October

Back in May, we finished planting our flower bed that is out by the garage/driveway.  We already had few things there but I wanted to fill the rest of it up.  This is what it looked like when we planted it.  It made me happy to look out the window and see all those tiny plants looking so nice and neat.

In the back is a Cheyenne privet and a golden privet.  We have three salvia plants, two Shasta daisy's, a wegelia bush in the middle, some phlox, a hosta, and a plant we transplanted from my dad's with little yellow flowers but we don't know what it's called, and three mums.  And the lilac which was the only thing we left there from the previous owners.

A couple of years ago we planted a few mums under our big kitchen window and they never did well.  Justin wanted to pull them out and throw them away but I wasn't quite ready to give up on them.  So we replaced the mums with hostas and put the three mums in the corner bed.  There were three of them-purple, yellow, and red-and this is what the yellow one looked like on October 1st.  The other's weren't quite as large but they did really well.  I am glad we didn't throw them away because I enjoyed the pop of color all September and October.

Stockton finished up his fall baseball season with a late double header in Spanish Fork.  All his games this fall were in Spanish Fork.  I only made it to the last one.  I hope that next year they are not all down there.  He had fun and will continue to play.

running bases

playing 1st base

bottom right

 I am so glad that Ivy is a good sleeper.  She doesn't put up a fuss to go to bed and she sleeps well all night.

Ivy likes these cubbies at the library.

Parent-teacher conference time for Stockton and Brynn.  They are both doing great and are loved by their teachers.  I love seeing the things they have made in preparation for the conferences.  They are usually hanging in the hall by their classrooms.

"My name is Brynn Goodrich.  My favorite thing is going to our grandma's cabin.  My food is ramen noodles.  I have 6 people in my family."

"The important thing about me is that I am me.  I am a student in Mrs. Hall's class. Playing baseball is my favorite thing to do outside.  I love science.  Fishing is awesome to me.  I am a math lover.  Helping my dad build things is fun.  But, the important thing about me is that I am me."

I was able to go with Brynn on her field trip to Rowley's Red Barn.  It was cold when the day started but the sun came out and warmed us up and we had a great time.  I love going on field trips and am glad we were able to make it work.  We went on a wagon ride through the apple orchard, picked a huge (and delicious!) red apple, and played in the jungle gym area.  The slide was Brynn's favorite.  We rode the wagon back to the barn and had fresh apple cider doughnuts before heading home.  Such a great day!

Mari Freeman and Brynn

Ivy got to have a date with Justin.  They went shopping at the outlets and out to lunch.

October 6th.  Not sure what Ivy is doing but I do remember the morning.  It was a Saturday, Justin was at work all day, and Molly had a soccer game in Mapleton at 10:00 in the morning but had to be there at 9:15 to warm-up.  Which meant I had to have all the kids up and out the door by 8:15 on a Saturday.  Not my idea of a relaxing weekend morning.  The kids did great however, and we made it to the field before anyone, even the coaches.  I was feeling pretty proud of myself but that feeling was short-lived when Ivy peed her pants while playing at the park in the first 10 minutes (before the game even started) and I realized that I didn't have an extra change of pants or underwear.  I didn't even have a spare Pull-Up, which I usually keep in my bag for emergencies.  Ivy spent the rest of the game in the back of the car wrapped in a blanket while I tried to watch the game from the front seat and listen to Conference.  Also, it was cold and rainy so, you know, icing on the cake.

Stockton and Brynn did a whole bunch of Halloween how-to-draws and decorated our mantel with them.  They were cute!  Ivy didn't want to be left out and made her own drawings and hung them on the TV stand.  Hers didn't stay up very long like Stockton and Brynn's whose pictures stayed up the whole month long.

General Conference Sunday=dinner at Gene and April's.  These blocks always come out while we are listening to the afternoon session.

Molly had a choir concert at the school.  Samantha Steiner is her best friend right now and they have choir together.

Sometimes I watch my friend's little girl, Cora, when she is in a bind.  She turned two in October but goes to nursery with Ivy so they are good friends.

Ivy and Cora Hansen

Justin built an arch one night for Family Home Evening.  He was trying to illustrated the cornerstone (Christ) and the capstone (The Book of Mormon).  He did his lesson and then wanted to see if his arch was strong enough for someone to stand on.  It was a little wobbly but we tried!

Brynn stayed home from school one day.  She had thrown up in the night but by 9:00 that morning, she was fine.  She was nervous to tell me that she was feeling okay because she thought I would send her to school!  I assured her that I was not going to make her go and that she could have a stay-at-home-day.  She saw me do a YouTube workout and wanted to do one of her own so I found a kids yoga that she really had fun doing.

Molly filmed a video that she called, "2 Cool 4 School" that starred Stockton, Brynn, Easton, and Corbin.  Brynn and Corbin were the cool kids.  They were so cute and the whole video was delightful.  It really is so fun to watch and never gets old!

Brynn and Corbin

We met my mom and both my sisters at Gardner's Village for our annual "witch hunt."  My kids all wore their costumes, so here's the sneak peak for Halloween.  This is always a favorite tradition so not many words are needed.

Grant and Stockton

Tessa, Lucy, Brynn, Chloe, Molly, Grant, Josie, Stockton, Ivy, Harper

Chloe and Molly

This is the third year that we have gathered wood for the winter.  It is always a huge job but it's so worth it on those cold, winter nights.  Justin spent half a day in the mountains on his own and then his friend joined him and helped out for the rest of they day.  They didn't get quite as much as we have in years past but I think we'll be okay. Splitting and stacking is a family job and the kids are mostly enthusiastic about doing it.  They love sitting by the fire in the evenings and Molly and Stockton have been taught how to start a fire and get it going so that's nice because, although not hard, it's one less thing I have to do!

Our leaves is another project that I'll save for a different post but Stockton was nice enough to blow off the deck so we could stack our wood.

My days at home with Ivy are the sweetest and I am trying hard to cherish every moment-I know how fast the next couple years will go by.  I loved her reactions when we played Sofia the First Spot It.  She is the best.

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