More Exciting happenings!

October 24, our storage stuff finally arrived.  This is the stuff that we put into storage over 6 years ago when we left Louisiana for Iwakuni.  I had no idea how well it had faired in the non-temp-controlled storage facility for so long. 

We were excited when the truck finally showed up!  They said they had 2400 pounds to deliver.

Funny thing.  This was the first thing they unloaded.And it is not ours.  I've never seen this before in my life.  But I guess it is ours now.

This was the second thing off the truck.  The driver was so apologetic.  He said when they loaded this on the truck he had to double check that they actually intended for him to deliver this in that condition.

I'm pretty sure it fell off the truck once or twice as it went into storage.

Everything else looked okay.  Dirt, musty, a little mildew-smelling, but overall, I was surprised how well it went.  We just had them unload it all into the garage to air out and we thoroughly cleaned things as we prepared to move them to a more permanent home.  We did re-home the washer and dryer set (since the house came with them), two dressers and a nice loft bed.  The bookshelf and 9 book boxes are still in the garage, airing out, three weeks later.  The books are just so smelly!

 

Semi-exciting happenings

Someone was selling this little beauty at a price I couldn't pass up.  So I didn't.  And now it is mine!

I tried a new pumpkin spice breakfast cookie recipe.  They were not sweet.  So I frosted them.  And then they were acceptable.  I did make them in my new Kitchen Aid!

My oldest child came down from college for a quick weekend visit. I have been working on my vegan recipes and funny enough, this is the only photo I took that weekend! This is vegan chili.  And yes, it was delicious!

Marian and I have been prepping for our race.  I was trying to get a photo of how beautifully this kid floats when she runs.  She just looks so chill and relaxed.  Even after 17 miles. 

Yep.  We went 17 miles that day. 

I have no idea what this picture was on my phone!  But it was, so here's Levi.

 

What has Callie been doing?

Callie did spend almost 2 weeks with Adam.  She enjoyed helping with homeschool and hanging out and seeing hw their family did things. Then she flew to AR with them.

She arrived safely in AR and was happy to be met by more family.

And she enjoyed the traditional pilgrimage to Andy's Frozen Custard with her grandfather.

She spent a few days at her Aunt Deborah's.

She got to participate in a clean up service project with Deborah's family. She said she really enjoyed it.

We FaceTimed every day!  I do love this kid!  And I miss her!

She went on to spend a few days with her Aunt Miranda and I guess there are no photos of that!  oops.

 

Macarons? Yes Please!

You know Rylee loves macarons.  And she knows how to make them herself.

She wanted to put decorations on the cookies, so she experimented a little.

What we learned is that the heavier eye candies sunk into the cookies when they baked if you put them on before they sat.  If you waited and put them on right before cooking, they did not sink.

Either way, they came out looking amazing and tasting great!  Rylee does good work!

What we've been up to

Levi needed a picture taken so I could send it to Callie. Levi wanted to take his bone outside to show his friend.

This is the next door neighbor's dog, Sky.  Sky has been diligently working on this hole for the last month.  

She did finally make it through, much to the delight of Levi and the girls.  Apparently the neighbor was not so delighted. 

They have hammered a board across the hole and later added rocks.  I'm kind of sad about that, I think it would have been fun for the dogs to get to hang out together!

Finishing a run with Marian.  We are training for our race in November and it is tricky to get the timing right.  I want to leave late enough to get the cooler weather, but I hate running in the dark here.  The streetlights are too few and far apart.  And the car headlights blind me.  

Rylee in her new favorite shirt.

Dad sent me flowers on Mom's Death-Aversary.  They were beautiful and made me cry. 

And this was our air filter after 2 months in this house.  Why did I take a photo?  To send my dad, of course!

Rylee decided she needed to eat a baguette.  Just because she could. So she did.

She said she always wanted to sit on a swing and eat one.  We don't have a swing. So she just ate it.But not all of it.  Because that is a lot of bread. Next time, I think there will be a baguette sword fight.