October 2026

 We started the month with General Conference. I bought a pack of puzzles and Jack and I worked on them throughout the weekend. I find it is helpful to have something to work on as I listen. 

Bonus: the whole crew went on a sunset stroll Sunday evening. I love it when we all go out together. 

A few days later, Chrissy and I flew out to Colorado Springs to kickstart our girls' weekend. We got the travel day out of the way on Wednesday so that we could have all of Thursday, Friday, and most of Saturday all together because it never feels like we have quite enough time together. Suzanne couldn't join us until Thursday morning, but we played games, did yoga and face masks, and bought groceries while we waited for our reunion. 

It was so exciting to all be together again! We spent Thursday afternoon browsing the shops in downtown Colorado Springs. We found handmade ceramic earrings we all liked and everyone picked out a pair for a souvenir that would remind us of each other. We also got a big kick out of the majorly magical, esoteric shops. We were super sad we missed the opening hours of the store advertising wands and dragons! But we did browse through a store displaying a book entitled, "Your Ancestors Want You to Be a Mushroom," so ... there was plenty to enjoy. 

That evening, we drove over to Garden of the Gods and watched the sunset. 

We made grain bowls with quinoa, chicken, and lots of veggies, but the bowls in our airbnb were far too small to accommodate our feast, so we improvised. Turns out it is quite satisfying to eat out of a frying pan. Who knew? 

Thursday night we used the hot tub and had some really meaningful conversation in the dark.What are girls' weekends for, if not to share the good and the bad with people you know have your back through thick and thin?  

Friday morning we went back to Garden of the Gods to hike around for reals. It was fun to see these red rock formations popping up randomly. It was as if our Heavenly Parents were playing drip art with wet, red sand. 

We stayed at the most adorable airbnb ever. It was decorated in Marimekko style, a Finnish design brand that uses vibrant colors and massive, bold, graphic prints. Everywhere you looked there was color and print, but it still somehow was relaxing. It was kind of magical and really fun. 

Thursday afternoon we went for a drive to look for fall leaves.  It seems like the Colorado mountainss are mostly pines and aspens. It's fun to find patches of buttery yellow in the middle of the green hills. My all-time favorite 30 minutes of the entire weekend was when we pulled over and laid down under some aspens and just listened to them rustle and admired their pretty contrast against the vibrant blue sky. 

I brought a puzzle from the conference pack with me and Suzanne and I worked on it when Chrissy needed to rest each day to stave off her vertigo migraines. 

Friday night we went out to dinner downtown, played games, and stayed up way too late. Totally worth it. 

Saturday morning, we hung around our house until we absolutely had to check out. Seriously, it was so comfortable and cute and fun to hang out in that we didn't want to leave. 

When we did takle off, we found this super fun thrift shop that all of us said we would really shop at if we lived nearby, Uptown Cheapskate. It had the most fun curated clothing. We went in with the plan to find outrageous outfits for each other to try on, but it was challenging to find crazy clothes because we kept finding things we really woud love to wear instead! Too bad I made Chrissy bring carryon only. We didn't have enough space in our suitcases to buy anything!  

With our remaining time, we walked through a cute neighborhood, had a picnic at a park, and got our nails done. I was crazy impressed with the polish brand I ended up with - Dazzle Dry. Three weeks later, I only had one chip and my nails still looked healthy underneath. I removed it because they were looking quite grown-out, but the polish lasted so well. I think I'm in love! 

It was heartbreaking saying goodbye to Suzanne at the airport. I can't stand that we live so far away. 

While I was gone, Jack and Rebecca hosted another Jabecca's Restaurant night - this time they did Italian. They served up herbed salmon, rattatoille, French onion soup, French bread, and lemon custand. 

Puzzles galore! We had one more from the pack we hadn't done yet, so the boys and I made a Sunday afternoon out of it. 

We had Vlad, Luna, and Erika over for Vlad's birthday dinner. We made steak and potatoes and played Around the World on the ping pong table. 

The latest photo craze with the kids is this "chud" pose, where you push your chin into your neck. 

Hazel had a school day with a "senior picnic" activity all day that she wasn't interested in participating in. I signed her out of school since none of her teachers would be planning for seniors to attend and she and I had a nice day together. We drove out to Half Moon Bay and hiked a cliffside trail, spent a few minutes at the beach, and then went out to lunch. Before heading home, we stopped to check out Hazel's dream car: she's been visualizing herself living out of a beach van ever since. It was super nice to do something so rejuvenating with her and we had a lot of great conversation - such a win! 

That evening, Hazel had her fall concert. There are so many kids in our ward that participate in orchestra and band that we made attending the concert our youth activity for the evening. 

Once orchestra was finished, Hazel headed over to catch the second half of volleyball practice. Unfortunately, her zeal bit her in the butt, as she sprained her ankle just a few minutes after arriving. When I got home from the concert, she was crying on the couch, foot propped up with an ice pack, devastated at the timing because her senior night game was the following evening and she didn't think she would be able to play now. 

This girl is so resilient and hardcore, however, so so much her dad in a girl's body, that although she walked into the gym on crutches, she wrapped her ankle in sports tape and a brace, and she played, baby! Erika, Vlad, and Luna all came to cheer her on and got to walk with us when they announced Hazel's spotlight. It turned out to still be a great night for Hazel, thankfully, although Noah did give her a piggy back ride to the car afterward because her foot was killing her. 

Todd and I finally bought all the supplies needed and spent a week or two painting our black bedroom dresser white to match the nightstands we bought a couple years ago. It was a fun project to work on, and it turned out so pretty! 

Hazel was the last one of us to get a flu shot this season, but I managed to convince her it was time. She loved getting pushed around Target in a shopping cart. 

Between Hazel's sprained ankle and a bad cold Gemma caught, the girls and Todd decided to scrap the daddy/daughter campout and have a local date instead. They went to Color Me Mine pottery studio and made a couple mugs and a salsa bowl. They all came home raving about the place. 

Todd and I went to a Sara Bareilles concert in San Francisco. Todd bought the tickets on a bit of a whim; he was listening to her music while he worked on the computer, I said something about how stunning her voice was, he looked to see if she had any upcoming performances, and batta bing, batta boom, we had ourselves a fun date to anticipate. She did, indeed, sound phenomenal, and the night was well worth it. 

Hazel's varsity team took a field trip up to Tahoe to play one more game against South Lake Tahoe High School. We went up the day before. Todd stayed home to work, but I brought all the kids along. We took a scenic route to hunt for fall foliage. Unfortunately, the curves made Jack carsick. Fortunately, the shop we stopped at for him to barf and for Hazel to pee at sold giant cinnamon rolls; we bought four, and they made a spectacular breakfast the next morning.

We hiked down to Emerald Bay, where Hazel met up with her team and did her obligatory polar bear plunge. This girl loves cold water for some reason! We left her to hang out with her team until the next day, and Gemma, Jack, and I had a lovely evening, eating at a delicious Italian restaurant, playing games, reading, and enjoying a little cable TV game show action in Spanish. 

Saturday morning, Gemma, Jack, and I found a beach to admire Lake Tahoe at for a few minutes before going to the game to cheer Hazel on. 

Unfortunately, her coach didn't play her very much becuase of her ankle. Fortunately, a volleyball hit this suspiciously yellow puddle on the bleachers in front of us, so the kids and I were wildly entertained tracking the location of the Pee Ball for the rest of the game. 

We enjoyed the leaves again on our drive home - and no one threw up this time! Right when we got back in town, we dropped Jack off at a birthday party and the rest of us put our costumes on and headed to our ward Trunk or Treat. Gemma and Clara were Elmo and Cookie Monster. Hazel and Noah were Cody and Chicken Joe from Surf's Up. Todd and I wore our oneies again (me a pink panther, he a flying squirrel). There was a massive candy swap at the end that was fun to watch. 

My game group had our annual Fall Foods night. It feels extra special to gather and share good food together and make time for meaningful conversation, in addition to the fun and competition of our games we love to play together. Karrie made Dinner in a Pumpkin, I made a fancy salad, Katie made sausage and kale soup, Kirstan made maple donuts, Elaine brought apple cider and a caramel apple bar, and Joleen hosted with the most beautiful fall decorations. Then we played "The Potion Game," which we seem to always pull out in the fall. 

Hazel made her friend Max's Halloween costume. She loves creative projects. Somehow she convinced him to trick or treat as a maxi-pad box. Sounds like it was a crowd-pleaser. 

For posterity's sake: the latest-latest craze is for my kids to squish their lips away from their teeth with their pointer finger and make craxy eyes. I don't know. 

Hazel's orchestra group presented at San Jose State University to music teachers, demonstrating how they play without a conductor, which is quite exceptional. Since it was the last school day before Halloween, each section came up with a group costume. Hazel's second violins section all wore colorful wigs and tutus. 

Jack wore Todd's flight suit. After a quick morning kerfuffle when he couldn't figure out which pockets to stick his phone and earbuds in, he quickly realized it was the most comfortable thing he has ever worn before. 

Gemma did not want to go to middle school alone as Elmo (Clara is a 7th grader at a different school) so she whipped out her Kip impression instead. Classic. 

I came home Friday afternoon to WILD giggles and shrieks and found Hazel and Jack bent over the printer with their faces plastered to the screen. These kids! 

Friday night, Hazel hosted a big group (16 kids) for a hot pepper party. Todd was so excited to host. I was sent to Safeway for habaneros, poblanos, and jalapenos to suppliment his stash of Thai and ghost peppers, and I guess there was one more kind he already had that I'm not sure what it is. 

After feeding the kids wings and tater tots, there was an impromptu - and rather amazing - Worm contest. I cannot describe how much I regret not filming the entire thing. It. Was. Hilarious. Especially in costumes! 

Then we got serious and ran a full-on Bunco Fiesta. We divided the kids into four groups of four and every round (1-6) two out of every four kids lost and had to eat a pepper. We kept track of the scores so we could award the biggest winner (Jay) and biggest loser (Noah) at the end of the night. 

Not only did poor Noah lose ALL SIX rounds - and subsequently have to sample all six types of pepper - but both he and Banana Boy Noah Gorman threw up. Our Noah opened the back door and silently walked into the darkness to take care of business in private. Noah G barfed - not once, not twice, but THREE TIMES - into our kitchen sink!!! I was appalled. And you better believe I disinfected that bad boy as soon as the game ended. I had to use the disposal because the sink was full. Yuck! 

Overall, I would say the party was a massive success. All but the barfing was lots of fun. 

Saturday we drove out to the Modesto Temple open house. Gemma doesn't remember going through the Oakland Temple when it was renovated, so she was especially excited to see the parts inside the temple she can't go to yet. 

Then Hazel and Jack took off for parties the entire rest of the day. Gemma carved a pumpkin with Todd before we dropped her off to go trick or treating with friends. All the kids had a good night and came home with way too much candy for their own good.