The title to this post was just too fun to pass up!

We have been some busy people this summer; but I feel like that fits us in with the rest of the world rather than setting us apart. 😊

June is the month of birthdays for Josh’s family—including Josh himself. We celebrated one family member with burgers and pickle-ball, one with painting mini game figures, one with Sonic and cake, and one with a grandkid bike race. It was possibly the cutest race in world history. Josh’s birthday was sandwiched right in the midst of helping family move house, and my sister Mary getting married followed by a Muhlestein family reunion, so his very birthday was quite lackluster.😢 But he did get to do his hoped-for activities later on! One thing he really wanted to do was a hike up Bell Canyon. We did it a couple weeks after his birthday and it was fun! The kids were a pack of wild cards; but we all made it out alive. We even visited with some water fowl at Bell Reservoir.

As previously mentioned, Mary got married in June. We had a lot of fun talking about “getting Mary-ed” and reminding that “when you marry in June, you’re a bride all your life.” I feel like I was more involved in this wedding than I was in my own. (Thank you to everybody who made our wedding happen when I decided to leave the country for the whole summer!!!) But Josh was the real hero from our family, because he made the ice-cream cart that was used at Mary’s open house! We tried to find one to rent for the evening, but we couldn’t find one around that was cute (at least nowhere near as cute as the one Josh made) or one that would let you serve your own ice-cream (as the bride wanted BYU creamery ice-cream and the only carts I could find were very specific to the brand of ice-cream that had to be served therefrom). So I talked to Josh about making one, and even (ultra-supportively) looked up some tutorials on youtube on how to make a basic cart. Josh looked at my research findings, scoffed, and said “I can make one better than that.”

Well, he was totally right. The cart he made turned out BEAUTIFULLY!

And now we have this super cute ice-cream cart just hanging around! We are thinking of renting it out for other people’s events. I thought it would be nice to just make back the money we spent on it. But when I told this to Daddy he said “No, you should rent it out as a public service. If this type of thing isn’t available anywhere else, you should make it available.” 😅 So, if you’re one of those people who is searching for a beautiful, insulated ice-cream cart that you can fill with the ice-cream of your choice for your shindig, hit us up!

I also wanted to mention that Mary and Cameron were married in the Bountiful Temple, and it was so beautiful and joyful to be there with them as they became a brand-new eternal family. And I’m just feeling so grateful for the fact that MY own eternal family began in the temple (even the same temple!) nearly 12 years ago. It is a constant comfort to me knowing that God is just as much a part of our marriage as Josh is or I am. Living happily ever after (even with all the “reality” that consumes most of our energy) is the best!

The other big thing Josh wanted to do for his birthday that got postponed an entire month was to go camping. We learned the hard way that if you want your pick of campgrounds during the summer you have to pick them about 6 months in advance. So our camping trip was just a fun little overnighter at Jordanelle Reservoir this past week. Josh was, again, the hero of everything. He arranged everything, packed everything, and endured a positively horrific night of managing 5 kids in the same tent, two of whom had wacky blood sugar. Josh is the best! But next time, I think we’re going to bring our other tent, and make sure we don’t forget extra diabetes supplies.

We had lots of fun at the beach, though! We played in the sand, did some paddle-boarding, and thoroughly enjoyed watching a dog fetching every stick he could get anybody to throw for him out of the lake! And sunburns were only minor! I call it a success! (Again, all thanks to Josh!)

Some other fun things we’ve been up to this summer include

Fay’s next horse show–she crushed it!

Splash-padding with friends

Trips to the aquarium

Making things out of veggie straws

And just hanging out

We’ve also been working our way through our traditional Harry Potter book of the summer. This year we’re on book 5! We’re getting excited about finishing it and having our movie party!

And, one of my favorite parts of summer has been how many fewer socks come through the laundry thanks to everybody wearing sandals so much more often. Ahhh. Life is good!

The title has a double meaning. The first is that Fay starts planning her birthday when Portia starts planning hers (in February), and it is quite a trial for her to have to wait two whole months longer than Portia for it to actually arrive. The other meaning of the title is that Fay’s birthday actually happened two whole months ago–May 7–and I’m only just now getting around to posting about it. I’m grateful that Fay is a patient girl.

It’s been a long time that I’ve been wanting to throw a Harry Potter themed 11th birthday for somebody. But Fay was the absolutely ideal candidate–as she loves reading the Harry Potter books, dressing up as the characters, playing Harry Potter games, and writing down spells she learns from any Harry Potter source available–so her birthday was super fun! She got a snowy owl who delivered her acceptance letter from Hogwarts, complete with list of required school supplies. She got a sorting hat that FINALLY sorted her officially into Gryffindor! (Good thing we already had the right color robes.) And she made her own “Forbidden Forest” cake that had Aragog 😖 and spider webs. She was delighted with all the Harry Potter festivities and decorations, and her reactions to everything made the day everything I ever dreamed of! Thanks, Fay!

But, Fay loves so much more than just Harry Potter! One thing she started doing since she turned 10 is riding horses. I didn’t even know horse riding was a thing a child could request to do as her extra curricular activity when I was a kid. But starting in about April of 2022, that was the only thing Fay wanted to do. Thanks to an internet search, we found a place nearby that offers riding lessons to kids, and she has been riding ever since last July. She LOVES being with the horses and learning new tricks and techniques. I must confess, I think it’s pretty rad that she does it. Also, to answer the most frequently asked question I receive when discussing Fay’s riding: she rides western, not English.

Fay also just loves animals in general. It is still her fondest wish to become a wildlife rehabilitation veterinarian when she grows up. (Also way cool!) This picture is Fay with a white “red fox” from a wildlife rescue facility we visited in April, and that trip definitely deserves its own post; but with me, who knows if it will ever get it. Anyway, Fay was in absolute heaven while we were at the rescue place and loved that she got to go in and actually play with the foxes as well as visiting with many other kinds of animals.

Fay has also become quite the little musician. She practiced the piano so hard all through the school year, and this is her crushing it at her recital in May. Her teacher, Miss Rose (also pictured), was AMAZING and we are so sad (for us, not her) to lose her to grad school. But we know she’ll do great! Anyway, Fay thinks she might like to switch instruments for the coming school year. She has expressed particular interest in learning the violin. If you know a good, reasonably priced, teacher for a beginning violinist near Riverton, let me know! 😉

Fay also LOVES to read! As in, she’s probably read more books in her life, already, than I have in mine. Like Carter, she competed in the Battle of the Books competition at school. She had so much fun reading the books and getting ready for the competition. Her team took 4th place for the 5th and 6th grade division (just like Carter’s team took 4th place for the 3rd and 4th grade division). It was a blast to watch her compete! And we’re so proud of her!

Another thing I am absolutely overjoyed to report is that Fay loves her family!! as well as her friends. She is a big, cool 5th/6th grader; but she still begged me to come chaperone on her class field-trip. This picture is one I took of her group at the Natural History Museum. She even preferred to sit by me on the bus ride back to school than her best friend.😊 It basically made my mommy life!

Fay is also just a fun little hoot of a girl to hang out with! This picture is of what I found when Fay concernedly called out “Mom, I have a big rash on my arm.” She is prone to eczema, so I went to investigate. I laughed out loud when I saw her “RASH.” She makes fun little jokes like that all the time, and it is so fun!

I could probably go on for hours about how much we love having Fay in our family. But then this blog would never get posted and Fay would have to wait another month for me to get around to it again. So we’ll leave it here. Thanks again for your patience, Fay!

Better late than never to share our celebrations of our favorite boy’s birthday! Carter turned 9 on April 21. He celebrated with crepes, tacos, and (non taco) Costa Vida, along with finally seeing the Mario movie (did NOT disappoint, btw) and his very favorite activity: a soccer game!

Carter really does love soccer! He loves to kick his soccer balls around the yard and house. He is always excited to go to practice, and bummed if he has to miss it for some reason. And he REALLY likes that his team is really good. They were completely undefeated in the fall! Carter is getting better too! He usually plays defense and makes some pretty good kicks and blocks. We’re always proud of him!

Another of Carter’s current loves is Pokemon and amassing/trading Pokemon cards. He has them organized in fancy binders and boxes, as well as stashed basically everywhere he might go. Thanks to the fact that the third graders 25 years ago were loving the same exact thing, I am pleased to report that I am not completely lost as to what he’s up to. He comes home with some pretty impressive cards, and apparently has some pretty impressive cards to offer, because he has, on occasion, come home with some money. He also loves getting almanac type books from the library and book fair that tell him all about the different Pokemon. He loves finding the Pokemon on his cards in his books and learning about how strong and powerful they are. It is a classic-Carter moment to be surrounded by Pokemon cards all over the floor poring intently over each one.

Carter was also on the school math team again this year. He loved going to meetings on Fridays and doing fun and tricky math problems. He was also on a Battle of the Books team that took 4th place in the school for the 3rd and 4th grade division!

Other things Carter loves doing include: video games–Animal Crossing is a new favorite; Rubik’s Cubes, though not quite as much as last year; riding scooters, bikes, and skateboards; and playing with friends. He likes playing the piano (sometimes more than others) and played a BEAUTIFUL piece in church a couple of months ago! He’s also working on learning Hedwig’s Theme, and it is sounding really good!

Carter is just about the greatest boy you’ll ever meet! He is kind, sincere, enthusiastic, fun, hard-working, good-looking, and every other good thing you can imagine! We love him more than everything!

Happy Birthday to our delightful little ball of cuteness, Bianca!

Today, someone was talking to me about Bianca’s birthday asking if she had just turned 4. I told her that Bianca was just 3, to which she responded “She’s got a big personality for just 3.” I feel like that is a great way to describe her. She is has all the energy, all the opinions, all the enthusiasm!

When Bianca plays, she loves pretending that she is all grown up big, and a mommy. She likes to dress up fancy and wear make-up and a purse. She loves to take care of her babies, and give them naps and meals. She loves to go shopping at the grocery store and make dinner. She also loves helping me in the kitchen. She is such a wonderful little reminder to me about the magic and joy to be found in daily life.

Bianca is also just sweetness through and through. She, obviously, has her moments of epic all-out rage, or refusal to comply with parental instructions; but the vast majority of time spent with Bianca is passed with smiles and giggles. Even a good amount of her mischief is turned funny by how sweetly without guile she is. You might notice her stuffing something into her mouth and ask “Bianca, did you steal Fay’s candy?” And then she responds with “No! … yeah!” followed by an eruption of giggles.

This video is evidence of just how naughty Bianca (and Helen) can be while simultaneously being too cute for words. While I was in the shower, these two little sneaks managed to get into the large box of fruit-snacks we keep for low blood-sugar emergencies.

And, speaking of blood sugar, Bianca is still a champ about diabetes. She doesn’t like getting poked, of course, but she seems to understand the necessity of the program and goes along without too much push-back. She also still cracks us up by insisting that she’s low when she just wants a treat, or singing about needing a new pump site.

Another notable thing for Bianca right now is that she has decided that she is done taking naps. That works out for her most days until around 4:30 or 5:00, when she frequently just stops at some random place in the house and falls asleep. It is a stage all children must go through, I understand; but it still makes for a lot of cranky evenings.

Bianca really is such a delight in our lives! We can’t imagine our family without her!

Last Sunday, on March 12, Helen turned 5 years old! I guess we keep telling her that she’ll go to kindergarten when she’s 5, because she was convinced that she would be going to kindergarten the very next day. She loves the idea of growing up and being big enough to do all the things her older siblings do. We just love that she is ours!

As you learned in Portia’s post, we had a double birthday party for the girls on March 11. Helen got so excited about all the planning for the party, and loved having so many friends come to celebrate her. I think her favorite part of the mermaid party was the mermaid skirt I made for her (Portia got one too). The instant it was sewn, she wanted to wear it every day. I, myself, am. quite pleased with how well both skirts turned out.

Now, some fun facts about Helen right now in her life.

• She definitely still loves raccoons! Thank goodness! I hope it lasts her entire life.
• Helen is pretty chill about most things, but when she finds something she loves she gives her entire heart to it! For example, a couple of weeks ago we watched The Lego Movie for the first time, and now we don’t go a day without Helen ultra-enthusiastically singing “Everything is Awesome!” at the top of her lungs.
• She got a coloring page of Charmander once, and now that is her favorite pokemon.
• She loves just about everything she brings home from preschool and is always so proud of her hard work. We’re so proud of her, too!
• She adores macaroni and cheese. We probably make a box of mac n’ cheese 3 days a week for the little girls’ lunch.
• She is a riot in primary! Today they sang to her and Portia for March birthdays. Helen nearly jumped out of her seat when they mentioned birthdays, and then hopped all around the front of the room while everyone was singing to her. I’m glad she had the scripture today (also quite amusing) so I got to witness all the hilarity.
• Helen and Bianca are a fun little duo as the last two at home. They get along quite well most of the time, and they have lots of fun and absurd adventures.

Another thing that has been really special for me, as a mom, to watch is Helen’s ability to be a sweet little leader. Being the 4th child, she has become very good at going with the flow of the people she’s with. But recently, we’ve been going to the aquarium with Chelsea and her boys–Cedric (3) and Brixton (1.5)–and Helen is the oldest and tallest one of the bunch. I have been so impressed by Helen’s ability to lead off in the fun and adventuring for the kids in the play-place, and especially by her desire and ability to help them through the hard parts. It makes me even more excited to see just who Helen will choose to become as she grows.

Our Helen is an absolute joy and gives us parenting experiences we’ve never had before! You all should come hang out with her sometime! I guarantee you’ll leave with a smile.

How we love Portia! I’m truly so grateful for the 7 years we have had with her. And I am tremendously impressed by how much she has grown in this past year.

When Portia turned 6, she was in a hard spot in her life. She had been diagnosed with diabetes less than 4 months prior and was still struggling significantly coping with her new reality. When she got on an insulin pump in June of 2022, it was almost like starting the whole experience over again. It was just so so much for such a little girl to carry. She was also really nervous to start first grade–where she would eat lunch at school and have an insulin nurse accompany her to count her carbs. But she has adapted so beautifully to this reality over the past several months. She has made lots of wonderful new friends, one of whom has Celiac disease which has helped her feel like she’s not quite so alone. And I feel like I have finally gotten my pre-terrible-twos Portia back! She is happy, funny, enthusiastic as ever, and an absolute joy!

Anyway, now that I’ve gotten my feels written out, here’s some more about Portia!

• Portia loves make-up! She went on a one-on-one outing with Aunt Christina back in October and came home with her very own make-up kit! She loves putting in on herself, her sisters, friends, and any girl who will let her.
• She has thoroughly enjoyed the process of losing teeth this year! She updates us on each stage of her “wiggly” teeth and has lots of fun with them and the gap that follows. She is also the first member of our family to have realized my childhood dream of getting a tooth-necklace for a tooth lost at school.
• She still loves beavers! She wonders why they aren’t everybody’s favorite animal.
• She comes up with the most clever ideas for games, drawings, and jokes! She is a hoot!
• She is almost counting down the days until she can get baptized next year. <3
• She still loves to cook and help in the kitchen. I love how excited she gets when she gets to make something of her own.
• She also has developed a love for head stands. She initially learned to do them at tumbling, I believe; but now she just does them for fun. She will be in the middle of some conversation, and while she’s talking, just get onto her head. It is quite entertaining for the rest of us!

Also, we don’t do big friend birthday parties every year, but this year I was feeling up to it, and since Portia had never had one, it was her turn! As we began planning the party, Portia suggested that she and Helen have a combined birthday on the day between their birthdays, March 11. I was so impressed that Portia wanted to share her big party with her sister! So, we did it! We had a mermaid birthday bash for both girls along with 9 of their friends! It was actually a lot of fun for me to plan and think about, and only 80% abject chaos during the event, so I consider it a success!

A quick run through of the party is this:

When the girls arrived, they got to figure out their mermaid name (based on the first letter of their name and the month in which they were born) and write it on a name tag.

Then each girl got a turn to put on a mermaid tail and take a picture in the “mermaid lagoon”. We took the pictures with Kathryn’s polaroid camera so they got to take their pictures home with them!

Then we had a treasure hunt through the house. The treasure they found was a little wooden treasure chest for each of them that they then decorated with jewel stickers.

After that we played “pin the tail on the beaver/raccoon.” The guests who came for Portia did the beaver, and the guests who came for Helen did the raccoon.

We had some mermaid treats including cupcakes, popcorn with white chocolate and sprinkles, mermaid floats, and some mermaid-ish trail mix business I made.

The girls got a little goody bag to take their treasure chest, picture, and some other little mermaid-themed toys home in.

Again, we love Love LOVE our Portia-roo! And we’re so excited to see what this coming year will bring for her!

_{The pictures for this post will be of things I made in 2022. The collection is not exhaustive; but it is probably the best 95% of notable things I made.}

I am thrilled for my 2023 theme verb! As 2022 was winding down, I still had no idea what I wanted to have as my next theme. So, I decided to have a good pondering session about my general life hopes, goals, and aspirations, in hopes that it would guide me to the perfect word that could encompass them all while not being overwhelming. (Perhaps too lofty of a goal for a single verb for a single year…)

I thought of many words that were quite good; but none of them fit the bill exactly or got me really excited. And, for me, it’s immensely satisfying to inaugurate (so to speak) my new year with enthusiasm and momentum, so I needed assistance.

I decided to pray about the word. I know that Heavenly Father likely doesn’t particularly care which verb I select, so long as it is something that can help me come closer to Him and His Son. So I prayed, not for Him to tell me what verb I ought to choose, but rather for Him to enlighten my mind such that I could select my own perfect word. And, I am delighted to report that it absolutely worked! I had the ideal word pop into my head!

This experience gave me a delightful insight I’d like to share about the numerous ways that God can direct and inspire us. I liken our search for Heavenly guidance to us seeking an item in a dark room. We ask Heavenly Father to help us find the item and He can respond by simply retrieving the thing and bringing it to us and putting it in our hand. He gave us what we asked for. Another way He might approach our request for help securing the item is that He might tell us where to walk, where to put our hands, what drawer we ought to open, etc. He guides us to the thing we asked for. The final way I’ve found He can answer our request is to simply turn the light on in the dark room and we find the item ourselves. It is still thanks to Him that we have the item, because all light is His light. But we happened to do the finding.

I feel like the Lord blessed me to find this 2023 theme verb by turning on the light for me!

Anyway, my word for the year 2023 is…

Beautify

I love SO many things about this word! I feel like adding beauty to the various parts of life is a thoroughly enjoyable pursuit, for one; I don’t want my goals to feel like drudgery. But also, it is all encompassing in a fun way! There are so many ways to beautify life and the world around me. I can think beautiful thoughts, make beautiful music, dress beautifully, decorate beautifully, have beautiful experiences. And though that might sound kind of just like stamping a giant “HAPPY” sign on everything, that isn’t how it feels to me.

I have three specific areas of my life I want to beautify this year.

• Myself
• My Home
• My Yard

For myself, I want to beautify my mind and body with exercise, choosing to actually get ready for the day more than 1 time a week, choosing to think beautiful thoughts and do kind things for others, and work on the skills I desire to have.

For my home, I want to add beautiful music, decor, order, kindness, peace, scents, etc. Anything that will make coming home just a little more of a beautiful experience.

For my yard, I want to add the beauty of nature and shade, such that it is a place where our family will want to spend time together making beautiful memories and beautiful connections with God. All this helps me understand the idea of “Beautiful Savior” a lot more.

Anyway, there you have it! I am, again, thrilled to embark on this beautiful year!

Ever since Christmas 2021 when I realized that Christmas 2022 would be on a Sunday, I have been looking forward to it as a big milestone for myself. You see, it was in 2016 that Christmas was last on a Sunday. And that was the day I realized that there was hope for my life to be better. (If you want to learn all about that experience, you can read this post.) I had grown so much, learned so much, become so much stronger in the years between 2016 and 2021, and yet, last Christmas, and especially through January, I was in a very dark place again. After the two diagnoses of Type 1 Diabetes and the stress of around the clock shots, and dealing with Portia’s grief along with my own, I felt completely crushed by the stress of each day. I have always tried to look to the Savior for help and strength; but I needed Him more than ever this time.

One day when I was feeling particularly broken, I remembered a talk by Sharon Eubank. In her talk she mentioned that sometimes “life hurts so much we can’t breathe” but “Jesus comes along.” I felt like I really understood the idea of life hurting so much I couldn’t breathe. But I wondered how to get Jesus to “come along” right now. Sister Eubank gives the answer to that in her talk as well. She says “But what are the practical steps? What is the key to reconnecting to the power of Jesus Christ when we are flickering? President Russell M. Nelson said it very simply: ‘The key is to make and keep sacred covenants. … It is not a complicated way.’ Make Christ the center of your life.” So my covenants were the answer? But I thought “All these things I have kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?” (Matthew 19:20) But as I earnestly sought an answer to my overwhelm in my covenants, Heavenly Father showed me a way in which I could allow more room for Him in my tired heart and mind. As I made efforts to follow through on the prompting I received, I felt a change. A big one. It was hard to put a finger on exactly what the Savior had done for me; I just knew that I felt Him and His love and His strength.

And countless, tiny promptings that led to countless, incremental changes in my life and heart have given me so much more joy, hope, and determination than I had at the beginning of 2022.

Christmas of 2016 was unforgettable for me, and it was special for me to celebrate the past 6 years of the Savior working miracles in my life on Christmas 2022. I am so grateful for Jesus Christ and His restored Gospel in my life! I am grateful that these years of difficulty and growth have strengthened my testimony that Christ’s power to heal is real! It is such a privilege, in this modern world of chaos, to have an anchor of hope. And I was blessed to remember that extra this year.

I feel like Christmas Sundays will forever be a special day for me to reflect on the ways the Savior of the world, whose birth we celebrate that day, has saved me. I feel like every day is a day I enjoy reflecting on that; but I also like having extra milestones. 🙂 I’m excited to see what Christ makes of me by 2033 when we get a Sunday Christmas again!

I kind of can’t get my brain around the fact that this year will be over in 2 weeks! My biggest hope for 2022 was that it would be at least somewhat less horrible than 2021. (I try to set reasonable expectations for my life!) And my hope absolutely became a reality! Not only was 2022 less horrible than 2021, it was actually quite miraculous! Though, to be fair, we also saw countless miracles in 2021. (More on miracles in a coming post)

One big reason 2022 went so well is definitely because Josh and I were trying to prioritize time together. We certainly didn’t do a perfectly planned, fabulous date every week. But we did do a date the vast majority of the weeks this year. And we could really tell a difference (negative) when we missed a date for a week. My biggest takeaways from this year’s goal word include:

• Everything in my life is better when I feel truly and deeply connected with Josh.
• Taking time away from our kids together helps Josh and me remember all the reasons why we chose to have them in the first place.

The weeks we didn’t manage to get a date were, not surprisingly, the weeks when we were too busy with other roles and responsibilities to make time for some kind of date. Those were also, not surprisingly, usually weeks where we were very tired (of doing all that important work stuff). So, it wasn’t hard to figure out why our life/relationship seemed to fall apart on those weeks. If we were too busy or tired for some kind of fun together, we were clearly too busy and too tired. There weren’t a ton of weeks like that; but enough for me to know we should avoid them.

On weeks when we REALLY got to escape the kids and go do something exciting that we wouldn’t have been able to do the same with them (like our cruise, or Frightmares) it was so nice to remember that Josh and I aren’t just co-parents, we’re totally in-love! We’re best friends, and have tons of fun together! And just like when I fell in-love with Josh the first time, I feel close to him and I just want to settle down and have a family with him! And then, oh wait! We are ALREADY settled down and have a beautiful family together! And it is just happier to come home to my life-long dream come true when I’m feeling like that than when we’re too busy and too tired.

So, basically dating Josh is the best, and I really want to do it a lot more. I feel like the more time we spend together, the more time we crave spending together. And writing all of these thoughts down makes me just want to go out with Josh right now!

I haven’t decided what my word for 2023 will be; but I had better get on it, because there’s not much time!

Fall is seriously the best! Everything about it is just delightful! The cooler weather. The beautiful colors of leaves. The fallen leaves scattered around the ground. The wearing of sweaters, jackets, and coats. The bounteous school, church, neighborhood, and family activities. It’s all just so happy! Here’s a little taste of our autumn so far.

School
Back to school time is pretty magical for me. I love hearing about the kids’ new teachers and friends. I LOVE it when they bring their school pictures home! (Seriously, though. Check out how beautiful my kids are!) I love the school activities and field-trips. It’s all fun.

So far, we have had two preschool field-trips–to Wheeler Farm and the Schmidt’s pumpkin patch–and the elementary school jogathon. Oh, and parent-teacher conferences which I also love! I haven’t gotten to help out in any classrooms yet this year; but I hope to do so in coming months.

Neighborhood/Church Activities

The ward had a fall festival with a chili cook-off. It was fun and yummy, and I frankly wish I could have tried more of the chilis. But alas, my stomach was the limiting factor. Our cornbread was a favorite, though! Josh made muffins in cute Halloween wrappers, put them on pumpkin platters AND provided honey-butter. So, it was not-surprisingly the first to go.

We were also invited to a Halloween block party. It was super fun for the kids because our neighbor has a giant garage full of arcade games! On the invitation it specifically said “costumes encouraged”, so we went all out! Josh and I both dressed as vampires, and I did my make-up super cool for the occasion. When we got to the party … we were the ONLY people in costumes!!!! One other 7 year old girl was wearing leopard leggings, a leopard t-shirt, and leopard ears. But that was literally IT. It was thoroughly embarrassing at the time; but now I’m feeling very proud to be, obviously, the coolest family in the neighborhood.

My current calling is Activity Days leader (so. much. fun!) and for our activity we painted pumpkins. The girls all did such cute designs; but I only got a picture before they really began. Aren’t they such cute girls?!

Family Fun

Just to make double-sure that we really are the coolest family in the neighborhood, Josh continued his tradition of providing interactive Halloween displays in our yard. We put it up on the side of the house for the first time this year, and it is so nice. I feel like I can come and go as I please even if the sun has gone down! This was Josh’s first year to reuse an idea for his haunt; but the 2022 version of Pumpkin Palooza is a lot fancier than the original back in 2015. A fun fact is that if you are in one of the rooms on the west side of the house in the evenings, you can sometimes hear people outside playing it. It has been really fun to know that people are enjoying it!

Early in October, Christina and Colton invited us over for dinner and hanging out with their poultry. It is so funny that Christina impulse-bought two ducks, a chicken, and a turkey! But it was also a genuine thrill to cuddle with ducks and have a turkey perch on my shoulder. Thanks for the great time, Steemer!

Last week, Lacey hosted a girls’ night of learning to decorate cookies like a pro! And, even in spite of my severe lack of skill, my cookies turned out so cute!!!! There was a jack-o-lantern too; but I was too excited to eat it (and destroy the evidence of how poorly that one turned out), so it didn’t make it into the picture. But Lacey is seriously such a good teacher! Thanks a million!

We went to Frightmares! I know I mentioned that in the last post; but it was just too much fun not to mention again! On the left is when Josh and I went for a date (thanks Mariel!) and FINALLY went on Cannibal! It was so fun to be at Lagoon with just Josh. It’s honestly really fun to be just about anywhere with just Josh.

Back on September 22, in honor of the first official day of fall, I decorated like crazy! It was so fun! I love the way my mantel turned out. The next week, at WinCo, I saw this cute little ghost decoration thingy. It was $8, though, and I just thought “no way.” Besides, it was pretty small; and I like my decorations nice and big! So, Josh and I went through some scrap wood in the garage and recreated it–triple+ size–to put on our porch for FREE!!!!! Josh drew the shapes, cut the wood, and attached everything together. I painted the ghosts and made the ribbons for the bows. And Josh and I both worked on the letters. It was such a fun little project and I am so pleased with how it turned out!

One of my favorite fall traditions is driving up Big Cottonwood Canyon to see fall leaves. But this year, I took a silent vote from the family to see who else wanted to do it (I had been getting vibes from Josh that maybe it’s not on his favorite-list) and the only person who said they were interested in going was Helen. So, one morning when there was no preschool, Helen, Bianca, and I drove up the canyon and thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful colors!

It has been an unfortunately warm fall, until last weekend when we got snowed on! I was totally confident it would never stick. I was wrong. But it was lots of fun!

Other things going on include Mariel (best cousin ever!) coming over two times in the past month to watch the kids so Josh and I could go on dates! The first time, she and the kids decorated the house with leaves and bats. The second time she came this month, she brought her big dress-up bin from her own childhood to play with, and the kids loved it! Mariel is the best ever! She has been blessing us with her babysitting and just all-around goodness for multiple years! <3 <3 <3

For fall break this past week, we honestly didn’t get too exciting. But we did go to the library together and do all their fun Halloween activities for which we were rewarded with treats! The kids worked so hard together on the sugar-skull scavenger hunt. I was very impressed with their efforts.

Also, here’s all the kids being cute together in their jammies on our new (to us) chaise.

Happy Fall, Y’all!