October 2022

While we listened to General Conference, we worked on winding yarn around posts to help make princess wigs for kids with cancer. It was a fun and easy project. We knocked out ten or fifteen of those babies, no problem. 

We welcomed the Wilmoths over for an afternoon visit and dinner. We are so sad they moved, but we can count ourselves grateful that April's family still lives in Livermore and they're only a couple hours away, so we do still get to see them occasionally. 

My sister Kathryn came for a short visit over her birthday. We talked a ton, and I took her out to The Press for lunch. Also, I introduced her to Dashing Diva nails and gave her a manicure. 

Hazel has been teaching piano lessons to Emily and Katie Harr, two girls in our ward. She goes over at 7am Monday mornings. She seriously loves to fill every moment of her day with productivity. 

Jack and I missed the first cross country meet in September. He is taking piano lessons from a Certificate of Merit teacher in Pleasanton, and it felt different asking for flexibility than it has in the past with friends from church. But Hazel got first place and I hated missing that, and Jack surprised me by stating that he wished he could participate as well. I had thought missing the competitive piece of the sport would have been the right fit for him, but Jack said it felt a little pointless doing all the training without the competition. So I reached out to Miss Tomlin and asked if she had any time on another day of the week at the end of her lessons for the other two weeks there were XC meets. She ended up being happy to accommodate. The kids did great! Their second meet was on a super hot day, and Hazel was on her period, which I think threw her off. She got 4th place and was totally frustrated with herself. Jack also got 4th place, which Todd and I thought was amazing. The kids had fun hanging out with their team during the meet, too. 

It was a crazy day, because after the meet, Jack had tennis, and then Hazel had a volleyball game. It was busy and fun and super sporty. We all fell asleep easy that night and agreed that it had been such a fun day, but that we were grateful most days aren't that busy. 

I was able to volunteer at Croce during their abilities awareness week. Someone had lent the school 10 or 15 wheelchairs, so the kids were able to take it through a course and get some perspective on the challenges people in wheelchairs face every day. 

Our stake Relief Society hosted a service night for all the women and girls 8 and up. Hazel had a volleyball game, but Gemma came with me. We tied a few blankets and Gemma painted a pumpkin for a senior center. 

We had a family art day. First we went to the Firehouse Art Gallery in Pleasanton and enjoyed the work on display. We stopped to listen to a local artist giving a presentation. We gathered ideas. 

Then we went home, set up some paper on the garage floor, turned up the music, and painted with our toes. I got the idea from my college journal and remembered how freeing it felt for me to be artistic without any expectations that what I made should look good. I was super excited to try it out with my kids. They were excited talking about it all week leading up to the activity, but they definitely lost their enthusiasm during the actual activity. It was a little underwhelming. 

Hazel and Jack rocked their third and final XC meet, aka Championships. Jack kept a solid, steady pace and not only took 4th place again, but he also improved his personal time. Hazel was determined to redeem herself after the second meet, sprinted her start, kept the front with two other girls the whole race, and she and Hailey (also from CMS) had a photo finish for first. It was awesome! Hazel officially got labeled first place, and also shaved her own personal time down. It was as satisfying as it could possibly be. 

Suzanne flew out from Colorado, and she, Chrissy, and I had a girls' weekend at my cabin. It was magnificent! We talked nonstop, about everything - kids, husbands, books, testimonies, worries, goals, callings, schools, how we met, answers to prayers, periods, God, eternity, stars. I brought face masks for us, and we hung out in the hammocks in the loft while they worked their magic on our skin. It was so relaxing we stayed twice as long as the masks instructed us to. 

We played a million games, kept the food simple so we didn't have to waste time working in the kitchen, and went for a walk, doing our best to find fall colors among all the pine trees. We soaked up the fresh air and hung out on the deck in the sunshine and under the stars. 

I brought toe painting supplies so I could try it again and hopefully have a better experience. Check! 

We were up there for literally the last warm day of the year. We spent three or four hours on the lake, floating on the paddle boards, talking. One of the big themes from our conversation was that we need to carve out time to be slow, to let our minds have space and our spirits have room to feel, to recharge, to connect with God's spirit, to let our bodies and minds regenerate in a natural cycle instead of always feeling like we need to be go, go, going and productive. The weekend was the perfect object lesson of how healing it is to slow the pace and just be sometimes. 

We ended our weekend at the temple together, doing initiatories. I love these long-time friends. Someone offered to take our picture and asked if we were sisters. Hand-picked sisters! 

Hazel and Jack did a violin/piano duet of "Nearer My God to Thee" in Sacrament Meeting. I LOVE having musical children! It is so satisfying to listen to what they can do. Every week, all three kids take lessons. Every day, all three kids practice, almost without any reminders from me. They are very self-motivated and diligent, and the results are wonderful. Hazel and Jack both take shifts playing the piano for the Spanish branch Sacrament Meeting, and Jack plays piano for our primary every third Sunday. And I have an exciting announcement to share about Jack's piano playing in the November post! They are rocking the opportunities to share their talents. 

Halloween was super low-key for us. None of the kids needed my help with their costumes. Heck, Jack and Gemma both almost didn't wear costumes at all, and only trick or treated to a couple of our neighbors. Hazel went out with friends. We watched Arsenic and Old Lace and read some fun picture books, and I made a music playlist for our ward Trunk or Treat, so we had some tunes to enjoy the week of Halloween. Gemma was in the Croce Halloween parade and learned the Thriller dance with the rest of the 4th graders, but that was the extent of our celebrations, other than the ward party. I was in charge of the food as Relief Society President and didn't like that. I learned the hard way that it's a massive waste for me to worry about keeping paper plates stocked and dishes washed instead of visiting with people. I would have done things completely differently if I were to go back in time. Unfortunately, I had to be mad for a couple of days before I realized that I shot myself in the foot and only had myself to blame for the things that I walked away annoyed about. 

I am officially done saying California doesn't have any good fall colors. It's just not true! While we do not have jaw-dropping mountain/canyon photos, there is plenty just on my drives around town to spark true joy in me. The following photos are all from our library parking lot, which does have a mighty fine display. 

We barely celebrated Halloween and I didn't even take any pictures of the kids in costumes, it was that lack-luster. However, all the kids did carve a pumpkin. Not my favorite tradition, but evidently, the kids care about it, so I take pictures and read aloud to everyone while Todd really helps. 

Hazel made a nail and yarn bat. Always the creative one!

Jack broke from tradition and went for a simple carve, instead of one that took four hours and caused extreme stress. It was an enjoyable relief! 

Gemma wanted to carve a rat, in honor of "Fat Tail," a rat who featured on a Mark Rober video we watched the day before, about squirrel Olympics. 

And Suzanne posted online that she offers her kids $10 every year if they will eat a spoonful of pumpkin guts, but no one ever completes the challenge. My kids rose to the occasion. I've never lost $30 so quickly before. It was entertaining! These kids are competitive for sure. Gemma claimed it made her tongue itch, and Hazel almost threw up, but they all crunched and sloshed through it in about three minutes. 

September 2022

We spent Labor Day weekend with Mitch and Jill Dabo and their kids at the cabin. The weather was magnificent. It was beautiful and the water was inviting. Todd broke out the zip line and we set it up, not knowing if we'd get complaints and have to take it down. It was worth the risk; everyone on the lake was stoked and wanted to try it out as well. We had that baby running for four or five hours almost nonstop. Todd rode down upside down and then dived into the lake - ultra cool! Everyone played on the kayaks and paddle boards as well, and it was super chill and fun. 

Jack is literally as old as possible to still be in primary. He started resisting going to activity days, and it was a battle, but we didn't want him to just stop participating in church activities, so I went to the bishop and asked if Jack could start attending Young Men's weekday activities a few months early. The transition was approved, and it's been a good move. He's been boating with the youth a couple times, which is Bishop Anderson's favorite way to interact with the kids. 

The kids decided to participate in Livermore's fall tree sweater project. People can sign up for a downtown tree and create an original design to decorate it for a couple of months. Hazel's tree was in front of the Sauced (a BBQ restaurant) and Todd encouraged her to honor Peppa Pig since she's been a running gag for Hazel and her friends for the past year. Jack went for a more classic look. 

After years of hollow smack-talk, Todd and Hazel finally tried P-90 Ab Ripper X together. Funny, they talked big, but they haven't done it again since. I've got horror memories from that program Todd tortured me with pre-kid ....

Hazel got braces. She is sad that her teeth took longer than expected to fall out and grow in and couldn't get this experience over with last year while she had to wear a mask to school. She is not as disciplined as Gemma with the naughty foods list. Hopefully she won't have long-term consequences such as cavities or stained teeth. Fingers crossed. 

Hazel and Jack both joined the Cross Country team at school. I loved that they were there together. Hazel enjoyed it and Jack tolerated it, but they both stuck it out the whole season. Stay tuned for October's post to hear about meet results! 

We had the Dix family over for dinner. Hazel has been getting arm wrestling tips from Todd and inspiration from me, because I beat the high school state wrestling champ in an arm wrestle (when we were in 6th grade) and was able to use that as serious bragging rights for years. Anyway, Hazel had an undefeated record from the boys at school, but Spencer destroyed her streak in about half a second. 

We got some glorious rain for the first time in months. The gutters were gushing and I goaded the kids out the door to splash and enjoy. Hazel came back to the porch to watch with me after a couple of minutes. I told her she wasn't too old to get back out there and enjoy herself and that I didn't want her to miss out on the memories. Well, she flipped the script and told me I wasn't too old, either. I grabbed my rain jacket and went out to play, and baby, it felt amazing! I was so grateful to Hazel for giving me that gift. 

I had a nice birthday week. On my actual birthday, I spent the morning going for a walk and having my Wednesday Friendsday phone call with April, and then I went and had an amazing massage, but the afternoon was packed with a cross country meet for Hazel, a cross-town piano lesson for Jack, a tennis class for Jack, and a volleyball class for Hazel. I went out for lunch with Katie, Karrie, Elaine, and Joleen the next day at The Press and left feeling so grateful for the good friends I've made here, and for all the dear friends I've been blessed to have at different stages in my life. My family got me a Spotify Premium account so I can listen to music without commercials, and let me tell you, it has one thousand percent enhanced my listening experience! It's so much more fun and relaxing without interruptions. 

We had the youth from our ward up to the cabin that weekend, and it was a total blast! Katie came because she's YW president, and Chris Cowan came for the YM/bishopric. We got up there Friday night, had dinner, and then headed out to the kickball field for some night games. The stars were workin' it! We had a stunning sky. The kids loved running around in the dark with glowsticks. It was a fun energy. 

The girls slept up in the loft and the boys on the living room floor. Only adults got real beds. Saturday was full of games and plenty of time at the lake. The kids all seemed relaxed and happy and inclusive, and I think it was really good for them to all be together and have a break from their phones.