John and Kylee: Church

October started with going on a field trip with Holland! I have never really done that before, and it was delightful. We loved listening to music together on the bus ride. We got to ride near the front which was good because I was nervous about getting motion sick on the bus.

When we got to the Capitol Building we had a picnic on the grass near the front corner of the grounds. We packed some yummy food and really enjoyed our picnic together. Then we went on a guided tour of the building which was great. I love hearing tours of cool historic places. I learned that they estimated that the capitol building would cost $1 million but it ended up costing closer to $2.8 million. It makes me feel a little bit better about our house project budget breaking. :)

The next day I hiked Stewart Falls with Erica. We have never really done anything like that before--just getting together the two of us without kids as an excuse or as a tag along. It was fun! She is so easy to talk to, and the mountains were just lovely. We talk about all of the things and fortunately we match each other as far as oversharing. It is good to have each other as our unpaid therapists.

The next day we actually got together with the Davises again but this time as families. We headed up to Cascade Springs in Heber. They have been there before, but it was the first time for us. The drive up there was longer than you'd think but very pretty. We walked around the pathways and saw the cascading waterfalls. It wasn't as colorful as it normally is, they said, but we thought it was still nice. I loved seeing the kids being together. We took Aspen Loop to get back to the canyon which was stunning. Then we followed their tradition of eating at Pizza Pie Cafe afterwards. It was fun to go to dinner with everyone. The pizza and salad bar were pretty good! It was great to hang out with them. Also, that day is connected in my brain to the release of Taylor Swift's album "Life of a Showgirl." I listened to the entire album several times that very day. Then on the drive home from Cascade Springs I made John listen to some of my favorites. I don't think he likes them as well as I do, but hopefully he at least tolerated it.

The next day was General Conference. One reason this conference is memorable was that President Nelson had just died, but they hadn't had his funeral yet, so they didn't sustain President Oaks as the prophet yet. They were all just apostles, and President Oaks was the President of the Quorum of the Twelve.

Another reason that this conference stands out in my mind was that our internet went out that day. Not great timing. Thankfully we could stream it from our phones, but it was harder than normal to access the live conference experience. We had rain that day, which we need so bad. We spent the day canning applesauce and apple butter with the apples from John's parents. I love listening to conference--it just makes me feel so peaceful, hopeful, and motivated. On Sunday Holland planned a tea party for us all, and we all chipped in and worked hard to make it happen. It was very fancy. I hope the kids can someday recognize the efforts we went to to make the fun things happen, especially the ones that weren't even our ideas.

We attended a play at the Ruth with our neighbors the Bills. They gave us the tickets as a neighbor Christmas gift. The seats were amazing. We went to dinner with them first at Sizzler, which will always remind me of my grandparents. It feels like a very older person place to eat, but certainly still yummy. It was good to get to know them better. A few months later Bill Barnson had a stroke, and our whole neighborhood has had to join in to help care for them. Right now we take them dinner every Tuesday. I hope he can make a full recovery.

The following day Holland and I went to Girls Summit at the Provo Library. It was so cool to hear from all of these female professionals. Holland wrote to herself to remember, "Remember to make a violin friend and become a pilot."

The next day was a Friday and I did my longest bike ride yet. I biked from home, up by Timpview, and up the canyon a bit, totally 22 miles. It was so fun! That night we played games with the Jacobsons and I actually won. It had actually been years since I won a game in that group.

The next day we spent revamping our whole DC trip because of the government shutdown. We didn't envision that coming when we bought our cheap tickets from the Provo airport. It is so frustrating that our whole trip got messed up because of our dumb legislature. At least we had a fun evening that night. We used John's and Erica's Tucanoes birthday free meals to eat together there. We ate so much delicious food and had a great time chatting. One thing I remember about that night was that it was so windy that walking to and from the car felt like a wind tunnel. Like really.

The Primary Program was the next day, and obviously Darcy and Holland were darling. Holland seriously killed it with her little solo of "I Will Shine." I love seeing her so happy doing that. Sophie spent the night here, and she and Holland picked matching dresses to wear to church. It was adorable.

That week we left to go to DC! I will definitely talk more about that later, but there is so much work before and after a trip. There is a cost to travel that isn't money and part of that is all the prep and recovery work. The day after we got back I went with Darcy on her very first field trip to Gordo's Family Farm. It was so cute to hear all of the kinders try to answer questions about the animals with no logic at all. It was a little chaotic trying to keep track of my little group but I didn't lose anyone for very long. I mainly just love my own kids.

When we got home from DC, we had to get right to work getting our yard ready for winter. This was the first time we got our pool ready for winter, and it was a fair bit of work. Fingers crossed that we did it all correctly and that we'll have no pipes break from freezing. I am the most nervous about our outdoor shower. That same Saturday Holland prayed at the beginning of the day that she would do her chores really, really fast, and she did them faster than every. It took her less than 2 hours!

That Sunday we watched a youth broadcast from Presidents Holland, Freeman, and Farns. I had no idea that it would be the last time we would hear President Holland speak. I love hearing their testimonies about looing unto Christ. That evening we did a campfire dinner. We did tin dins which was such a hit. Darcy told me that it was the best meal she'd ever had. Our treat was marshmallows with coconut chocolate which fantastic, really. To add to the fun we threw in one of John's color changing fire packs. It was good time.

During this time I was asked to substitute Gospel Doctrine which was so scary, but I also love it. I love diving deep into the scriptures. This takes seriously so much of my time though. During this lesson I felt like spending time on the the historical space of what was going on before D&C 124. I just like focusing on what sparks for me, which is unfortunate for those that aren't interested.

We also stayed busy with all the other good things too. Holland and I went to Girls Read at the library which is so good for us. Teen Tuesday with our older girls is such a fun tradition. We went to the ward Halloween party, which is fun-ish. On actual Halloween, we went trick or treating with all the girls for a bit, and after a while Ellie went to Siqi's house to make dumplings for her dance the next day. What a fun day date! Miriam hung out with her friends too. But the younger girls got plenty of trick or treating too.

We wore matching dresses for this outing. :)

Fancy reception room

Dome paintings

Cute 5th grade class

Legislature room

Cutest response from her date -- 3D printed carrots with a note, "Hey Carrots, Absolutely!" with a hand drawn flower. :)

Such a fun hike with my bestie!

Kinder biking home with my little darling.

The best dinner - on the patio, zucchini fries, homegrown veggies, copycat madlove burgers.

Cascade Springs with the Davises and their little cousin.

Patches of gorgeous leaves

Our big girls had other commitments that evening, which happens a lot on the weekend evenings.

Pizza Pie Cafe was actually pretty good!

Tea Party designed by Holland

Love the flowers from our yard

Warm tea and iced tea - all herbal of course

She spent so much time on these menus <3

That's not a real website or email. :)

Family walk after dinner, finally felt chilly

One of my rides up the canyon. I wear the mask because riding through a cloud of bugs is no bueno.

So pretty!

Holland's Christmas lists always make us laugh

So pretty!

Matching girls for church!

They are actually the same age!

Always trying to plant more seeds

Quotes for the month:

D: That's why you should have obeyed Daddy about the bike. (I wish I could remember who she said this to! Was it me??)

D: The worst part about being 5 is that your mom always tells you what to do.

D: What does flirting even mean? Is it what I do with my sisters?

D: Mommy you look darling! (Running up to me after I got ready to go on a date with John.)

Such pretty leaves!

John's new desk toy is everyone's favorite, including his coworkers!

Umm..okay show offs!

Field trip with Darcy's class

An after school sewing project for the two of us.

I bought a standing desk and walking pad to get more movement in my life. The first one I bought was a lemon. I tried a bunch of repairs that they recommended but ended up returning it with a cobbled together box situation. I bought another one that has worked great. It was obnoxious though.