October Tid Bits

While visiting Whitney, she showed me her set of bracelets with charms to help her remember things she needs to do. Like Sydney, she is ADD and whelp, then I became obsessed with doing the same thing. Whitney gifted some charms to get us started but then I spent a hefty amount of time and money tracking down the perfect charms to round out her set. 

Liesel's choir concert fell on the same day Ireland had dance and Gita and Sydney had Activity Days. It ended up being a little date for us which was really nice in the middle of a busy week.

Ireland had her 8th grade trip to DC and I'm so impressed with how that girl travels! She was packed, prepped and ready to go with not even a tiny bit of urging from me. 

On the other side, Reagan and Doug met up with her at We the Pizza and snuggled her up and got the hot gos and and made her feel like the most special girl on the tour. Seriously so grateful for my village! 

Brigitta and Sydney went to Brent's Take Your Kids to Work day and the balloon creations and face painting were pretty stellar!

A couple of things that came across my feed and made me smile:

Back in the day, we could only afford 1 mirror. Then the pandemic happened and we invested in the desks. Eventually I found the chairs. Then I flipped for Gita's mirror. All along, this is the vision I had- essentially a double vanity space. I came home from a morning walk to see these girls doing their makeup and it warmed the cockles of my heart to see this dream realized.

Who didn't go to the Era's Tour movie? Liesel and Ireland also went with friends separately but Liesel went again with her little sisters. I don't think I can recall any event where the outfit selection was such a big deal. Which era should I go as? was a consistent question. This is what they settled on:

Sydney was able to go with a friend to a pumpkin farm for which I am sooo grateful! I think I did just one too many apple picking and pumpkin farm field trips when the girls were little and I'd be totally ok if I never went to another one again. Sydney had a blast with her crew of cut ups.

For Girl Scouts, Gita went to a Fall Camporee and had an absolute blast!

We had our first snow on Halloween so I pulled out my hot water bottle to snuggle up with and stay warm. 

Ireland indulged me for a couple of fantastic fall walks early in the morning. On a particularly chilly morning, we warmed up with a yummy brunch and hot chocolate afterwards. I can't remember what we talked about, but I was keenly aware the tables of people around us were kind of listening in to our conversation. Not long after we'd been chatting about something, they would begin discussing the same thing. I asked Ireland if she noticed and she was blissfully unaware.

I think my girls often are unaware how much they get noticed and I try to point it out to them so they know how much they matter in this world.

I made Ireland carry this cute little maple leaf for the whole walk- haha! Then I took a picture of her with it at the end.

Big, beautiful sky!

When the seasons change, I try to do something fresh with our planters but this house takes it to the next level! Their planters are always so beautiful!

These 3 trees were a perfect rainbow of fall colors with yellow, orange and red!

Here are some snapshots from my solo early morning walks:

Usually fall is here and gone in an instant but this year Mother Nature just kept giving and giving and giving. It was a glorious fall in these parts!

Happy Halloween!

 Last year the stacked pumpkins that had adorned our front porch really died. I made them years ago and they worked pretty well but it was time to find a replacement. I loved the look of stacked pumpkins and when I found these on the Home Depot website, I was thrilled! The only problem is that the flowers from summer were still happily blooming and I couldn't bear to rip them out so the pumpkins could go on top. In the end, I kept both until those flowers really and truly died.

Major props to Brent for the work he put in on the Ward Halloween party! I helped the girls get ready, but he made the chili, decorated the back of the truck and handed out candy and then helped with setup and teardown on top of that. He was really wonderful.

The older girls were helping with games and somewhere in the madness I guess Sydney made sure to get an individual in her costume because our bishop sent us this afterwards- haha!

On the actual day, Gita ran off with a friend so it was just Sydney. Liesel had invited some friends over and they all kindly took Sydney door to door until their entire group arrived. Sydney and I kept at it until a little after dark and let me tell you- there was driving snow to contend with and Sydney didn't bat an eye. This was primarily motivated by the fact that her participation in the Chocolate Challenge was about to be lifted when we went to Disneyland. Whatever candy she could collect, she could gobble up on vacation and man, she worked for that candy!

Turns out Gita was similarly motivated and she also amassed quite the stash of candy. She didn't even bother with her cute little trick or treat bag, she went all out with the old standby- a pillowcase! The haul:

Someone gave Gita a mini New Testament!

Brent and I sat on the couch together and listened to Liesel and her friends in the family room- brim with youthful energy. It felt good to have the house full of that exuberance. Yet another sign our family is entering another era. In years past Halloween has been all about hitting those streets to trick or treat as sisters and now it's morphed to include these gatherings with friends. I really love it!

Family Photo Shoot

Over the summer I took the girls to see the Barbie movie which (of course) we all loved. As the credits started rolling there was a chorus swell of, "Dad needs to see this" and I had to agree. So a few days later I went on a date with Brent to see it again and Brent loved it as much as the rest of us. Afterward we grabbed some poke and took it to a park Brent had noticed that was nearby but kind of tucked away. So when I started thinking about this year's Christmas card, I settled on a family of Barbies, with a man who is "Kenough" in that very park. The weather was just warm enough with the sky so big and blue!

Per usual, I spent the morning doing hair... LOTS of hair and the girls were fussing with me and with each other and by the time we got to the park we were all annoyed and cranky. One of the first photos we took was the keeper so the job was done and we could go about our day. Well... maybe just a few more, so we'd have some to choose from. Brent! Look like you are trying to cope with being surrounded by women all the time!

Well now that we have the most important shot taken care of, who wants to take some individuals?

Well we have to get one of Ireland and Sydney, right? Ireland's outfit was actually originally Sydney's which ended up being too big but fit Ireland perfectly. 

OK, OK we are pretty much done but I need to get one with Dad. Lemme see... would this work?

We thought this picture would be a good idea but the fabric of my outfit was deceptively slippery and he kept losing his grip. My knees were muddy from another pose where I was kneeling down and getting this shot just became a total farce.

We couldn't stop laughing. By this time the frustration and irritation had melted away and it was the photo shoot I was hoping for all along.

The girls had so much fun, they continued taking selfies at home.

I should probably start thinking about next year's Christmas card... KIDDING! 

Sisterly Love

 I made a snap decision to visit my sister Whitney to help her with the new baby. Tim was going to be at a medical conference and leading up to that he had been scheduled for several 24 hours shifts. Whitney was at the end of her rapidly fraying rope so just for fun I looked at flights and voila! There was a reasonable flight that was even more reasonable when I applied a $125 voucher to it. I'd be able to sneak in some work at my company's offices there in Birmingham and Brent was happy to take on the lion's share of the work at home.

It was grey and dismal when we took off but after a bit we rose above the clouds to see the sun shining.

I chatted a bit with the sweet lady seated next to me. Turns out she was visiting her sister who had a cyst that burst. Like me, she had just booked this flight the day before to help out with her niece. She also worked in Finance and she had to arrange for care of her special needs son to make everything happen. We talked about our little sisters and how this was not a vacation, we were both laser focused on helping out. When we landed in Birmingham she said, "Hold on sissies WE'RE HERE!!!" Luggage took ages to unload and Whitney was being told to move on by a policeman when I ran out the door screaming, "I'M HERE!!!!" Poor Madeleine was crying and she didn't want to have to circle the airport.

Though I came to help Whitney, it ended up being a healing time for me too. I had the chance to listen to Lydia Millen's Evergreen which put me into the ultimate mindfulness mode. Most of my time was spent on walks with the dogs. Whitney couldn't take both of them and Madeleine in her stroller and I was happy to get out. I was able to enjoy all the golden colors of fall- haha!

Around Whitney's neighborhood the front porches are decorated in such a warm and inviting way. There's something so cheerful and cozy about it. A couple of favorites:

Whitney suggested a lovely trail as well and I couldn't get enough of that beautiful stretch! This dead tree with vines climbing to the tops made me happy. The crunch of the fall leaves underfoot, that distinctive fall smell in the air, it was just perfect.

Felix would find the most inconveniently large sticks to tote along and of course he wanted to carry it on the side that would bump into Dakota. This happened too many times to be an accident! There's definitely some sibling rivalry going on here.

Madeleine has changed so much from when I last saw her. Her little hands used to be balled up into fists and now she's stretching them out more. Those sweet little fingers with the teeny, tiny nails! Adorable!

Whitney and I had some great chats and I hope I left her a little better than I found her. Waiting for my flight I enjoyed watching the ground crew who were having a dance party out there on the tarmac!

And I was again reminded that even though it may be a miserable grey sky...

...somewhere up there the sun is still shining!

Gita's Run with Cross Country

 Even though neither Brent nor I were runners and didn't do any sort of track or cross-country, I had a feeling Gita would take to it like a fish to water. She's always had an abundance of energy but I noticed whenever Gita ran, she just never became winded. Due to the pandemic, she wasn't able to do Girls on the Run like her older sisters but she did a Thin Mint Sprint for Girl Scouts and practically skipped through it. Gita's young- not just because she's a 6th grader but because she's a mid-August birthday which puts her at a disadvantage when it comes to sports. Even so, I felt like she had the chops to do well. Our family calendar is chockablock as it is and usually I am loathe to add anything to it but I just felt in my bones Gita would thrive in cross country.

Turns out cross country is just running for a long time and usually there are hills involved. Turns out Gita absolutely LOVED it! Not every moment of course- she had her days. Admittedly, I inwardly cringed when she wrapped up a meet only to rush over to the studio for 3 hours of dance. Even the indefatigable Gita was tired and there were some courses that were not her favorite (as you can see from this video of her screaming, "I HATE THIS COURSE!" while I cheer her on- haha!)

She was able to be a part of an incredible team! Even though she's just a 6th grader and on the small side, Gita is the little engine that could and she did remarkably well- she melded right into running culture.

These girls went on to Sectionals and then to State. Gita never actually ran for either- she tagged along as an alternate. I was blown away by the mom group who put rallied to support their daughters. They organized goody bags, signs, hotel rooms, meals, coolers full of snacks, rides, pictures and videos. I'm telling you, these women could rule the world! Even the outfits they wore on the day they headed to state- the glasses, t-shirts and crocs were 100% coordinated! You can tell these girls just had so much fun together!

The school did a Running of the Vikings to send the team off- you can barely see Gita there at the very end and she looks so LITTLE!!!

Let's talk about these goody bags for a second because I have never seen such an embarrassment of riches! The moms went all out and contributed: hair bows, socks, mini cow bells (my contribution!), lip balm, vitamin water, gum, stickers, water bottles, liquid IV packets, snacks, sensory balls, headbands, granola bars, mini running headlights, iron on patches, chocolate, ponchos and hand warmers... I was kinda envious of this SWAG!

I make so many mistakes in parenting but this is one I'm proud to say I got right. I had a feeling Gita would love cross country and she had an absolute BLAST! She pushed and stretched herself and she made some incredible friends in the process. Ireland joined her for a Saturday morning run once and I had to smile as I watched Gita urging her on. 

A Couple of Solos

 We knew Liesel had a solo for her Choir Concert but at the last minute another soloist couldn't make it so she ended up doing two. Her teacher highlighted her for it and she got lots of snaps which made my momma heart sing! 

Have I mentioned she reluctantly joined Choir at our urging? And we were right about her loving it?