Lot's of fun things going on!
Last night I took Ollie to swim class and paid for passes for Cora and Aaron to tag along
for swimming and then a little rock climbing. The Rock Climbing was spontaneous, so Cora was in a skirt. Hahaha. She didn't mind!
Ollie was ready for bed in his jammies after his swimming shower. :)
The boys also enjoyed a little sparing
Swimmin' after Ollie's lesson
On Monday, we celebrated HAPPY 43rd BIRTHDAY To Scott!!
Apparently, I didn't get any photos??
Had a nice campfire Sunday evening
We had some dough to roast bread on a stick over the fire and some just baked normally.
We ate it ALL. Apparently chia seeds in bread is DELICIOUS. Just adds a nice little crunch.
We've had some wonderful weather
Tim was my chauffeur to deliver Pies for Bangladesh this year.
The other kids were rock climbing with Scott. I appreciated his help!
Scott's taken Tim out a few times driving now, and Tim was invited to drive Eric Lloyd's fun car while they were out!! What a treat!
Ollie is officially done with soccer season. He had fun getting to play with his really good friend, Levi, and also to have Dad assistant coaching.
He was very excited that everyone got a medal!
The MomCo helped with our pie assembly this year and it was phenomenal!
That morning, my friends helped assemble at my home and prepare all the pie crust for the evening crew. It was great, and didn't feel nearly as chaotic and stressful as years past.
One reason for that is that Nate invited me to her house to started assembling pies in October, so I had 12 pies ready for pick up from the get go.
Somehow her sister Becki and I connected that she is good friends with my Aunt Therese.
Small world!
The other awesome thing this year was that I had a freezer miraculously donated to me just a month before pie time. It holds 23 pies, if I freeze and stack. Amazing!
Also, since we had to get a new fridge/freezer recently, I realized that our new kitchen freezer has greater capacity as well. I could almost keep all 45 pies ordered at my home.
It was so much easier to get orders filled this year without having to beg freezer space and divvy up pick up locations.....things I have tried in the past when I only had room for 8 pies in my freezer.
My kitchen sanitized to perfection before pie making.
This was also the first year I have made pies all by myself. Honestly, I was terrified of messing up the pies in the first few years, because I didn't know how to crimp the edges and make the dough properly.
If doing this service has done nothing else for me, it's taught me how to make a proper pie crust. :)
I enjoyed making a few rounds on my own. It was meditative.
These are the beautiful women I am assigned to minister to at church. They came over for lunch last week, and we just had lunch and chatted and got to know each other.
Halloween was fun! We kept it chill and just went trick or treating to a few of our favorite homes,
and then watched the New Ghostbusters together.
Scott made some monster bread!
Brad Stapleton (Scott's little brother)
We celebrated el Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead)
in Cora's activity days
Ruth and Hal Stapleton (Papa Tim's parents) Vila and Bob Brown (Macha's parents)
We brought pictures of some of our family members who have died and shared stories about them.
Some families brought food that their family members liked.
Tommy (my little brother)
Bryant (my little brother) and Judy and Tom Parker (Grandpa Kent's parents)
Another picture of Judith and Thomas Parker at their home on Sherwood Dr.
Kathryn and R. Paul Cracroft (Grandpa Pat's parents)
Also pictured, Aunt Shauni, Patricia (Grandma Pat), and Aunt Kathy
We had a little "Ofrenda" at home with a day of the dead skull and pictures of our family, and enjoyed thinking about them all, and appreciating what they have taught us.
Cora and Ollie have their Primary Program this Sunday!
They have been practicing a lot! Cora gets to be the first child to give her part.
Ollie said his favorite song is "Run to the Garden" a very fun song they learned at Easter that they will be sharing. 9 songs! Hoping Sunday goes well!
Going for a little rainy hike
Putting Ollie to bed
The Ward Halloween Spooktacular was amazing!
Aaron led the Teachers Quorum in planning a Spook Alley that went amazingly well. :)
They had "body bags" made of sleeping bags, a scary heat sensor screen where someone starts following you. Aaron was really dressed black and invisible and spooked people as they walked by the hall from different locations. Others made loud banging noises when you least expected it. Nicely done boys!
The kids were excited about dressing up. Aaron made Ollie's "Turbo Chux" costume. He's an Akedo.
Cora was a white bunny.
Lori Lewis had a fantastic cake walk game and beautiful cupcakes!
Sister Elledge and other volunteers outdid themselves with decorations again!!
Tim had a birthday sleepover that night at Nate's house. Busy weekend!
The boys had a fantastic season of cross country and topped it off with a dinner at Fody's Tavern.
Pep Band season just ended as well. They boys enjoyed playing Trombone and Percussion at the football games.
Scott and the kids were great cheerleaders for them!
Ollie could talk to Tim alongside this crack in the fence. :)
Just a nice day for a hike with my little buddy.
This was a playdate with friends, Reed and Vivian.
I blew the trail right before their visit and they enjoyed hiking to the Beaver Pond.
I tried something new!
Silks and Lyra
Our instructor, Crystal, was a wizard.
I was very sore on my hands and ankle.
It was a very interesting training for me for sure. Something totally new and uncomfortable.
And that was the theme of one of my yoga classes this month and of the the 3 MomCo themes this year. (Embrace Discomfort) So, I put it to practice. :)
Bella is still a fun little addition to our family
The kids are in love with her. :)
The Elementary School Trunk or Treat
Here's Ollie as Bumblebee with his friend, Luna as Belle and
Pikachu in the background. Yellow mania!
The beaver pond is lovely this time of year.
Cora came up with a little activity all by herself.
Scott is signing up.
For a fortune telling
The boys have been to several stake dances this Fall.
This Halloween dance was near Boston. We brought a couple of friends.
Food, friends, dancing, fun....and for the boys.....cards in a classroom too. :)
We had season passes to Lake Canobie this year, and enjoyed going to Screemfest a couple of times.
They had some really creepy decorations!
I also helped Windham Pilates with their Scarecrow, a witch scarecrow flying a broom,
for the town square. It's a contest the town puts on each year.
Cora in her bunny costume.
As Fall moves into Winter, I can honestly say that we are not missing out on much of life! Kids are so busy with school and activities. Scott is working hard. I'm trying to reset the house everyday for the next and stay on top of keeping our lives organized. It's a busy, fun time of life.
Happy Fall everyone!
