We Don't Need no Education!

The girls' papa has taught the girls the lyrics to the Pink Floyd song, and I couldn't help but feel that statement echoed in our community on election night.  Our district had a mill levy proposal on this year's ballot, and I had big hopes it'd pass, so we could build more schools, pay our teachers decently, and have more resources for our kiddos.  Unfortunately that was not the desire of the community as both issues were shot down, not even a close race.

I was livid!  How is education not a priority to everyone no matter if you have school-aged children or not?  We all know by now that Colorado is 48th in the country when it comes to education funding, and we, as a whole, are a very educated state (Denver, as a city, is the most educated city in the nation).  They said there were too many conservatives voting this election.  Some people complained there wasn't ample campaigning for the issue, but my feeling  - there shouldn't have to be.  When you see that on the ballot it's a no-brainer no matter what side of the table you're on.

Earlier that week I was in a meeting with Brooklynn's principal and we were analyzing the testing data and she started talking about the obstacles the school and teachers have right now.  I could immediately feel my blood pressure rising.  It took me back to my teaching days - 35 kids in my class, unattainable expectations from administrators, teaching some kids to read while challenging others at the same time, and constantly trying to appease parents.  Teachers have it easy, right?  The argument about 3 months off is bullshit too - I spent most of the summer taking classes to improve my teaching.  And then to make a measly salary to deal with all this?

So we have to sit back and wait to see what happens in our schools.  The district is talking of pay-freezes for teachers, year-round schedules for the elementary schools who are 200+ over capacity, and less resources for our children.  Are the teachers going to stick around for this?   How can we expect children to learn in the 21st century without the technology they need?

As the girls get older I know I'm getting closer to returning to work.  What I'm not sure about is what I'll be doing.  Don't get me wrong - I LOVE teaching.  There's nothing more fulfilling than watching a kid learn.  I just don't know if I can put up with the rest of it anymore.  And the schools are in worse shape now than they were when I left.  Returning to a stressful job where I'm getting paid 40% of Steve's salary (with a Master's degree) and constantly stressed out just doesn't appeal to me.  So if you find me behind the counter at Starbucks in 3 years don't be surprised.  I make a mean latte!

Cheese's Birthday

We all know how much Chandler anticipates this time of year to celebrate her birthday.  She plans her party for the entire year - making sure she knows who she'll invite, what type of cake she'll have, and where it'll be.  So there's always this pressure to make sure it's the best birthday yet!

This year she chose the pumpkin patch again for her venue.  We've had such great success there and everyone seems to enjoy it, so why fix it?  As usual, the weather was gorgeous, and the kids had a blast.

 Chandler and her best friend, Taylor

 Chasing J.D. & Sophia on the hay maze

 Run Elsa!

 Cupcake time

 She begged for a pinata!

 Time for some slides

We celebrated with the family after Halloween and the Thompson crew even flew in for the big celebration (more pics to come from that).  Since it was Bronco Sunday, we turned on the game, munched on some snacks, and ate pizza and cake to drown our sorrows from the Broncos loss.

Frozen cake (kinda......mom was on a major time crunch for this one)

 Her favorite part - the gifts

 This really captures her taking it all in and enjoying the attention!

 Tuesday morning we were off to Claire's for the moment she's been talking about for years - piercing her ears.  We decided 5 was a good age, so they could take care of the earrings.  Chandler wasn't scared at all and barely flinched.  There was only one employee that day, so she had to endure the pinch twice, but was a pro.

 Showing off her new bling with Aunt Carrie

 Such a ham!

 Guess who else just had to get them done too (after watching Chandler)!

 Had to do Chuck E Cheese to celebrate!

Stats
Height: 44 in (3' 8"  86th percentile)
Weight: 44 lb (78th percentile)

Favorites:
Food - Mac & cheese
Movie - Frozen (duh)
TV show - Peppa Pig
Book - Princess Collection
Sport - soccer
Team - CSU Rams (of course)
Song - Let it Go
Outdoor activity - Ride scooter
When I grow up I want to be a Veterinarian

Cheeseball, you've grown into such a sweetheart while maintaining your wit, charm, and smart brain!  We are so proud of you and can't wait to see what the future holds for you.

Halloween Festivities

Of course this Halloween was just like the others - a big deal in our house!  I make sure to have the girls choose their costumes early to make we have ample time to perfect them!  This year was no exception.  I knew immediately they dreamed of being Frozen characters - that movie is still the obsession around here.  When my friend, Jackie, sent me a pin of some costumes I thought i'd give it a go.  I mean, if every adolescent girl is going to be either Elsa or Anna I better make it unique, right?  Another bonus of 3 girls with a young one that is easily persuaded.

I don't know why, but for some reason, I have this obsession with homemade costumes.  I still remember my childhood costumes and putting them together with my mom.  We never shopped the shelves of the costumes stores (which, at that time I wanted to).  They were always unique and original - something I've come to appreciate!  I was worried the girls would want the "real" dresses from the movie, but they were ecstatic to have originals, and I even caught them bragging to some friends about them.  So although I may not have bragged about being a pumpkin to my friends, I'm thankful now they were handmade originals.  I don't want my girls to need what everyone else has.  I want them to be content with being original and a little different.

My little Elsa, Anna, and Olaf models

A few nights before Halloween we picked out a pumpkin at a local farm to carve.  Luckily we were able to persuade the girls into a "family" pumpkin.  They're always so excited to carve, but 5 minutes into the process and they're done.  Then you find mommy and daddy sitting at the table for hours carving the most difficult pattern they could find.

Getting the guts out

 Brooklynn was our stud carver.  She de-gutted and cut the face.

After a quick dinner on Friday we were off to trick-or-treat.  The girls had big plans of scouring the entire neighbor and staying out late.  They were efficient with their time - running from house to house cutting through the side yards.  Poor Ady was left behind yelling at them to wait.  Next year she'll be right there with them.  They fell short of making it to the entire hood, because they always love to come back and hand out candy to the trick-or-treaters.

 Our posse (JD & Sophia with the girls)

 Ady was always a few steps behind but sure loved it!

 Awwwww.....Chandler tried to help her, while Brooklynn yelled at her to hurry it up!

A New Hobby?

From the day Brooklynn was born we've been snapping pics, trying to capture every little moment of our girls' lives.  We've always invested in a decent camera, but after pricing out pictures with photographers I figured investing in a nice DSLR was the way to go.  My only regret is that I didn't do it sooner!  I think anyone can be a photographer with these days with these incredible digital cameras.  With fall upon us I wanted to put our camera to use and try to avoid paying a fortune for the typical family fall pictures.  

So I took the girls out a couple times to practice.  Of course it's not easy getting them presentable and somewhat matching.  Uggghhh!  We decided to do a picture swap with our neighbors, the Ochs, so we could get some family pictures without the big price tag.  Turns out it worked quite well.  My strategy - take LOTS of pictures, because there's bound to be one with all 3 kids looking at the camera.  Here's what we took:

 Sometimes the easiest way to get them all looking is by laying down.......

 This girl can't take a bad picture!

 Just love her gorgeous eyes!

Love the ones of her laughing!

 The sunsets at Eastlake (very close to our house) are always amazing!  Those colors are real!

 Photo credit to Steph on our new family pic!

Precious Time with my Bug

I'm a little torn about our parenting with Ady.  While she hasn't been able to do all the activities her little sisters did, she is everyone's "baby" and we sure give into her and anything she wants.  I was excited to have the opportunity to do those missed activities with her this year, since Brooklynn is gone all day and Chandler is at school 3 mornings a week.  Up first - gymnastics class!  We spent the last 6 Wednesday mornings practicing our bear crawls, swinging on the rings, and even perfecting the somersault.  The class was for 2 and 3 year olds, but not surprisingly, Ady was the tallest.  She did a great job following directions, staying in line, and was exceptionally coordinated.  Of course we know gymnastics is nowhere in her near future with her height, but it was great practice to listen to a teacher and follow directions and just spend some time with mommy!  

She absolutely loved the class, and we'll miss it.  It's been tough choosing activities, because at this age they are all with mommy, and this girl is so independent.  Next up......maybe dancing or soccer in the spring.  

Fall Time is a Comin'......

With a relatively cool summer (by Colorado standards) I wasn't sure if fall would be too cold to enjoy all the activities.  When the girls were little we made sure to visit as many pumpkin patches, fall festivals, whatever to enjoy the spirit.  Now it seems like these places are taking advantage of the fall spirit and charging a mere fortunate just to jump on a bouncy house or run through a corn maze.  Now we're always looking for fun and affordable.

Last weekend we met up the Deegans for a fall festival in Denver.  Of course admission was free but each activity was overpriced and tough to say no to demanding kiddos.  The kids had the best time after we finished by playing with empty root beer bottles and making instruments.  Just goes to show you they don't need much to stay entertained!

The kids on the hayride

 Panning for gold

 Loving on Sawyer

On Tuesday I was searching for more fall activities and happened to see that the berry farm near us (which we never made it to this summer) was still open.  It was not only open but super busy with field trips.  The girls absolutely loved picking the raspberries (which were delicious).  We may need to make a trip back next week when the strawberries are ready.

 Picnic lunch with the chickens

Now onto finding more fun fall stuff to keep us busy!

We were lucky enough to have some visitors during Steve's birthday.  The girls were anticipating Baby Cal Cal's arrival for weeks (and Carrie & Josh).  Our time was mostly filled with the girls chasing Callen to pick him up and love on him.  He may have not enjoyed it, but they sure did!

 Chasing Callen at the museum

Starting the chicken fights early.  Ady needs to learn how to hold her own.  

Callen with the death grip!

Lovin' his mama

 On Friday (Steve's actual birthday), Ady and I picked up him up a Chai Tea and Santiago's burrito (his fave) and surprised him at work.  Ady wanted to stay - who would want to leave with an endless supply of M & Ms?

That evening we had everyone over for dinner and cake to celebrate.  Brooklynn's school was supposed to have an outdoor movie, but fall hit early so it was rained out.  

Daddy & his girlies

 Saturday morning after soccer we hit the road to Ft. Collins to watch the CSU game.  It was hot hot hot!  Summer had returned.  The girls had fun running and jumping off the bleachers and even better the Rammies won!

 We're a little obsessed!

As we get older, the birthdays get bigger for the kids and less significant for us but this was D

definitely a memorable celebration.  Happy Birthday babe!