Travel x2

It was a busy weekend for our family, dividing up and going on two separate trips for kids' activities.  Matt and Evie headed to CT for a Feis on Friday afternoon, and then Noah and I headed to NY for a basketball tournament after he got home from school.  It felt weird to be traveling separately, but it was a successful weekend for everyone, and some one-on-one time with each kid is a rare treat.

Evie finished 5th at her Feis, which landed her on the podium.  Getting onto the podium in Open Champs is a big accomplishment, and it has been one of her goals for this fall, so she was very proud of her results.  It was a long drive, but they got to spend some time with Amos and his family, and Miss Beth also came to support the dancers, so it was worth the trip!

Warming up

Evie and Amos

Miss Beth and the champs!

A favorite stop on road trips!

Meanwhile, in NY, Noah's Swish basketball team played 4 tournament games against some big, strong competitors!  The team that won the tournament in Noah's age group was so much bigger and stronger, and really our kids didn't stand a chance, but they held their heads high and played hard!  Noah's team finished 2-2, which was very respectable!  He had so much fun hanging out with the team at the hotel, swimming, and playing games.  While the trip was for basketball, the other stuff definitely added to the fun!

A little shopping at a 2-story Dick's Sporting Goods

Chick-Fil-A for us too!

Blaze Pizza - LeBron's restaurant!

Zoom in and see how tall the other team was!

One bit of excitement capped off the weekend - Frankie rolled in a dead porcupine when Matt and Evie took her for a hike around Indian Brook!  She had two quills behind her ear that were just barely stuck in, so we were able to remove them easily at home with pliers after the hike.  Then, yesterday we noticed a tender little spot on Frankie's chest.  We initially thought it was a tick, but upon closer inspection, we thought it could be another piece of porcupine quill.  Matt took her in to the vet, and it turns out that she had a full quill embedded in her chest.  She had to get sedated to have it removed, but she will be fine once the grogginess wears off!  Never a dull moment.

Bad, bad, bad porcupine tail!

Frankie was living her best life in the mud

Two out of three quills!

Very sleepy after getting sedated for the quill removal

And here are a few other highlights from the week:

Homemade salsa with the last of the garden ingredients before we got a frost

Evie enjoyed a rare homework-free afternoon and did some baking

Cozy time before bed

My very own Clifford - she likes to be as close as possible!

Noah and Gerry at their last fall baseball game of the season