Halloween - Thanksgiving

School picture day.  I had wavy hair from braids on picture day when I was her age too!

For some reason, Allison loves to wipe down the sink.

Of course, she folded the rag neatly up

When we got a package in the mail, Nicole was just as excited about the packaging as she was about the gift.  She turned the foam into art:

This is how we celebrated Halloween:

A witch and a ninja warrior

We had a treasure hunt.  "Gold" pineapple bracelets, cookies for gold coins

They each made their own monster for a beanbag toss

Nicole exhibiting her excellent posture

We also bobbed for apples (not easy or successful); tried the "donut on a string" (much more fun to actually eat the donut, so I just had them take one bite on the string); played hide-n-seek with me as a ghost with a sheet over my head; and watched half of the first Harry Potter movie.  When the troll came onto the scene Allie says, "That's a bad guy!  Is that a bad guy??  That's a bad guy!"  We finished the rest of the movie on Monday, and they both enjoyed it.

Allie's portrait of our family, plus a friend

Listening to her Daddy talk

On our daily walk to get school lunch, which was free for everyone this trimester

by Allie.  I believe it's Nicole, Mommy, Allie, and Daddy

by Allie.  I believe she said it was Mommy as a sad clown

by Nicole

She didn't follow instructions.  I told her to write an "r," but she swiftly drew a circle instead.  I managed to salvage it by having her turn the "o" into an "a."  However, I didn't want to risk activating her destructive mode, so I didn't tell her to add the "r."  As you can see, she obligingly began the process of destruction anyway.

Nicole's unfinished turkey

Artwork

by Allie
Lollipops, Nicole and Allie, Mommy and Daddy wearing sunglasses, and their friend, Kennedy

by Nicole

 

eBlu

Allison asked me how to do this page in her workbook.  I was making dinner so I just told her what colors to color each bead.  The third line down, I told her to color the last bead yellow.  I came back and saw her finished work.  Not sure she quite gets it...

Sometimes Allie's hair is just ridiculous

 

This is why we call her "Firehead."

Allie's wise words, and political analysis by a seven-year-old

Allie was standing behind me a couple days ago and asked me, "Do you have a big bum?  Or I have a little bum.  Does Daddy have a giant bum like you?"

As for Nicole, we watched Joe Biden and Kamala Harris's victory speeches tonight.  While waiting for their speeches to start, we saw people smiling and waving in the streets.  She wanted to know why people were so happy.  I told her that many people didn't like Trump as President because he encouraged people to fight with one another.  She asked if Joe Biden did that too, and I told her I hadn't observed him doing that, although many politicians do do that.  She wanted to know why, and I explained that angry people are more likely to go out and vote.

While listening to Harris's speech, Nicole said, I think Trump would be sad if he listened to this.  But when Joe Biden spoke, she liked that he empathized with the voters who were disappointed in Trump's loss, and that he said he would govern for all Americans, and not just those who voted for him.  She created this piece of artwork:

To translate, it says, "I still love Trump!  Joe?  Yes Joe!"

Finally, tonight, Nicole and Allie put their legs in pillow cases, and Allie initiated a race.  "Ready, set, go!" she said.