September started with Labor Day. We decided to actually take a play day and fit in one last boat trip for the season. We headed to Strawberry Reservoir which we hadn’t been to yet. It really isn’t that far from Provo as the bird flies, but it is a bit of a drive. Thank goodness for audiobooks. Strawberry Reservoir is such a uniquely shaped body of water. It was cool to explore. We found out is more a fishing spot and than water play destination but it was still fun. I was so proud of the kids for having such a happy day even though we decided the water was too cold to get in. And I forgot the tuna for our sandwiches at home. We ended up breaking up turkey meat sticks and putting it on bread with mayo and mustard. It was a little weird, to be honest, but memorable. It was a good day to run the fuel out of the boat and just enjoy being on the water together.
Next day it was back to school again. I ended up talking to Erica for a couple of hours. She is such a nice person to listen to me and be my unpaid therapist. She told me about an online emotional resilience course that I started. I was hoping it would help me increase my confidence with God and just being me. A few months later I can say that I never finished it (yet), but it was a powerful course. I loved what I learned and need it finish it sometime. I loved learning that I can anguish my thoughts and acting during difficult moments. Between that and some podcasts I also realized through the spirit that I need to be more building and praising with my words, especially with John. I want to be his biggest cheerleader! I need to remember to pray before bringing a criticism. Another thought I ran across that I loved was ‘sometimes we feel like w’re walking in the midst of darkness but if I watch I can find the Lord’s fireflies leading me back who the tree.’
I loved the moment that day when Darcy ran up to me in the school office and gave me a giant hug when I was picking her up for the day. What a sweetheart. I am trying to be more intentional about having fun with her after school. I played charade and the zoo game afterschool, and even recruited the other kids to play too. I love chatting with my girls and spending time with them. I love the moments when Ellie comes into my room just to cuddle and chat with me. I love playing pickleball with Miriam. I love watching funny Kdramas with John. I love eating on the patio. I love listening to religious podcasts. I felt inspired to send Cherilee one. I wonder if that helped her at all. I hosted bookclub on the patio, and it was just lovely. That is the kind of thing I want to use that space for.
That weekend I had a Mommy/Daughter date with Holland. We rode bikes along the Provo River Trail, totaling 8 miles! We had a wonderful time. I have noticed that I have been able to connect with her a little better recently and that has been so happy!
We invited the Cluffs over for dinner and swimming. Unfortunately the dad couldn’t come, but we had a nice turn with delicious chicken garlic wraps and even played keepy uppy in the pool—we got to 31! That day was also fast Sunday and Miriam and I definitely leaned into the silly, happy part of fasting together.
Unfortunately during this time I kept having peanut reactions to food. It felt ridiculous! I reacted to a peach pie that was cut with a contaminated blade. I reacted to some ice cream that didn’t used to have peanut ingredients but now does apparently. It makes me appreciate how well I feel normally. I am also so grateful for allergy medicine. I can’t believe how a peanut encounter now takes me out of commission for a full 24 hours these days. So obnoxious.
One funny moment was when Will Tree (who I drive in carpool) asked me who was the most handsome 40 year old I know, right after telling me that his dad was 40. I had been on the phone with John and had told John that even though he was about to turn 42, he still had it and was the handsomest 42 year old ever.
Ellie passed her drivers license test! Her response was “It’s absurd they’re goin to let me drive.” That night we celebrated with some night driving and yummy milkshakes. It was kind of ridiculous how that all worked. She essentially badgered the guy with emails until he let her into the simulator class (which really didn’t seem that helpful). After the simulator class the driving tester contacted her about a time to take the test. At least that step of the process seemed reasonable.
John and I had a fun date night to Red Robin where we enjoyed zucchini fries and then walked down the Provo River trail it Utah Lake. It was dark when we got back, which was only mildly creepy. I was lovely though to walk, talk, and hold hands.
Ellie got together with her friends for homecoming and had the best time. They went to the Riverwoods and took photos there. We found out about this somewhat last minute and felt totally proud that we whipped out a salad bar and a table top fire pit for them to come to our house afterwards. So fun!
I read one of my favorite books of the year in September. It is called The In-Between. It is a memoir of a woman who is a hospice nurse. All of her stories about helping people felt so tender because of how important hospice was to my mom. I loved hearing the stories of how thin the veil is in those moments. I didn't really feel that way with my mom in the moment, but it was good to hear that it can be that way.
John turned 42 in September! We celebrated with a croissant breakfast bake, fish tacos, and brown butter chocolate chip cookies. He got garage lights, clothes, chocolates, and an awesome desk toy that we are all obsessed with. I loved when we played Settlers together after the younger kids were in bed. We're all so lucky to have John in our lives. He is amazing at virtually everything that he does. I feel incredibly blessed to have him as my partner in all the things. He is my best friend, and he is hot. Really though, he is the best, and I can't believe I have been able to be with him my whole adult life. Talk about lucky. I feel so blessed to have a home filled with love with him. We have a home full of love, laughter, work, and fun. It really is a dream come true. We had a fun date right after his birthday of splitting a Cafe Rio salad and playing frisbee at the park. We used to do that when we were little and haven't for years. We still have frisbee skills (after some warming up). :)
Ellie decided that she wanted to dip her toes in the world of dating and ask a boy to a dance. We have talked about this a lot, and it is pretty outside her comfort zone. I am proud of her for challenging herself and doing it. It was to Sadie's which is a dress up dance. She asked him with a poster that said "Will you go to Sadie's with an E with me?" She also drew a Green Gables house, and gave him two cans of Pringles that she wrote Anne and Gilbert on. It was adorable.
That night I went to Ogden for a girls night at my dad's house. We all brought yummy food and spent the night looking through family treasures. The old coats, wedding dresses, crystal, gloves, and other treasures. It was amazing. I took some home and saved them for Christmas, which was a total hit.
That Monday something happened that we really couldn't even have guessed was on our bingo card. Over the weekend, Candace Owens (a conspiracy theorist on Youtube) posted a video linking John's work (Caldera) to the Charlie Kirk shooting at UVU. It was so insane. One Caldera employee turned in her doorbell camera footage because it showed the shooter fleeing. And that employee's brother gave an interview because he works for the police. Candace Owens said in the video that Caldera employees own that whole street. She also said that the more she looks into government conspiracies the more she sees that the valve industry is at the heart of them. What??!! She said that she went to Caldera's website and that they do a lot of business in Israel (they don't at all). In reality there is a map on Caldera's website showing where they do business and the closest is Turkey. So maybe this woman is really bad at geography. She said that valve companies can just shut down the infostructure of cities, and it is a real threat. This is just nonsense. Caldera cannot remotely turn off their valves. Also they are placed in mines not in cities. I have never seen conspiracy crazy so close before. It was insane. Caldera had so many death threats, and they really bulked up security for a while. They were mainly worried about cyber attacks, but I don't think anything ended up happening. They couldn't take legal action against this woman because she didn't overtly say that they were involved in the shooting, just implied that they were connected somehow. It was so absurd. It's almost laughable.
I started biking in September! I decided to use Ellie's bike and explore doing some exercise that way. It is a fun new way to push myself. I continued doing that in October and have kind of fallen in love with it. I mainly biked around my neighborhood going up and down hills for the cardio, but later I explored going other places. It is so good. I was enjoying it so much that John and I did a date night where we rented a bike for him to go up the canyon. That bike was kind of terrible so it really convinced us to buy our own bikes for Christmas. Until then I continued to use Ellie's bike and had a great time. I particularly loved biking up the canyon. It took me almost exactly one hour to bike up and down it. I loved the cool breeze, colored leaves, majestic cliffs, and exerting my body.
I had a special experience in the temple in September. It was actually when I was doing a temple cleaning assignment. I was able to help clean the third floor. I vacuumed all over, and then I was given the task of sanitizing all of the high touch surfaces (which is truly the perfect task for this germaphobe). I ended up also in the Celestial Room for a few minutes. It just kind of hit me in there that this might be my only chance in my life to be alone in the Celestial Room. I remember standing in one corner and just looking around when suddenly I felt enveloped in the love and peace of God. It really felt like I was in the room with Him! What an amazing blessing. How is one of the most meaningful experiences I have ever had in the temple when I was doing a cleaning assignment?
The next day Miriam, Ellie, and I did a fun outing of going to a Regency Tea at the library with the author Sarah M. Eden. We loved dressing up and using the old necklaces I had just gotten from my girls night in Ogden. Sarah Eden was so fun to listen to, you can tell she is good with words! We even waited in line and got 4 books signed. It was really fascinating to hear the behind the scenes view of her writing process.
We hosted the Pearson clan for dinner and swimming. I have to say that the salad bar was amazing. It was nice to chat with people, and I loved being able to use our patio and patio lights. It was nice to be with everyone especially after the shock of the attack on the church in Michigan and the passing of President Nelson. It really makes me sad to know that he is no longer the president of the church. He did amazing things, and I really loved him.
You can tell it was a chillier day because we broke out the blanket.
Boat naps are a particular kind of pleasure
This zinnia randomly bloomed a yellow blossom.
Loved my biking riding date night with this cutie! We each took an earbud and listened to music. So fun!
Bike riding to school with this little one.
Miriam's friend Maelle drew our family and framed it. She is a sweetheart.
Celebration for all of us that Ellie got her license!
Darcy set up a school for her stuffies in the basement.
Date night walking the Provo River Trail.
Summer charts! We all did so well!
Most days we bike home from school, but generally I have to carry her bike over in a backpack because we carpool to do morning drop off. She got so much better at biking!
I love the pink/peach colored flowers!
Darcy made a beautiful creation with her flowers.
Farm visit with Jenessa and Samuel!
John is 42!
Giant buck in our neighbor's yard.
Cutest girl!
Prepping to clean her cabinet. I hope someday she appreciates that her mom didn't let her clutter become a problem in her life.
The wedding dress and suitcase! I think it the suitcase belonged to my grandma's father, and the dress was maybe her mother or aunt?
Wool coat with the fur collar and muff.
Lovely girls night.
Some of the treasures were less fancy. :)
Miriam with her cute new friend Alessia!
Funny quotes for the month:
D: Mommy do you think we have birthdays in heaven? Maybe they have a calendar in heaven for all of the things on all of the days. I wonder what Heavenly Father and Jesus look like. That is the bigger question.
D to J: Mommy is allergic to these
J: No almonds, do you remember what she is allergic to?
D: Oh yeah, peanuts! They give her a big erection! (reaction)
E after passing her driver's license test: It's absurd they are going to let me drive.
H: Mommy I figured out what I want to be when I grow up...a prophetess!
M when Ellie is talking about asking a boy to a dance: I want to go on a date!
D: Daddy if you weren't my dad I'd like to be your friend.
D: You guys are reading worms. (Not book worms :) )
D: Daddy why do you have sore muscles when you sit pleasantly at work all day?
Hike up to Buffalo Peak with the Bonds.
The leaves were just lovely.
Cute little friends
Red face from hiking, and her pretty leaves she found.
Funny quotes for the month:
