October Tidbits

The Sisters joined us for General Conference and as we listened to the talks, I had the girls organize and put away all the American Girl Doll clothes and accessories. 

Per tradition, I also made bread!

There's something about how Sydney stumbles into the office all groggy in the morning to say hello. I've usually been working for a couple of hours but I have to stop for a moment because she is so snuggly when she's half-asleep!

Sydney mentioned another girl joined her dance group at recess. I didn't even know she had formed a dance group at recess... but she said this girl is in cheer so she's doing ok. Apparently she really improved after Sydney gave her a 1:1. I'm a little worried she's the bossy kid on the playground! The funny thing is that of all the girls she's arguably the least dedicated to dance. She goes, but it isn't the big thing it is for her sisters. So this news was a little bit of a shock.

While this bike trail wasn't my favorite, the sunset was pretty spectacular!

Ireland grabbed my favorite sunglasses. I prefer aviators because they are such a classic look. The hue happened to match the shade of her sweater perfectly and I had to snap a photo!

After church Ireland got into the car with a treat cup full of pretzles, cookies, etc. 
Ireland: I'm gonna go find Gita.
*I glance at the treat cup. Ireland clocks it and grabs the mega stuft Oreo.*
Ireland: I'm gonna go find Gita.

You can see the leaves starting to turn on this gorgeous, gorgeous day!

We really enjoyed Liesel's first choir concert. She had to wear all black but it had to be modest so I scoured dresses with a vintage silhouette and found this one. She stood out to me in that crowd- she suddenly looked so grown up, so tall, so beautiful, so sure of herself. When did that happen? The words from Fiddler on the Roof came to me- When did she get to be a beauty? When did she get to be so tall?

A friend from church who also has a teenager in choir mentioned how she stands out on stage- just so confident and radiant!

My company is closing their Chicago office and selling off the furniture. Brent and I jumped on a couple of standing desks and monitors with monitor arms. We headed downtown in the truck early on a Saturday to pick them up. I'll miss going into the office now and again with the fantastic view of the Sears tower right next door.

We wandered over to Brent's office to grab some drinks and snacks for the road. On the way back to the truck we noticed the moon was shining, even in the middle of the day. It looks so small in the photo...

...it looked so much bigger in person!

I saw a TikTok challenge where two people spin around 10 times and then try to kiss. I decided to make the girls try it and then realized it doesn't work with dancers who are good at spotting.

Somehow my talk to text turned on one Sunday and this is what it prepared to respond to Brent. The girls got a good laugh over it.

I love fall in this part of the world!

Ireland is always game to go with me on an early morning walk when it's still dark out and then watch the sun rise by the lake. I really love that about her. As the sun's rays warmed up this weeping willow I asked her to pose and this is what she gave me- cheeky!

Sydney was pretty thrilled to find a new book series. Wonder why...

On my birthday I took the day off work and knocked out visits to my PCP, dentist and OB. I had to get a blood draw and it was awful. They had a hard time finding a vein which seems to be an issue with me lately. Still, I'd rather get a poke and know I've done everything I can to stay healthy than to just ignore things and hope it's alright.

I know I'm posting a lot of pictures of the lake by our house- but it's so beautiful!

Especially bathes in an autumn sunset.

Happy Halloween!

OK, let's do a rundown of the costumes! Ireland was thrilled to put her Ravenclaw costume to good use AGAIN! She even took that cloak to school! Gita really, really, really wanted to be Seven from Stranger Things. I know nothing about Stranger Things so Liesel and Ireland filled me in. Apparently with this outfit she's supposed to have a nosebleed and a bloody skate. When I tentatively asked if her red Doc Martens would work, they all lit up at the idea. I have wanted ALL the girls to dress as the Mean Girls for a while and Liesel at least finally agreed to be Regina George. Sydney was excited to be Hermione and I'm glad we can recycle that costume- I put a lot of work into it!

Our Ward Halloween Party was so fantastic. Everyone was there and we even won the chili cook-off! How adorable are these ghost snacks? So charming!

Our bishop is a talented photographer and since the girls were off either helping to run the games (Liesel and Ireland) or playing those games with friends (Brigitta and Sydney), Brent and I got our photo taken. Inspired by Flannel Fest, we went as a lumberjack and lumberjill.

Apparently Sydney stopped by the photo booth as well!

I'm not sure when or how Brigitta got a hold of some fake blood to make a nosebleed...

Sunglasses were one of the prizes that could be won from the games.

Traditional costume parade!

Liesel got to run the cake walk which is one of the more popular games.

Usually people start to filter out and the same 10 people that help with every activity end up doing the clean up but they asked everyone pitch in. The gym went from fully decorated to completely clean and put away in 20 minutes. The centerpieces had been these ghosts so the missionaries wore them like hats. Liesel wanted a pic with them. We really love these ladies!

I was so, So, SO excited about decorating the truck for the Trunk or Treat! This took several trips to Home Depot, Hobby Lobby and Party City and more than one look from Brent that said, "Is this really necessary?" I was contemplating a smoke machine when I noticed the bubble makers and I quickly called my sister Reagan. Should I do a smoke machine or bubbles? She excitedly told me to do bubbles and oh man, she was right! The kids FLOCKED to the truck! Not even for candy- just to play with the bubbles! I was going for a Dia de los Muertos theme and I played music from Encanto. It's hard to tell, but we had bales of bay, colorful pots with sugar skull patterns on them filled with tiny orange flowers, our red, woven tablecloth and bunting on the bottom. It was all tricked out and I really loved the finished product!

Traditional candy count:

In this pic you can see one of the potted flowers that were a part of our Trunk or Treat decorations. I bought 4 of them so each of the girls got one.

Since Liesel's on the Chocolate challenge all this becomes a barter system. We made sure to buy her non-chocolate treats she could enjoy ntoo and those are behind her- not for trade.

On Halloween itself, the girls just scattered. Everyone wanted to hang out with their own friends so rather than corralling everyone to go Trick or Treating, Brent and I found we had the house to ourselves which was just dreamy! So many people say "let them stay little" but I have to admit I'm loving this new phase of parenthood where I'm not on 24-7, not needed every second of the day. I get a little break now and again. I did manage to get a photo of Sydney with her cute friend before they took off.

Let's talk about Gita. When I was a kid, we used a pillowcase for our candy because we didn't have proper candy buckets. Gita has a bucket, but she used a pillowcase to hold the sheer volume of candy she amassed that night.

One house gave her an entire package of candy corn! Not a snack sized bag, a HUGE bag of candy corn just for her!

Which reminded me of this- makes me laugh!

I've gotta be honest, it warms the cockles of my heart to see my girls organizing and categorizing their candy by color. 

Kinda feel like my work is done here!

Family Photos

It started with the concept (because there has to be a meaningful concept behind these photos!) which was everyone in buffalo plaid but it would be all different ways of wearing buffalo plaid. I shopped for vests, jackets, hats, dresses, shoes... and turns out there is a brighter red out there and then there is a darker, cherry red. So everyone had to be wearing the cherry red. I had to plan who would get the bright colored shoes and who would wear a hat and who would be in skirts so it was a good mix of the pattern on top and bottom. I had these outfits laid out on the floor of our room for weeks, constantly tweaking and having the girls try on different elements. I really tried to get items they would enjoy wearing.

Oh and red lips! Red lips would really pop. So I bought a lipstick and a lip stain to ensure those lips would be cherry red to match the cherry red in the buffalo plaid. I curled Gita's uncurlable hair, flipped out Ireland's and also curled Sydney's so they would look bouncy and shiny. I also harassed Brent to get a haircut and tidy his beard. Oh yeah, and I curled my own hair too. It was a long morning.

Then there's the location (because even the location should be significant!) and since I had enjoyed biking so much this year and roped everyone into it, I knew exactly the bike trail I wanted to use. It just so happened the leaves were turning. Just to be sure, I rode the trail and decided my initial pick was going to be in the shade so I opted for a different spot. No matter, the second spot was closer to parking anyway. Sure this meant we'd have to take the truck and pack up all the bikes but we can swing that, right? Oh and we should take some photos by the lake. It's such a picturesque lake, we might as well stop, right? As luck would have it, there was an amateur photographer who offered his assistance, which was nice.

OK so when? Well we are so busy the best time would be on Sunday morning before church. Church doesn't start until 11:30 am so that's plenty of time, right? I mean how long could all of this take? The girls are naturally photogenic so it's just a matter of getting there and snapping a few. Easy peasy! Sure Brent has obligations but we can do this, we can fit this in. The weather is going to be so beautiful, it's like the stars are aligning just for us to get family photos on this particular Sunday morning!

Of course I wanted to try something different in the way we posed. I mean we do the standard front shot every year so I should think outside the box, right? I scoured Pinterest and lately Minted so I could predetermine which Christmas card I was going for and then do the pose around that particular card (that would be cute, right?). Anyway, I had seen an engagement photo where the guy hoisted the girl and she kind of kicked out a leg and that could be fun if I did that with Sydney and Brent did that with Gita? Or would that look awkward?

Aside from being exhausting (had to set the timer on my watch and quickly pick up Sydney) and sweaty (Brent and I were in vests after all), it just plain looked awkward...

Early on a Sunday morning the trail would be pretty empty, right? OK so there are more people than I planned for. We can just wait for them to disappear and then quickly take the photo. Yes, time is a' ticking and we might just be late for church but one more concept (because there must be a concept!) and all we need it for Gita to take off her shoes and tights. I mean, just here on the side of the trail. Yeah it's a pain but trust me, TRUST ME it's going to be so cute! A recreation of The Beatles Abbey Road cover. Paul had bare feet and if any of our girls would randomly have bare feet it would definitely be Gita. OK, OK everyone just take a step. Wait, Ireland close and Liesel I guess you are technically going to have to step into grass. Wait for this couple to disappear out of the background. OK now when you step keep your legs straight. Straight step. Find the light! Turn your faces towards the sun. Yes I know it's in your eyes but it makes for a better photo!

OK Dad's had it and I can't force this situation anymore- we will just have to go with something we already have. Anyone want some quick individuals? OK, Liesel HURRY! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell. It's just that Dad is getting annoyed and we don't have a lot of time. Just go. Please stop crying.

Oh that's super cute with the two of you. YES I know we need to get going. Can you help Gita with her nylons? Gita, you have to tie your shoes or your laces could get tangled in the bike chain. Just tie them quickly. HERE just let me do it!

You know what might be fun? A video of each of us riding our bikes, youngest to oldest. It will be super quick, let me get set up. OK Sydney GO! Just... everyone just ride one after another. OK another person on the trail. Let's do this just ONE LAST TIME. Got it. OK yes, we can go. Ahhhh you look so cute on your bike with all that tulle flying behind you. Go back and ride as fast as you can so I can get a picture. Brent just start loading the bikes into the truck. It's fine, we will be fine. We are on time to church 98% of the time it's fine if we are late just once. Hurry Gita- HURRY!!!

And that is how family photos went.

Flannel Fest

 We aren't really big on festivals in this family. The cost, crowds, parking... just not our thing. But when I saw there was going to be a flannel fest which included a lumberjack show? I insisted. Immediately Brent angled to have me go either alone or with some of the kids but I told him we'd go really early to get good parking and avoid the worst of the crowds. I really wanted to see that lumberjack show!

We were able to get prime parking- once we jumped out of the car there was a line of cars behind us who followed suit. They had TP tossing for the kids, axe throwing for the adults and a pie eating contest. 

Let's talk about the fantastic food truck game. One sold pizza, one sold elote (Mexican street corn) in a cup and tacos, one sold Filipino food and we feasted on all of it. Sitting on bales of hay, balancing paper plates between us, I was pretty proud that the girls have (mostly) developed a well-rounded palate. It was so yummy!

The lumberjack show was everything I hoped it would be. They had to chop a log while standing on it, use a special chainsaw to cut a piece of log- first top to bottom, then bottom to top, and they did a log climb:

I was fascinated by the log rolling competition. There's actually quite a bit of strategy involved and they will bounce the log up and down, kick water at each other and the one who falls in this video is actually a national champion! He's been doing it since he was a kid.

Snapped a photo of the girls with him. The bear between Ireland and Sydney could be purchased.

The park was getting a bit crowded so we slipped out and gave our prime parking spot to a lucky family. Like I said, we don't normally go to festivals, but I'm glad we made it to this one!

Liesel's 14-Year Trip

Hi everyone! This is Liesel.

When we were little, my parents decided that they were going to take each of us on 3 trips. One trip with our mom to Utah, one trip with our dad to Palmyra, and then our senior trip with both of them.

Here is my trip to Palmyra (and upstate New York in general) with my dad.

While driving around we found a random state park that we decided to explore. there were a lot of little waterfalls and cool cliffs everywhere and I really glad we decided to take a look.

Throughout the trip, I wore outfits from my closet that gave me fall vibes so on this day I wore a white shirt and my brown shrug along with jeans. You can't see it super well in this photo but the staircase in the cave is pretty cool!

We also went to visit Niagara Falls and we went on the "Maid of the Mist" boat tour, where we proceeded to get drenched in water. Here are some photos I took while we were there before I had to put the phone away so that it didn't get soaked.

 

And a picture of the falls afterwards once we were off the boat.

Here is a picture some nice ladies took of us in the Sacred Grove

And a picture of us near the temple.

This is a picture of us when we went to the E.B. Grandin Building and tried to find my Aunt Whitney's testimony from when she served there, we weren't able to find it but we had a good time anyways.

These two pictures are from a restaurant where we ordered buffalo wings. They were spicier than I expected but sooo good!

There were a lot of adventures on this trip that couldn't be shown through the photos on this blog post such as the many songs and playlists we played, the gas station snacks, the many sisters and strangers we bonded with while we were there, all the places we ate, and finally the orange, red, brown, and yellow leaves everywhere. I had a great time and I really enjoyed the trip and the memories that I made! I can't wait to make more on my senior trip in 4 years.

Sincerely, Liesel