Quick 5

Blech.

1. Last Friday night at 10:00pm, Bria threw up. Then again and again. Why do they always throw up at night? Whatever. We dealt with it. I washed my hands like a crazy person. Then Saturday afternoon I went to a friend's house to set up a baby shower she and I had planned together. I didn't feel great. Then the second the guests walked in the door, I knew I had to LEAVE. Right then. (I made it home.) Thankfully Bria and I were the only ones to succumb. I credit the crazy trick of forcing my family to drink grape juice like crazy. (You can look it up on Pinterest. It's a thing.)

2. I think it's time for me to suck it up and admit how much I like fall. I've always hesistated to say it's my favorite, because it seems the whole world likes it best, and I generally don't like to do things that everyone else is doing (please ignore my skinny jeans and riding boots.) But I am really enjoying the season this year. The colors are so amazing and I love the cool air after a hot summer. It's my favorite. Just like everyone else's. So what? There are only four seasons to choose from. Winter is just no, spring is usually too cold and summer is too hot. So there you go.

3. The girls beg their dad every day to make a leaf pile for them. We finally had enough to do it this week. Joy ensued.

Alaina got some leaves in her underwear.

See?

 4. It has been: 0 days since we've had to go to urgent care because a child stuck something up her nose.

Last night Joya earned us a bedtime trip to urgent care because she stuck some kind of bead thing up her nose and couldn't get it out. It was pretty tiny, but too big just to blow out. So when she should have been going to bed, we were driving to urgent care instead. And we had to wait a good hour for a doctor to come in with this cool syringe that blew a bubble and popped the thing out to come. (That part took about two minutes.) I guess kids don't know what they don't know, right? I mean, even if you tell them, they don't know until they try it themselves. I think there is a Bible verse about what a person is who doesn't heed the wisdom of others...

5. Today Alaina's school is having their Fall parties, and all the kids dressed up. Alaina wore her black school shirt and black pants and black socks. She's a ninja, in case you were wondering. I tried to talk her into wearing an apron her Aunt Jamie made her, with some jeans and t-shirt to be an artist. But she insisted on the faded black pants. Sigh.

Goodbye October.

Quick 5

In case you were wondering, Colorado is gorgeous in the fall.

1. Last Wednesday Gramma and Grampa Kimble flew in for Joya's birthday. They arrived just in time for the birthday pizza. It was so nice to have them here, even if it was only for a few days. Lee was able to take off work, and they all played for two days straight. They left Saturday morning, and as of this morning, Friday, six full days after they left, Bria finally stopped asking if she could have breakfast with Gramma and Grampa. She loved that part.

2. Joya's birthday fun lasted for days. It started with her special birthday cereal choice: Reese's Puffs. We had pizza for dinner and then her special birthday dessert: banana splits. She had originally asked for chocolate cake with bananas, but since I wasn't sure I could excute that in such a way that the banana wouldn't turn brown, I suggested banana splits. They were glorious.

3. Joya loved all her gifts, which were heavy on the My Little Pony and Lego side. She also got quite a few skirts and leggings, because WOE is the person who asks Joya to wear pants. She loved Aunt Mindy's presents very much:

Sparkles galore!

4. Gramma's present was extra special: a pedicure. Joya has never had one before, and she looked so cute having her toes done. Of course she picked purple, because she was dressed head to toe in purple that day. And who wouldn't want to cap off a lovely pedicure with a delicious double chocolaty chip frappucino from Starbucks?

5. The pinnacle of the birthday extravaganza was Casa Bonita. And I took approximately one picture inside. There was too much to do and see and too many kids to chase around and keep from tripping the servers. Let's all stop talking about how bad that food is and just relax and enjoy the amazing atmosphere they have created. The kids had a blast. I can't wait to take them back there when they are a little older and I don't have to constantly count heads to make sure we have everyone.

I'm going to need one more week to recover from all the birthday fun.

Happy 5th Birthday Joya!

My pretty girly girl. You are 5 today! You are now a kid and no longer a baby. You can do so many things for yourself. You love to learn and love to practice what you learn. You love pretty things! Especially pretty things to wear. We pray that as you celebrate the beauty that God gave you, that you will learn that true beauty is found in your character, as you love and help other people. You love to color and paint and create art. You're my princess girl. My proudest moment for you this year was when you chose to ask Jesus to live in your heart.

We pray that you grow to reflect the character of Christ. That you will learn to listen to Him to tell you the right things to do, and that you will be able to resist the temptation to do the wrong things. We pray that you choose kindness and humility. We pray that you would learn to do everything as working for the Lord and not for man. We pray that you will be a blessing to everyone you meet.

We just love you!

Love,
Mom, Dad, Alaina and Bria

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Quick 5

My wise sister once said, "May is always colder than you want it to be, and October is always warmer than you want it to be." Truth.

1. Joya is turning 5 soon, people. (As of today, that's 5 more sleeps, if you wanted to know.) I've scheduled all sorts of check-ups for her because of this. Her first one was this week at the eye doctor. She checks out just fine and does not need glasses, to her dismay. I feel like genetics is probably in her corner as far as her needing them someday, but so far so good.

Rockin' the post-dilation sunglasses

2. Cars are money pits. Taking your car to the dealership to be fixed is frustrating, even if you had an appointment.

3. Well, I **almost** violated my own rule about letting kids potty train themselves. Bria had a couple successes last week, so I thought we should go for it. And she demanded to wear pull ups at all times. But she's had ZERO success and ZERO will since last Thursday. On Tuesday I was about to pull my hair out when I remembered: let them do it themselves. So back into diapers we go. If she wants to go potty, she knows where it is and how to set it up and how to take off her pants.

4.  Alaina's class got to have an ice cream treat this week, because her class won a Box Top contest. Each class brought in Box Tops, and hers brought in 584. She was so excited. Sometimes you might wonder why I hoard those things in a baggie in the drawer with all my pot holders and why I don't just turn them in. Well, here is your answer. Sometimes if you hold on to things, you can win a contest. #liferule

5. Yesterday was the end of the first quarter of school, so we have a lovely four day weekend. We don't have any special plans, unless you call sleeping 30 minutes later each day special (which I do.) But not having to spend time doing school drop off/pick up is pretty great. And it's always fun to have Alaina run errands with us.

Next up: Joya's 5th Birthday Extravaganza!!

Quick 5

And then there were three. (Months left in the year, that is.)

1. This week was filled with a whole lot of sitting around. Mostly because my van started acting funny when I got to MOPS on Monday. As in, suddenly the key fob and the dash board weren't working. The engine was on, but no dash board activity. Thankfully about a half an hour later everything worked fine. I took it to the shop on Monday, and they determined that the computer in our van needs a reflash. Which means I have to take it to a dealership next week. And of course since then all seems okay. But I definitely don't feel like the van is reliable right now, which is unnerving when I drive it around with kids every day. Cars are money pits.

2. I am helping to direct the Christmas play at church again this year, which means starting this week I will be at the church every Tuesday night for play practice. I love the play we're doing. I'm excited about the cast we have. And somehow I've tricked Kelvin into believing that I totally know what I'm doing when I direct a play. So thus begins the busy Christmas season.

3. I suppose the biggest news of the week was Bria's accomplishment. On Tuesday around dinner time, she was crying and whining. For like an hour. And she wouldn't eat. So I finally made her sit on the potty and read her a story. Lo and behold, she actually went #2. We had a huge celebration with cheering and jelly beans, and then she ate her dinner. The next day she went again twice. And nothing since then. Except she's able to keep her diaper dry for most of the day. I can't coax her into going again. Potty training might literally be the cause of my death. I know we have to celebrate her accomplishments, but I cannot get my hopes up at all. Is there a light at the end of the tunnel? I don't know. I refuse to look.

4. I would like it recorded for posterity that Bria did in fact clog the toilet with her very first contribution. And no, it was not because of toilet paper.

5. This week was Spirit Week at Alaina's school. We remembered a few of the days. Most note worthy was today: Crazy Hair Day. Alaina has come a long way in her participation. I remember her first crazy hair day at Awana. She barely let me do anything. Today she was a willing and eager participant.

Peace out!