Year 2, Day 17: Imperfections

Oh boy.  The day was full of ups and downs, that's for sure.  From kids not wanting to work on homework, to being 15 minutes late to my much anticipated doctor appointment, which resulted in having to reschedule it for next week, to having to walk the whole Castleton Mall just to find a bathroom, fun times!  But there were great moments where I was able to show the kids that it was my fault we were late, not theirs, and that the doctor was just adhering to their policies.  We got to go through the mall and look at all kinds of fun stuff.  We were also reminded how much we really don't like all the walking at the mall.  And then we got to visit with Gary's brother and sister in law, who were staying the night at their house on their way to Florida from Michigan.  Then the middles and I got to take in the movie "A Dog's Purpose." It was a free screening (it doesn't officially come out until Jan. 27th!) just for HOMESCHOOLERS!  Yes, just for us!  Free! At a movie theater!  And it was put on by the studio itself, Universal!  Because it was a screening, a lady from the statewide homeschool group got up and talked for a few minutes and then there were NO PREVIEWS for other movies!  The movie itself was a great!  Yes, the dog reincarnates into other dogs, but the main point of the movie was how dogs affect a person's life.  There was no swearing, no skin tight clothing, no adult humor, etc.  It was from the dog's perspective, so there were many humorous lines.  Very family friendly, but they do show some sad scenes each time the dog dies.  Anyway, yes, go see it! They even encouraged us to see it on opening day to send Hollywood a message that we want more movies like this.  So, it was a very imperfect day, with some frustrations, but we hung in there until the end.

Patiently waiting at the doctor's office.

We found the American Girl Doll store!  Abishai loved the little playhouse and kept saying, "Baby, baby, baby."

Proof that Justin was in the American Girl Doll store.

I love AG dolls!  Beautiful!

Cool microphone!

I saw this in the magazine, Mom!

Next was the Lego store, of course!  Abishai learned how to put the bricks together all by himself!

He built some of the tower (someone else had built the base), and he wasn't happen when it fell down.

I told Justin to pose with this Lego set because I wanted to note how thick the box is!  It's a $500 Lego Star Wars Death Star kit!  It's incredible!

Checking out the new princess Lego.

Frozen!

Marvel!

Pick a brick!  You get a bucket for a set price and then fill it up!  So many bricks to chose from!

This set was only $250!

$500 Lego set.  It's updated Justin said.

Abishai happily played the whole time while we browsed around.

We also briefly went to the Disney Store and Gamestop.  While there, a small train was driving around the mall.  It can carry a few smallish passengers for a fee.  Well, Abishai couldn't take his eyes of it when it went by and wanted to chase it.  He kept looking out of the doorway at GameStop for it.  And it's all he talked about until he fell asleep in the car on our way to Grandma's house.

In shock at the awesomeness!

Movie time!

Movie selfie time, complete with crazy hair!

When we got to the house, Abishai didn't know why his "go-go" (dog) had to stay outside.  Uncle Ron and Aunt Nina brought their dog, Owen, with them.  He's old and can't hear, so we weren't sure how the dogs were going to react with all of us there.  They did fine once Socks was let back in after we went to the movie.

Papa Murphy's have personal pizzas you can make on your own, so Grandma got some for the kids.

Lining up the cars as always.

Meeting Owen, the dog, and Uncle Ron and Aunt Nina, too.  Abishai followed Owen around alot throughout the evening.

Is anyone watching me? I guess not, so I'll let the dog in!

Whoops, I'm now tall enough standing on this bench but I'm not strong enough!

Keturah and Justin were explaining their Legos to Ron and Nina.  They listened to what the kids had to say, it was cute.

Benaiah is way into this Rubix cube addiction.  He brings it wherever he goes, crazy boy.

Jared took some of these pictures while we were at the movies.  Grandpa's got his youngest grandson in his lap, in his favorite chair.

Grandma let Abishai watch trains, real or pretend, on YouTube on her Nook.  He loved it!

Great picture of Socks doing his thing.  He feels like he's been replaced by Owen though, poor thing.  Cute!

Cars go everywhere!

More Nook time.

And finally, more rubix cube dismantling and remaking.  At least it's keeping his brain sharp.  Benaiah did get his first C and D- on two assignments in the last week.  The teacher's policy on grades that are D an under is to get the parents to sign the paper and bring it back to school.  We laughed it off because we know it's NOT going to become a habit.

So, emotionally,  I was, well, all over the place.  But the kids held up just fine with long walks and late bedtimes.  Speaking of late, it's my bedtime.  Good night.