November 2022

After picking up both kids at school, we returned home and noticed an unusual amount of smoke around our house.  A little from the neighbor's chimney is normal, but this seemed excessive.  Emily was worried about the animals breathing the smoke, so I went out back to see how thick it was.  That's when I saw that our yard was on fire!  In the windy conditions, it looked like it was spreading quickly.  I yelled for the kids to call 911 while I grabbed a hose.  Fortunately, I was able to put the fire out while Emily did a great job of talking to the emergency responder.  Brendan had the foresight to grab a fire extinguisher and bring it out.  We didn't need it, but it was smart thinking in case we did!  We heard the firefighters show up, so Brendan took over spraying down the spots that were still smoldering while I went and spoke to the firefighters.  Brendan noticed a singed squirrel tail hanging off the transformer, and the firefighter said the electricity can arc all the way to the ground.  We are so grateful that we returned home when we did!  Nothing but grass was damaged even though the fire had burned around 3 sides of our shed!

It's the final MTB race of the season in Fayetteville.  We had another great time and both kids finished off the season stronger than ever: Brendan placed 37th out of 66 and Emily placed 12th out of 31 contenders!

Emily had her first band concert and did a great job playing Christmas music to get us in the holiday spirit!

Finishing out November was our annual Turnbaugh / Wittenberg tradition of attending opening day at the ice rink and the lighting of the square.  Brendan lost interest a couple years back, but Emily still enjoys going.  The kids enjoyed ice skating, taking a break for some ice cream at a place we've been wanting to try, the lighting, and finally, watching the ice-skating show after the square lighting.