The Picker Family: High Five for Friday

It's been a l-o-n-g time since I've posted a High Five for Friday (an entire year!), but I have missed the opportunity to blog about everyday life so we remember it in years to come. Check out my original High Five here.

#1: Our sweet, growing boy

This week Luke discovered Ramen Noodles. We never buy or eat them so he discovered them through a friend at school who brought them for lunch. Luke was fascinated:) He asked me to get some next time I grocery shopped, but then Brent mentioned that there were multiple flavors. Change of plans: he had to come grocery shopping to check out the selection:) So, Thursday night Luke joined me on my biweekly grocery shopping trip. It was a great time for the two of us to bond (which we don't get very often these days), to practice his math skills as we compared prices, and, most importantly, to introduce him to the world of Ramen. Once he chose his variety, then he requested a thermos to use for his school lunch. Supplies in hand, Luke was ready to learn how to make Ramen this morning so he could take it for lunch. It was a sweet time talking through the steps in the process, teaching him details about the stove, and what can and cannot go in the microwave. This all probably sounds so very simplistic, but I'm telling you, this boy takes such pride in learning skills that give him more independence. These are precious memories:)

#2 Halloween

We had a wonderful day last Saturday celebrating Halloween. Nora was Sofia the First and Luke was a football player. We started the morning with story time at ABC and Toy Zone, with stories and songs lead by Peter, Nora's favorite! Then we went to BooFest at the Creek, an indoor carnival put on by the Rochester Public School Foundation with the Blue Papa and Gma. After Nora's nap, we had dinner at Culver's with the Brown Papa and Gma and met Troy, Audra, Annie, Ethan, and Alaina for some trick or treating. Nora blew us away. She kept up with the big kids, ran from door to door, and loved every minute. We even had to stop at a few houses in Brent's parent's neighborhood before finishing up trick or treating for the year. The only down side to the day was dressing and undressing Nora in her costume. She is currently very sensitive about anything going over her head and fearing she will get stuck. The Sofia dress was puffy and intimidating in her three year old mind. She survived and enjoyed wearing it once it was on:)

Halloween 2015

#3 Volunteering

I love being able to volunteer at Luke's school and was able to have my first time for the school year today. There is something about seeing the kids in their "natural habitat" that I just love:) It was Book Fair week, which Luke and I also love, so I got to help four classes make their purchases today:) After helping at the Book Fair, I was able to spend some time in Luke's class working one on one with a few kids on their reading. I am very impressed with his fourth grade teacher: how she interacts with the class and how the kids clearly respect her. The atmosphere of the class was simply more grown up than his classes in the past...guess they've got to get ready for middle school in just a couple years...yikes!!!

#4 House

We walked on the main floor of our new house this week! That means we have basement walls, main floor trusses, main floor sub-flooring, and exterior walls! I can't remember what, if any detail I've gotten into about the house, but we're building a rambler with three bedrooms on the main floor. We'll only finish the living room in the basement to begin with, but there will be space for two additional bedrooms and one bathroom in the basement as well. We love seeing the progress and especially appreciate our friends (who live next to our lot) for sharing progress pictures with us so often:)

View from front yard
Right to Left: Luke's bedroom window then front door
The rest will have the garage in front of it

View from backyard
Main Floor Left to Right: Nora's bedroom window,
living room, dining room, and master
Basement Left to Right: Bedroom, living room is the rest

View from the entrance into open living space
(missing interior walls)

#5 Settling

We moved out of our house on October 21, so we've been living with Brent's parents for a couple weeks now. I feel like we've fallen into a new normal and all is going well with our daily schedules and the additional driving (Luke will finish the school year at our old neighborhood school). We've also been able to work out some carpooling with some family friends which is wonderful.

Fall Fun

As an added bonus, it was a beautiful fall week. The final trees were turning, the weather was warm, and I came to my parent's after work two days in a row to find my parents, Piper, and Nora outside playing in the leaves. It was perfect:)