Out of the Rut Weekend

It has been a great weekend.
Jack and I got a burst of energy on Saturday and decided to clean out our front hall closet. We emptied the entire closet, scrubbed it out and got rid of the spider webs.  We could not believe the things we found! Wayne and Sally's backpacks from grade school, hot packs for keeping hands warm that expired in 2006, a George Burns doll, an game ball from Wayne's Little League days... it was amazing. We got rid of lots of stuff and now we actually have room to hang up visitors' coats. It was four hours well spent.

we took everything out of closet. I have no idea how it all fit

Wayne memorabilia

After that productive day, we had a fun dinner with our old (young) neighbors, Joe and Michele. We made it an early dinner, as in 4:30, so that we could get in a good visit before the Cubs game. Joe and Michele are huge Cubs fans and we wanted them to have their full attention for the historic game. After dinner, we went back to Michele and Joe's and watched the game with them and their four kids. So much fun. It was great to experience this momentous event with this family. Only thing that would have made it better is if they still lived next door.

cute Cub fans

On Sunday, Jack and I accompanied Jenny and Abbie to the Holocaust Museum. Abbie is doing a novel study in 5th grade and learning about the Holocaust and that era. She was interested to know more. She is such a kind-hearted, caring, feeling kind of girl and the stories she has read about the Holocaust have made a huge impact on her. Our family field trip was a success. We all benefited.One of the best parts was the videos of survivors' personal stories. So moving, so incredible, so impactful. Also, I would like to return to this museum and spend more time at the new exhibit for 8-12 year olds. It's all about bullying and being an upstander rather than a bystander when you see some one not being treated fairly.

Upstander Abbie

amazing

I started this post on Sunday night. It's now Wednesday night and I am just getting back to it!
It's been a busy week so far with two IEP meetings. Jack has been in Nashville and I am getting ready to head out and pick him up from the airport. The second World Series game is on in the kitchen, with the Cubs leading 4-0 in the 6th. They lost the first game last night, but no one is hitting the panic button. I don't want to be a fair weather fan and pretend that I am a huge Cubs fan because I am not, but it's very exciting for all my friends and relatives that have waited a long time  for this. I am all in for the Cubs. Go Cubs Go!

I love a nice long weekend

There's nothing quite like Columbus Day weekend. It comes at just the right time in the school year, about six weeks in and everyone is ready for a little break in the action. This year I also have an Institute Day tacked on. Tomorrow I am going to a day long training about narrative language assessments (which I can totally use with my ED kiddos). It will be long, but it will be different and I will look forward to being back in the classroom on Wednesday.
This holiday weekend was extra special because Jack and I watched Ellie while Matt and Sally went to Napa to celebrate Matt's 30th (which was October 2). It could not have gone any better! Ellie is so easy and so sweet and we could sit and admire her for hours on end. Ellie arrived on Friday morning after she and Matt dropped off Sally at work. I only had to work 1/2 day in the pm so I was around all morning. We enjoyed visiting with Matt, our super great son-in-law, and he was patient listening to our stories and hanging out with us. At 10 am, while Ellie was down for her morning nap, Jack and Matt picked up Sally from work and they headed straight to the airport. How fun is that???
We did not do anything too extraordinary with Ellie. At 13 months, she is just as happy sitting on Grandpa Jack's lap and reading books, or going to Kramer's (Friday night)  or Kirschbaum's (Saturday morning). We also went to Nina's soccer game on Saturday morning. It was the most beautiful weather, as was the rest of the weekend. Abbie and Nina came back to our house with us (a long overdue visit) and later Jenny and Charley came to pick them up for a sleepover at Jenny's.
We loved visiting with Abbie and Nina. Ellie loves them so much and they are so good with her. Abbie and Nina are so mature! It is kinda crazy. We had a ball playing Kids Charades and then asking/answering questions from our question box. One of the best? Who is your most unusual relative? Abbie answered, "It has to be you, Jack. Being unusual isn't bad. It can be very good. You are unusual because when anyone is with you, you just make them want to burst out laughing. You are so funny". Love it!

On Sunday, we had to take Ellie to Bob and Mary's. Jack and I decided that Matt and Sally need to take longer trips so we can have Ellie with us for longer periods of time!
One of the highlights of Sunday evening was a facetime call with Wayne and Julie to catch up. Always good for my soul to talk to the kids.
Also this weekend we were finishing up the whole Hurricane Matthew situation. Bucky is still in Florida and did not evacuate with Paul to Pensacola. We were worried about Bucky, but were thrilled that he did not get much damage and any power outages. Praise God!!

Kirschbaum's cookie #1 of the weekend

first thing in the morning cuddles

Hey, these cookies are little!

what's that you say, Grandpa Jack?