November 2021 - Virginia and Stuff

The girls propped the slide from the playset onto the wall between our house and Cikaneks'. It seemed very unsafe but turned out to be pretty stable, and no one has been injured.  

Wrenzy started writing a song on the piano. She wrote the names of the notes in her notebook.

I went to Virginia to help Courtney with baby Weston. I think I mostly cooked and held Weston. I took almost no photos. There was a little outside play with Anson and Eleanor, and there was a walk. I can't get enough of fall foliage. 

Baby Wes. 

I received some nice "welcome home" signs from the littles when I returned.

I don't remember heading to Big Bear right after getting home, but I have a video of Ever doing some cardboard sliding that weekend.

Tiny was always covered in dirt when I picked her up from school. During recess she poured dirt and sand on herself. I think she had a friend playing with her, but I can't imagine anyone else looked like this at pickup: 

Wrenzy continued receiving accolades from her teacher. 

As of November, my first grader had "finished all of the [reading] levels." 

Tiny had a cute cocoon sleeping setup. 

We got COVID shots (icing seemed to help the terror) and Baskin Robbins.

Back to Big Bear for the last weekend before we opened for rent - just in time for Thanksgiving week. Derrick Karner came up and got very little sleep as he helped with the final push. 

Poor Big Blue, loaded to the brim with trash.

Meanwhile, the girls entertained themselves by climbing onto the low roof by the driveway and in through the loft window.

The girls climbed a chair rack on a Sunday afternoon. Always climbing. 

Jim and Ever got tired while watching a show with Grandpa after Sunday dinner. 

Meagan Bunnell hosted their annual charity bake sale. We baked about three things and helped sell.

October 2021 - Big Bear Foliage, Tutu and Papa Visit, Halloween

Ever had world-class bedhead while Wrenzy sported adorable bows.

Simultaneous dive/jump into Cikaneks' pool (don't miss Tiny on the right):

Miss Marin put on a lovely bridging ceremony for Ever's troop's transition from from Brownies to Juniors. 

I found this writing assignment lying around and thought it was hilarious. 

We had a crazy lightning storm. Rebecca texted and asked if we were watching it. We went out and enjoyed it with them. No good pics, but it was exciting.  

Wrenzy and Ever won awards. Wrenzy was not infrequently Reading Star of the Day or Writing Star of the Day. 

Jim went on his surf trip to Mexico, and Tiny swept the driveway looking totally adorable. 

Tutu and Papa came for a few days on their way somewhere. We hit BR for Mamo, of course. 

Jim came home and presented the girls with their Mexico gifts. 

Mamo said she wouldn't mind going to the zoo again since it had been a while. Always a good time with the animals. Wrenzy took a lot of pictures of the wildlife.

Although the girls are slightly more interested in the animals than they were when they were little, the sky tram remains their highlight by a long shot. 

Poor Pod helped with a puzzle on the ground. 

Another cool hairstyle by Wren:

She can go from super-cute to freaky-joker-face in an instant:

Ever really wanted to take Leela to Big Bear, so we did. She, Ever, and Wrenzy slept in the tree house. 

The biggers played a game while Tiny passed out over cheese and crackers. 

Jim and I were working on house stuff, and the girls mostly stayed inside and were bored. Overall I'd say Leela's experience was a bust. 

Tiny made this really cool piece of art at school. 

Wrenzy worked on a loose tooth with floss, and it was disgusting. 

She succeeded, though. 

She proceeded to lose the tooth, so she wrote to the Tooth Fairy. 

We went back to Big Bear, and I loved the fall leaves so much. We went for a walk after church, and I took a ton of pictures of the girls playing in the leaves. 

Spooky house.

Back to leaves.

I think this was Eighties Day at school.

Just a pic of Tiny enjoying a corn dog (and a lot of ketchup). 

Jack-o'-lanterns were carved the day before Halloween. 

We organized some ward trick-or-treating on Saturday, October 30. Wrenzy and Tiny were dancers in Ever's recital costumes. Ever and Leela were Death Eaters from Harry Potter. They didn't like the masks so didn't wear them; I tried to put a little makeup on Ever instead. I took a lot of pictures, and she was very silly in almost all of them. Nathan and Noah are the green thing (whatever that is) and Spider-Man, respectively. 

Jim wasted no time kicking off Christmas-movie season, showing the girls Christmas Jars (again) on Halloween night.