Odds & ends

Lots of Thanksgiving pictures coming soon but I'm still in a slight turkey haze.  So let's talk about chickens instead.  All three girls are still going strong.  We had an unpredictable summer of egg production because two of them went broody, meaning they really want to sit on eggs and not make any new ones.  We made it through that and then they started molting.  A quick google of 'molting' and it turns out that it's not a quick or pretty process.  It seems strange to me that an animal would lose most of it's feathers in a cold part of the year, but I'm not a chicken and it works for them.  All three are going through various stages of molting and I think one of them is finally done.  Black Chicken as we lazily call her when we can't remember which on is Lolly or Dolly, is smack dab in the middle of it.  Isn't she something?  Up close, you can see the new feathers coming in but her shiny black feathers are few and far between and the absence of fluffiness makes her look scrawny and slightly crazed.   But she's still interested in treats. 

Are you looking at me?  

Early Turkey Dinner

Last week, the kids' school hosted their annual early Thanksgiving dinner. I had another friend describe it as turkey slurry over instant mashed potatoes but honestly, I'm just there for the pumpkin pie with crunchy crust dessert thing. It's delicious.  Oh, and I'm there to spend quality time with my favorite monsters, of course. I've had other friends tell me that fifth grade was the start of when they were no longer invited by their children to attend but Will was happy that I was showing up.  He and Reina have different lunch periods this year, which worked out well because I was only about halfway through my meal when Will's bell rang and it was time for Reina to come in.  During Will's lunch, we made changes to our fantasy football team.  And by 'we made changes' I really mean that Will undid all of the changes I had already made and made his decisions.  But we are in second place in our league so I should probably just keep my mouth shut.  

He did turn down my request for a selfie and was not super excited about this picture but at least I can prove that we had lunch together!  

 During Reina's lunch, we opted to head down the hall to the art room where it was a little quieter and we could chat.  She picked a table by the window so we could look out onto the playground.  Fancy!  We talked about her day and her plans for the afternoon.  I had to head out of town for a work trip right afterwards so it was a nice treat to get to spend a few minutes with them both.  And there was pumpkin pie. 

Someone is happy to take a mom selfie!  

Girl(s) on the Run

We signed Reina up for Girls on the Run at her school earlier in the summer.  She wasn't too exited about that decision but I'd heard great things about the program and not-so-secretly, I think Reina could really enjoy running in the future and I think she's a natural!  She's tired of hearing me say that but her stride is so natural and it looks effortless. So anyway.  She started the 12-week Girls on the Run program in September and ran her final 5k race this morning.  She finished in under 45 minutes and I'm so proud of her!  The path was icy and it was a really chilly morning but she kept putting one foot in front of the other and crossed the finish line.  I hope there are a lot more family 5k's in our future.  

Before the race - Reina and her official running buddy - our friend Shelby.  

Race pics thanks to Shelby's mom!  Here's Glenn and Trigger.  Reina and I aren't too far behind and Will is w

Reina and I starting heading towards Mile 2.  

Will racing towards the finish line.  He ran by himself for most of the race because our pace well.... was not his.  There wasn't an official race clock but I'm pretty sure he beat my dream time for a 5k.  

Reina making the turn towards the finish line.  Once she saw the flags, she wanted to get that race over with and left me in the dust.

Officially done!  

Reina and Shelby post-race.  Look at those pink cheeks!  

Twelve

Reina says that I had "love eyes" that day.  I think she's right.  

Yesterday, Glenn and I celebrated our twelfth wedding anniversary.   We went out to dinner the weekend before and Glenn surprised me with a gorgeous pair of super sparkly earrings.  I see that the traditional gift for 12 years is silk or linen but I'll take my little jewelry box instead!  Glenn didn't want anything for the anniversary, we are in the midst of redoing some stuff around the house and even bought new toilets so apparently, he's good with that?  

At breakfast, Reina drew a picture of our wedding on the envelope of the card that my mom gave us.  Between my veil and long dress, Glenn's dapper suite and the googly eyes we are making at each other, I think Reina captured the spirit of that day very well.  And our hair looks fabulous.  

Veteran's Day Concert or A Series of Pictures of Will Looking Uncomfortable

The fifth-grade classes at Will's school performed in a Veteran's Day concert last night.  The students were instructed to dress nicely and Will agreed to wear his suit jacket "one last time" because it's getting a little too short in the arms.  I bought that jacket in late January and he has grown like a weed.  He wouldn't agree to a tie, just a button-down shirt.  Also, a little gel in the hair completed the look. 

It's a well-known fact on this blog that Will is not a fan of singing, singing in public, being on a stage, smiling while on a stage, or any of the rest of it.  He told us about the concert a few weeks ago and when I asked him Monday night what songs they would be singing, he replied with "songs about American, Mom."  Duh right?  The kids sang The Star Spangled Banner, America the Beautiful, Amazing Grace and My Country Tis o' Thee.  A few of the kids recited some lines about the branches of military service (Will opted out of that project).  It was very patriotic and a good reminder of what Veteran's Day is all about.  

I had my zoom lens on my camera but the light was a little low so these pictures are blurry.  But I think they appropriately chronicle Will's experience.  

Glenn and I started giggling right away. Will was in the back row, smack dab in the center and looked like he'd rather be anywhere else.... 

He did sing, or at least mouth the words.  

Is there an escape hatch on the stage floor?  

Wait, I believe that's somebody singing!  

Oh buddy. 

The students were given battery operated candles for "Amazing Grace" (tangent - mom crying alert) and Will's flickered on and off which led to him shaking it aggressively whilst not singing.  Good stuff.  

Let's go ahead and file this one under "things that will make him angry at me in the future" but oh Will, we love watching you sing, even if you are hating every minute of it.  You look so grown-up up there and I appreciate you participating in something because it's the right thing to do, even if it's way outside of your comfort zone.  And thanks for helping us remember what Veteran's Day is all about. 

Go Cowboys!

Last Spring, for Mother's Day in fact, Glenn bought me season tickets for UW football.  It was a lovely present and I was delighted.  It wasn't too much of a surprise because I said something along the lines of, "for Mother's Day, can you get me season tickets to UW football?" So he did and we are the proud owners of Section J, Row something, seats something and something and it's been fun.  Except for the Oregon game.  That wasn't very fun.  Some combination of the four of us, plus one grandparent, have made every single game except one that interfered with Will's football game.  A few weeks ago, Glenn was hunting so we bought an extra kid ticket and the kiddos and I headed over the summit to watch the New Mexico game.  Spoiler alert, Wyoming won 42-3.  

She wasn't wearing a stitch of school colors but she willingly cheered when the scoreboard implored the crowd to and she kept herself busy with trips to the snack shack and my phone.  

Not sure why we framed this picture with that sign but here's a field level view of my little superfans.  We were on our way home at this point because it was chilly, we'd run out of snack money and the Cowboys scored all of their 42 points by halftime.  

Football isn't Reina's jam as the kids say these days so she entertained herself by taking pictures on my phone and slapping all sorts of whatever you call those on there.  I had about twenty similar shots waiting for me after the game.  

My favorite superfans.  

Happy Halloween!

The Halloween spirit rolled into the Pauley household as soon as the calendar flipped to October.  Reina loves to decorate as soon as possible and we had nice weather for most of the month that helped us get into the late Autumn spirit.  Reina waffled between her final costume choice and a witch for a few weeks before deciding on her pick (you'll see it in a few pictures).  

We added to our Halloween decorations with this black cat.  Reina and I were shopping and saw it and we knew she (of course) had to come home.  Glenn put the kibosh on a giant metal chicken at the beginning of the summer but I didn't wait for his veto this time around.  

Trigger says "why?"  

 A few weeks before Halloween, Reina and I went to an autumn festival with Aunt Vicky and the baby cousins and some friends.  I didn't take my camera but I managed a few phone snaps of one cute little witch. 

And one cute little pumpkin.  Baby Boy Cousin wasn't interested in the arts and crafts or kids' games, instead I spent my time chasing him around the pumpkin patch.  That kid can move.

Catch me if you can Aunt Lucy!  

A week before Halloween, Grandma H came over to our house and helped me get Reina's costume done.  Okay, let's be clear.  She made the costume with materials that I purchased, that was the extent of my creative participation  Reina helped us and when we were done, we had a few extra pieces of felt.  What does one do with extra felt?  Turn a cat into Wonder Woman of course!  

Coco's face says it all, doesn't it?  

Here's the official unveiling. Reina decided to be a piece of pizza!  

She helped design the costume with Grandma and those are hand-colored pieces of pepperoni are original works of art from the pizza girl herself.  

So we move on to Halloween itself, finally.  The night was a little chilly but we bundled everybody up and headed out.  We had great friends come over and trick-or-treat with us and take turns manning the door.  

After the friends left, the kiddos and I took a few more walks around the block to fill up the candy bags.  

Will's dressed as Nolan Arenado and he started off the night trick-or-treating with our friend Jenna, one cute kitty cat.  

Only two pumpkins this year.  A football and a cat.  Naturally.  

After we all got cold enough, we came home and manned the door until bedtime.  This is probably Tootsie's favorite part of Halloween because sometimes candy falls on the floor and little kids think she's cute.