told me that after he went fishing and had lunch with a couple of his friends, he was going to this couple's home so he could wash their windows. He said he totally forgot about them and whether they are home or not, he's cleaning their windows for free. It was important to Jake that he keep his word.

*My friend, Ruth Graham, lost her husband the first week in September. I've wanted to take her out of her house for a break for a long time, but she never felt comfortable leaving Bob, even for a little bit with a caretaker. So even in the midst of Ruth's loss, I was grateful that she had the opportunity to now leave her house and fill her soul and senses with life outside of the walls of her home. We had our first RJ (Ruth and Jenn) Day on the 10th. I took her to the newly renovated library in College Station and then we went to Central Park--a park I'd never been to until Calvin and I had been there the night before at Larisa's game. Even in the dark, I had noticed there were a couple ponds and walking paths as well as some ducks. So Ruth and I went to check them out. I even brought some bread remnants. Ruth had a great time.
We had a lovely walk exploring the pond.
There were thousands of these acorns in the parking lot with varying color striations. Ruth took a few of them home with her. We had a wonderful outing together. I can't wait for our next RJ Day.
*Later that night at JJ's baseball game he hit a double! He's on the Lugnuts team and his coaches award a real lug nut to the most valuable or improved player after each game. JJ got the lug nut that night!
*It was also the night of Cooper's fall choir concert. After JJ's game, I drove him home at 7:30 to shower and then went to the high school. Unfortunately I missed the first half of the program, but caught Cooper's last song. Fortunately Jake was there to represent. (Noticing a pattern? :) Both of Cooper's seminary teachers also attended. Which was really sweet. I joked that if they can make time to come to his concert, maybe he can make time to go to seminary. (He's having a hard getting up for that in the mornings.)
*JJ called me crying at 8pm. Because it was bedtime. And he took too long getting ready for bed so he couldn't watch TV. I told him I was certain he'd make better use of his time in the future and suggested he ask Karcyn to read him a story. When I got home at 9:30, Karcyn was already in bed, but I learned she had read to JJ when he came and asked if she would. She was working hard on homework that was due the next day and could have easily said no, but she had compassion on him and chose the Savior's way with no one to encourage that behavior at home. 

Fri. 11th--JJ made sure to remember his homeroom teacher on her special day, too. Crazy that their birthdays are just days apart!
*Jake felt an urgent impression to fly out to Utah for the weekend. A senior missionary couple who served in the mission office in Hungary was having their homecoming. Jake arranged to stay with mission buddies and more or less just planned to wing it as he went, taking nothing but a backpack and some money. That sort of trip makes me a little nervous. Plus, we still didn't have Jake's departure date from the mission department, but if Jake felt a strong prompting to go, Jared and I weren't going to stop him. Besides, it was just a few days. His flight was out of Austin at 5:30am so Jared woke up at 3am to drive him there and come back to get ready for work. Jake bought a ticket on the shuttle to come home Monday afternoon, 10/14.

*I accepted a substitute job at one of the elementary schools in kindergarten. Kindergarten is as young as I'll go. There are always early childhood or head start subbing jobs available, but those are not my gigs. When I arrived at the school to get my badge and room key the secretary told me that I would have an assistant, but that it was a sub as well. And that the room was actually in the kindergarten pod. I thought that was a little strange for her to articulate that, but since I'm not as familiar with this school, maybe she was just assuring me that the room wasn't somewhere else so I could find it without any problem. 

As I read through the sub plans, I was told I needed to pick up the kids in the art room--also kind of strange, and that I needed to take them to the cafeteria for breakfast. Wow. None of my kids got breakfast in kindergarten. Another teacher, who has often subbed in this class, wandered in to see if I had any questions. I showed her the typed up plans and asked about breakfast. I jokingly said that this was unlike any other kindergarten class I'd been in. She looked at me and said, "This is pre-K." I was stumped. I didn't sign up for pre-K. But after that clarification, the comments from the secretary and the instructions I had read thus far, were all starting to make sense. Another young woman walked into the room in a rush. She was the sub for the aide. She said she was here to help in kindergarten. I had to break it to her that it was pre-K. She had the same issue I did--she was under the impression she was in Kindergarten. We could only deduce that this specific teacher HAD once worked in Kindergarten and then moved to pre-K but didn't update her profile in the substitute system. 

It was pretty wild for the first hour or so (which also included breakfast). We also had two OTHER helpers, so that we were almost at a ratio of three kids to one adult, but it was still like herding cats! It was going to be a long day. Miraculously, we got a 40 minute break when they went to music. One of the other gals who helps before lunch said she'd cover for us so we could take a breather. We got a short break at lunch. Most of the day was play time and social interaction. There was one little boy who was out of control. He was destructive and unsafe, which made it difficult for the other kids. But somehow we managed. And around 12:30, the kids went down for a two hour nap. I was told it'll be the best part of the day or the worst, depending on the kids. The Lord had mercy on me and my assistant however, and they slept. The aide and I made a great team. A couple other staff members who came into the room to help commented on how well we worked together. They asked if we knew each other already. We said no. They were really impressed with our professionalism and problem solving skills. We shrugged. Just doing our jobs.

While the kids were napping, President Sharp texted to tell me that he received Jake's departure date: Mon. 10/14. OH NO!!!! Jake was flying back from Utah that afternoon! I felt so sheepish telling him that. As it turns out, they were able to contact the mission president and he was able to receive Jake on Wed. 10/16, so that's what we planned for. We'd have one day with Jake after he got home before he left again. I'm just glad it worked out considering Jake's last minute trip to Utah. And grateful that I survived a whole day in pre-K!

*Later that night, for Come Follow Me, we were talking about the armor of God. We read about it in Ephesians 6, watched a church video clip about soldiers going into battle with and without armor. Then we all randomly chose parts of the armor to construct ourselves out of aluminum foil. Afterwards, we shared how our armor pieces would protect us spiritually from the dangers we face each day. The kids had a good time and great insights. 
*Pictures that Jake sent from his first day in Utah. He took the train from the airport to near Temple Square. He spent some time in the Family History Center and found out some interesting things about the Hough family line.
He also made a point to see his buddy, Jared Garlick, his friend from College Station, who got home from his mission in Norway this past summer.
Sat. 12th--Jake got to meet up with his MTC instructor, Colton Squire and his new wife. Such a fun reconnection to make!
And then he went to the beautiful Rock Canyon with Nathan Fales (an elder from Hungary that he went on splits with occasionally).
And they went rock climbing on a double date. Jake also learned how to belay on the spot.
Sun. 14th--Calvin woke up late. He wasn't feeling well. He was up most the night with a really bad allergic reaction. He had a hive-like rash on the trunk of his body, neck and arms. Jared and I felt he was old enough to stay home and sleep while we were at church, so he stayed home to rest. He was pretty miserable. We gotta get that kid allergy tested.

*Right after Sacrament meeting began, I noticed a new, six person family in the congregation. During the announcements, President Foster welcomed the Gibson family into the Branch. Wow! I couldn't wait to meet them. A new family in any church unit is exciting, but in a branch, it's just short of a national holiday! ;) At one point, I looked to my right in Karcyn's direction and I saw my friend Jaa'lah sitting at the other end of our row!! I couldn't believe it! I got her husband's attention and waved. And later I got her attention. It didn't take long before my brain made the connection. Kerry and Jaa'lah GIBSON!!! They are the new family! Not the six people I had originally thought. As soon as Sacrament meeting was over, I went and threw my arms around her. I was floored she was there. She's from Caldwell and they moved back! In the past six months, I've been in three different units in the Stake and Jaa'lah has been in four. Isn't it miraculous that we are now both in the Caldwell Branch?? The Lord really is in the details of our lives!

Mon. 14th--There was no school, but it ended up being a super busy day! First of all, JJ had his second grade parent/teacher conference at school. His teacher loves him and he's so successful! We're super proud. After that, we met Cooper, Karcyn and Calvin at HEB so we could get our flu shots. Jake was supposed to be with us, but he was flying home from Utah that day, so he'd have to get his another time. There were no tears and everyone got their shot right then (unlike last year, when Jared had to take JJ back later that night) so they all got to pick out their own pint of ice cream. Cooper took Karcyn and Calvin home and JJ stayed with me while I did my weekly grocery shopping. When we returned home, we put the groceries away and Cooper and Calvin jumped in the car. I had an appointment for Calvin to see Dr. Salzer about his rash the day before (it was still there, just not as pronounced) and then we were going to go get new work shoes for Cooper afterwards. Calvin ended up getting some steroid shots and we made an appointment for him to get allergy tested in two weeks. He wouldn't be able to take Zyrtec or any other allergy relief medicine for five days before the testing. We got Cooper some work shoes and we headed back home. Jared was actually able to pick up Jake from the Austin airport because he was working in one of the rural clinics and it wouldn't be much farther, which was nice. Jake was able to be home around 3pm instead of 6pm. For Family Home evening, we watched the new Book of Mormon videos the church produced (and are releasing on Fridays) and had ice cream cones while we watched. The video vignettes are really powerful and well made!

*JJ wanted to "mince" the cilantro at dinner time. :) 
Tues. 15th--There was no school again, which was a blessing, considering it was our last day with Jake. Cooper worked from 10-6, but Jake wasn't being set apart until 6:15pm, so he'd be able to attend with us. The little boys both had baseball games, but they conflicted with the setting apart. We're happy that they did not get upset about not being able to participate. President Sharp gave Jake a wonderful and touching blessing. When I brought it up on the way home, Jake said he was actually falling asleep during it. He was so excited about getting ready to go when he woke up that he forgot to take his day time med. Poor kid! So I jotted down everything I could remember from the blessing and typed it up for him. 

This is our family picture after Jake was set apart and was officially Elder Hough again. It was pretty close to what our picture looked like the first time 15 months previously. :)
Jake and President Sharp. Two great men!
Jake and our second most recent bishop and friend, Todd Graham. Another great guy! (I love how all three of them were wearing plaid ties. Haha!)
Jake and our most recent bishop, Steve Courtright, who Jake ran into as we were leaving. Love him, so much! (Our family has been blessed with outstanding church leaders!) There was a stake meeting that all the bishoprics/branch presidencies were attending. Including Jared.
Mother/Son selfie at home.
Then a real picture of us.
The next morning, before JJ went to the bus stop, he gave Jake a big hug and then turned to me and said, "Mom--Can Jake and I have a little talk without you involving?" Uh..sure. :) I still don't know what their man-to-man talk was all about, but it was cute how JJ asked.

Father/son picture before Jared took Karcyn and Calvin to school and headed to work.
Jake and Calvin hugging goodbye.
The original brothers!
Packing up for the drive to Houston. I wasn't thrilled to be going to the Bush Intercontinental Airport, but I wasn't going to complain. Jake was on his way again. We had a nice drive down together and talked a little about his recent trip to Utah.
While I didn't like how long it took to get to the airport, it wasn't a terrible drive. GPS got us there. But let me just say that the parking lot was worth the entire trip! It is mind blowing awesome!! When you first pull in, there's a sign that tells you how many parking spots are open on each level! Then, when you are on that level, there are signs posted that tell you how many parking spots (handicapped, too) are in EACH row! And when you go down each row, there are red and green triangles posted down the middle of the road, pointing at each parking spot, one on the left, one on the right, like the picture below. If the triangle is red, that particular parking spot is filled. If it's green, it's one of the free parking spots that was indicated before you turned down that row. Once you park, the green triangle turns red. It is the most brilliant engineering I have ever experienced!! I wish every garage parking plaza used this system!
Jake left with only one large suitcase and a smaller carry-on suitcase which he checked. He was right at 49 pounds on the smaller bag. Before he packed, I asked if he had enough room and he assured me he did, that he over packed when going to Hungary. But I'm glad he had too much and not enough. He's going to Ohio this time. If he needs something, he can always run to Walmart.

We thought this cow astronaut statue was kind of funny.
Some nice people took our picture before Jake headed to security. I cried as we walked over. But it was a good cry. My heart wasn't breaking like it did a little bit the first time he left. I was still going to miss him, but I was really happy for him, too!
Go get 'em, Elder Hough! See you next Christmas!!
*Once I got back in town, I got some lunch and then had a couple errands to run before JJ came home from school. When I was in one of the stores, I got this call from a number I didn't recognize until I saw it said "Cincinnati" below it. I answered and it was Jake! He said he was leaving the airport with his mission president and his wife. Then he put me on speaker so that they could say hello. They sound like lovely people. Sister Ensign said they were SO excited to have Jake with them. And President Ensign said that their mission is a fairly new one and to have an experienced and hardworking missionary like Jake is exactly what they need. I was so touched, I choked on my tears and told them they were going to make me cry. I told them thank you very much and that we were so excited for Jake. And then they were off. I'm sure there were customers who were thinking I was some crazy lady for crying in the shampoo aisle of the store. :)

*That night, we had youth and primary activities in Caldwell. Which meant, we all had to leave at 5:55 to go pick up a young girl in Bryan before heading to the branch building or she wouldn't be able to come to Activity Days. It adds just enough to make our commute one hour each way. But I'm happy to do it because it helps Eden feel like she belongs. It sure makes for a long night for our family, though. My friend, Annie, had checked in with me on Monday when she heard Jake was leaving that week and asked if she could bring us dinner. I told her that would be wonderful! One less thing to worry about on a crazy day made even more draining with Jake leaving.

*I saw this on Facebook and gawked at how accurate it is with 4/5 of our children. Starting with how argumentative they are, beginning with the most to the least, this is how we rank them in our home. :)

Calvin (May 1st) VERY
Cooper (Oct. 21st) VERY
JJ (Aug. 11th) Half and Half
Karcyn (Mar. 10th) Hardly at all
Compare with the monthly percentages on the chart below:
Jake (Dec. 27th) could argue when he was younger, but it wasn't nearly as much as his two C brothers. I'm an April baby and I have to say that's probably pretty accurate for me, especially when it comes to fighting about money with insurance/hospital claims or businesses who say one thing and do another. Admittedly, those aren't my proudest moments, but man, you gotta be your own advocate. Fight for yourself.

Thurs. 17th--Calvin had an amazing night at his game. He got on base twice: one walk, one hit. He made it all the way around to 3rd base and each time, he stole home. I was screaming, "SLIDE, SLIDE!!" from the stands. And he did. The first time, the pitcher had the ball and went to tag him, but dropped the ball and he was safe! The second time, the ball went past the catcher to the fence, but he got it and threw it to the pitcher who met up with Calvin just half a second too late. Calvin was already on base. That was a close one, but made for some really exciting moments!!
Fri. 18th--Calvin has finally found interest in certain novels. He loved Jennifer Nielsen's Ascendance Trilogy beginning with "The False Prince." He blew through it and the other two books and then blew through the Mark of the Thief trilogy--also by Jennifer Nielsen. After that, he picked up "Scythe" which was a novel Jake picked up that Cooper had also read. Apparently they are all on the third book of that series, too. :)
Sun. 20th--We had arranged to have our friends and neighbors, the Uptons, over for dinner. We wanted to try smoking ribs that we didn't use on Labor Day. Calvin was supervising Jared's application of the dry rub. :)
*I went to check something on Facebook later that day and this popped up on my feed. We now knew were Jake was...in Springfield, Ohio! The furthest northwest you can go in the mission. 

*Calvin and JJ didn't have a very good day in Primary. They were not very respectful of each other or their teacher and my friend, Jennie Linford. Jennie spoke with Calvin after class, but she didn't feel like it went very well. We spoke to Calvin, as well, about his attitude. Bless Jennie's heart. She believed the only way to really feel better about the situation is by serving Calvin and JJ. So she made them brownies from scratch. When she came, Calvin had a chance to give her a hug and apologize and all was well again. 
*A few weeks prior, I had spotted an amazing painting of the Houston Temple in Tony Upton's house when I was babysitting for them one afternoon. I asked Tony if I could pay him to paint one for us. He said that his girls did most of it. And said he'd teach our kids how to do it. That's when I offered to at least feed them dinner. So after we had a yummy smoked rib/hot dog dinner with the Uptons, they took our three little kids back home with them and all the children painted this amazing 2 1/2 by 4 foot picture of the Houston Temple. I love it SOOO much!
*Mon. 21st--We had some pretty strong weather roll through during the night. There were tornadoes north of us in the Dallas area. This was also Cooper's 17th birthday. One of his seminary teachers was going to be out of town and they needed a second adult, so I said I would come sit and bring crumb cake for a treat afterwards. After seminary, I headed to HEB and saw that some of the winds had knocked down this poor little tree.
*October was the month I was going to have lunch with Cooper at school and wondered if he wanted me to do that on his birthday. He said yes. As it turns out, Jared was shadowing with the family practice physician, Dr. Cheng--who would be his new supervising physician when he started in Normangee on Nov. 4th. Dr. Cheng's office is right across the street from the high school, so Jared walked over to join us. The lunch was made even more special because it was Jake's first Preparation Day in the field and he was going to call to wish Cooper a happy birthday. We all got to talk to him. It was really hard to hear him, but it was great to see him and have that connection. He said he was feeling well and loving life!

*I think these homemade cards/gifts from JJ and Karcyn to Cooper are just the sweetest. JJ gave Cooper the one thing he thought actually had value in his little world.
*Something else I saw on Facebook that really puts things in perspective.
*JJ and Jared enjoying some reading time together after school.
Tues. 22nd--I had my yearly appointment with my cardiologist, Dr. Colato. I had gone in for my echocardiogram a couple weeks prior. I was getting those every other year with the other doctor I had when we moved here. But he left the practice a couple years ago. Dr. Colato said he likes to take action before things get urgent and advised that I get the echos every year so we are more likely to catch a need. I had valve repairs done when I was five, in addition to a patch up job on my heart where there was a nickel-sized hole. The patch job is holding strong. But I will need valve replacement surgery in the future some time. That's what Dr. Colato wants to keep a vigilant eye on. Interestingly enough, he found another issue on this recent echo. I was born with an ASD (atrial septal defect). And that was repaired. But he also found that I have a VSD (ventricular septal defect). The way I understood him, there's a muscle in between the two ventricle chambers and at the top is a thin membrane or septum. He noticed an opening or tear there and blood is coming through it. But it's small and the doctor said he's "seen hundreds" of these VSDs during his career and has never had to go in to repair one. He said it's super rare.

Wed. 23rd--My friend, Stefanie, from the branch was moving this week and all the opportunities for me to help, were conflicts with other things. So I told her I'd make her dinner and have Cooper bring it to the building when he came for mutual. Cooper ended up not going because something came up, so Jared would drive Karcyn. (He was no longer working at the ENT office and was no longer on call Wed/Thur nights). I had the dinner all set out on the counter in a bag ready to be taken. About 5-10 minutes after Jared left with Karcyn, I was walking through the kitchen and spotted, in horror, that bag of food for my friend. I called Jared as fast as I could to see where he was. He was up by the grocery store. About 10-12 minutes away. I told him to pull over! I forgot to give him the food and I would drive it to him. I was grateful he wasn't any farther away before I realized what happened. Consequently, they were a little late getting to Caldwell. But Stefanie got her meal and Karcyn still had enough time to carve this super cute pumpkin in under an hour!
Thurs. 24th--"Dress up as an action hero" day at the middle school. Karcyn went as Wonder Woman!
Fri. 25th--After almost two weeks of patiently waiting, JJ was finally able to carve the pumpkin he picked out at the store. You don't want to carve pumpkins too soon in Texas or they'll rot long before Halloween ever gets here. Jared cut the top off, but it was up to JJ to scoop out the insides and work on the design. 
Karcyn ended up carving out the design for him and I think it's a wonderful jack-o-lantern! Great teamwork!
Sat. 26th--It was a busy day and a warm one. Jared worked an extra shift at the Bryan Urgent Care. I had stake activity days training at the church from 9-11. Then I had to go home and pick up Karcyn to take her to her solo/ensemble competition at 11:30. After that, we ran to Sams Club to get some items for our branch fall activity and chili dinner in Caldwell. I made zuppa toscana soup as a contribution along with rolls and brownies. Jared couldn't secure anyone to clean the building on this day, so we decided to leave an hour earlier to do that before heading to the dinner. Karole decided to join us, too. I was packing up the food and getting ready to load it in the car. JJ had been playing outside for most the afternoon. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him come into the house. As I gathered things in the kitchen, I was going to start calling for Karcyn and Calvin when I heard someone throw up in the half bathroom. I thought it was Karcyn, but it was JJ. Darn it. Obviously, he and I had to stay home from the gathering but everyone else went ahead without us. Turns out, he never got sick again. After a few hours, I gave him a tiny sip of water. And we did that every 20 minutes for an hour. Then I tried a quarter piece of dry toast. He kept everything down. So I guess he didn't have the stomach flu. JJ suggested he was just dehydrated. Possibly. He had been playing outside for quite awhile. I was sad to miss the branch social, but happy he wasn't sick. 

Sun. 27th--Calvin woke up to another bad rash. I gave him the option of staying home again, but he said no, that he would go. I was really proud of him for toughing through it. I know it was pretty miserable for him.
*Karcyn gave her first talk in the branch and second one this year. We didn't help her with it at all, though Jared read over it for her. I wanted to be surprised. She was a hit in the branch that day. There was even a family visiting the branch. They had put an offer on a house in the branch boundaries and they were attending to see how they liked it. When I told them that Karcyn was our daughter, they gushed and said she was absolutely adorable.

Mon. 28th--Jake got accepted to Auburn University! Hahaha! He said it was the easiest 20 minute application he's ever filled out. He's still planning to attend BYU.
*Ruth and I signed up for the adult craft class at the library for our second RJ Day. I also invited Karole to join us and she invited Carol Boivie, who she ministers to, making it a fun little group of ladies attending.
We were making yarn pumpkins and stringing them on garland with the letters F-A-L-L (or whatever we wanted) in between the pumpkins. Crafting is not my strong point and I got a little tangled up in the yarn.
Ruth, Carol and Karole.
Ruth's finished product.
I was so busy getting untangled and taking pictures for documentation that I decided to go strictly organic and just have pumpkins.
Helping out Carol.
Carol's finished product.
Karole's finished product.
Ladies night out!
*When I got home, we watched the next Book of Mormon video where Lehi and his family fled Jerusalem, complete with ice cream cones. We're loving the HEB creamy creations vanilla and chocolate swirl ice cream. JJ loves to perch on the kitchen counter. That's his spot.
My finished product hanging up at home.
Tues. 29th--This was the day that Calvin's theater class was going to be presenting a melodramatic production of "Hamlet" in a 20 minute, one act play. Calvin was cast as none other than, Hamlet himself. Jared and I picked up Karole at 8:50 and went to Pecan Trail Intermediate. They were performing it during their period, which was 2nd, at 9:20. 

Calvin was a rockstar! Truly, he has great acting talent, though some of the things we saw are reactions we get at home. Nice to see they're getting put to good use. It makes him very effective on stage. ;) I recorded the entire play and am so happy we have it to watch again and again. Mr. Rod's theater classes were all competing to see which period's production of Hamlet got to perform at RenFest a week later. We learned that Calvin's class did not get selected. However, we were thrilled to find out that his class WAS chosen to perform at the 2019 CSISD Middle School One Act Play Festival on Dec. 7th! What's so great about this contest is that the entire play is rated and 18 students from all the contests will receive acting awards! Calvin has a good shot at earning a medal and I can't wait for him to take part in this awesome opportunity.

Calvin and Mr. Rod--who calls Calvin "Hobbes." :)
Calvin and a few of the other peer actors.
Wed. 30th was the day of our Tri-Ward Fall Carnival and Trunk or Treat. But the weather was very wet and stormy. Our kids had some pretty big school assignments to do as well, so we made an executive decision to skip it and go trick or treating on Thursday. Happily our kids were totally cool with that option.

*JJ has decided to climb walls.
However, he didn't think through how he'd get down from way up there. Hahaha! Cooper was nice enough to rescue our little Spiderman.
Thurs. 31st--Too bad it would be the coldest Halloween in 26 years! 53 degrees! Haha! It was cold. We're usually sweating the last day of October.
I love how creative the kids get when we don't get them any Halloween costumes. We had several fun ones that we found at second hand stores when they were younger. But now, if they want to go, they get to make their own.
We ventured out a little before 6pm and gave them an hour. We followed behind in the car, just to give them a place to warm up, if nothing else. JJ was a creature that he and Karcyn created and designed. Karcyn was a kitty cat and Calvin was Venom.
Trick or treating at Grandma's house.
JJ and his cute mohawk.
Cooper working on homework and manning the door and candy bucket.
Calvin's pose after attempting to get the black make-up off his face.
The kids filled up their buckets pretty quickly. They even got a couple of regular sized candy bars! Cooper helped himself to the candy we were giving away. :) They sorted out what they didn't want and donated that to the general fund, so even Mom and Dad get a few pieces of candy. 

No comments: