Cotton Candy

Time went by too fast last week and I did not get a chance to write until a week past. Thus, my brain forgot most of what I wanted to write about. So, I'll have to rely on the photos to tell the story.

Josie had her cute little book club from Monday to Thursday. She's quite attached to her baby Aurora, totes her around everywhere in the car seat we found at Goodwill. She calls her Rora-Gabi. The little kiddos learned about brownies and musical instruments. She adores her time with Sister Russo. I am sad the last book club is in January. She has also taken to wearing her pink ballet around over her clothes most of the time. I think it's pretty darn cute. Might be time to find a dance studio again for the little girls.

Evelyn requested a side-curl down her face, hanging over her eye. I complied and gave her a curl. She adores the new hairstyle and calls it her "tiny teenager" look. She is also quite excited to have hair long enough for two ballet buns right by her ears.

Last week I was swamped with numerous doctor/dentist appointments. I am finally taking action to search out options for sleep apnea. It appears I do have a problem and need intervention. I wanted to check out dental appliances first so went to a nearby dentist to price out options. I also had my teeth cleaned at the same time. That flippin' appointment took over two hours. The clinic was very thorough and ritzy. I suspected that my back fillings were failing and causing me grief. Turns out I might need more than one root canal and to have my fillings reworked. I got a fancy folder containing a ridiculous estimate of $5,500 for all the dental work. Guess the paraffin hand treatment and free chapstick cost more than the free they offered. At least my dental cleaning was completely covered. I went to another dentist office this week and for a second opinion and got a new estimate of $1500. Still pricey but more affordable. They were also willing to split up the work between this year and next. Since my mouth needs work dental appliances are not an option right now. If you mention nose pillows to me right now I might just punch your face. Not quite ready to face the fact that I need a sleep machine. How can a body change so much in a year to go from normal sleeping to needing a machine. Getting old stinks, and I'm not even old yet.

Friday morning I had a lady apply some makeup on my face for family photos. I left with quite a natural face, the only unnatural thing was my new eyelashes brushing against my glasses. That felt really strange, to have lashes that long and fake. I got the kids out of school at 2:50 to get them dressed and ready before 4 pm. We were still late arriving for family photos. It is no easy task to get 6 people ready in less than an hour. I had mounds of hair to style, outfits to adjust, and coax a certain 5-year old to participate in family photos. So stressful. I asked Sarah Burton to take our family photos, we traded services! She did a great job in the time we had. The kids behaved thanks to a couple rolls of smarties. In all the chaos Amelia, Phillip, and a photo of just the kids were missed. I had to dress the kids back up in the same outfits, curl hair, etc and try again on Sunday afternoon. The light was completely different so the ones I took have a different feeling. Oh well, getting group photos as a family was my main focus. Score! My new lens is not calibrated correctly, it front focuses terribly, missing focus by a inch or more at 1.5 meters. It's driving me nuts. I even calibrated it with the new Sigma dock but could not solve the issues. Justin and I had Mia babysit right after photos so we could catch some dinner and see the new Fantastic Beasts movie. Brekklyn came over around 8:30 to help Mia with bedtime. Justin and I headed back to downtown Gilbert for dinner at a cute and delicious Pizza place. We had a blast shopping at the candy store which was stocked with candy I've not seen in ages. Fantastic Beasts was amazing. Go watch it.

We had a fun time at Brother Brinton's home for his annual cotton candy event. The kids left sticky with pink cotton candy stuck to hands and faces. Josie would not touch her treat. She gagged when I made her taste a piece! Still she would not relinquish her treat for over an hour afterward. Amelia got to spend the afternoon and evening with her friend Abby making cookies and shopping at the mall. The rest of us enjoyed a boat ride around Windrift lake for the first time. A kind neighbor invited us to come celebrate with them and enjoy a spin about the lake. All the kids were so excited! Halfway through the ride Amelia came home to an empty house. We had her meet us near the entrance where she hopped onto the boat for the rest of the ride. What a fun treat!