October

The Halloween and fall bins came out on the 1st day of the month.  I don't have a lot of Halloween decorations, just a few oldies that I've had forever.  The kids mostly like the random bits of costumes and goodies that we have collected through the years.  Halloween straws and googly-eye glasses and the like.  Stockton dressed Ivy up as a cat-skeleton or whatever you would call this.

 

We went to Frightmares with the entire Moyes family.  I'm pretty sure this was the biggest group that we had at Lagoon all year.  It was a lot of fun and we couldn't have asked for a better day.  We love seeing Lagoon decked out for Halloween, they do a fabulous job. 

Highlights from this trip: Ivy and Lucy wanted to watch a Lagoon show; meeting up with my aunt Holly, cousin Caitlin, and her kids, Ada and Porter; Ivy being tall enough and brave enough to ride Wicked; trick-or-treating in Pioneer Village; riding Cannibal in the dark with the big kids.  Among a few other things.  We had a great day!

Ivy and Lucy

Gavin, Molly, Stockton, Grant

Ivy, Lucy, Ada and Porter Hamilton, Gavin, Seth, Molly, Brynn, Stockton, Grant

Caitlin Hamilton, Ada, Ivy, Brynn

it was Ada's first time too-Ada and Ivy

Molly, Gavin, Stockton, Grandma, me, Chloe, Grandpa

Ada, Porter, Harper, Brynn, Josie, Ivy, Tessa, Lucy, Grace

Brynn, Tessa, Ivy

Ivy, Josie, Brynn

Sunday afternoon of Conference was spent in Sandy, like usual.  Stockton tried to set a record of balancing spoons on his face...he made it to three.  Brynn helped Grandma with the mashed potatoes.  The boys played baseball, we all played games at the table (minus Justin), we were physically and spiritually fed.  Love these special afternoons.

Ivy was working on a bowl of raspberries one morning and called me over to see what she had done.  Raspberry fingers...yum!!

April made us lava cakes for Sunday dinner and Stockton loved them so much that he wanted to make them two days later!  He is my chocolate lover for sure!

 

We had our Sunshine Circle Preschool field trip at Hee Haw Farms.  Last year we had to cancel because of weather and the year before we didn't hold it because of Covid.  So even though this is my fourth year teaching, it's only my second time doing this field trip.  The last time I went was when Ivy was still a little preschooler!  But I did talk her into skipping a day of school to come with me and she was happy to do that.  We had beautiful weather and it was such a fun day.  My class is the cutest and I enjoyed getting to know the mom's a little better.  Ivy loved running around and was so happy that Verity had skipped school to attend with her mom as well.  They are cute little friends.

Ivy and Verity Phelps

Verity and Ivy

When the field trip was over, Ivy and I extended our one-on-one time.  Since we were already down in Utah County, we did a couple different things while we were there. (I don't drive down to Utah County unless I have to and then try to get all the things done while I am there.  I really just love staying in Heber.)  We went to Target to pick out a birthday present for a party the next day.  We went to a Halloween superstore to get costume ideas.  We went to a T-Mobile to get Brynn's watch set up...then left as soon as we saw the way-too-long line.  I went later in Heber.  We made one last stop on the way home to Bridal Veil Falls.  We walked up and played at the base of the falls and I had to drag Ivy away she was enjoying herself so much.  We soaked in the sunshine and the gorgeous fall afternoon.  I don't get one-on-one time with any of the kids anymore so this felt like just the perfect day with Ivy.

Wasatch girls soccer had played their final game the day before.  It was the first round of post-region play and they lost to Alta.  They held one last practice the next day but the coaches surprised them and they ran to Quench It and got drinks.  They loved this.

Molly is in the back, 6th in from the left

 The groundbreaking for the new temple was held one Saturday so we drove over on Sunday to see the site.  They had a parking lot and what we maybe thought was the footprint of the temple set out on the grounds.  We saw some people we knew from work, baseball, and the ward while we were there.  Everyone had the same idea we did.  We saw one family putting some dirt in a plastic cup and we liked that idea so we found a ziploc baggie in the car and brought some temple dirt home.  Look how beautiful the setting is!

The unfinished siding has been a thorn in Justin's side for 2+ years.  His schedule is so busy but it was always in the back of his mind and we knew we really needed to buckle down and find some time to get it finished.  We were able to spend a Saturday + Monday getting it all up on the house and it felt so good to get it done.  It still needs caulked and painted but this is a big step toward having it finished.

Molly asked a boy to Preference right before Fall Break started so it took almost two weeks for him to answer.  She wasn't worried but I was happy when he finally answered her back.  He stuck sticky notes all over the front of our house, front door, and porch and left a sign that said "Take note, I'll stick with you at pref."  Molly's excited and I'm excited for her!  (She was not excited that I wanted to take a picture of her.)

Cheer season has started.  It began with showcase at the gym for the parents.  I was super excited to watch Brynn and was suitably impressed by what she has learned and how she's improved these last few months.  I am loving this sport and the atmosphere that is there...excitement and support from everyone.  Brynn did awesome.  She said she fell out of her stunt in the first session because one of the other stunters fell and she was Brynn's brace when she goes up...not having anyone to brace against will make you fall every time.  She was tight and spot on for our session.  Ivy was excited to go watch.  She wanted her hair and makeup to look just like Brynn's and she borrowed Brynn's Wasatch cheer uniform as well.  It was super fun, bring on competition season!

flyer in the back

flyer on the left

flyer on the left

All the kids were going their separate ways that night and Ivy was left by herself.  She easily talked Justin into taking her to Mod Pizza.  Ivy can down a Mod pizza in record time.  Molly joined them at the last minute when her plans changed.

It had been a few years since we had done caramel apples and I wanted to bring them back.  Molly said caramel apple nachos were the way to go so I got all the supplies and we did that instead.  We sliced apples, drizzled them with caramel and everyone did their own toppings.  We had melted white and semi-sweet chocolate, cinnamon and sugar, mini M & M's and peanut butter M & M's, marshallows, heath bits, sea salt, and crushed Oreos.  The combinations were delicious!

the anticipation!

Brynn and Ivy went a little crazy with the chocolate!

That night, after kids were in bed and while I was cleaning up, I looked over to see Justin on the computer doing church stuff.  This was after being at the church from 7 am - 3 pm and then going back out to teach a mission prep class that afternoon/evening.  We waited on him for dinner but he got pulled into an impromptu meeting after mission prep and didn't get home until 7 or later.  Then he was back at it at 9:31 when I took this picture without him knowing.  Not every day looks like that, thank goodness, but it has been special for me to see his quiet dedication to this calling that he never asked for and still doesn't really want.

 

Brynn and Ivy made up a cheer routine that they worked on for an entire afternoon.

Crazy hair day.  My kids are never too keen on going all out and, let's be honest, I probably couldn't do all out anyway.  Ivy did come up with the idea to have me do a bun on the top of her head for a spider body and then use pipe cleaners for spider legs.  I also found some big googly eyes and hot glued them to bobby pins.  Cute and easy!

The soccer coaches hosted a post-season awards ceremony.  We had dinner (crepe bar), watched a slideshow from the year, listened to the captains from each team talk about the year and how awesome it was (it was!), and the coaches for each team gave out awards.  Each team (sophomore, JV, and varsity) had voted on a few different awards and then each coach picked a player to give a "coach's award".  We cheered loud for Molly's good friends Caroline Turner and Regan Heywood when they were given awards by their peers and were super proud when Coach Ariel announced Molly as the recipient of the coaches award for the year.  I wish I would have pulled out my camera while she was describing who was going to get the award but I didn't want to be that presumptuous.  She described Molly as someone who started the year with low self-esteem but someone who came to practice everyday determined to learn and apply what she was learning.  How she made inspiring changes and ended the season as a contributing force. She talked about Molly's resilience and how she treated every practice as a tryout.  She also spoke to Molly's work ethic which is one of the biggest things I have noticed this year as well.  She has worked so hard.  

It was very rewarding to see Molly recognized for her efforts and for someone outside our little circle (me, Justin, Molly, probably my mom) to see how she has worked so hard to overcome the disappointments of last year.  We couldn't be more proud of her and know that these traits are going to serve her well in all areas of life.

Molly and Coach Ariel Partridge

I didn't hear what Ariel was whispering in Molly's ear but it was her form of a pep talk.  Grateful for positive encouragement from coaches.

Ivy called a couple of times while we were at the dinner so I was texting Stockton to see what she was needing.  She didn't need anything but had pulled her tooth out while we were gone and just wanted to tell us about it.