Day 1242 | 23-Hour Adventure

My dad and Chris took the boys on a whirlwind 23-hour adventure to the hunting cabin yesterday. It's hard to say who was more excited: the boys or my dad. And, luckily, the cabin didn't disappoint. Here's how they spent their time:

• A continuous cycle of ATV-riding
• BB gun shooting (with no prior consent from mom...eek!)
• Marshmallow roasting
• Snowball fighting (there was enough snow up there for that!)
• Bunkbed flashlight searching (for a hiding dad)
• And then car-riding and sleeping made up for the rest of the excursion

You might be wondering how I spent this glorious 23-hours with nothing on my schedule (they didn't know they were going until last minute). Well, let me tell you:

• cleaning (some deep-cleaning projects that have been plaguing me for far too long) + laundry
• working (it felt so good to get caught up)
• getting my nails done (such a fun splurge!)
• watching my nieces' musical (so good!)
• reading a book in peace and quiet (what a treat!)
• sleeping without disturbances from my three favorite boys

Man, "glorious" days sound really lame when you're a parent. I'm ok with it, though. It's been a long time (maybe the first time since having a baby) that I was home for an extended period of time with nothing filling my time. Maybe it's lame, but there's something to be said for appreciating the down time.

Day 1241 | Cinderella

My nieces rocked the stage tonight. The energy, enthusiasm, and grace they exuded during the performance was exactly what I would have expected from them. Glad I could  be there! Congrats on a job well done, ladies. 

Day 1240 | Budding Artists

Check out the concentration on these two. The masterpieces were quite impressive. 

Day 1239 | Battleship

My mom dug this treasure out of the basement the other day and it was a huge hit. It was the longest game of battleship ever (I don't think Chase fully grasped the concept and Robbe enjoyed creative freedom when placing the pegs), but Chris and my dad were good sports so they managed to actually finish a game. It was impressive. 

Day 1238 | The Day After

 Not bad. Not bad at all.  

**Side note: that's Robbe at 7:34am without any sugar. 

Day 1237 | Happy Halloween

I hope you all had as much fun on this Halloween night as our scientist and spider did! It was a bit cold here in Wisconsin (the coldest on record, as a matter of fact), but that didn't damper our spirits. The boys had a total blast visiting with neighbors, helping grandma hand out candy, and making the rounds in my hometown. 

I'm fairly certain we have enough sweets to last until next Halloween. That's going to be a fun battle for the next week.

Enjoy a few extra photos for the special occasion:

Day 1236 | Carving Pumpkins

it was a busy weekend but we managed to get our pumpkins carved...just in time. This year's requests: Chase wanted a mummy and Robbe asked for a vampire. My mom opted for a traditional pumpkin face. I think they all go well together. 

For a Halloween throw-back, take a peek at our past masterpieces:

Halloween 2014
Halloween 2015
Halloween 2016

Day 1235 | A Class Reunion

Last night was my 15 year class reunion. Seriously...how is that possible? Aside from a rough morning after, I'd say the evening was a big success. I only graduated with about 65 people (most of whom were in my class for all 14 years!) so we weren't expecting a huge crowd, but we had a decent turnout and a fun group. 

And, because this is what I do... 

Five tips for a successful high school reunion

1. Join the organizing group. I hadn't talked to or seen a lot of my high school classmates since college, so it was nice to be a part of the organizing committee for the reunion so that I had a few friendly faces that I had caught up with before the big show.
    
2. Keep it simple. We opted for a low-key pizza buffet at a local restaurant where we could practically take over the whole place. After debating about plated vs. pizza buffet, I think this was the right choice.
    
3. Use technology to help, but go old school, too. We were able to use Facebook for most of the planning + organizing purposes. We polled folks several times in hopes of including more people in the decision-making process. In addition, we used Facebook's payment option so classmates could pay online in advance of the night. This way, we didn't have to hound people the night of the party. I will say, that we still had to go old school (phone calls + texts) to make sure everyone was aware of the reunion and we also had a local drop off for money collection.
    
4. Music is important. Another detail we debated (kind of obsessively) was whether to rent a sound system. We opted to do it and I'm so glad we did. One of the classmates put together a throw-back playlist which was spot on and the dancing + singing at the end of the evening were definitely some of my favorite moments. 
    
5. Relax. When you haven't seen folks in 15 years, you just never know how that initial reunion is going to be. Although I was anxious about how the night would unfold, it ended up being totally relaxed and super enjoyable. 

Day 1234 | October Snow

I was planning a really lovely fall-related post today and then this happened. Apparently we're moving onto the next season already. I'm not ready, for the record.  

Day 1233 | WI Friends

I've been talking a lot about my DC friends lately. I don't think I've given the appropriate shout outs to my new(ish) EC friends, though! Sorry, ladies. We've been here for just over a year and I couldn't be luckier to have found a bunch of funny, kind, generous ladies to lean on all the time. 

I can't offer a fancy collage of these ladies (turns out you never take photos when you're not on vacation), but know that I'm beyond grateful for all of you. 

Day 1232 | Spider Donuts

Aren't these the cutest? The boys and I made them for the pot luck 4-H Halloween party and they were a big hit. I was really excited to involve them in the preparation of our contribution this time around. Aside from some spiders with all eight legs on one side, they were shockingly helpful. 

**Side note: I saw these little guys online and the original "recipe" suggested using circle pretzels cut in half so the donuts were lifted off the table. I couldn't find round ones so I decided pretzel sticks were just fine. And I found the little candy eyes at a local grocery store (I was extremely surprised). Just a dot of frosting as glue for the eyes and you're all set!

Day 1231 | Home Again

I made it home last night around 11:15pm. I was exhausted but elated. My trip to DC was exactly as I hoped it would be: quality time with my dear friends. Nothing more, nothing less. I'm still digesting some of my feelings surrounding the trip. Stay tuned for that. :) 

Thank you to everyone who rearranged their busy lives to make time for me. I appreciate your friendship more than I can say.

Day 1230 | Back to DC

I'm taking a quick break from the blog as I head back to DC to meet two of the cutest little babies. In hopes of staying more present with them, I'll be living the blog-free life. A real vacation from all responsibilties...crazy!

In the meantime, take a few minutes to read my latest Visit Eau Claire blog post! Appropriately enough, it's titled, From DC to EC. I couldn't have planned this type of timing if I had tried!  

Day 1229 | Kindergarten School Pictures

Chase's kindergarten school photos came home in his folder today! It's funny how seeing that little envelope can still cause a rush of excitement. Chase is very happy with his school photo, so that makes me happy. Personally, I don't think his photo captures my little guy at all! I included a [real] smiling photo in the bottom-left so you can compare, but I'll keep my opinion to myself (and my favorite blog readers). 

As a side note, school photo orders are SO much less expensive here. I remember being appalled when we got Chase's first picture order form in DC (I even documented it here). I think we ordered on 3x5 and one class photo. In case you don't want to do your own comparison between the link above and the this year's order form (pictured in the collage), let me tell you that the most expensive package in EC is $43. Still no joke, mind you, but when you compare it to the most expensive package in DC at $135 (!!!!), all of a sudden you can't really complain. Yes, the packages do contain slightly different prints, but they are completely comparable...the EC one evens includes a digital copy! Crazy, right?!?

As a side, side note, let me tell you that living in Wisconsin has not been the huge cost of living decline that we were hoping for. With all the extra family and friends in town and the ability to do more because we don't have to fight crowds + traffic, we find ourselves spending more money living here. I know...I'm annoyed, too. This photo order, though, reminded me that some things in WI are more affordable than DC. I'll just have to be on the hunt for more of these deals.

In case you want to see what Chase's photo looked like from that first photo order, here he is as a two year old. It was a really good photo, I'll give them that. 

Day 1228 | Garden Debrief

Our garden is officially done for the season. My master gardeners were working hard this morning to clean up the remnants and plan for the spring (think tulips!). 

As a note to my future self, here are a few things I learned from my garden this year:

• Add a fence. The critters in our yard are super intense and really impressive when it comes to their climbing activity. 
• Pass on the leeks. We obviously didn't do our research on how to successfully grow leeks...they just din't grow!
• Mind the shade. Turns out that some plants need more sunlight than others. Who knew? 
• We love fresh produce. The boys really really loved picking the fresh veggies from our garden. It was about the sweetest thing ever.
• Tomato + cucumber plants can really grow. I definitely didn't plan for the height that came out of these types of plants. Next year I'm going to be ready.
• They need a lot of water. Like, every day. I was surprised, too.

As a further reminder,

• Here's what worked well for us: cucumbers, tomatoes, green beans, basil, and mint.
• Here's what was so-so: green peppers (because of the critters) and carrots
• Here's what didn't turn out: leeks and salad greens (turns out they need sun)

Day 1227 | A Tattoo

Robbe has requested that "the whole world" see his new tattoo (a bat). And specifically, Yaya, Zoe, and Nani. 

I'm just doing my part to make his dreams come true.  

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New podcast episode!

The newest episode of Starr Struck radio is out! If you want to hear Mary Catherine and me complaining about how motherhood has wreaked havoc on our bodies, take a listen. It's entertaining, I swear!

Day 1226 | Weekend Recap

We did so much this weekend, that my normal posts just didn't cover it all. Luckily, I can sneak a weekend recap post in to give all the details.

Our Weekend Top Ten

1. Dinner + conversating with family on Friday night.
2. House tidying + cleaning 
3. Lunching with our favorite 16 (!!) year old
4. Badger football watching with our favorite Twin Cities Aunt
5. Sunday school + church going on Sunday morning
6. Podcast recording with Mary Catherine
7. Chapter book reading with our favorite 5 year old
8. 4-H meeting attending in costume
9. Family apple bobbing (it's so hard!)
10. Cupcake baking + eating with the birthday girl

Day 1225 | First 4-H Meeting

The boys and I attended our first 4-H meeting tonight. We lucked out that our first meeting was also a costume party. Spoiler: you can get a sneak peek at this year's Halloween costumes if you can spot our boys.  

Before they could enjoy the party, though, the boys had to survive the meeting. And they did! WIth this club, all the kids sit in the middle without the adults (a risky proposition for our 3.5 year old) for the entirely of the one hour meeting. I could not have been more surprised when they managed to sit there contently and attentively the entire time.  

I was in 4-H for 13 years growing up and I'm beyond excited to start sharing this with my boys.  

Day 1224 | Badger Party

We hosted an impromptu Badger viewing party for Chris's Aunt Kelli today. They boys weren't terribly dedicated fans, but they're getting there.  

Thanks for making the drive for a lovely visit, Kelli!  

Day 1223 | Legos

This is what our living room looks like on a daily basis. These boys love their legos. And they love making a mess with their legos. Apparently you can't successfully build awesome creations in confined spaces.