Fundraising Frenzy

We are just coming off our busiest week in a looooong time, so how nice that we're now sliding headlong into the holidays!

The kids have vacation this entire week, and last week at Ellie's school was a bunch of fundraising stuff. On Monday they had their jog-a-thon. She was initially incredibly upset because I didn't send out the fundraising email to my closest 100 friends, and so she didn't get a bunch of promotional crap (please note, it's just about sending the email and bothering your loved ones, not about actually raising money.) We turned in an envelope with donations, and she was able to claim her prizes, one of which was a small toilet water gun, where when you opened the lid you got squirted in the face. I told her she could use it as a Barbie toilet, but we were never putting water in it.

Ultimately she raised some good money and had a good run. Then on Tuesday they had a school picnic, but also, while you were there having lunch with your kid you could go through the book fair and buy some books and help raise money for the school. Very clever! I bought books despite having just funded the jog-a-thon, because you know I love a book. Then the rest of the week was a lot of turkey crafts for both kids.

Adam had a school feast on Friday which I did not attend because I was helping co-chair the fall craft boutique for my MOPS group. I was at the church for a couple hours on Thursday night and from 7:30-2 on Friday. Thankfully Gigi was able to pick up the kids and put them down for naps, because it was a nutty day. The vendors were great, we had some great home-made craft items, and I had a fun time, even if the turn out was frustratingly underwhelming.

Friday night the kids went to the YMCA for Superhero date night, so Tim and I could go out in peace (and so I could have a restorative cocktail after a long day) and Ellie wore the new athleisurewear she'd suckered Gigi into buying her, declaring herself to be the Superhero.... ZUMBA GIRL. She's pretty cute, that one.

Saturday afternoon Gigi came over for some more babysitting, and we headed up to the Coliseum with Kristen and Jeff for the UCLA-USC game. It was a friendship divided, but we had a really fun night. It also helped that while UCLA made some big mistakes, they didn't get the snot kicked out of them like in humiliating years past. Plus Tim and I wore matching sweaters.

Then the fundraising continued on Sunday we We Run the City, the UCLA-USC rivalry run that benefits Special Olympics. I put together a crackerjack team of Bad News Bruins this year - we had a few new runners and walkers, and Kristen and Jeff brought the kids and walked with us. It was nice on all levels - the children got to learn what a real college campus looks like, we bribed them with Diddy Reese so that they'll like UCLA best, and Jeff and Kristen donated generously to the cause, so much so that they bought my participation in a USC shirt for the second year.

Thumbs down Trojan children

Jake did the run for his fifth year, and this year they had a 10K, which he WON. Truly, Jacob runs the city.

Then we went out for lunch and got cookies for everyone

Back in MY DAY, all four of those cookies would have only cost a dollar!

(as a plug, if you'd still like to donate you can do so HERE)

You might think our rivalry friends would be done with us, but no, they were not. Once we all got home and showered and napped for a bit, it was off to Mike and Nicole's house for a wonderful Friendsgiving evening. I felt like kind of a slouch only bringing cookies and rolls, because the other ladies rolled out an honest to goodness feast. We drank a ton of wine and sat around the table for three solid hours, occasionally getting up to break up a fight between children, help ourselves to dessert, or more wine.

Truly could not ask for a better group of folks, or a better way to end a wild week