Seven.Seven Years

 7.7 Years

• The first day here and the whole first week, you have been such a great big sister and taught JoJo how to ride your bike with no training wheels. Our driveway has a perfect down slop s she could work on her balance. You were great at cheering her on and being excited for her accomplishment. 
• Family fail moment: We heard how great this Harvest festival is. It is the city's celebration but you need tickets for it. We wanted to do a family adventure day. We narrowed it down to the beach, the river, or the Harvest festival. We decided to get work done in the morning and afternoon and then do the festival that night. We get to the place with they shuttle you in and all the tickets are sold out. If we had known, we would have gone to the beach or something. Instead, we found Wild Robot playing in Salem. We head over there. We had some time to kill, so we took you guys to the cake shop (amazing!), and then headed over for the guys to go to Sierra Trading Post and us girls to Ulta Beauty (where you got red lip stick comically all over your face and clothes). We made our way to the movie theater. Waited seriously 20 min in line, got up to the employee, only for them to tell us that Wild Robot comes out next week. There were no kid movies. So bummed. We drove all the way home. The redeeming part was that you girls made a really cool fort in your room and got to watch Paw Patrol while the older kids watch Harry Potter.
• We have been able to see cousins so much such moving here. It has been so much fun. We went to October Fest with the Smiths. We had a blast trying the different foods and going on the carnival rides. You were able to do the big slide, the trampoline jump, and the train ride. The dads waiting in line to get you all balloon animals, but those didn't last long. 
• Oh gosh, we had another Millie disaster this month. Dad has been gone back packing for the last 10 days. We decided to have a friends day after school. We invited Maddy over. Her mom wanted to meet us so she came to the house. I thought she would be here for a few minutes, but ended up staying an hour. It got so chaotic there. Maggie had two friends over, Sam was pouting because his friend went home sick during school so he had no one, Dad was facetiming us because he finally got a spot of reception, and you asked to paint. I told you to paint outside on the green table. While I am trying to manage this choas while hosting Maddy's mom, you come running back in asking if you could use the science squirt bottle. I figured you were finished painting and was moving onto science now. Nope. You put water down purple paint into the squirt bottle and Jackson Pollack styled the cement. I couldn't yell at you (trying to look like a good parent) and say that I would have you help me clean it up afterwards. While, the mom finally left, I was face timing Dad while pulling out the hose (we hadn't even set it up yet) to come to find out that it won't wash off. We tried soap, hydrogen peroxide, and paint thinner. None of it. We finally borrowed a power washer from the Smiths. It only worked if we had it on the most powerful setting. So the pain came off but so did the rocks. We are hoping that after a winter, dirt will settle in and make it look better. 
• This month, we explored Silver falls, walking over to the park to play pickle ball, having Elaine over for a pizza night, and riding your bike all over the neighborhoods by yourself.
• Jog-a-thon was this month. I signed up to help set up. I joked with the other moms that they should get the Wild Cat suit. Well, I ended up being the Wild cat for the whole event. You had no idea beforehand so when your class walked out, you kept looking at me. It took you a wild, and me jokingly blowing kisses to you, that you realized it was me. You laughed and loved it.