November started with us getting a big pit in our yard. Since Kayla had just gone through this process of putting in a semi inground pool, we asked a lot of advice. Maybe her number one recommendation was to hire out digging the pit. They didn't have good enough access to their backyard to hire this out, and so they did it themselves. It was a chore and a half. Thankfully we were able to get a recommendation of someone to hire from a landscaper guy in our ward.
We ended up getting a bid that was substantially lower than we thought it would be. It was such a relief! Turns out that he actually made a mistake with his instrumentation so he bid too low. We ended up splitting the difference with him. We had to laugh though that this isn't the first time this had happened. When we did our big dirt project a few years ago, it ended up being way way more work than the guy anticipated, so we got a steal of a deal on the labor. This happened again with this excavator guy. We just joked that everyone thinks projects in our yard will be less work than they are. Especially us! So these people are in good company.
I was so nervous about this project. Now, months later we still haven't swam in the pool. I hope at some point I will be glad that we did this!
The next day we worked all day leveling this pit. It was so discouraging, but it ended up being okay. We worked for hours with no visible progress, but then I ended up running an errand, and while I was gone John just raked the whole thing. For some reason, it really made the whole thing seem so much more manageable. Like I saw that this was going to be possible. The leveling was intense though. This whole process was so so much leveling. I didn't know that there could be so much leveling!
That evening Holland and I went clothes shopping for our Mommy Daughter date. We went to Target and had a good time. She sure loves clothes, and I do too!
The next day was Sunday, and to be honest it was a beast. There were long meetings, fasting + PMS, and no seeing my family enough. It was not restful at all. But after we got the kids in bed we just cuddled and talked. We fell asleep cuddling - it was everything a marriage should be. That feeling continued the next day. It was a chaotic emotional day. I ended up talking to my sister in law Miriam for a while, and John a bunch of times. Those connections calmed me down. Sometimes I can't believe how erratic I feel. I fell stretched and pulled too tight, but being with John makes me loosen and relax.
The crazy feeling wasn't helped when the next day Trump won the Presidential election. I couldn't believe it! Still can't, to be honest. It feels like Trump being the president has figuratively turned our nation's politics into a dumpster fire. His decisions and policies have made me carry around a low key panic for months. I hope it turns out okay, and we can just endure the next 4 years.
Yet, life carries on. I went to Thanksgiving point with Jenessa. She is so fun and easy to talk to. Darcy still says crazy things:
K: Did you know Daddy is a silly goose.
D: No, he is a stinky goose!
Another day Eliza told me that I am one of her favorite people, and it felt like a payday as a mom. I also loved playing games with the Jacobsons. Although I might have gushed a little too much about Crash Landing on You. That Saturday we spent the entire day squaring the pool. I tell ya, so so much leveling. I really hope we can enjoy it for years. Holland did so much better at her chores. I feel like we are slowly turning a corner with her.
That week we worked everyday as much as we could on the pool. It is hard when it is just me, and John is at work. You couldn't even really see a difference, but it was there.
On Tuesday Erica came to visit! Darcy was so excited to see Brielle. They played so well. and Brielle loved the shake that I made for lunch. That evening Miriam had a fantastic band concert. Sometimes I forget that she learning the clarinet, but she totally does it.
Playing a new game that our friend Jeff helped create. It is a good one!
Planted all the bulbs by myself because we were so busy with the pool together.
Eliza started some new skin meds from the dermatologist. This is her before photo. Google photos likes to include this photo in all of the things which makes me giggle a little.
So much work led to this point. All of the directions leveled. Well mostly. It isn't perfect, but it is as close as we could get it. It was a beast to do.
Holland's cute hair before church.
Taking a photo to help remember proper hand position on her bow.
Ice skating for a YW activity! It was mainly fun because Miriam was there and hung out with me.
Sleepy girl
Preschool trio
The before photo of lego desk.
We started to put up walls on the pool! It is funny how many times we had to redo this. Also how many times we measure and remeasure this and that lengths. But as soon as the walls went in, everything could have shifted. I sure hope it is sound!!!
The After lego desk picture!
We had to redo the slats around the intake and return four times. It was so hard to get them in and out too. I felt pretty smart for doing it wrong so many times.
Hey, I think that is the right position for the intake and return! It was hard to get those slats in sometimes. The craziest moment was when wind came up as we were trying to put them together. Miriam and I ended up just holding them until John could come home from work and be a third pair of hands to help everything stay safe in the wind. That weekend we shoveled in all of the sand for the base. It was 8000 lbs! Then we tamped it all down and of course, leveled it. This is all while it was snowy, cold, muddy, and we did it! Our bodies are amazing!
Awesome musical number.
We finally put in the last couple of slats! We had left them out for better access when we were filling with sand.
Amazing music video from our Boston trip. We could only see Ellie for a split second in the background, but she is there.
John ran a CFD case to study how the water would churn around the pool.
So many screw putting this thing together! John ended up taking two half days to help us finish this project for the winter before the bad weather set in.
Time to put the liner in!
Starting to fill
Still filling! It took about 2 days to fill it for the winter. We had to have water on the inside pushing out. so we could back fill the dirt, and it could push in. We also got the tops all nicely on!
Back fill time! Our nice neighbor Kristina helped us shovel for a while. We had our kids help too. Besides the dirt that we saved, we bought another 4.5 yards of dirt and filled it. One funny conversation with a different neighbor--she was pretty confused about what we were doing. "So you're making your pool out of sand?" "No the sand is just a foundation layer, but there is a vinyl liner that holds the water." "So is there a chance it will leak?" "Yes...obviously there is a chance it will leak." Oh boy.
TA-DA! Done for the winter! We did it all in about 3 weeks! SO so much work!
This is just annoying but another neighbor that doesn't even live there put up a blockade so we couldn't slip through the fence to go to the church building. So many people cut across the empty lot, but I guess we were doing it offensively somehow??
The pool construction really dominated our November but there were still other things going on. I did a gratitude craft for the preschoolers. They things they thought to be grateful for...a pet they don't have, Halloween, paper, scary movies, spiders, etc. It was so funny!
A funny quote from Darcy: "I like Mommy! She is a cute little fellow!"
Miriam and Ellie talking about what they are going to do differently when I die. Miriam said, "I think I won't eat so many bananas." Oh my gosh Miriam, you don't have to wait until I die to live your truth about bananas! That was such a funny/offensive conversation.
Holland had her parent teacher conference. She is doing so well! I am so proud of her!
One Sunday we put games and massages on the to do list. Just prioritizing that was so so nice. And I love just chatting with Darcy, "Momma, do you want to hold hands?" (While we were walking down the stairs.) "Obviously they are making a cornfield for chickens." (about some construction workers). And jut when she puckers her lips so big at me for a kiss.
Holland still keeps up the "would you rather?" questions. This one made me laugh out loud though: "Would you rather be married to a Gadianton Robber or have 5 pet snakes?"
One Sunday Darcy woke up and threw up. Thankfully no one else got sick. That same day Miriam taught YW. She did great!
The next day we didn't have MCO or the pool to work on, so that made it so relaxing although it meant a lot of catch up work. I did take a few minutes to just read a book though which was so nice! Darcy exclaimed that day, "We're all purse girls cause everyone has a purse!" Poor John is always getting left out.
The next couple of days were spent cleaning up our house. We had neglected things a lot while we were doing the pool, so it was time to face those consequences. We also picked up stuff to host the Pearsons for Thanksgiving Dinner. Thankfully I listened to a super fun audiobook throughout - The Romcommers by Katherine Center. I listened to a lot of audiobooks during the pool project. I cranked up the audio speed to 2x so I could relisten to Stormlight #4 before #5 came out.
The next day we hosted the Pearsons for Thanksgiving dinner. It is so much work, but we ended up having plenty of yummy food. Before dinner and everyone came, we paused and did massages. So relaxing! Darcy told us, "I am thankful for meat...and turkey!" It was a little frustrating because I spent more days prepping than people spent hours here. People like to take off after about 2 hours, and for sure it was like a 3 day prep. Oh well, every family is different.
The next day we went to Marc and Miriam's house for the Deru get together. I loved playing Hand and Foot. Everyone just jokes around and has a great time. The meal was so good too. I skipped most of it and just had 3 yummy salads, half and orange roll, and some pie.
Holland told John, Darcy and me, "I am feeling a little peckish." and gave each of us a little cheek peck. Darcy responded with " I am a little Jewish."
The day after the Thanksgiving festivities, we spent a bunch of time getting ready for Christmas. Holland told us, "It looks like Christmas exploded in here!"
We got home and to bed from our Costa Rica trip at about 2 am. The next morning we all had a sleepy morning, and I drove all of the kids late to school. I was able to get mostly unpacked and put things away. The next day what I thought had been allergies was definitely a cold. I still taught preschool though. Thankfully the kids were nice for me. The following day I just kind of took the day off. I read three books. A good book is so fun.
The following day was my mom's birthday. I miss her. I loved General Conference that day. President Freeman spoke about priesthood and covenants. Elder Kearon spoke about how we should have joy when we worship. Sister Yee spoke about becoming in Christ. That evening we had fun toasty night swimming.
The next day was conference again. I loved hearing Elder Holland testify of Christ. I feel inspired to do better and be better. President Nelson promised us we could find Jesus in the temple. I need to look for Him. I invited my dad down for dinner He told jokes with Holland and Darcy and watched the MCO songs.
The following day, Darcy went right in to MCO and even put on her badge. She is getting so big. I made a crock pot soup which was a little crazy but nice to come home to. Holland is getting so good at violin. She is getting some skills. I am proud of her and me for sticking with it. I hiked the Y with Miriam. It was lit and the lights of the city were gorgeous. We saw a wolf spider--pretty huge. Mainly I talked to the other YW leaders, but it was still nice to be there with her. Ellie worked so hard to catch up on her school work from our trip. She is amazing!
Garden harvest after our trip!
Love cuddly girls and conference
Such an over the top, fun book club!
I love this girl!
On October 10th we were enjoying the unually warm fall evening in our little pool when I noticed that there was red over the mountains. I was worried at first that something was on fire and the glow was over the mountains. It was actually the Northern Lights! That has always been a bucket list item for me, and I never expected to see them from my own little yard in Provo! The deep red slowly turned into a brighter pink. And then we even saw the glowy lines. It was amazing!!!
Unfortunately, my grandparents' house that my cousin had just finished renovating had a fire that night. The garage caught fire from some fumes from a rag that had some refinishing liquid on it. The garage burned so bad that the cars parked in front the house were completely burned too. Will and Camille weren't home, but their kids were there with Bill, Sheila, McKenzie, and Mady. The ironic thing is that they kept getting up throughout the night to check for the glow of the Northern Lights. When they checked at like 3 am they saw a glow...from the burning cars in the driveway! The smoke detectors never went off! It was terrible. It sure puts any other problem I think I might have in perspective. They were able to save a lot of the house, but everything has water and smoke damage. Such a nightmare!
Eliza went to the most darling birthday party--Pride and Prejudice themed (embroidery, regency dress, conversation, making fans, and even dance lessons, and boys came to be partners. She was so giddy.
The next Sunday fast Sunday-- nice and hard. I enjoyed reading Emma M. Lion Vol 4. It is a fun series. Darcy commented loudly at church, "That was short," after a kid shared her testimony. We had a lovely dinner outside, and that evening we attended a fireside about covenants by Dr. Barbara Morgan Gardner. I want to learn more about that.
We were just in the thick of things then. MCO rehearsals, dentist appointments, school concerts. It is so fun that Miriam is in Acapella and Chamber this year. She has twice the number of songs, and she is loving it. We also went for one more swim before we took our pool down for the winter. Last time with that pool! The kids were silly, fun, and splashy. It was on October 16th--pretty late this year.
One night Darcy corrected her bedtime prayer from "Thankful for this day" to "evening."
We went driving with Ellie a lot around this time. She drove on road with lines! She really hadn't driven much between August and Fall break. She is such a good, responsible kid. Thanksgiving Point over Fall Break with the girls was so fun. I love hanging out with them.
The next day we got a bid for our pool digging. It actually came in lower than we thought it would. Phew! (Spoiler: he did it wrong, so we ended up paying a bit more than anticipated, but it was still way cheaper than we feared.) This helped with the gut punch of purchasing the pool and equipment. Yikes, that stung.
John and I went on a date to see "Men in Boats." I love going on dates with him. And watching Kdramas. :)
The next day as we were leaving Sacrament meeting we remembered we were subbing Hollands Primary (in like 3 minutes). We threw together a lesson as we went. It went okay. :)
Darcy is often using the word "tinkle-y" for "small." She is so funny and cute.
One day during Fall Break we had a playing with friends day. They all had a good time, and I took a little nap after the friends left for like 10 minutes. It felt like heaven!
Picture day in our yard
Fall break fun at the Curiosity Museum
Amaranth
Ellie and I had a kolache date. It was so yummy and fun to do in the morning during a school break. Afterwards we went to Thanksgiving Point Dinosaur museum fun--scavenger hunt to find pumpkin dinos. We had a hilarious conversation about which animals a human could fight and win. The answer we came up with was not many (especially if the human couldn't use any tools).
The next day I met up with Jenessa and her boys at a pumpkin patch. Darcy loved the corn pits and pretending to drive/ride the little golf cart machine that was parked there. She is so fun to talk to!
That evening we got our cafe lights hung on our patio! It made us so happy even though we only got them up right before winter started.
The next day was a crazy busy day, but the best part was the BYU Chemistry show. It was more than a full hour and was super fun! I loved the bubbles that were flammable. How did people figure out these things?? We got some ice cream afterwards that they froze with liquid nitrogen. It was a good time!
The next day Eliza and Miriam had friends over for a fire and movies. We got good snacks and had a great time. We have been loving watching Crash Landing on You.
The next day we put in some long hours getting the yard ready for the pool. I can't believe it is happening, but we certainly spent the money for it. Cherilee and Jess helped us much getting the flower beds and garden cleared. That night John and I had a date night to Applebees and even went clothes shopping. He was a good sport and even found a few things. :)
Ellie led the music in Sacrament meeting. The songs got changed on her at the last minute and she still handled it with grace and poise. That evening John left for a work trip to Chicago. That meant it was a girls game night that evening. It was fun to play with my girls but I missed my one and only.
I had to get a cavity filled the next day, and it weirdly made me miss my mom a lot. That is exactly the kind of thing I would have told her about, and we would have commiserated on. I miss those small seemingly insignificant conversations.
That evening I had to do MCO rehearsal solo. Yikes it was crazy! I thought that the rehearsal was at the normal location but it wasn't. We had to drive an extra 20 minutes or so to get to the other building, and when we got there there were road closures because of a town Halloween festival. There was no parking, and the whole thing just felt insane.
Thankfully, the next evening was so much calmer. The kids and I played 5 Second Rule, and Darcy did better than I would have thought! The older girls are so helpful while John is gone. They help with all of the things--food, clean up, other random chores, getting the little ones ready for bed, etc. I feel so grateful for them!
We went to the Ward Halloween Party. We all dressed up as princesses. Holland school also had a Halloween parade. Cherilee and Jess brought us Costa Vida for dinner. That was so so nice of them. Then we went trick or treating with everyone for a while. Then the older girls went out with friends. Darcy came home from trick or treating and only wanted to eat a banana. While she was eating that Halloween snack she told me, "The only dangerous thing is a werewolf paw."
Dinosaur puzzle at the dinosaur museum
Liquid Nitrogen Ice Cream!
We brought in our tropical plants. It was so late this year, and they were so happy to be outside. I had to take a before photo to see how sad they look comparatively by the time it is warm enough to take them outside again.
Our yard is so pretty! Do we actually want to do a pool and make a big construction zone again??
Subway for dinner at MCO rehearsal.
On October 29th, I had such a tender experience. I listened to a Follow Him podcast with Brad Wilcox. He spoke about how Jesus taught about prayer the most and how it connects us with God. I thought to say a sincere prayer. I prayed more intensely than usual and told the Lord how I was missing my mom. I asked Him to tell her that. As I did I had an overwhelming feeling that she wanted me to know that she loved and missed me too. It was unmistakable, and it gives me hope about what is to come after death.
We got a set of crowns so Mommy dressed up too.
Darcy's Elsa braid :)
The eating a donut on a string game is always more funny than you'd think.
Getting ready for the pool to be dug!
The pool came! One giant pallet that was way taller than the van in the garage. The other pallet just had our heater on it. We got a mammoth sized heater because swimming in warm water is the best.
