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- Happy Saturday! It’s our first Saturday in weeks that we’re home & we don’t have to leave our house at all today! No traveling, no roller coasters, no weddings, no engagement sessions – nothing! I’ve been looking forward to this day for ages.
Especially after the busy week we’ve had! - On Monday, Derrick called me as he was leaving work. He had just gotten into his car & he could smell gas – super strong. He then noticed that his car was noticeably leaking gas. He called the local garage we always take our cars to & the mechanic told him that he could try driving it, but if it started smoking, he needed to pull off & stop immediately or he would risk the car catching on fire. So, slowly, he started down the road – he actually made it about half-way from his job to the garage when the smoke started to appear. He pulled off into a gas station & called me to come pick him up – and called a tow-truck to take his car the rest of the way. As I was pulling down our street to go pick him up – he called me again: Jonathan (my sister Ellen’s husband) had just pulled into the same gas station on his way home & he was going to bring Derrick home.
Thankfully – the problem was a simple one: apparently some critter had chewed a hole in one of the gas lines (why something would decide to munch Derrick’s car is beyond me). It was a simple fix & not-super-expensive fix, and thankfully we had the car back 24 hours later.
That meant that the kids & I simply did not have a car all day Tuesday - Which, typically would be fine BUT – Braelynn & I had dentist appointments for Tuesday morning – very long awaited dentist appointments. Braelynn loves going to the dentist (I’m so thankful) and so she’s been looking forward to her visit since September – that’s when we were originally supposed to go. However, we ended up having to reschedule that appointment because I had COVID (I actually went & took my COVID test at the same time we were supposed to be at the dentist). So, we rescheduled for October – and in October, the day we were supposed to go to the dentist, we all woke up with colds. So, we rescheduled for November – and here we were, with no car. Talk about crazy.
Thankfully, my sister was able to come over & hang out with Leander for an hour & we were able to borrow her car – otherwise, I think the dentist was going to ban us from coming back (not really, but who reschedules their dentist appointment 3 times in a row?) - On Wednesday, I had a wedding meeting (which I now do completely over the phone – the days of meeting people in coffee shops are over). I typically schedule those calls for when the kids are in bed, so I can chat uninterrupted. And I did – I had a fantastic call that lasted way longer than usual, simply because the bride & I were having such a great conversation!
To my great surprise though, I came out of my office & found that Braelynn had decorated the spindles leading up our staircase – every single spindle had a picture taped to it – a drawing that was labeled “4 Mom”. It was so sweet (but, she really should have been in bed instead of secretly decorating our staircase). - Thursday night was Light Up Night in our little town! It’s always a huge highlight & the perfect kick-off to the holiday season! We watched the tree lighting, and then stood & watched the parade with my Mom, Ellen, Jonathan, Alethea, and Layla. The best part of the parade was when my Dad drove by with all of my cousins & Ruby loaded in the back – and then my brother Steve drove by in one of the work trucks. It was the best.
- And last night (told you we had a busy week) was the first night of Kennywood’s Holiday Lights!! We’ve loved going to Kennywood’s Christmas event since before we were season pass holders (see my post about it from 2017 and 2018) – and with no Holiday Lights last year (thanks pandemic), we were all super pumped for this year!! Last night was a special “passholder preview” night – and so we went (along with my Mom) – it was chilly, but the crowds were light (probably thanks to it being downtown Pittsburgh’s light up night?)
We always go right at 5 when the park opens & think we can do everything in 2-3 hours.
And we’re always wrong.
There’s just so much to walk around & look at, let alone the rides that are open, the different activities they have (writing letters to Santa, visiting the characters around the park, taking pictures), the massive train display, EATING – we could easily spend 4-5 hours in the park.
Unfortunately (but very fortunately), our kiddos are used to a 7pm bedtime, so by 8pm they have pretty much reached their limitations & are just exhausted & grumpy.
I guess that just means we’ll have to go back (since we barely scratched the surface last night!) Aw darn. Look for a blog post & vlog soon! - So yes, it’s been a super busy week. And last Saturday was my last wedding of 2021 (and the end of my 4-week-in-a-row wedding streak). Thanks to some really solid systems I learned & put in place in 2021 (and a few very late nights), I delivered the photos from that wedding yesterday & am officially done with my photography season. Everything has been edited – everything has been delivered (at least, I think it has, I still have this nagging fear in the back of my brain that I’m missing something! But I’m 99.99% sure I’ve gotten everything!)
And so, yesterday afternoon, I did something that’s been on my to-do list for years. I finally designed and ordered Leander’s 1st year album. I have an album of Braelynn’s 1st year (it includes the monthly & weekly photos I took of her) – my sister Ellen actually made it for me, on Derrick’s request, and he gave it to me for Valentine’s Day in 2016. I have planned on making a matching album for Leander since he turned a year old (since I took the same monthly & weekly photos of him), but I’ve just never carved out the time to do it. With his 3rd birthday right around the corner (and omigoodness it is right around the corner) and Black Friday sales rolling in – I found myself with 2 spare hours yesterday afternoon & one desire: create that album.
I finished it up & ordered it, and now I just want to have it today. I cannot wait to receive it in a few weeks!!
