Breaking for fall

When I initially saw that the kids had a four day weekend for fall break I cringed a little. Weekends are usually a bit long and draining and I've come to dread them a little. However, I'm happy to report that we had a fantastic break together. The weather was lovely, the attitudes were (mostly) good, and I thoroughly enjoyed hanging out with the kids. It's on those days that I seriously contemplate homeschooling. Anabelle has asked me twice this week to home school her. That thought scares the ba-jeebies out of me. I wish there was a hybrid between the two. Because let's not underestimate the power of going to Target with only half your kids. Or being able to send them out the door when they have been mouthy for the first hour of the day.

Anyway, we weren't talking about homeschooling. We were talking about normal schooling, and taking a break from it. Let's look at a few pictures of that:

We met Emily at a park in Salt lake on Friday. We spent the bulk of the day there. Molly and Lila hit it off, which thrilled me. It looks an awful lot like Emily and I, 25 years ago. 

It would absolutely blow your ind how many wood chips can fit in a diaper. 

On Saturday the girls had soccer games. Lila played goalie. What I mean by that is that instead of dancing, galloping or twirling on the field, she did it in the goalie box. She also inspected the net and played with that for a while, 110% oblivious to the game. She did however notice that the morning light provided the perfect scenario to watch your shadow dance and she spent considerable time in that endeavor. I realized that she thinks they are winning every week because they keep giving her treats at the end of every game. BUT, as we walked to the car, her arms full of Gatorade and fruit snacks, she immediately noticed Maisey looking at her treats. With zero hesitation Lila handed Maisey the whole bag and told her she could have it. It's not like Lila handed her a V8 or anything. She gave her the all coveted, "our Mom doesn't buy us these" fruit snacks. So, I'd say she's winning at other things. More important things if you will.

Goal kick!

Elise spent the duration of Anabelle's game making sand angels and sitting in the place that used to be my lap. I prefer the sand angels.

Cheering for "A-bo". Whilst eating a sand covered granola bar.

Lila fell down and scraped her knee. Being the extra compassionate Mom that I am, I told her I would wash it and bandage it when we got home in a minute. Her little team mate went a got a wipe from his Mom and cleaned it up for her. She was still talking about it today. 

 After games we came home and did our chores. Everyone did them with good attitudes, even if it did take Maisey four hours to pick up a stack of books. We went and got donuts that night and had a cider and Halloween donut party on the porch. In the dark. Which made them feel big and cool to be outside in the dark. I have some pictures of that on my phone. If I can figure out how to make my phone give me back all my pictures, I will add them. In the event that never happens, just know that Elise really appreciated her first donut and that baths were immediately necessary.