With Aunt Katelyn's visit in the beginning of the month, our quick trip to Arizona at the end and all of the excitement surrounding this time of the year, November seemed to go by in a blink. We definitely kept busy with the normal day to day routines and then some additional fun this month.
Our Thursday mornings are spent at the RB Swim and Tennis Club since the older girls dance studio is located there. They are in back to back classes which is nice because I am there only one time during the week but it just means that we are there for 2 hours. Thankfully there is a playground so we spend the time there and Charlotte gets all of her energy out for the morning. Julia's class is first and Ella does a great job of keeping Charlotte safe on the bigger playground because of course she has no interest in the "baby" playground. The girls are still really enjoying dance!
Joseph and Ella finished up their fall soccer season this month. Ella love, love, loved playing with the Red Sparkles-the team didn't win a whole lot but she had so much fun and showed us that she is aggressive, quick and a quick learner. She was chosen for the all star team so her season actually continued into December and she was so excited to keep playing. She kept referring to the all star team as anything but all star-some days it was the super stars or the World Series or the championships but whatever she wanted to call it we are so proud of her and love watching her enjoy something so much!
On November 5th we went to my parent's house for dinner because Uncle Bruce and Bruce David were in town. It is always so nice to see them and we had a lot of laughs and a nice time with everyone. Charlotte was testing out Uncle Paul's hockey stick on the putting green-no ice here in San Diego!
It was a beautiful day so the kids wanted to go swimming. It is way too chilly for me but they don't mind it, especially when they can warm up in the hot tub, so it is a great way for them to spend an hour or so.
Plus, Poppa's throws are awesome!!!
Sweet moment captured on November 9th between our oldest and youngest.
Katie and I snuck away for dinner and drinks one night this month to catch up! 
Trying out the new swagger for the Army Navy game for next month!
Rich had to work on Veteran's Day, which is just not right, so the kids and I met my parents and Brian at the Safari Park for the morning.
Feeding the lorikeets!!
They liked the Army hat!!
Julia got brave, with the help of Uncle Bubba, and decided to also feed them this time.
Julia is our
Ella had her end of the year soccer party on November 12th at the soccer fields so in between Josephs' tournament games we were able to sneak away to celebrate with her.
Joseph's team played amazingly well during the tournament-they made it to the semi finals and played a really great final game. He played goalie for a good amount during the season and did really well, learned a lot and seemed to enjoy it. He was chosen as an alternate for the all star team and although did not get called to play we are so proud of how much he has improved since beginning to play. Both kids have expressed interest in playing again in the spring so we'll see if they want to stick with it or try something else. It's been a fun fall season though!
Linz and Finn came to play with us one afternoon at the WW club and it ended up being a lot of this...
and this! Ha ha.
This came home with Joseph during November and it made me laugh-figured I should keep it for the years to come so I can say, "Remember what happened to Little Red Riding Hood when she didn't listen to her mother!" Ha ha.
Joseph has always loved being read to (some of my fondest memories are when it was just him and I and we'd literally spend hours on the couch with me reading to him-he would sit forever and just bring book after book!) and now it is so great to see his love of reading independently growing. He really is a self directed learner and is a strong reader-he's come a long way from when he first entered kindergarten and was in the second lowest reading group to now being in the highest group in 1st grade, reading chapter books and picking up books for pleasure on his own! So proud of him!
The biggest news in November is that Rich got a new job!!!! This all began back in August and was the LONGEST process ever but at the end of October he was finally offered the position and began on November 5th. He wasnt even looking but received a call from a recruiter who had found him on LinkedIn saying that he seemed like a perfect fit for this position with a painting company. He was hesitant at first but figured he'd go for an interview just to see and it did seem like the perfect fit. He is now the Regional Director for General Coatings with the possibility of ownership in the future. We'll see what happens but for now it keeps him in San Diego without any traveling which is huge!!! Reflecting back on the past year of having him gone basically every other week almost seems crazy to think that it was really our life but we made it work but we are so happy that he no longer will be gone. His office is off of Miramar Road so it is a bit longer of a commute but thankfully he is able to leave work by 4:30 most days getting him home by 5:15 which definitely works for us. We are selling his truck, the one that he told me, "This will be my forever truck" when we bought it last January after he was laid off, since the new job comes with a company car, so all I can do is laugh since we joke around often that he has had the most cars of anyone that we've ever known. In the 11 years that we've been married he has had 8 cars...that's just crazy!! As much as he loves this truck it will be nice not to have payments on it and eventually I'm sure he'll get back to driving a truck one day but for now he'll enjoy the payment free Chevy Equinox!
A sweet picture of our awesome neighbors and the girls. We went over to the club one afternoon and brought them along and they just have so much fun together. We are so thankful for our cul de sac.
Charlotte being sweet at the library, unlike the last time when we went and she climbed on top of the table!!
Sweet Jules in the morning with her crazy bedhead but adorable smile and pjs!
Charlotte's first piggy!!! It only lasted a matter of minutes but she sure does look cute with it in!
Over Thanksgiving break we got together with our RBCPC friends for a pool day (yes, pool day in November!) at Adriana's pool. It is always such a treat to see this group and the kids had a blast together as did the moms!
The day after Thanksgiving we headed to Sea World in the afternoon. We wanted to be there at night to see it lit up since it was supposed to be pretty incredible decorated for Christmas so we hung out at the house in the morning and then made our way down after Charlotte's nap. It was such a fun day!!! We didn't tell the kids where we were going which made it extra special and they were pretty excited. We started off on the rides which was definitely a good time! This year we made Joseph and Ella go on the teacups by themselves since it makes Rich and I queasy and they loved it!! Love their faces in these pictures!
We ALL (even Charlotte) went on Oscar's ride which was fun to be able to go on something all together!
Char seemed to enjoy herself...
Then they wanted to play on the playground for awhile...
And then we had the best time at the dolphins-we were there for a long time since the trainers were working with them and it was just so amazing!!! There was also a group of people in the water with them and all of the kids said they wanted to do that for their next birthdays!
Being silly by the dolphins!
Feeding the sting rays
We saw the Seymour sea lion show which is always funny and then enjoyed the beautiful lights before we headed out. It really was very nicely decorated and got us into the Christmas spirit!!
Oh and on our way out Joseph and Rich got suckered into playing a game to try to reach the top of the rope without falling...no luck but they both had fun trying.
We had such a nice rest of Thanksgiving break-such a treat to have Rich off for 4 days! On Saturday we headed to my parents to celebrate Thanksigivn again with everyone (posted about it in the earlier post) and on Sunday we got our tree and got our decorating done since Rich was going to be out of town for the CIM marathon the following weekend so we definitely got into the Christmas spirit! It felt like such a long break since we were in Arizona the weekend before and did a lot over break so it was great!
Ella and Charlotte helping Daddy decorate outside!
Love, love, love decorating the tree with our kids. There weren't many trees to pick from this year at Home Depot and since we were in a time crunch with the marathon the following weekend we just went with what was there but it ended up being beautiful with all of the sentimental ornaments on it and the fact that our 4 kiddos helped to decorate it!
Charlotte was asleep by this point but had to get a picture!
The star did stay crooked for a few days until I finally got up there to ziptie it and to connect some more lights to light it up which pulled it all together!
On Monday we were back in the school routine...dropping off, working out, picking up, nap for C, lunch, playing at the grassy area, playing in the cul de sac...normal Monday routine but felt good to be back.
Ella started her all star soccer practice the week before Thanksgiving and it continued until her all star games the first week in December so we were at the fields this last week of Nocemvber two nights for her practices. The girls kept themselves busy running around with me while Joseph would always find some buddies to kick the soccer ball with so it worked but made for some late and colder nights!
We played a lot of hide and seek while waiting!
I had to snap these pictures on November 30th...I was getting dinner ready and they were all playing nicely but they were being kind of crazy pushing Charlotte back and forth on the tile on this bus but it is all just a typical night at our home! Love all of it though!
And then Ella snapped this picture of me!
Our neighbor, Chris, took this picture of our house and the sunset one night and I thought it would be the perfect ending for this month of November entry. It was such a great month and we have SO much to be thankful for.
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