Highlights
1. On Veteran's day we went to D.C. It took a lot of effort to have one entirely free day (no school, no work, no church obligations, no sports, no dance, no social plans) but I made it happen. Last minute an elderly man in our ward died and Josh did try to schedule his visit to the family for that day but we compromised and he went in the evening after we had gotten back. We haven't had a family adventure in awhile and it has been 2.5 years since we've been in the city, which is ridiculous, so I said we were going and going we went. We got Wendy's breakfast sandwiches on the way up and rode the metro in. A guy danced for us in between two stops, which Josh loved. He was good, especially his moon walk, but he didn't have a shirt on and was very sweaty so Lily was very uncomfortable and wouldn't even watch the guy. It was hilarious. We started the day at the Natural History museum and everyone enjoyed seeing the dinosaur bones, gems, animal displays and the ocean part was okay. We went through it all pretty quickly, which is how I like to do museums. Then we walked up to the Washington monument to take in the view. From there you can see the Capitol, the White House, the Lincoln Memorial and reflecting pool, as well as the WWII memorial, which is a favorite of mine. It was a beautiful fall day and it was nice to sit and rest there and take in the sights. Then we went to the Air and Space Museum. A lot of it is closed for renovations but we saw the Wright Flyer and some cool space displays and one I liked on navigation. Then we hopped back on the metro and back to the car and we stopped at the Silver Diner on the way home for dinner. We made it back in time to get ready for school and get to bed in a timely manner and for Josh to make his visit. It was a nice day and I'm glad we went. I want to go back and do the National Archives, the American History museum and maybe even the art museum to just introduce my kids to it.
2. Baseball season officially ended. Both boys had their last games the first weekend in November. Curtis's team was awful this year and we were all a little glad to be done with that team. Unfortunately, his coach is also coaching basketball and drafted Curtis onto his team so now we have to deal with him for another season. He is not a bad coach but not a great one either and I sure hope Curtis can get onto a different team in the spring. Brandon had a fabulous team and I loved his coach and the whole coaching staff. They won every game and had 117 total runs in the season compared to their competitor's total of 34. (That's every team we played combined for the season). He was organized and ran practice so efficiently and there were so many other dads who helped out who were also super committed and knew what they were doing. We really lucked out and I hope we're on Coach Tony's team for life. He hosted an end of the year party at his house (his wife is super gracious and I really like her) and it was so fun. They had a fire going and tons of food. He reviewed all the stats with the team and highlighted great plays of the season and even made each kid their own baseball card with their personal stats on it. It was so nice and I felt really good being a part of the community that way. I made some nice connections with people and really enjoyed getting to know the other parents. They also showed a movie outside and it seemed a bit mature for the kids but it was about baseball in Mexico and a priest helping a group of boys form a team and my kids were totally into it. It was so cold though and we had early church so we left before it was over and they were not happy about it. It was a great end to a great season. Brandon really learned so much and had so much fun and we are all excited about the spring.
3. Church activities have been in abundance lately. Josh had a bishopric training meeting on a Thursday, a stake youth activity that following Saturday that he and Lily went to and she had a lot of fun, and then Sunday was another stake meeting for all kids turning 12 next year. It was great to be able to leave Lily in charge that night so we could just go and be with Curtis. It was a lot of driving but we did carpool to that one with Michelle, which was super nice. Then it was the primary program last week and I've been doing lots of rehearsals with people for all the Christmas music I have planned. Josh has been very busy doing tithing settlements and he has been consumed all week by planning the funeral that is happening today and we will both be very glad when it is all taken care of. All of these meetings and opportunities to serve are a blessing and I am grateful for them, even as it stretches us and makes us more humble and selfless. Not always a comfortable process but a necessary one.
4. I finished with my Invisalign. I didn't tell anyone when I started in February because we weren't seeing people and when we did we had masks on so no one knew for awhile. My teeth have always been a bit crooked but it was really starting to bother me so I took action. Now, nine months later, they are beautifully straight and it was a pretty simple process. The trays never really hurt and while it was a pain to take them out to eat, it certainly cut down on my snacking. It was sometimes a bit annoying but for the most part, a very easy process, but I am glad to be done. I got my retainers and go back in a month to make sure they are doing their job and then I am totally done. Hooray!
Other than that it has been piano lessons, dance, cleaning, Christmas shopping, exercising and reading. Oh yeah, book club was this past Tuesday and it was great. We read Walk Two Moons and I really liked it and we had a fabulous discussion about it. Best book club in a long time. For Christmas we are sharing favorite Christmas stories and treats and doing a book exchange so that will be fun. I just finished The Personal Librarian, which I didn't love but it was pretty good and now I am reading The Things We Cannot Say. I have three books to pick up at the library tomorrow so that is always exciting.
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