Happy Thanksgiving! (Although I could swear it's still October!)

November has flown by so quickly that I have to stop and think about what we actually did this month. After we all had a bout with the stomach virus, we have entrenched ourselves firmly in holiday traditions. Garrett graduated out of the preschool Thanksgiving program, but Paige entered it this year. So, last week found us all waiting with camcorders and cameras in hand as 50 preschoolers timidly took the stage.

To my surprise, Paige was actually quite unfazed by all the unfamiliar people staring at her, and performed most of the songs happily. She was distracted a few times by the child behind her who was stealing the decorative turkeys off the side and "dancing" them around the stage. Ahhh, three year-olds! The program was cute, and we enjoyed her "feast" of chips and sandwiches afterwards.

Garrett also made headlines by losing his top front tooth. He has lost both bottom front teeth already, but both were quickly replaced by adult teeth. This is the first time he has really had much of a gap, and being on the top has made it even more obvious. We all got a laugh out of his first few lisping attempts to say "this feels funny" without a front tooth.

Last week we also packed up and headed out to Tucson for Dave's annual bike race. He rode on Saturday, while the rest of us visited the T-Rex Museum with Tina and the cousins. I use the term "museum" lightly. The website touted it as a "scientist-led museum", where kids would get to learn from real paleontologists. Well, that was true, however, the absent-minded scientists running the place need a little image makeover. The entire museum was no bigger than my house, and was piled from floor to ceiling with fossils and knick-knacks. Our "tour guide" wore frayed shorts, a faded T-shirt, and flip-flops that were coming apart at every seam. I was a tad skeptical, but the kids actually had a fabulous time. After a short lecture on the "evolution" of dinosaurs, we got to the main attraction - the activities! The kids got to get in a large pool of sand and brush away the dirt to reveal a fossil underneath, they got to gold-pan for stones and little keepsakes, they used a brush on the "Magic Mountain" to revel marbles and stones, and they got to use a hammer to break open a geode (by far the best-loved activity for the boys!)

After our trip back in time, we went downtown to wait for Dave and Jeff at the finish line. Dave rode the 109 miles in about 6 and a half hours. It was a little slower than last year, but a pretty stiff headwind didn't help matters much! We had fun cheering him on at the finish line. Jeff rode the 66 mile race this year too. The cousins barely registered their dads' accomplishments, because they were far more excited about collecting the many acorns littering the ground around the finish line. Watch out squirrels!

We drove home Sunday in order to be ready for work and school Monday. Today, Garrett's class put on a short little Thanksgiving program. They dressed up like Pilgrims and Indians and sang a few songs, then enjoyed the traditional Thanksgiving lunch of pizza and chocolate milk.(which is much more appreciated by the kindergarten set than turkey and stuffing!) Tomorrow we'll head out of town again to spend Thanksgiving day with Dave's parents. Then we'll come back Thursday night to celebrate my birthday here with my family. Whew! No wonder I can't remember much of November....

The Dora 'Do

Our morning routine around the Bryson household goes something like this: Dad gets up insanely early to go bike riding, Mom grudgingly gets up with enough time to do all she needs to, Garrett gets up too early for his own good, and Paige sleeps until someone wakes her up and then comes out of her room usually wearing a "stink face". Let's just say that in our family of early risers, she is the black sheep. Garrett wakes up at 5:30 ready to play, jump on the bed, and run around. It's too bad Paige is little, because she needs a cup of coffee to get her ready for the day!

After breakfast and wrangling the kiddos into their school clothes, I always leave my least favorite chore for last...combing Paige's hair. I LOVE her long hair, and I so much enjoy braiding it, putting it into ponytails, and occasionally curling it into beautiful, long waves. Her hair is thick but very fine, which translates into just one word: Tangles! Recently I have grown weary of the scene which takes place daily in our bathroom:

Me: How do you want your hair today?

Paige: (excitedly) Ponytails!! Two! With PINK bands!

Me: OK, let's just brush it out first....

Paige: No! NO! NOOOOOOOOO!!! (accompanied by frantic hand motions which usually further tangle her hair)

Me: I'm being gentle. Just be still and it will be easier! -Cue loud and intense crying

Needless to say, I was tired of leaving the house every morning with a little girl who was really angry with me. So, I took the plunge and decided to cut her hair. (Sob!) She was very excited about the whole thing, even after I explained that she wouldn't be able to wear her pink ponytails anymore. (She really loves her pink ponytails, just not the process of making them!) She decided she wanted her hair to look like Dora the Explorer, so we visited the kiddie cut salon and came out looking like this:

It actually looks even cuter than this -this picture was taken after a 5 hour nap! (You read correctly, five whole hours! WOW! -Of course, that was after a night interrupted by her throwing up, so it doesn't really count) Anyway, I love it! I wish I had done it months ago! Yes, I'll miss her sweet ponytails, but it is so much easier, and it looks much more styled this way! We'll see how getting ready tomorrow morning goes. Maybe I'll get her a cup of coffee to help....

Aunt Freida was Pretty Scary...

With the recent time change and the leaves changing colors, we've finally begun to feel like "fall" around here. Last week was filled with excitement, from the Harvest Festival to Halloween, to a visit from my brother and sister-in-law. Most of the week was spent helping Garrett count down the number of days until Halloween. We don't really do much to celebrate it, but we do let the kids dress up and trick-or-treat a little around my parent's neighborhood. Garrett was REALLY excited about getting candy, and only slightly less excited about wearing his new Clone Trooper costume. (Forget that we haven't actually seen the Star Wars movie--apparently kindergarten word of mouth is enough to convince him this is the coolest costume ever!)
Jeff and Tina arrived late Thursday, so we let Garrett miss the afternoon at school on Friday to play with his cousins. Then they all "suited up" for a quick trip through the neighborhood. Paige finally agreed to wear her ladybug costume -no small feat, considering the mere thought of it had brought tears that very morning! I think seeing cousin Michaela dressing up was enough to spur her on! It was no surprise that Tina decided to don her "Aunt Freida" teeth (those buck teeth you can buy) and complete the outfit with a wig, old-lady dress, and a shawl. When Tina becomes "Aunt Freida" there is no stopping her -she has this alternate personality that only goes away when the teeth come out! Needless to say, Paige was completely freaked out by this strange person who suddenly appeared with us. She backed up completely against the wall and stared with huge eyes. Tina even took the outfit off for a second so Paige could see it was her, and Paige still refused to go anywhere near her. She whispered to me, "Mommy, I don't like the lady with the big teeth!"
We started out to visit my mom's neighbors, and Paige was clinging to my hand and keeping a 10 foot buffer between herself and "Aunt Freida". I was beginning to think we'd have to trick-or-treat by ourselves when Paige suddenly decided that this strange person wasn't going to hurt her, and she even began showing "Aunt Freida" all her candy. In the end, the kids had a great time. Garrett and Ryan had a contest to see who could ring the doorbell first, and to see who could keep the candy away from their dads!
Saturday we headed down to a park with good steep hills so we could try ice-blocking. This is an activity that Jeff decided to resurrect from our teenage years, when we would go with our church youth group. For those who've never tried it, you buy a large block of ice, put a towel on top of it, and "sled" down a grassy hill. It's lots of fun, especially because it's nearly impossible to stay on it the whole way down! The kids had a blast, and Jeff and I even raced each other down. Tina also raked a bunch of leaves into a pile so the kids could jump into it (which they did with great joy!!)
Now we're looking forward to a few weeks of cooler temperatures before we head out to Tucson for Dave's annual bike race. I love fall!