Sleepover!

On Friday night, Owen, Sammy, and Lily Howard came over for a sleepover.  All six kids were quite excited; Sammy apparently woke up saying "we get to have a sleepover with Louise tonight!!"  A great time was had by all on Friday evening - at one point, Sammy, Lily, and Louise were busy trimming the hair of stuffed animals. They had a lively discussion over whether they could treat, then trim, animals with fleas, or should simply turn them away at the door.  Around 9pm, the Howards wanted to collapse, whereas Louise had insomnia ("Sleep?  But I have an audience!!!").  Charlotte & Claire were delighted to be around so many big kids, but they were happy to have their own, separate sleepover in Charlotte's room.  Amy Howard was kind enough to capture this "before" moment:

Field trips galore

At the end of September, we enjoyed a visit from Pops and Grammy, and even had the opportunity to clean Pops' car!

In October, with a little encouragement from Louise, Claire discovered dresses!  These are identical, reversible dresses:

Last weekend, we had a lovely meal with our beloved Ms. Judy.  That afternoon, Charlotte came up to Mommy and asked, "Mommy, can I get my whup on?" Took us a minute, but we realized she wished to put the artificial whipped topping on the chocolate pudding pie.


Yesterday, all three girls went on field trips.  Louise went to the 911 call center.  She was sweetly proud of one of her classmates, who picked up the phone in the "smoke house", called 911, and told the operator his address.  "He's really smart, and a bit quiet.  I'm not jealous, I just really like his personality!"

Charlotte & Claire had the opportunity to milk a fake cow, feed real goats, take a hay ride, enjoy a rather wet picnic lunch, and jump in the corn crib at Ganyard Farm pumpkin patch:

Guv'ment

Claire & Charlotte attended a birthday party today.  One boy's Daddy is on furlough, and during the journey home, we discussed the government shutdown, "who is the government", etc.  Claire thought for a bit, then said, "Can you & Daddy be my government, Mommy?"  Why yes, yes I can, and you will never have a government shutdown.  Claire also won't have the opportunity to vote Mommy out of office for unpopular actions, but given the gerrymandered districts in the US, one could debate our ability to remove elected officials.  "I choose you to be my government, Mommy," Claire concluded.

During a car journey, Daddy braked suddenly to avoid injuring a small rodent.  "Daddy has a squirrel habit," the girls concluded about learning of the taxidermy squirrel in Pops and Granny's attic, and Daddy's evident attachment to it.

 

Claire started tae kwon do lessons this weekend.  We have no photographic proof of the event, however, because after the first 20 - 25 minutes, she decided it was horrible, awful, intolerable, and she didn't want to be a ninja any more.  Ninja don't quit, however, so we'll be back again next Friday - maybe we'll obtain proof then.

Party time

It's been party central in Hillsborough, NC.  First came the Cameron Park Fall Festival, where we won five (!!) goldfish, ate yummy food truck food, and had our faces and nails decorated:

Next, C&C's classmate Hannah's birthday at Pump It Up:

Finally, the Coach House Lane birthday party ("Let Them Eat Cake!"), because seven adults had birthdays within a couple of weeks of one another:

And just because she's adorable, and recently discovered that BOTH of her chromosomes are X:

So all these parties have left us all:

More vocational training

The day before Charlotte was diagnosed with pneumonia, daycare was closed.  Mummy, Charlotte, and Claire headed to Graham, NC, to see the Art of the Brick exhibit, and then played at the Alamance County Children's Museum.  The four year-olds enjoyed putting on a thrash metal version of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star:

They also explored life as health professionals:

This weekend, we spent time at Gold Park, making silly faces and putting Daddy through a TSA-style pat-down:

Louise continues to enjoy school, and (touch wood) everyone seems to be feeling well.