Catching Up (Ish)

This morning, as I was stuck in bumper to bumper traffic waiting to get around a rainy day wreck and running progressively later and later for the class I was about to teach, I noticed that my sister had posted a new blog. Since I wasn't going anywhere, I decided to read while I waited. That was totally safe. 95 was a parking lot. Also, it was a great blog, and if you haven't read it, you should just go read hers and not worry about mine.

It was Character Dress Up Day today for our co-op.
I was Sleepy. Literally as well.

At any rate, reading her blog made me realize that November was upon us, and (behold!) there had been no blog this month. And then, when the traffic finally cleared out and we made it to the house where I was supposed to teach, I put the car in park and Bruiser decided it was a good time to blow some chunks. So, needless to say, we turned around and came home, and I found myself with a little bit of free time on my hands simply because I didn't teach today. Other than my own kids. Who still had to suffer through a shortened and probably not as fun version as what they would've gotten if we'd made it to co-op. Even Bruiser, who has been totally fine since managing to rearrange all of our plans and spent the afternoon outside happily playing football in the mud with his brothers.

The Man lugging our pumpkin.

The kids checking out some pigs at the farm we went to
with awesome friends.

The reason it is the last week of October and I am just now trying to hammer out a blog is simply because I am lazy. And also because we moved here less than four months ago, and we have already managed to do four out of town trips (three of them out of state) as well as joining a church, jumping into a co-op, meeting our neighbors, trying to do cool sight seeing homeschool mom field trippy things, and generally running a family. But mostly because I am lazy. And have been using my writing time for other things. But it could also be the lazy thing.

We got the kids over to the Marine Corps Museum
for some history!

Autumn happy.

Speaking of Marines, the Man brought me home this coffee.
I drank it and yelled, "Come on, you sons of Frizzells,
do you want to live forever?"
Then made the kids do PE with me.

Now, however, I find myself with too much stuff to jam into one blog. Do I tell you about shark teeth fossil hunting on the Maryland side of the Potomac? Or tracking down Indonesian food in downtown Philadelphia after standing in line for an hour and a half to see the Liberty Bell? Or the gorgeous fall leaves outside my bay window and the fires that have been cheering up our fireplace as the weather has gotten colder? Or how surreal it was to actually get to go in a library (by appointment, with masks on, after our temperature had been taken and we had been warned not to touch anything EVER unless it was coming home with us)?

Introducing the kids to Indonesian food.
It was a total win.
Tiny's yard long mie ayam noodle was his favorite.

That bowl was licked clean before she was done.
Metaphorically. She wasn't raised in a trailer park.

I was in my happy place. And so was the Man.

Or maybe I won't tell you about any of those things as the couch cushion covers (say that five times fast) just finished in the dryer and I have to figure out if I shrunk them too badly to put them back on?

This is us at Independence Hall.
We opted not to wait half a life time in a socially distanced queue
in order to go in.

We did wait forever to see the Liberty Bell though.
Kids said it was worth it.
Evidently they are highly motivated by history.
I'm highly motivated by coffee. And books.

Proof Twinkle and I were there.
Her permanent attachment to me was due to
a security guard who made the critical mistake of trying
to befriend her. Never make that mistake.
She is cute but terrifying. And also easily terrified.

Now that all the couch cushions have been put back on, I will answer the burning question you all had: no, I did not wash them due to barf. They started to inextricably smell like urine, which could be because we've had those couches for nine years and they sat in storage for a year and a half after a hurricane. Or it could be the five kids and three pets. Who knows! Such excitement in our home!

Incidentally, we didn't take the kids to a racist pub.
They were at Snow White Bar-B-Que.
Promise.

Getting to see my mother-in-law
is always a win in my book.
And worth every hour of driving,
even the one stuck behind a tractor going 3 mph.
Luckily, I had a book on me.

Also, getting to see my brother-in-law same same.

And my sister-in-law. 
Said bro-in-law got way better pictures that day,
but now I can't find them.

Here's my oldest sister
preparing for her future as an instagram influencer.
#cutiewithacremepuff

And Twinkle... because autumn...and boots.

And now I have just fifteen minutes left before I have to start churning out tacos for my horde (this blog was written in shifts, which makes it really confusing to read), so I think I'm going to slap some pictures in this blog so you can see what we've been up to...and call it a day. Blog check mark for the win. MOVING ON. Well, after I give you three more pictures. 

Shark tooth fossils.
They are small but mighty.

Best company for shark tooth hunting.

Intrepid paleontologists.
Also, proof this totally happened.
Who knew the Potomac River had shark teeth?

Are you not entertained?! Or merely overwhelmed by all the pictures... 

And now, since the kids have inhaled all the tacos (3 lbs of beef, 4 dozen taco shells/tortillas, and 2 cans of refried beans plus all the toppings--I kid you not), I think I'm going to go chuck their adorable selves in bed...and pray that our food budget can hold out for another few years. Here goes nothing!

Never mind, the Man chucked the kids in bed. So I'm now going to sit on my clean couch cushion covers (eat that alliteration) and revel in the quiet.