Sorry it's been so long since I had a new journal entry, I have no excuse other than the long list of things that need to be done this time of year!

We had a great trip to Kansas City for Thanksgiving, other than the fact that we couldn't take our Suburban along! We were in a rented Durango, the biggest thing they had available...considering we had to leave town 2 days after the crash. The Durango was a really nice vehicle, I'd recommend one to anyone looking to buy an SUV....but the cargo room wasn't really sufficient for all of us. Of course, on the way back to Rhinelander, the Durango's power outlets stopped working...a real problem when we needed them to power the DVD player and my XM radio!! So, we called Enterprise and arranged to pick up another vehicle in Des Moines. This time we got a mini van...which gave us a lot more room for our things, but someone had been smoking inside the van, and once all the air freshener wore off, just being in the thing made me cough! But not to worry....the day after we got back in town, the Enterprise office here in Rhinelander called and said they had to take the van back to Iowa, so I needed to come in and switch cars AGAIN!! This time I got a Nissan Armada....this thing is huge! It seats 8, and feels like I'm driving a tank! Very very nice though....but I'm ready to get my Suburban back!

Speaking of my Suburban....I got a phone call from Allstate earlier this week. They'd sent someone to the body shop to check out the damage, make arrangements for payment with the body shop and such. Final damage estimate is right at $7000. WOW!! One funny sidenote...the night of the accident, Pavan was on the phone with Allstate, and the lady asked him about where the police report would be filed, etc. Then she asked if the police had found anyone at fault. I guess it's a reasonable question, but every time I think about it I laugh. Yes, ma'am. The officer found the deer at fault, for failure to look both ways before crossing the highway, but I'm afraid he won't be able to pay much more than he already has....

While in KC, we had two birthday parties. One for Noah, and one for me...a surprise to say the least! You see, I am going to be 30 tomorrow. Never thought that day would come...but here it is! But for today, I'm in my 20s. I'll let tomorrow worry about itself, haha.

Anna has her second gymnastics meet this Sunday in Antigo, WI. Then gymnastics is over for awhile. I have contacted a gymnastics studio in Weston, WI to inquire about more lessons for her. She loves gymnastics, and seems to have a real talent for the sport....so I feel badly that she will be limited by the resources available here in Rhinelander. The Rhinelander Gymnastics Club is great, but they only offer sessions 4 times each year, for 6 weeks at a time. So after the meet this Sunday, there won't be any more gymnastics until April!! That's four months with no practice at all....it's not like you can practice most of this stuff at home!! So, I'll see what this place in Weston has to say (Weston is just south of Wausau, 75 miles from Rhinelander). You can't beat small town life for raising children...but when your small town is over an hour from the nearest big town (if Wausau can be called a big town....), it makes it hard to access certain services. I haven't missed the shopping....with the internet, and our frequent trips to KC, I get all the shopping I need. But just like we have to drive 45 minutes to Merrill for dance each week, I'm afraid we might have to make that same sort of commitment for gynmastics if Anna wants to persue this...and with her talent, I hate to just see it go to waste.

A couple more tidbits before I go....Anna got a solo part in her school choir concert, which will be during the Christmas Eve Mass...very exciting! And Kindra auditioned for a special part during her school "holiday" concert, and got the part! She'll be singing a special part with 5 other kids during the concert, on December 11th. As far as I know, Noah doesn't have any special holiday programs for school.

Better get going, I am hoping to clean out the toy room today. Need to get rid of all the toys the children have outgrown or never use to make room for all the new stuff that's sure to arrive on Christmas Day!

More later,

Rebecca