It has not been the easiest October on record. Kate had a couple of hospital visits to Rochester but she is somewhat better at the moment. She continues with chemotherapy and has not been back to school for quite some time but she is doing her best to set aside time for online school work between naps, loving on cats, and hanging out with her family. I was able to get the girls to visit their great grandma in western Iowa a few weeks back.
Here's Claudia shortly after arriving at great grandma's house. She is very into jewelry and lots of it. Grandma had several questions for her about the number of bracelets and thankfully Claudia loves talking about them. Many she has made, some were gifted to her...it's a lovely hodgepodge of middle school girl goodies.
Clearly the girls and I were blessed with height genes from relatives not named great grandma.
We spent time relaxing, taking four wheeler rides, eating candy and we also received a visit from my aunt and uncle. Aunt Deb brought over lunch and Uncle Greg took Kate and Claudia out to an open field and let them drive. This was an absolute treat for both girls. Claudia has never driven before despite being 14 years old already. (Yes, she is hopefully getting that learner's permit very very very soon!) And Kate isn't able to drive on the roads right now so the field is a great alternative. Kate was very worried about potentially hitting a cow while driving in the field while Claudia wasn't worried in the slightest. That should probably make me worried.
With Kate spending more time at home, she has logged more time with her cats. A cat snuggle always brings out a smile.
I took the other girls on a couple of outings including one to Spirit Halloween. Claudia was absolutely chomping at the bit to go there. She loved looking around and laughing at the absurdity of the place. Natalie was significantly much more worried and actually terrified a few times. She is ready for Halloween to pass so she can prepare for Christmas. Winter holidays appear to be more her speed.
Despite Natalie's fears of this place, she still asked to pose next to the Scream guy. I didn't get a picture of Claudia however because she was too busy running around looking at everything. Natalie stayed by my side the whole time and Maddie would never set foot in this place.
I also took the younger three for our annual trip to Hanson's Hallow to pick out pumpkins. Hanson's is such a happy place and we really look forward to visiting.
These two goofballs loved the wooden barn cutout.
I really like this photo below but I feel awfully sad not having Kate with us to pose for this picture. She loved posing for this one because she enjoyed being taller than the ruler. She has always been so proud of her immense height.
Claudia had her fall choir concert. It is nearly impossible to get a good choir or band photo when it is dark and you have to zoom in so far to even try to identify the photo subject. Isn't she a beauty.
Natalie started playing the tenor saxophone last week. She had been counting down the days for this moment since 5th grade began back in August. I think she's channeling her inner Lisa Simpson.
One drawback of selecting the tenor sax is the weight of lugging that thing around. Natalie should have bulging biceps in no time.
Tomorrow is Halloween and trick or treating. It's crazy to only have two trick or treaters in the house. What a fun time of year. More photos of Halloween to follow later.
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