Sunday, November 5, 2017

Early Birthday Gift and Camping

Since Elliot's birthday is in December and within two weeks, he receives all the gifts and then has to wait an entire year to get another surprise, we decided to surprise him this week with an early birthday gift. One happy boy on his new  bicycle:
He has outgrown his balance bike and was ready for a big boy bike. The training wheels will come off next week when he knows how to use the bike properly. I have a feeling, he will have no issues racing off. Now his sister just needs to up her game and get more confident on her bike to keep up with him. 
On Friday, my company hosted their annual Chili cook-off. All employees were invited to bring in their best pot of Chili to participate and win a prize and add their name to the plaque on the wall. I participated and made my first ever Chili recipe. Then it was time to taste 14 different recipes. 
Some were spicy, some meaty, some nutty (yes, one submission contained walnuts) and some were not my favorite. While I didn't win, I heard several people voting for my submission. My husband also was a big fan of it, which is a win in my book. Maybe I try next year again. It definitely was a tasty way to start off the weekend.

Saturdays are for fixing things. Elliot is a big helper around the house. Here he is fixing the cat's scratching post while Amelia is fixing my hair:
Because the weather went from 39F last Sunday to 75F on Saturday, we decided that it is a great night to camp out in the backyard. So while Derrick set up the tent, I prepared hot dogs and the kids collected fire wood. But first, we had to look for birds:
Dinner:
And for dessert we ate S'mores made over our newly built fire pit. Amelia and I worked hard to put this together during the lunch hour. 
After a quick shower (courtesy of being in our own backyard), it was time for a good night story and some star gazing inside the tent. The tent is quite spacious and had plenty of room for a couple of folding chars and air mattresses for the kids. 
 
Good night, sleep tight:
Amelia actually went to sleep after a few minutes but Elliot did not. Both kids came inside to spend the night in their own beds but loved the experience of camping in a tent. I can see many more adventures happening around that tent in the future. 

Today, we finished the weekend off with some household chores and sewing lessons for this little lady. She is so happy to be learning how to sew. This is a Mini Sewing machines that works so much better than the kids' sewing machine she had received for her birthday. Her barbies will be sleeping well tonight in their newly sowed sleeping bags.
Now, it is almost time to pick up my "little" brother from the airport. We are so happy that he will be staying with us for the next week. Derrick will be out of town on a business trip starting tomorrow, but we have lots of fun things planned to keep us busy. 

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