Let's Start With Astro Camp

So, the girls came home from our trip not feeling very well. That resulted in another week of not conforming to our schedule. They did get a lot of rest, but that was about it. Not much got accomplished. We even missed swimming and a new science club for girls we were invited to. Luckily, Astro Camp was on Friday. I had already signed them up and paid for it so I was glad they were feeling better by then. We got to attend two different classes: work and machines, and Newton's laws of motion. I have to say, the lady who taught the work and machines class was the most boring teacher I have ever encountered. It was a bit painful to watch. Thankfully, the other guy more than made up for her. He was very funny, had the kids laughing the whole time, and did some really fun demonstrations. He even got my kids to participate and volunteer to answer questions. That is a special talent!



When I did my grocery shopping last week I must have been feeling in a fall mood. I was looking at all the delicious baskets of apples and thinking it would be fun to make caramel apples. I bought all the stuff for it, but with the week in bed we didn't get around to making them until Sunday. Brandon was a little anal about his, and yes, they did look very nice. Sophie's didn't turn out quite as pretty, but I promised her it would taste just as good. Can you guess whose is whose?



And just to share a bit about my birthday -- I got up and made Brandon some french toast for breakfast. I also had a couple gifts for the girl's that I've been saving for the right occasion, and decided they would think it was fun if I gave them to them on MY birthday -- especially since we aren't giving gifts this year! It worked. They were so good the whole day. They each made me a card, plus they bought one (I told them cards were ok). And they made a pinata for me out of a paper towel roll, decorated with tissue paper. Nobody else got a turn because I whacked it on my first try. We went out to dinner, and I splurged and got an Italian soda AND dessert. I needed to go do some shopping for some pj's, and since we were by the mall I took advantage of that opportunity. Brandon wanted to go look at pants for him, and the girls always need to look at clothes. We found some Christmas dresses for them, so it was a party for the whole family. The cashier heard the girl's talking about how much each item cost and trying to decide if they really wanted it. She said she'd never seen kids so concerned about the cost. We told her how they have to buy their own clothes, and it's really worked to teach them to budget well. So, it was all around a great day -- and now we get to look forward to celebrating with Brandon in a few weeks!