Thankful for...
1. Bibs that cover their sleeves! And yes, my daughter has nutella for breakfast. She also wants to wear a headband every morning but it usually just makes it through breakfast.
2. Realizing Kai would love Suduko puzzles. He loves math and logic. Perfect for when he needs a little break from playing with Koen.
3. Seeing the kids excited over simple things. Kai used his tooth fairy money for tooth #2 to buy a pack of gum. I know I'm a bit mean but the only money they are allowed to spend as they wish is their tooth fairy money so I always love seeing what they decide to do.
4. Relaxing Saturday/Sunday mornings. This doesn't always happen with sessions/weddings but this weekend it did! The boys helped Gary prep french toast with raspberry sauce. Kai wants to go to culinary school.
5. Fall walk in the leaves. So great. This is Koen's `You took me away from my cars so I'm going to go on this walk but I am NOT going to enjoy it. I'm especially not going to enjoy this big leaf that I think is so cool' face.
6. Bottle donations!! We had two big donations this week! We have decided that half will go to the Menchies fund and half will go to support our friend (old student of mine and bball player of Gary's) Sam. If you would like to donate bottles, please let me know:) Also, picked up 3 groupons for Menchies today which means we save even more! For $15.00 our family of 5 will be able to go 3 times.
7. Piles of leaves. I know I said walks already but piles to play in (and put them down your mommy's pants, thanks Koen) are awesome.
8. Dental Care! There are not many places to go to remember my mom. The Run for the Cure, the church we grew up in, Green Lake, my oma's house, and...the dental office! My mom worked there for 20 something years so we definitely have a connection to it. It doesn't have all the newest bells and whistles but we love my mom's old coworkers. Koen and I went this week and there are no cavities for us! When I was in Kenya, the kids would clean their teeth with a stick so I am definitely thankful for all of the oral care we get here!
Koen: Why do we need to go the dentist?
Me: To make sure we don't have cavities.
Koen: What are cavities?
Me: Holes in your teeth?
Koen: Poles?!
Me: No, holes.
Koen: Well, you don't want poles in them either.
9. My owl mug. It makes me happy. I drink 1-2 cups of coffee in the morning and then just hot water throughout the day. We aren't turning on our gas fireplace this year for safety reasons (Nya) so are finding other ways to stay warm :)
10. Awesome memories of Poett Nook. Growing up, we would go to Poett Nook near Bamfield, BC (west coast of Vancouver Island) for about 2 weeks to fish like crazy. We did this every year for about 10 years? The owners were awesome and it was solid family time. We could identify different types of salmon, take turns getting up at 5am to go fishing with my dad, and catch (and clean!) our limit. There was always some seasickness but I don't think any of us will forget Cree Island. My mom was soooooo brave and hardworking to have all 5 of us camping there for the 2 weeks. The last time I went, I was about 19 years old. Not sure if we'll get back there again...the roads are pretty wild to get there! I love that we go with our family to Ucluelet (very close to Poett Nook but on paved roads!) every spring break.
I hope you have a wonderful Thursday!
We will be trick or treating tonight and also handing out candies to about 300 (?) kids in 2 hours (sooo many kids here!!).
Love, Louise
PS Potty training Nya started yesterday. I'll update you later, it's been interesting!!