Fall Update

Wow, it's been quite some time since I've last written on here, life has been pretty crazy.  A mix of everyday life, traveling, and kid's activities. 

In October we all went down to Chicago for a weekend, Jason's work had planned the outing so we thought it would be a good excuse to let the kids see some different scenery than good ol' Eldorado.  We took the Amtrak down from Milwaukee, and that in itself was a treat to the kids.  The girls went to the American Girl store, shopped and had a tea party.  While we were partying it up, Alex and Jason went to the Museum of Science and Industry they too had a blast.  Before returning home on Sunday we went to the Shedd Aquarium.  I was hesitant to take Ainslee down there thinking it might be too much for a 3 year old, but she really hung in there for the most part.  They enjoyed their down time in the pool, and then riding the taxi and seeing all the skyscrappers.  Here's a photo from us at the Shedd:

At the end of October, the kids and I trekked out to Colorado to visit my sister and her family.  It had been way too long since we had seen each other, so while it was just a long weekend visit it was just enough to catch up, and let the kids get together and play.  I hadn't been up in the mountains in years, so that too was a lot of fun-it boggles my mind how some pictures remain in your mind forever, as we drove through Estes Park it was as if time stood still and I had remembered some scenes like it was just yesterday.

Next came Halloween, with all the commotion of October it seems like the holiday just came and went:

And here we are on Thanksgiving Day!  November was relatively quiet compared to October, but the kids manage to keep themselves busy, Alex with boy scouts and homework; and the girls with swimming lessons.  Jason and I went to our first fundraising dinner for the kids school which was interesting, and then to the Packer game the Sunday following it. 

Today I'm at home recooperating from ear surgery while Jason and the kids are out and about doing the Thanksgiving thing.  The details of my surgery are boring, it was a success and the doctor was able to go in and do want he set out to do, with no surprises.  I've battled ear problems what seems my entire life, so while I won't regain any hearing, if I can have a certain level of comfort within my right ear, that will be good enough for me. 

I'm looking forward to the holidays, this year we're going to focus on helping others in need rather than spending tons of money on pointless gifts for the kids.  So the kids have all acquired gifting ideas between church, school, and adopt-a-family opportunities at work so I've given the them an opportunity to participate in this first hand: giving them a set amount of money and letting them decide what to gift, with some guidance along the way.  Santa will still come to our house, but we're going to focus on opportunities to spend time with the kids and doing things out of the ordinary rather than buying gifts. 

I hope to get back in the habit of monthly posts, provided life 'slows' just a tad.