Our "Step Up" for Down Syndrome

Our group changed from the Buddy Walk to Step Up for Down syndrome this year.  We had ours yesterday (and oops, I didn't get to post at all...) and it was a lot of fun!  I think this year has been one of the most enjoyable that we've attended.  The weather was beautiful, there was a HUGE crowd there, the vendors and such that brought food actually had enough food (generally they run out and we never eat anything LOL), the kids ALL went on pony rides, we saw old friends and met new ones... it was overall just a great morning with friends!

The three teachers in Emma's class came for the walk, and the main teacher brought her husband as well.  This is our 5th Walk, and we've always invited teachers and therapists to come, but this is the first year (I think) that anyone has showed up!  And... I didn't invite them this year! LOL  Since we were unsure of travel and such, I didn't know if we were even going to make it and I didn't even mention it at school.  Well, they took their own initiative after hearing about it on the radio and called and came :)  It is great to have such a caring team of teachers working with the kids!

After the walk all the kids were tired, so we went and parked by the river for them to nap a bit.  Except, only Lynae slept.  So we went to the mall to look for pants for Michael for our trip.  We ended up finding a pair of jeans, a pair of casual pants and black dress pants, a nice long sleeved button up (which Kristopher picked out for Daddy to wear to court), and FIVE short sleeved dress shirts for $100. Yep, GOOD sales! :)  We also got Brianna a Jacket since she was the only kid that didn't have one that would fit nicely (Emma's went from a 3 to a 5 between the last two winters and Brianna needs a 4).  That also came with fleece pants and was more than 50% off :).  Now Mike and Brianna are set for a little while.

We got home and crashed :).  We made Mac 'n Cheese, turned on a movie, and opened up the porch/playroom for the kids.  Everyone had a relaxing late afternoon.

After dinner I cut Emma's and Brianna's hair!  I've given their bangs trims several times over the last few months but I haven't touched the back of it because 1- it's time consuming and 2- it's more difficult.  But, I attacked yesterday and I do believe it turned out pretty cute.  I took about 3 1/2" off of Brianna's, but it is still LONG.  Emma just got about 1" off around the back but man oh man she couldn't keep her head still for anything! :)

I'm debating on a Kindle for our trip to Ukraine.  So last night I downloaded Kindle for PC and looked around at all the free books for it.  I downloaded a TON of classics, and a few of the free books that are free just for a little while.  I know I won't want to sit and read at the computer all the time, but am considering going ahead and getting a Kindle and wanted to try it out this way first.  I believe I'll have enough reward points to purchase a Kindle without a whole lot out of pocket.  At the moment the bottom of my suitcase is lined with books!  I read about a dozen books during my last adoption trip.

Today the kids are mostly still sleeping!  Kristopher and Brianna are up and  have a movie on and are just hanging out.  Brianna came asking for breakfast a bit ago and just asked for seconds and Kris for a bowl of cereal too.  Lynae's coughed a time or two but keeps going right back to sleep and Emma, Micah, and James are just beginning to make signs of life :).  I think they might have been worn out from all the walking and activity yesterday!

This is the last real weekend-day that we'll have without any plans or last minute packing.  Next weekend is the Pumptober Fest and Brock Gill at the church which Michael is heavily involved in and my sister and her boyfriend will be down for the weekend.  So today is cleaning, cleaning, packing, planning, and cleaning day.

Oh- and I almost forgot!  My mom and I went to a few garage sales on Friday and during our adventures saw a nice HUGE table.  It looked like it easily sat 10 people and really could seat 12 adults comfortably.  It had 6 chairs with it and the price tag wasn't enormous.  We didn't buy it.  My mom called me back later that night and suggested that she get it for us as our Christmas gift since it would seat us ALL and a few guests as well.  She went by the house on Fri nt where it was being sold and paid for it then brought it over yesterday.  It's not something I'd have picked out at a store, but it certainly will do the trick and I don't see any reason that we'd ever need to replace it.  I think we might eventually replace the chairs though ;).  Anyway, it has leaves so it collapses to seat 6 and expands to serve 12, which is perfect for our dining room!  Now we need to figure out what to do with our old dining table-- whether to keep it or the kitchen one.  The dining was an oval and served up to 10 people, the kitchen is rectangular and serves up to 8.  But the oval table loses some 'table space' with the rounded ends and... well, we just have to figure it all out :)

Off to get the kids up, it IS 8am and normally they're starting school right now!