October

We missed Ryan for most of this month while he was working in China.  Here are a few things we did to keep busy...

• Rachael went to school and did homework.  She got 100% on her last three spelling tests!
• She also got her report card.  She is doing well and enjoys school.
• I taught field trip classes a few days a week at Kelley Farms.  Best. Job. Ever.
• For fall break I had to teach classes both days, so I set up playdates for Rachael while I was at the farm.  She thought it was the best fall break ever. 
• Rachael got to go to a birthday party for her friend Madi.  She came home with new fingernail polish and a pumpkin covered in glitter. She had lots of fun!
• I only forgot to put the garbage cans out one time.  Success.
• We went to a birthday party for Rachael's friend Camilla and had a wonderful time.  We are thankful to have so many great friends.
• The first Sunday Ryan was gone Rachael wanted to watch a Star Wars  movie, so we watched Return of the Jedi.  (It beats any of the Barbie movies.)
• Our friends the Rayburns had their new baby boy and we got to visit them in the hospital.
• I bought a Han Solo ice cube mold.  And a titanium spork.
• We went to a goodbye party for our friends the Tippets.  The party was fun but we will miss them terribly.  But we wish them well in Indiana!
• We took some pictures of the fall foliage.  Until the battery in the camera died. 
• We watched two episodes of Halloween Wars on the Food Network.  Then Rachael had a nightmare so I won't tell her there are two more.
• One Sunday the water heater started shooting water out the top.  It took me a few minutes to find the problem in the basement, so the basement flooded as well. (Fortunately most stuff is up off the floor, however a couple of cardboard boxes will never be the same).  I waited till Monday to call a plumber so I wouldn't have to pay a fortune for weekend rates, but it was Tuesday before they were able to fix it.  Two days without hot water was tough but we made it.
• The battery in my car died one morning when I stopped for gas.  I had to have the car towed to the repair shop.  Fortunately they diagnosed the problem and fixed it quickly, and my friend Cathy drove us over to pick up the car the next day.
• We decorated green pumpkins to look like Frog and Toad for the library pumpkin contest. 
• We (intentionally) missed the bus for the first time this year so I could drive Rachael to school and drop off the pumpkins.
• We went to the joint ward Trunk or Treat. 
• We missed Ryan, and we are looking forward to having him home for a few weeks.