October 2019

I drove on a couple field trips for Jack's class this month. First we went to Ravenswood, this older property in Livermore with apple orchards and rangers who taught the kids what life was like here in the early 1800's. The kids got to make apple cider, ride a "Bone Shaker" bike, and play old fashioned games. They learned a lot and seemed to enjoy it quite a bit. 

Later in the month, we went to Settler's Day in Sunol, where the kids learned similar things about life in the area a couple hundred years ago. They also went on a hike and saw a gopher snake and a tarantula in the wild.

Jack said to me that he'd never realized how nice it was to have a mom drive on the field trips, that he always thought it was fun to ride in someone else's car, but now he saw how much extra time he got to spend with me during the day and he was really glad I was driving. Melt my heart!

We all enjoyed listening to General Conference. Todd's parents came up for the weekend with a car full of peaches from their trees and watched and listened and learned with us. Hazel worked hard on this puzzle throughout.

We dehydrated peaches and froze peaches and made three different flavors of peach jam (plain, spiced, and peach-plum) over the next week or two. 

Todd and I test drove convertibles on our date night. We tried out the Mini, the BMW, and the Audi. The BMW was our favorite. My heart beat faster, my mouth was even watering as I drove it, it was such a dream come true!

We got caught up in the idea of owning one and brought our kids for a second test drive the next weekend. Jack fell in love, but Hazel thought the four seats were impractical for our five-person family (sadly, so true) and Gemma didn't enjoy it because the sides come up high and she wasn't in her booster seat, so instead of having a wide open experience, she felt she couldn't see anything. The girls' lack of enthusiasm dampened ours, and we have since calmed down.

Gemma lost her other front tooth, so she's had this adorable jack-o-lantern smile all month long.

Our ward Halloween party included a cake contest, which Hazel and Jack each entered. Hazel made a delicious pumpkin bundt cake almost entirely on her own, and the boys made a cool-looking poison apple (chocolate) cake. Happily, they tied for second place!

For a family night activity, Todd taught the kids how to use a fire extinguisher in the kitchen. Hazel was very uncomfortable, but the other two thought it was cool.

 Gemma was awarded Student of the Month for always being kind and helpful to her classmates.

Todd and Hazel planned an ambitious Halloween party to invite friends too. We had a huge group (around 20 kids) over. Besides wearing costumes and eating pizza, we had lots of fun activities for everyone to do. 

Todd and I decided last minute to dress up as VSCO girl and boyfriend. It's some trend that's driving Hazel nuts at school, so we thought it would be funny to play on that. Her friends were impressed, ha!

Everyone tried to keep a balloon from popping as long as possible. Kids love balloons.

We played the egg game, blowing an empty egg shell across the table and trying to get it to not fall next to you. That''s always a crowd pleaser. 

The biggest hit of the night, though, the crowning jewel, was the elephant game. In teams of two, you wore a nylon leg on your head, which had a tennis ball in the toe.

The first teammate tried to knock over apples from the tops of cups, without knocking over the cups. When you got three down and reached the other side, the second teammate raced back, knocking the cups over. It was hilarious to watch and to play!

 We had a huge windstorm one night. Our neighbor's tree fell. Todd came to the rescue with a chainsaw and let the rest of us tag along to help as well. It was satisfying work!

We made our annual visit to the pumpkin patch so the kids could play in the giant corn box. They love to fill each others shirts and see how fat they can get, and they also like to bury each other like they're at the beach.

I went to the eye doctor for the first time in twenty years and got a pair of reading glasses. Apparently, even though I have a hard time reading street signs and restaurant wall menus, I'm slightly farsighted. My eye muscles get worn out from focusing to see things close by and are then tired when I try to look far away. Theoretically, if I wear glasses now when I read or work on the computer, I'll eventually notice that I have an easier time seeing things far away. I'm hoping it really works that way!

The bumpy pumpkins we picked up from the pumpkin patch were too thick to carve, so we painted pumpkins this year. I love how they turned out!

Gemma was a cat this year, as she's been having so much fun observing and mimicking Ginger and Nutmeg. Hazel was her favorite Harry Potter character, Luna Lovegood, and Jack was Dobby the House Elf. 

I haven't decided if I was being brilliant or maniacal, but I roasted giant pans of vegetables for our Halloween dinner before we went out trick or treating.

September 2019

We went to Crown Beach on Labor Day. but it was pretty cool and windy, and we had brand new kitties at home that the kids wanted to play with, so we didn't stay for long.

Gemma lost her front tooth! That's it, folks, it's over. Once that puppy grows in, I won't have any little kids at home. At least it's really, really adorable. She lost a tooth on the bottom a week later, and her other front tooth is loose. They're falling out left and right! I told her she's not going to be able to eat anything but applesauce for the rest of her life.

We hustled to take family pictures while Gemma has this cute smile. It was windy and it's not looking lovely and fall-ish outside yet, but sometimes you have to make sacrifices ... I have always regretted not getting pictures taken when Hazel or Jack lost their front teeth. This was my last chance!

Speaking of windy, it was pretty chilly when we went to volleyball orientation for fall season. Not that notable, really, but I just loved seeing all my people snuggled up keeping warm. Aren't they cute? Like little Russian dolls...

Not sure why Gemma thought it would be more comfortable to sleep in a beanbag than on her mattress, but yeah, I definitely caught her sleeping like this one night.

The kids had their fun run fundraiser at school on a blistering hot day. My older kids stuck close to their friends the whole time.

My good friend April showed up in a dinosaur suit to pep the kids up. So funny!

I love seeing them make good friends. We've started having them over to the house more often as well. The kids have been doing a good job of playing with siblings and friends in big after-school groups, which I absolutely love! If they can have their buddies over and still remain best friends with each other, what more could I ask for?  I see good times coming in the next few years!

Sister Jean B. Bingham, General Relief Society President, came to the area with some of the other women's leadership, to give training to a few stakes in the area. Happily enough, it encompassed both Chrissy's stake in Newark and Suzanne's stake in Sunnyvale, so we were able to make a girls' night out of it and have an uplifting visit, with Hazel and Nova as well. So awesome! She spoke about ministering and seeing the individual needs of the sisters in our congregations.

Hazel drew a picture for Sister Bingham during the meeting and she and Nova went up to meet her afterward and give her a hug. We could feel Sister Bingham's powerful spirit radiating from her. What a wonderful experience!

After school one day, a girls' chain had fallen off her bike. Jack offered to help. He's definitely picked up on a lot of handy skills working alongside Todd. I'm proud of him.

The highlight of September was attending my brother Ryan's wedding (on my birthday!). He and his lovely bride Xiao planned a beautiful day. It was an honor to be able to be there to celebrate their union. My favorite part of their ceremony was hearing their idea that they hoped that life goes on after death and that loving each other makes them yearn for that belief that they can always be together without an end. My brother left our faith several years ago, and hearing him express this wish and strive for meaning in life because of the happiness he feels with Xiao filled a wound I have carried in my heart for him. I'm grateful Xiao brings him purpose and joy and a reason to live well. 

I had the fun job of serving their cake at the reception. I liked being helpful.

I loved spending the day with family. Ryan and Xiao had their ceremony, followed by a reception with a luncheon, all at the Memorial House in Salt Lake City. Then we took pictures and helped clean up the flowers, centerpieces, and leftover food.

That evening, Ryan and Xiao had a family dinner at a delicious Italian restaurant. I can't help but feel they might have picked the place so I could enjoy lasagna on my birthday?! We had a reserved section of the restaurant. It was so nice to be able to sit and visit with family before saying goodbye.

The kids chowed down!

And played with cousins... There might have been a game of Red Light, Green Light as well as some leg wars on the couch.

Hazel brought her sketch book and did an impromptu drawing of the bride and groom, which she gifted to them at the end of the night.

It was a very quick visit to Utah, just Friday night to Sunday morning. We were lucky enough to catch Missy's family at home and slept at their house, so the kids got a couple of fun evenings with Carli and Shaylee, and Todd and I got to visit with Missy and Burke.

Fall volleyball started up this month. Todd feels nice and comfortable coaching some of the same girls. It's been satisfying to see them make progress in their skills! Hazel also recruited a couple more friends, so she's having a blast. 

The cats proved themselves capable of coming out of the enclosure and not running away. Yay! We've been keeping them locked up at night since they're still kittens, but they roam free during the day. It's been satisfying to see that they mostly hang out at home. They do their exploring in the mornings when the kids are at school, and spend their afternoons lounging in the sun and playing with the kids. Cats for the win! They've been a good pet choice for us.

Although there was some drama taking them back to the vet... At least I knew how to lure them into their carrying boxes this time, but the entire drive was filled with mewing begs and cries and little paws stretching through the holes as they tried to get out. It was hilarious and truly distracting. I decided to put them in the trunk of the van for the drive home so I could focus on the road.

We've still been riding to school every morning (via bike, scooter, roller blades, or even skate board) but it is starting to feel chilly. There is a little bit of color on the trees, luxurious afternoons where the sun feels mighty inviting, and mornings and evenings cool enough to want to pull out the sweaters. I love this time of year!