He's gone again

Trav had one final meeting this week that took him out to Colorado for a couple of days so that meant the kiddies and I were left to fend for ourselves once again (the good thing is that Trav usually doesn't travel this much, and when he does travel, it is usually spread out, so these last few weeks are the exception, not the rule).  With  Daddy away, we got right back into the swing of things and started out our week on a very productive note . . . Ryan and I raked and bagged up some more leaves.  I should point out that I didn't let Ryan skip school, but for some reason school wasn't in session on Monday (maybe for Veteran's Day which falls on Friday?).  So with him home, and the babies and Lauren sound asleep (after a long morning of play), the boy, his dog, and I headed out to the backyard for some work.  We managed to fill up the dumpster and one lawn bag before Ryan thought we should call it quits and sit by the tree and rest for a while so that's what we did.  A boy, his dog, and his mom just chillin' by a tree on a sunny fall day - not too shabby for a Monday.  After all of our work, we rewarded ourselves with a movie and some treats until the rest of the household woke up from their naps.  To finish off the day, we headed out to the Y for some exercise, went back home and made "Grands Mini Pizzas" (they were delicious in case anyone is wondering and super easy and fun to make!) for dinner, had some nice warm baths, read a few books, and then called it a night.  When Ryan woke up on Tuesday morning and I told him he had to go to school, he was less than pleased.  He asked why  we couldn't just have another day like yesterday to hang out and have fun and all I could say was, "because."  I actually wouldn't have minded another day of bonding with him.  It seems like the busier he gets, and the busier Lauren, Ellie, and Colt are during the day, the less time the two of us get to spend together and I kind of miss it.  At least we have Thanksgiving break to look forward to!

I'll leave with a quick picture of our mini pizzas . . . this was the second set of 4 we made.  Each of the kids made their own and ate an entire pizza which translates to a successful meal in our house!  Like I said, they were delicious!