How We've Survived, Part 1

So, as you may (or may not) know, my parents are in Hawaii. They left early in the afternoon on Thursday (November 10), and will be returning early in the morning on Sunday (November 20). I joked with my Mom that her going on vacation makes me go on an "un-vacation". Good-bye mid-day and early-evening visits...

So this is what we've been up to:

Day 1: Friday, November 11

We took advantage of Jon being off on Remembrance Day by visiting his Opa and Oma Bomhof. I love that we live so close to them and that they simply adore Matthew and Kayla. We try to visit with them every couple months. They are amazing people, and we always have such a great time with them.

Oma and Kayla

Opa and Matthew

Day 2: Saturday, November 12

I woke Jon up at 9:15 and told him that I was going shopping for a little bit, while Matthew and Kayla were napping. I went to Wal-Mart and Old Navy, and then treated myself to Value-Village. LOVE! I spent the whole time in the kids books, and found a bunch of great finds. Some are gifts, but the ones I've kept for myself (7!) all have good Christian or Christian-like morals/themes. I love books.

Candice and I took Matthew and Kayla to the public pool in the afternoon. They haven't been swimming since August, and I was hoping to take them soon, so when Candice offered to go with me I jumped at the chance. I cannot believe it costs $6.75 for one adult! That's crazy! Matthew and Kayla LOVED it. Kayla was splashing like crazy (no surprise there, she's crazy in the tub) and Matthew was very content to jump on the step, and then get pulled through the water. I think we spent about 30 minutes in the pool.

Day 3: Sunday, November 13

After church Sunday morning we drove to Lynden, Washington, to visit Kam, Michelle, Carson, and new baby Jake.

Doesn't Jake just fit in perfectly with Jon and Matthew? LOL :)

We also went to the Safeway in Lynden to check out their grocery prices. I cannot believe the price difference for milk! Superstore here is selling 4 L of 1% for $4.37 usually - there it was $2.59! We stocked up for the week...3 x 1% and 2 x chocolate milk.

Day 4: Monday, November 14

Melissa asked if we were interested in going to Tynehead with her during the day...and I jumped at the chance to ask her to babysit Kayla while Matthew and I went to his doctor appointment. Once that was over we went to Tynehead to look at the salmon.

It was COLD! Luckily we were in the trees because the wind was sure blowing!

We came home to our lawn absolutely COVERED in leaves, so as soon as Jon got home from TOC-ing he used the lawnmower to pick them up.

Day 5: Tuesday, November 15

Today we didn't do anything special. Once Jon came home from TOC-ing we quickly took a family picture for his Opa's 90th birthday present (a book of family pictures).

It was freezing outside so this is the best shot we got in 5 minutes. Who cares if Matthew and Kayla aren't even looking at the camera, right?

Day 6: Wednesday, November 16

Nothing special today. I had every intention of walking to Two Ee's this morning, but it started raining just as I had convinced myself that it was worth the effort. It hasn't stopped raining since. Jon's going to Baselines tonight to watch the game with his UBC carpooling friend, so we're on our own.

EVERY Day:

In addition to their morning baths, I've been giving Matthew and Kayla an evening bath as well. It helps give them a change of scenery, rather than having to play in the living room with the same toys they've been playing with all day.

The other night Kayla crawled in front of Matthew, and then Matthew began to spank her repeatedly. It was the funniest thing ever. Kayla didn't even move! We managed to catch it on video, and when we re-watched it, Jon and I were laughing so hard.

She's got him trained! Classic Struik back massages.