Parentheticals

 Two weeks in one! We spent the last two weeks first preparing for California, and then being in California. So much fun! Monday the 14th we took the car in for a check and oil change before going on the 1500 mile drive. It was a good thing we did, since the engine mounts were breaking and needed replacing. It was good to have everything checked out (we did NOT have a wheel explode on the drive home this time, thank goodness). However, when Mike went to make the appointment, Alison said that the best day would be any day but Monday. Oops, that was all they had available. So we borrowed Grandma Sheila's car and Mike helped Alison drive everyone to and from Classical Conversations in two shifts. It actually went pretty well, to Alison's relief. The kids were good about it. (We did leave all their carseats in the car when we returned it to Grandma Sheila, but Mike and Sara went back and got those later.) Tuesday and Wednesday the kids started getting ready for California, we made

 What happened this week? Yesterday we had a game night at Caitlin and Sal's. It was really fun! The kids were very good watching a movie and barely interrupted us at all, and we got to play Battle Sheep and Treasure Island and Tricksters. They were all really fun, especially Treasure Island, which we'd never heard of but was a really fun cooperative-competitive pirate game. Earlier that day, Mike and Rea went shopping for toys to fill a box for Operation Christmas Child. They got some very cute stuff; the toddler boy who gets it should be very happy. Before that , Rea had gone to visit Max with Grandma Sheila and Papa Mike. They had Jimmy John's and played Sushi Go and she had a great time and was really happy she went. Today at church, Rea taught her first Young Women's lesson! She said it went great! She spent a lot of time this week preparing, and we're so glad it went well for her. Friday Mike and Alison watched The Man Who Knew Too Little for their date. That&

This week, Rea sprained her ankle Monday afternoon, which was a definite drawback when it came to trick-or-treating that night. We pulled every item with wheels into the house before we finally decided that sitting side-saddle on Sara's bike with her hurt foot tucked up was the most comfortable. She managed to make it close to most doors, but someone had to carry her bag the last few steps for her. It never occurred to us how hard trick-or-treating would be if you couldn't climb stairs. Something to think about. Halloween was fun anyway. Boo was a fairy, Gideon a blue dragon, Timmy a caveman, Sara a jellyfish, and Rea a naiad - the kids made their costumes themselves out of things from our dress-up bin. We met the Plastows at 6 at the park and did a couple of streets. We decided that 6-7:30 is about the perfect time to trick-or-treat. We also found out that our porch light turns off automatically, so that's why no one ever takes our candy. We'll have to fix that next ye