The Works

Saturday, November 20, was another gorgeous day in PA for being as late in the season as it was. That day was pretty productive in the Good household as well (thanks to an awesome Daddy & husband). He cleaned out my car and took it through the car wash, and he started blowing and raking the leaves into piles. We let the boys play in the back yard in one pile as I put the rest into our yard trash cans to then take out to the street. Thankfully, Manheim Township comes and sucks up all the leaves on a regular schedule. The boys highly enjoyed playing in them! And they were also helpers in cleaning them up when it was time to go in.

After we were done with the leaves, Joshua asked if they could play more in the garage. Since it was a gorgeous day, we said sure. He immediately got out his bike, which he's quickly outgrowing (I have it on good authority that Santa - or really, Grandma - might be getting him a new bigger one for Christmas). They love to play in the garage and driveway! Caleb also got on his bike and was really pedaling for the first time. He's also outgrown the little bike, so he will inherit Joshua's 12" bike when the Bean gets his new one. Daddy helped Caleb with his momentum, and both boys enjoyed the outdoor time!
 

After nap time, we headed up to Berks County to meet Shawn's extended family at the Works. Shawn's cousin Don's wife Jess (if you followed that) organized the gathering, and we had a group of 20+ people who met to eat dinner together and play at the arcade. Unfortunately, as we were grabbing our coats to leave, Joshua smashed his finger in our closet doors, which are extremely heavy wood. All around the nail kept bleeding and bleeding, and he bawled. We felt so bad for him. He asked us to kiss it and pray for it, and then he kept telling us that God must still be working on it because it still really hurt. I wasn't sure that we should still go, but Shawn thought that it would be okay. Joshua did better than I expected that night, actually, with how bad he was feeling as we left.

When we got there, Joshua told everyone how he was going to sit next to his beloved cousin Jordon. Then, one of Shawn's youngest cousins sat next to him, and he burst into big tears. Everyone moved down a seat so that there was still space for Jordon, who gladly sat next to the Bean when he arrived. Joshua told us that Jordon is his "bestest buddy," which I thought was cute. Jordon is four years older than Joshua, but he's so good about playing with him. The boys then went to play some arcade games, and there's a ball place there that costs more money to get into. Unfortunately, it was so packed that Shawn didn't think it was safe for the boys to enter, so we opted not to. But, the boys fell apart when we said no, so it was time to go. It was close to bedtime and had been a busy (but fun!) day. They did fine once we left and headed for home.

That night I didn't sleep well, so Shawn let me sleep in in the morning. He took Joshua on a Daddy-son date that morning, and I took Caleb to the later service of church. Joshua picked out some toys that he wanted for Christmas (including the above "MAC" truck) and then they went to Barnes & Nobles for a "pink cookie" for Joshua and some fun for Daddy. I called once Caleb & I were out of church, and I told Daddy I simply MUST have some pickles. He agreed to pick some up on the way home, along with some lunch at Giant for us.

That night, we broke out the game "Chutes & Ladders" for the first time. I had honestly forgotten that we even had it, and Joshua is at the perfect age for it. (Caleb still gets a little bored after the first spin or two). We had a fun night playing it before tucking the boys in bed.

And thus ended our last weekend before Thanksgiving!