7:48 -- Rachel and Sam crawl into bed with us. This isn't as fun as it sounds because we only have a double bed. We all doze/jump around until 8:15 or so, when Dave takes the kids downstairs. I fully wake up around 8:30. I do dishes, take a shower, drink some smoothie, and generally get ready to go. Since I'm fighting a cold I also ask Dave to make a pot of tea so I can drink that instead of my normal weekend coffee-hot chocolate mix.
9:51 -- We head out the door to Tot Shabbat. This is the Jewish version of Sunday School. We get there about fifteen minutes late since Sam and Rachel don't understand how the concept of time works and we get sick of rushing them out the door :) Today the kids learned about mitzvot (commandments or good deeds) and they made sugar cookies for the fellowship time after the service.
11:35 -- We leave Tot Shabbat and head to the mall. We were attempting to get flu shots but kids under age six can't get them at pharmacies; we need to make a doctor's appointment. Boo. We eat lunch at the food court, do some miscellaneous errands like buying stamps and soap and winter boots for Rachel, and play on the iPads at The Apple Store. We also checked out the beautifully decorated Christmas Trees which are being raffled off as a fundraiser. Sam especially liked the Lego one!
3:04 -- We get home and Dave heads out to deliver the flyers which I didn't get done yesterday. I put away our purchases and the kids eat popcorn and watch a Fireman Sam video. I do some blogging, some photo sorting, and help Dave make supper. I also take a brief nap.
4:57 -- We eat supper and head out to the opening night of Wonders Of Winter, our city's annual light display in the park. We each get to carry a candle, we sing songs, and we watch an amazing fireworks display. Sam and I get to meet our new mayor and our ward councillor. After being reassured that he is indeed alive, but won't bite, Rachel also meets our new mayor. (We think maybe she thought the mayor was a "bear" which I guess sounds similar to "mayor.") Ironically, we didn't see many of the light displays, nor did we get to ride the horse drawn cart through the park, but we will go back again sometime in December. We had a really great time and decided to make opening night an annual tradition.
I'm so excited about how these fireworks pictures turned out. I love them!
Most of the light displays are of secular Christmas scenes or kids' characters, but I wanted to get a picture of this one.6:55 -- We stop to buy socks, hats and mittens for our church's Advent Tree. Every Sunday we will bring these up during our offering time to decorate our tree. They get donated to a local subsidized housing community near our church.
8:05 -- I put Rachel to bed. She'd rather it was Dave's turn and has a major meltdown, so it does not go well at first. Eventually she falls asleep in my arms as I rock her.
8:43 -- I finish writing this blog post.
9:42 -- I throw a load of laundry in the dryer and head off to read in bed. Normally I would stay up later on a Saturday night but I'm not feeling well and tomorrow is another full day.