Friday

Here's Mommy's display case, above, which turned out rather good for our Get a Clue series.  This time, we're doing a big outside-the-service mystery.  You can see the usual Sherlock Holmes material in the bottom of the display case, and along the wall you see our suspects that Josh and Daddy came up with.  Whodunnit?  The kids will find out as we go along with this series, ultimately a few weeks into November, actually.  It seems like a long ways off, but we know how that works here.  It'll be here before you know it!

Madison has been learning about Western Expansion lately at school, so why not celebrate that with a bit of a journey down the Oregon Trail?  Doesn't that sound like fun?  Of course, Madison was really looking forward to it with giddy anticipation, and probably for all the wrong reasons.

MADISON:  "Daddy."
DADDY:  "What?"
MADISON:  "You died!"

We made such a big deal about this game last year, about how much bad luck befalls the player at amazingly random times.  Madison has been looking forward to playing it ever since!  Today, we lost Camille to a fever, Josh to cholera, and Daddy drowned in about 3 1/2 feet of water when the conestoga wagon tipped over.  Isaac died too, battling a bit of dysentery.  And Madison was bit by snakes several times, and we lost a lot of oxen.  By the time the trip was over, and the Promised Land of Oregon was reached, Madison was the only survivor.  It's a really macabre game, isn't it?

Tonight we got home and watched "The Addams Family," in preparation for the play we're seeing tomorrow.  Madison is doing a pretty good Wednesday impersonation, although she keeps cracking up.  We were working at the office late into the night, trying to get things done for the new series.  We'll be there all day tomorrow too.  Tonight, we were listening to the Gaithers, who were upstairs in the main sanctuary.  They're still singing, still going strong.

It's not Madison's favorite type of music though.  She has her earphones on, and has spent a lot of time lately listening to her favorite music that Daddy downloaded for her, and occasionally yelling out "What?"  That's when we're trying to get her attention.  One of the songs she has been hearing a lot lately is the theme to "Ghostbusters."  She loves the "Descendants 2" soundtrack, and is already listening to Christmas music too.

Anyway, it was a great day for all this, ending with a bit of Nancy Drew and prayers at bedtime.  Tomorrow we have a full work day in order to get things ready.  But at least we get to sleep in!