Finn and Mary Quotables

What good is it to keep notes on my phone of cute things the kids say if I don't do anything with those notes!? So dusting off the ole blog here to share some quote worthy moments from the kids over the past year.

Finn (said age 7ish)

When our neighbor broke his Lego

"That's ok. You just made a mistake. That's fine. Everything's fine when you make a mistake, you brain just grows."

Laughter coming from the bathroom

Mom: "Finn are you done?"

"No, it was just a fart that made me laugh while I was pooping."

On the playground shortly after we moved back stateside, question from random person:

"Are you training for American Ninja Warrior?"

"No, but at least I am an American!"

Driving by American Cuisine

"Mary might like that place, it's called Waffle House!"

Mary was playing with a dryer sheet and put it on her arm

Mary: "What if I broke my arm and this was my cast?"

Finn: "Well she might break her arm. We don't know how life's gonna go."

Brother Love

"I wish I cloud go back in a time machine and give Cale a different cord and then he wouldn't die. But I don't know how to make a time machine."

Seeing an older man go into Chick-Fil-A as we were leaving

"But I thought he needed to eat healthy foods!"

No School

Mom: Mary you have school tomorrow, but Finn you do not"

"Wait, I don't have school, but Mary does!?"

Mom: "Yup"

"That means it's violent movie day for me!"

..........

Mary Quotes (said age 4ish)

"Mommy can I have that cookie"

"Are you my little cookie?"

"No."

"No? What are you?"

"A human!"

Watching Hockey on the Olympics

"Mama, I want to do that when I'm a grown up"

"Play hockey?"

"yeah, well maybe not play hockey. I want to be a dinosaur when I'm a grown up."

"Oh you do?"

"No, I mean a firefighter."

You and me both, sister!

"Ughhhh, I don't like these!"

"What?"

"These jeans. I don't like wearing jeans!"

Seeing a woman with a baby

"Dat looks like Jesus"

"My nails are very long. They are becoming black panther claws."

Waiting at the Pediatricians Office

"When are the Doctors going to be here?"

"I don't know, this is taking awhile isn't it?"

"yeah, I think they are tricking us."

Listening to Lion King's "Can You Feel the Love Tonight"

"Oh I like this one! It makes me feel wonderful!"

Sees a UPS Truck

"Mom, I see the box truck!"

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Finn at Seven

Seven. 

He has been putting gel in his hair and looking ever so suave, he rides his bike with such confidence (and speed!), he has math skills that blow me away, he is the loudest talker and cannot control his volume to save his life! He is mostly polite, but can be just the WORST listener. He is sensitive and inquisitive and his accent is the best thing that happened this year. And it's been a busy year at that. Since turning six last June Finn has visited 11 countries, 12 if you count the quick stop in Luxembourg for an afternoon. He loves to explore and has been a great little traveler. 

His reading has really taken off and recently he finished his first chapter book. He was so proud and it's really wonderful seeing his confidence grow. But on the flip side he is quick to frustration when we cannot do something or at least do it perfect on the first attempt. Today for his birthday we went to Rebound Revolution, an indoor trampoline place and he was frustrated he couldn't jump from one platform, down to the trampoline, and then up to another platform further away and land on his feet. He face planted, got a bloody nose, and yet despite his frustration he kept at it. And by the time we left he was effortlessly doing the jump at one point he was in tears over.

Legos are still his most prized possession, or as he would say, "they are very precious to me." He is sad to move away (me too, buddy) and will miss his friends "desperately." His little logical mind can be so entertaining. When opening a birthday gift (Legos) he said so matter of fact "this is for 7-12 which is perfect since I'm turning seven." 

He can still eat his weight carbs, thinks his burps are so funny, and could spend hours outside climbing trees and playing with friends.

 He’s all kinds of wonderful and today he is seven. 

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Valentine's Day 2018

The kids have their half term break this week which means that I don't have to bother with any of the Valentine's Day madness that consumes the states! I think it's fun for kids to have a run little day, but mercy, it's gotten out of control hasn't it?! And I'm just as guilty. When Mary was a baby I mailed out valentine pictures of the kids! Which meant I took their pictures ahead of time. Gross.

I wasn't even going to bother with pictures today, but then thought about how annoyed I was that I didn't take any pictures in 2016 and at six and four my kids are still young enough to tolerate such nonsense. Plus it literally took me five minutes. Make a Lego heart, throw on some red, tell a fart joke to get a good smile, DONE.

Happy (belated) Valentine's Day.

Bought this cheap shirt at Target three years ago. 

Finn has worn it each Valentines day and it actually finally fits this year!

 Previous Valentine's Day Photos:
2012
2013
2014
2015
2017

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2017 Loose Ends (1 of 2)

Because my blog took a backseat to Instagram in 2017 here are a few of the things I didn't post about, but want to remember.

First Day of School

When the kids went to school in early September, Finn was quick to point out that it was NOT his first day of school, just his first day back to school. He walked confidently into his classroom excited to see some familiar faces. It's neat to look back on a year ago and see how far he's come. He's adjusted to the long days of school, he's reading, he really enjoys math (or 'maths' as they say here, which I find so obnoxious), he doesn't have a hard time at drop off like he did for a little bit of time last year as he was adjusting to the move/new school. He has come so far in his phonics and even further on his sweet little British accent!

Mary, on the other hand, had the typical reaction a little one does when going off to school for the first time - girlfriend was NOT having it. She cried big tears the first day and it broke my heart, but thankfully the teachers were well prepared for it and she was all smiles at pick up. The second day was better, though she was still a little leery, and then in no time she adjusted and started looking forward to school! She only goes for half days, but school has been really great for her and I'm glad she has the socialization with other kids.

Big hug after the first day.
She told Miles it was her favorite part of the day.

Berlin Marathon

End of September we flew to Berlin (where Miles was born!) and I got to run the Berlin Marathon. I couldn't have asked for a better race - the weather was great (just the slightest drizzle that kept the temps down), a great course, great crowd support, etc. I got to see Miles and the kids along the route and he said it was much easier to navigate than London was given that London is just so congested with spectators. There was an attempt to break the world record (current record was set at Berlin) so it was neat to run on the course knowing the world record might be broken. Alas, it was not, but still made for an exciting aspect to the race. Berlin gave me my first Boston Qualification which will be good for the 2019 Boston Marathon and I felt really great during the whole race - never hitting the wall or feeling like my legs were spent. I hope to be lucky enough to have more races like it in the future.

Afterwards, Finn told me he loved watching me race and that "Mary was a little bad."

Nothing a muffin couldn't fix, fortunately!

New Skills

Over the summer Finn mastered bike riding. He now rides to school each day which has been such a nice (and quick) way to get there! He's campaigning hard for a "gear" bike and we wanted to get him one for Christmas, but he's still just a little too short for it, so we are thinking maybe for his 7th birthday (how is his next birthday his SEVENTH!?!)

School Plays

In December the kids both had school plays. Mary was supposed to dress up as a star and looked adorable (they asked us to bring in a white undershirt and tinsel), but on the second day of performance she wanted NOTHING to do with dressing up (neither of my kids have ever really enjoyed dressing up) and the teachers said not to sweat it, there's always a few rebels - the show will go on!

Finn, who has never enjoyed the spotlight (a few years ago he had a Valentines program at his preschool in Savannah and he pulled his shirt up over his mouth so as not to have to sing in front of people) still proved he probably doesn't have a future on Broadway, but he did do a great job standing up and saying the two lines he had. Photographic evidence of his enjoyment ;)

I think that's most of what I neglected to post with the exception of family/friends visits and travel I have yet to share. Spoiler Alert: 2018 probably won't be much of an improvement for blog updates - sorry Danielle (and anyone else who might actually still read this!)

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Halloween 2017

Halloween recap - better late than never. So I had gotten a little to excited about the idea of dressing up the kids as Mary Poppins and Bert the chimney sweep for Halloween, but Finn quickly made it known he had no interest in dressing up as a chimney sweep and partaking and when I listed all the things I would bribe him with he said he would put the costume on, but didn't want me to take a picture and didn't want anyone to see. Ugh. As much as I wanted to just force it on him, I didn't want to embarrass the kid or make him self conscious and thought I should probably respect his wishes which is totally annoying. Mary on the other hand was bribed with one Haribo gummy and she was good to go!

Unfortunately when it came to trick or treating Mary didn't want to be Mary Poppins. Both kids wants to reuse last years costumes and be American First Responders. The firefighter costume (which was a hand-me-down from a friend) has been in circulation since 2014!

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Finn Quotes

It's been a hot minute since I last shared some Finn quotes. Well, it's been a hot minute since I sat down and posted anything to this blog. Need to get better about that. Nonetheless, here's a bunch of things I've saved on my phone.

...

Finn: "Oh man, I just had a sneaky pee."
Me: "What do you mean?"
"I didn't know I had to go and then I HAD to go!"

...

"That's a lot of Legos I just carried. Beast Mode!"

...

"Mom, do you know what you can do to make people happy?"
"What?"
"You can give them a smile"

...

After pointing out a hole in his pants

"Well, it's a good thing I'm five and don't care about it"

...

"Remember when you said, 'Miles Sebastian' and Daddy said, 'Oh snap, I'm in trouble!'?"

...

sweet little Brit

"I love you mom"
"I love you too"
"And. . . you're lovely"

...

Talking to the kids the night before I had a race

Me: "Are you guys going to be good for daddy tomorrow?
Finn: "Yeah"
"Oh good"
"That means we're just going to shut up!"

...

such a humble one

"Uh, mom - why am I so smart?"

...

sweet brother

"Mom, what happened to Cale's cord when he died?"
"Well it just didn't work the way it should and he couldn't breathe"
"Why didn't it work?"
"I don't know sweetie"
"Maybe it wasn't charged"

...

Me: "Goodnight, I love you so much"
Finn: "I love you more than ever. And when you're old I'll take care of you"

...

"Dad, instead of saying, 'boom, roasted!' you could just say like, 'I knew it!'"

...

"Mom when you have another baby you should name him Trecko. Is that a good name?"
"Umm, I probably wouldn't pick it. Do you think I'm going to have another baby?"
"Yeah, if you find someone you want to marry."
"But I'm married to Daddy."
"Well now just marry someone else."

...

arguing with Mary

"Stop! Mary Stop it please!"
Me: "Mary if he asked you to stop, leave him alone"
"She's just annoying me. I'm being nice and calm and she's being mean and rude."

...

"I need to wash my face, it's very sticky."
Me: "Well we still need to take baths"
"Oh, that's perfect. It's even better than just washing my face!"

...

"I think Max and I are best friends. Or are we soul mates?...[long pause]...well, whats a soul mate?"

...

"Can I put new shoes on? I want to test how fast these babies go!"

...

on symmetry

Miles: "That's a nice symmetric Lego you're building."
Finn: "Yeah, it's symmetrical, like a sand mandala"

...

running up the stairs after getting home from school

"I'm getting changed so I can climb trees and do other cool tricks"

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Finn Turns Six

He endured a lot of changes this year - leaving behind a sweet group of little friends and a world that was familiar for a new house, new school, new country. If we were still living in the states he would have just finished up preschool and been off to kindergarten this fall, being "old" for his grade though undoubtedly still one of the smallest. Instead Finn is in Year 1 (kindergarten) here in England where he most definitely is one of the smallest in his class. School doesn't end until late July as the terms here make school a bit more year round though he will get six weeks off for the summer and we get to enjoy two week breaks in between each term. Living here will probably afford him the only opportunity to have his birthday celebrated while in school. He's adjusted well to his new school, though it took a little bit of time. But overall he's a resilient and adventure seeking little expat who now speaks with a slight accent on some words and phrases. 

He loves sports - he's currently enrolled in football (soccer) and goes weekly to his Ninja Skills class at Miles' gym (a hybrid of kids' crossfit and gymnastics). He asked for a basketball for his birthday and recently completed his first timed race and eager to do more. 

He's the self proclaimed "boss of pancakes" and eats a really impressive amount, especially given his size! He still doesn't have much of a sweet tooth, would pass on a donut if it has frosting on it (what!?), but at least requested an apple pie for his birthday (over cake which he doesn't really care for).

He can be thoughtful and sweet and infuriating and a really terrible listener. His imagination impresses us with his Lego creations and his new found enjoyment of Harry Potter makes my nerdy heart so happy.

He thinks Miles no longer has a job (fair enough) and that I should get a job at his school because some moms work there. Right now he says he wants to be in the Navy, though he gets a little motion sickness on boats, so perhaps he'll be a pilot as he is fascinated by different types of aircraft.

He is inquisitive and smart and asks unending amounts of questions. He saves his money to buy Legos and is eager to help with chores when he knows there may be a small reward involved. He can't find his shoes to save his life, but knows an impressive amount of Star Wars Trivia.

He's our rainbow, our delight, our headache, and now our six year old. Happy Birthday, Mr. Finn. We love you so much.

Finn Hidalgo: Mall Cop

Finn content with Apple Pie. Mary not content with her inability to reach the other desserts.

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Valentine's Day 2017

I failed to take any Valentine's Day pictures last year and that's gonna annoy the crap out of me. I'll need to look back on my hard drive as I know I have some pictures of Finn from his Valentine's Day program at school, but I didn't take any staged pictures like I did all these years:

2012: Finn at 7 months
2013: Finn at 19 months
2014: Finn at 2.5, Mary Newborn
2015: Finn at 3.5, Mary at 1

In my defense last year on Valentine's day I ran a marathon which left me pitifully upset and disappointed, but I should have taken pictures prior to the race because it's not like I can make up for it. Argh!

Mary is sporting a hand-me-down sweater, or jumper as it's called here in England, from when I was a little girl (or perhaps it was my sister's, or maybe both?) regardless I think it's safe to assume Mary wore it best:

And then I wanted to do another train-track like Valentine's picture and since the obsession now is with Legos, it only made sense to make a bit Lego heart.

I had a silly thought that I should try to get him to play with Legos while taking some pictures, 

but duh, of course he is going to play with them - took him no time at all!

Aren't those smiles so sweet and natural? 

All I had to do was make fart noises. Living the dream.

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Finn Dowen

Little update on Finn

He started football recently. And by that I mean soccer. He uses both words, and the other day asked when he could play football and I said, "you already are" and he said, "no I mean real football." Ha.

He also came home with this incident report last week and Miles and I were cracking up at his name, Finn Dowen. I'm guessing he was asked his surname and he said his middle name, Daren, instead. But a five year old American saying 'Daren' to a British adult resulted in 'Dowen' instead. 

I volunteered at Finn's school last week for their weekly trip to "Forest School" where they bus out to the woods and get to explore and learn about the things they see in nature as well as build things (like the den seen in the picture). The kids wear their wellies (rainboots) and warm clothes, but the school provides little raincoats and rain trousers for all the kids. Forest School is just for a couple hours one day a week, but I love that it breaks up the regular classroom day and love that they get to just learn through playing and being in nature.

Finn seems to be adjusting a little better to this term of school than he did last term. He isn't as reluctant for me to leave in the morning when I drop him off and thankfully still has a smile on his face each day at pick up.

In other cute Finn news, last night he asked us if he could throw something in the bin (the trash) and he sometimes says 'zed' instead of 'Z' at the end of the alphabet. No accent changes yet, but here's hoping!

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A Confident Chap

Finn started school last week. We moved a week after his school started up in Savannah so it made no sense to have him attend before moving, but we couldn't enroll him in a school here until we had an address and we didn't have an address for a month while we were house hunting. So, here we are in November and he's just now starting school.

Last school year he attended a wonderful school three days a week from 9-1. I really loved his school and was so sad to leave it. Had we still been in the states, Finn would have done five days a week of preschool. He has a summer birthday so even though he's old enough to attend kindergarten, we want him to be old for his class - not young. Unfortunately, holding him back wasn't an option here so he is in the British equivalent of kindergarten called Year 1. He's in a mixed class of Year 1 and Year 2 (kindergarten and first grade), so really he is one of the youngest (and smallest) in his class. It's not ideal, but it is what it is and we plan to just have him retake 1st grade when we move back to the states in 2018.

I toured a couple of schools here and then applied to the city council who handles admissions. He is attending a state (public) school, although they do require a uniform. I was very nervous about sending him off. Sure, there was the typical apprehension when you send your BABY off to kindergarten, but then factor in that he's so young/little compared to his classmates and he's starting late and he doesn't know anyway and this is the grade Cale should be in and, and, and. . . I just was all sorts of emotional about it.

Thankfully, Finn was excited to start school. He's a very adaptable kid - I'm not sure if it's just his personality or a product of the military life (probably both), but he adjusts well to new situations which I'm very thankful for. He had no reservations about attending and was very happy when I picked him up at the end of his first day. His teacher did tell me though that he had a hard time listening and a hard time sitting still. Part of me wanted to get defensive - because of course he had a hard time sitting still. He hasn't been to school since May and certainly not had a six hour day (even Miles' schedule isn't that intense these days!) but at the same time I know he's just going to need time to adjust and he can be a crappy listener - he is five. 

Fortunately the teacher he had Thursday and Friday (he has two teachers) said he did really well paying attention, sitting still, and listening. She let me know he seems social and she sees him play with other kids (which REALLY puts my worry about him being lonely at ease), but she did say he is behind on his phonics. Again, not surprised. He knows his letters and the sound they make, but that's about it. He's definitely not putting words together and reading like some of the kids in his class (they are also doing math that's above his level - which is again why I wish he could be in preschool this year, but I need to get over it). But his teacher thinks he will catch up soon and we will just work with him at home to help him get there. She did say, "he's a confident chap!" which made me laugh. Yes, that he is!

Honestly I'm not too worried about the academic side of things - that will come in due time. As long as he is happy and wants to go to school, that's what I care about most. This week will be his first full week (he started mid week last week) so I suspect he will be totally exhausted by the end of the week. But, our five year old is really putting in the longest hours of anyone in the house right now, so I've got to give him some credit for being the most hard working Hidalgo at the moment.

Trying to ask him about his first day, but
inconveniencing Lego time.

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Finn at Five

As I walked Finn in to Vacation Bible School today he didn't enthusiastically head off to his assigned classroom the way he does for school and summer camp. Instead he looked around this mostly unfamiliar place full of lots of unfamiliar faces and got a little overwhelmed. I pointed out that there was one face we recognized, that of his buddy Sam, but his eyes filled up with tears and he said, "I just can't do it." We went back in the hallway for a bit and after what I hoped was an adequate amount of comfort and reassurance, we headed back in to the room, this time, while still a little reluctant, he was willing to take the hand of a kind stranger and be brave as he started his first day as a five year old.

Part of me wanted to just scoop him up and tell him that it's his birthday, he doesn't have to do anything he doesn't want to do and we could just sit on the couch and snuggle all day, but I also know that by the time I came back for his picnic lunch, he would be more comfortable and at ease with his new friends. 

It was such a little, but big, thing - that moment at drop off. A perfect snapshot of who Finn is. My sensitive little guy who is both cautious and uncertain, but also brave and adaptable. Mary hugged him when we came back to get him and he stopped for a moment, excited to see us, but also ran off to the playground to be with his buddies. Four kids who are all probably younger than him, but all much bigger hopped on the spinning merry-go-round and it was little Finn who grabbed the handle and just started running in circles spinning his friends as fast as he possibly could. 

He was excited to wear his Ninja Turtles watch today, which was literally the only thing he wanted for his birthday, well that and apple pie. He has declared himself a pie man like his father - having a limited sweet tooth that Mary and I just don't understand. We celebrated his birthday this weekend at the beach and he spent a good remainder of the weekend building and rebuilding legos, his favorite pastime of late.

Him turning five may be the catalyst for all the emotions I knew would be lurking around the corner as we go through what is always a bittersweet month for our family. Finn is a constant remind of how much happiness can be found in life despite unmeasurable amounts of sorrow. It was never his job to "fix" us after losing Cale, but in his five years he has been such a balm, such a joy, and such an absolute treat for our whole family. When I put him to bed last night and he told me, "I love you more than a lot" I couldn't help but feel truly honored to be on the receiving end of his love.

Happy Birthday, my favorite Finn. I love you more than a lot, too. 

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Microblog Monday: Finn's School Pictures

I'm letting this blog get away from me, but not because I want to. I'll do a recap of my Run Across Georgia soon and preparing for that, both physically and logistically, just was such a time suck for the month of May. Well worth it, but a time suck nonetheless.

Because he has a summer birthday, Finn will do another year of preschool before heading to kindergarten in the fall of 2017. This will make him six when he starts kinder which is the age Cale should be turning this month. I couldn't help but feel a sting seeing pictures of little preschool graduates last month.

Finn had a great year at a really great school with just the nicest teachers. Only downside to his school year was that he took what are arguably the worst school pictures ever:

I mean, really. The photographer couldn't have attempted one more picture?! Needless to say I did not order any. The bottom one is sorta cute, but again, not worth the cost of even the cheapest package.

Good thing he has another year of preschool ahead of him, maybe he can redeem himself.

Microblog Monday: Kindness

I remember my friend Brooke writing a blog awhile back about the words parents often use with their children, girls in particular, and even though I can't even remember what the point of the blog was (sorry, Brooke!) what stood out to me was to not overuse the advice/demand/rule to "be nice." I often tell my kids, mainly Finn because he's older so understands a little better, to "be kind." I love when Ellen ends her shows with "be kind to one another" because that really is such wonderful advice. And not even advice - I mean that should just be more inherent in our nature than it is.

Anyway, point of this ramble on what should be a "micro" blog is that today while walking to the playground we spotted a little baby turtle. Probably the tiniest little turtle I've ever seen and he immediately tucked his head into his shell as my kids got up close and personal with him. After a little bit, I told them to leave him be and we would see him again when we left the park. 

teeny tiny turtle sort of the bottom left-ish of the pic

Sure enough he was there when we left and he had crawled over to a leaf for protection (probably from the giant small people). Finn went in for a closer look and went to grab something and I thought he was reaching for a stick and quickly snapped, "don't you dare poke him!" But he wasn't grabbing a stick, he was grabbing another leaf and gently laid it on the other side of the turtle to "help protect him." I immediately felt like a jerk for underestimating him and mistakingly assuming he was going to just mess with the little guy. Instead he was just being thoughtful and kind.

I hope he never changes.

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Easter 2016

Having multiple events leading up to Easter provided the kids plenty of opportunities to practice their refusal to take even one nice picture so when Easter rolled around they were pros at ruining all photo ops. Well done kids, well done. Your father has taught you well.

Last weekend our neighborhood had an Easter Egg hunt which was so cute and a reminder to me how much I love this neighborhood - such a kind and fun little community. The kids ran around and picked up eggs and then some eggs had prize tags in them and they got to go pick out toys (that they definitely did not need). They both went home with little wooden train sets that fit with the one we already have (plenty of). 

Literally the cutest picture of the 20 I took

Her double chin delight kills me

Why oh WHY do we ask them to say "cheeeeese"?!

Finn got to have an Easter Egg hunt at his school and the same day we did our hunt for Stroller Strong Moms so Mary got many more treats. Instead of running around collecting eggs and putting them in her basket, she would pick up one, open it to get to the treat, eat or attempt to eat said treat, and then go to the next egg.

Miles is away at a course right now and won't be back for a few weeks so yesterday I decided to be brave and take the kids to church by myself. We went to later mass (because bless their hearts they slept in until 8:30!) and it poured while driving around looking for a spot, but fortunately stopped when I parked a few blocks away. I brought an umbrella just in case and am glad I did because it started pouring again just as church ended. Super. Carrying Mary in one arm and the umbrella in the other while trying to keep Finn close and hop over puddle after puddle made for a miserable trek back to the car. I stopped at one point to just rest my arm (Meatball gets heavy after a little bit!) and hope that the rain would subside. It didn't and we just got soaked.

Perfect. Just what I was going for.

Again, nailed it. Thanks, kids.

We found baskets after church and had Easter dinner with some friends so it still ended up being an enjoyable day. And now that Lent is over I can be reunited with my holy place, Target, and go stock up on clearance Easter candy!

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