Hello, friends. Let's catch up, shall we?

In the beginning of October, the boys' school, Morning Star Elementary, hosted a Fun Run to raise money for their PAC (Parent Advisory Council...the new term for PTA). Rather than selling some dorky candles or wrapping paper, they collect pledges and run a track as many times as they can in half-an-hour. There was a DJ and snacks and lots of families.

I'm not exactly sure the distance of one lap, but this picture shows approx. 1/4 of the track. Mason ran/walked 15 laps and Smith ran/walked 16 laps. In the end, the event raised some crazy dough for the school. Good idea, Morning Star!

 I read this article, like so many others, and it resonated with me. So, I'm taking more photos of myself and letting the monkeys take pictures too.

Many of the pictures they take are pretty good.

 

 Many of them look like this...

...and this. 

The weekend of my birthday, Gunner and I took a road trip to Coeur d'Alene to hang out with the Perrines. Gunner G is a pretty good traveling companion. He would sleep a spell and then be entertained with my empty coffee cup a bit and then he would hit a wall and cry. So, we stopped at a few rest stops to play and eat and have some face-to-face time. There's usually a lot more going on in the car with 3 additional crazy monkeys and since it was just the two of us, I think G was bewildered by the solitude and a bit lonely.

Cousins!

Lane's birthday is a week before mine, so we celebrated together by spending money frivolously. We got our nails done. We hit Starbucks twice a day. We meandered through TJ Maxx and lingered in the local fabric store.We bought things for ourselves and not just for our children. It was grand! There was much laughter too. Mwah! Love you, sister.

Silvy pumpkin bowling at the Halloween Party at school. 

When I placed the boys in different classes, I was thinking of their independence and experience...I failed to think through what it would mean for me. There is only one of me, mind you. Anyhow, I bounced back and forth between their two classes and it worked fairly well.

Gone are the days when the children are allowed to wear costumes to school (thank goodness!). Rather, they are to wear orange and black and can have crazy hair. Smitty wanted to do neither...even though his mom made him a special Halloween shirt. Ahem.

All 3 of my boys went as bow-hunters for Halloween. You didn't see that one coming, did you? I found a mini-marshmallow-shooting bow at Target.com and we couldn't live without one...er, three. Blake is a Star Wars character.

Matt and Addie escorted the crew around the Bedford's neighborhood where the houses are close together and the streets are well-lit. I manned the fort, so-to-speak, at Addie's. Gunner snoozed in Vesper's crib while I handed out candy, drank a glass of wine (or two), and watched Netflix. Best Halloween ever. :)

I will do my best, my very best, to blog more frequently. I've asked Matt if I can get a personal assistant but it's not looking good.