Bits and Pieces: September and October

I know it is November, but I still like to do these posts, mostly for myself because I like looking back at them. I am happy if other people enjoy them, too. Anyway. I am writing this while watching the Packers lose to Kansas City. What is wrong with Aaron Rodgers? We won't go there.

Speaking of vaccines, the kids got their first dose on Friday! Yay! I am so happy they are on the road to immunity. Real immunity, not the fake kind.

September included going a trip to a friend's cabin (we stayed in our camper because COVID), back to school, the fair at the school next door, some hikes, and lots of soccer.

October was filled with more soccer, two family birthdays (Christopher's and mine), a camping trip with dear friends, a visit to an apple orchard, a few nights out with friends (for me), a few days off school, a trip to the Science Museum, visits with grandparents, and of course, Halloween.

And now we are hurtling our way towards Christmas, which I have already started prepping for because I am nervous about not being able to find things this year thanks to the supply chain problems. November should be pretty relaxing, though, I think. (Famous last words, I know.) 

Without further ado, here are some of our September and October pictures!

C&C both took a turn driving our friend's boat at their cabin in Wisconsin.

First day of Fifth Grade and first day of Second Grade!

Celebrating Meema Mary Theresa's birthday outside.

Clare with a friend at the fair next door.

On top of the Ferris Wheel.

Game time.

Playing near the Mississippi with friends.

Camping crew at Flandrau State Park in New Ulm.

Birthday ice cream for the birthday boy.

Whistling Well apple orchard with cousins.

Eating ice cream on a fall color drive for my birthday. (They liked the ice cream. They didn't like the drive.)

Eating outside on a warm October day.

Pickle Ball! My friend gave me paddles for my birthday.

At the History Center on a day off school.

Bubble tea. She ended up not really liking it, but we had fun walking to a neighborhood tea shop to try it.

Science Museum on a day off school.

Clare and Ben went to a U.S. Women's National Team game. Clare thought it was the best. It was Carli Lloyd's last game, and she saw Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan score goals (among others). I am so glad she got a chance to see these amazing women in person!

Dressed up as RBG for school.

Pumpkin carving.

Ready for trick or treating!

Christopher with Baba and his pumpkin.

We split up to trick or treat this year - Clare and I went together and met up with friends for the neighborhood block party. Ben and Christopher went with the next door neighbors. We also had a super fun Halloween party on the 30th with the Katie and family and my parents! I somehow have no pictures of the fun, but Josie was in her element has party coordinator. We all had fun.

Eight

Eight! My sweet boy is eight. 

We were talking about the day he was born, and he found it to be absolutely hilarious when I told him he'd peed on me pretty much immediately after birth. Bodily functions are pretty much his favorite thing to talk about right now. That's normal for an 8-year-old, right?

Christopher has been running all over the neighborhood for the past few weeks with a newly discovered group of boys. We have new neighbors who have twin boys his age, and he has met a few other boys in the neighborhood as well. I love it when the doorbell rings and one of the boys is there asking for Christopher to come out and play. He was given rollerblades for his birthday, and he intends to use them to race another friend on his scooter. I am sure that will end well.

School is going well so far. I think he spends most of the day reading the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books, but hopefully he is doing some math, too. 

We were recently driving in the car, and Christopher was making up a song. The lyrics involved Chuck E. Cheese flying the in sky, and Clare declared Christopher to be the most "random person" she knows. He is constantly coming up with different songs and stories. I frequently hear him talking to himself in his room or in the bathroom. 

He loves playing outside games, including Sandman and Ghost in the Graveyard. We camped with friends last weekend and he spent the entire weekend covered in mud.

He is still a sweetheart and tries to help me out around the house or do nice things for me. He is also brilliant at manipulating me into doing whatever he wants. I know he is doing this, but it is hard to resist his huge blue eyes.

He is constantly coming up with new business ideas or moneymaking schemes. Few have panned out. The latest is that he wants to learn the trumpet so he can stand on the street corner and make money. I had to gently explain that he probably wouldn't earn much that way, especially as a beginner. 

He wants to play basketball this winter, and to do Cub Scouts. He had fun playing baseball this summer. He did not have fun at theater camp, which is too bad, because he is so funny and creative.

Some favorites at 8: reading (mostly graphic novels), playing outside, the Nintendo Switch, Roblox, Octonauts (we are back on that show for some reason), pizza, Annie's mac and cheese (although he assures me he likes my homemade version, too), fruit of all kinds, talking incessantly about business plans.

Some dislikes: taking showers, COVID tests, attending Clare's soccer games, spinach, hiking (although he loves exploring in the woods - just don't mention the word hike), when Clare "looks at me in that way she knows I don't like."

We had a family party for his actual birthday, which was Monday, that included presents and a trip to Culver's for ice cream and cheese curds. We are having another extended family get together on Friday, which will include pizza and a Dairy Queen cookie dough blizzard cake.

Happy birthday, Christopher! I can't believe you are 8.

Out West

Summer trip by the numbers:

Four states. (North Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota)

2,500-plus miles driven.

11 nights in our camper.

One night in a hotel. (Highlight of the trip for both kids. Sigh.)

Nine days in a row without a shower.

Four grizzly sightings.

Two black bears.

One cannister of bear spray purchased.

Six moose spotted, including one 20 feet away from us in the woods. We slowly backed away.

Two National Parks. (Theodore Roosevelt and Glacier)

One National Forest. (Custer Gallatin)

One National Monument. (Devil's Tower)

One party size bag of Doritos eaten almost entirely by me.

One dinner of Bugles and cheese when we couldn't find a restaurant with outdoor seating.

8,367 calories delivered to our hotel room in the form of pizza and mozzarella sticks.  

Zero hours of screen time while at a destination.

Countless hours of screen time in the car.

Two people reaffirming that they are afraid of heights, while hiking on the edge of a mountain. (Me and Christopher.)

One person falling in love with mountain lakes. (Clare)

One person wanting to hike more than we did. (Ben) (Although we hiked a lot.)

33 fights between Clare and Christopher. (Estimated)

One inch worm habitat built by Clare and Christopher. 

One campsite with a double-decker hammock. (Highlight of the trip for Christopher)

Four horses ridden through the North Dakota badlands. (Lakota, Whiskey, Miko, Houdini)

Lots of beers. (Can't be more specific.)

Zero campfires because of dry conditions and nearby wildfires.

Several books read and rounds of Hearts played.

Many hours of fun family time, in between the 33 fights.

Hundreds of pictures taken. Here are a few:

We started the trip with a visit to an old timey village in Jamestown, N.D. (Actually, we started with a 4:30 a.m. wake up call and a trip to McDonald's and Caribou, but this is the second thing we did.)

Largest buffalo in the world. Allegedly.

One of the views from Sully Creek Campground, our home while visiting Theodore Roosevelt.

Prairie dog town in Theodore Roosevelt.

Hiking in the North Dakota Badlands, which are uniquely beautiful. 

Building a bridge in Sully Creek.

More Badlands hiking. The North and South Dakota Badlands are not related geographically - they are both called Badlands because they aren't suitable for farming. Here, the kids are standing in front of a petrified tree from thousands of years ago.

More Sully Creek. Ben took them here while I made dinner and drank wine at the campsite.

Horseback riding! Christopher was on the biggest horse, naturally.

Painted canyon.

Our campsite in North Dakota.

How an introvert gets alone time on a family trip.

Our campsite in Glacier. We camped at Many Glacier, which was lovely, though crowded.

The start of Going to the Sun Road.

Clare loved this lake, and swam even though it was frigid. It was crystal clear and beautiful.

Apikuni Falls hike in Many Glacier.

Red Rock Lake hike in Many Glacier. We went on a guided hike with a ranger, which we all found really interesting. We saw several moose and ate many Huckleberries.

Ice cream and a ranger talk.

Building a habitat for an inch worm they adopted as a pet. Briefly.

Inchy's habitat.

Hidden Lake hike at Logan Pass. It was fairly smoky this day, but still beautiful.

Clare being sworn in as a Junior Ranger.

Hiking in the Trail of the Cedars in Glacier. This wooded area was beautiful and peaceful.

Sleepy time on the shuttle.

Clare rescuing our camper's crank from the roof. 

Double-decker hammock!

Pancake breakfast at Custer Gallatin near Red Lodge, Montana.

Mountain lake swimming. Brrrr.

Beartooth Highway. It was smoky, but still scenic.

Actual cowboys herding cows in Wyoming.

Brewery time in Red Lodge, MT.

The National Forest campsites are so spacious and quiet.

Devil's Tower.

Hotel swimming pool in Sioux Falls, S.D.

An actual bed and a shower felt good after so many days in the camper!