September 2017

September is a blur. I blinked and it was over. Getting kids to school and back with changing carpools and coordinating car needs with the three drivers in the family creates a very unpredictable schedule. Nothing has been routine, yet. It was summer one day and winter the next. Fall skipped right by with leaves just starting to change to snow in the mountains, which left us scurrying to find warm clothing that fits. Getting in the swing of school with all of its registration fees and paperwork, permission forms, back-to-school nights and other minutia took time and energy. Ceci has had two temporary teachers until her permanant teacher arrives from the Netherlands in November. The first was fun and engaging, the current teacher is dreadful, and she talks of homeschooling every single day. Adele has joined that chorus too. She isn't learning anything and is tired of being gone all day. Without being able to point to any particular thing, it has just been busy. 

A few highlights:

Geoff and I stayed at a friend's condo in Deer Valley for four days for a long-overdue couples retreat. We ate out, walked around Park City, took strolls around the watershed in front of the condo, soaking in nature and wildlife, talked for hours, watched an entire season of Poldark (we were obsessed with this TV series for a few weeks before deciding it was no longer uplifting and worth our time), and talked about the next phase of our lives (more on this topic soon), and finished it off with a hike to Bloods Lake. It was a really nice timeout together. The girls stayed at home alone, managing meals, getting themselves off to school and welcoming us to a clean house. I only got a few pictures. That was amazing!

We even saw this small flock of cranes. Magnificent!

Another highlight happened as a result of organizing Babs' pictures and mementos. Her mother had written down some family members' names and birth years. We also had old photos of aunts, grandparents, etc. It took some work on my part, but we found the birth dates, marriage dates and censuses of her grandparents, great grandparents and their children, put them on Familysearch.org and added photos where we had them. We took Babs to the Salt Lake temple and did the baptisms for these relatives, and she did the confirmations for all of the females, nine total females, I believe. It was a special experience to share with her. Unfortunately, I didn't get a single picture. 

Geoff borrowed a work colleagues scooter and took Ceci to school a few days one week, just before summer turned to winter... Ceci had on her aviator goggles she found at the Zurich flea market.

Tennie rode her bike to and from school for the first few weeks, proving to have a knack at popping the tires! I love her love of road biking!

We entered a high season of birthdays. The Saturday before Geoff's birthday we went on a beautiful hike to Lackenwaxen Lake. We took a more direct route OVER A PEAK, which was a climb, but offered gorgeous views in all directions. There was even a little bit of snow (little did we know more was on the way!)

We stopped at Silver Fork lodge for dinner before heading home. Sunday we met family at a pavilion in Deer Valley, in the middle of the watershed we loved so much during our stay just a couple weeks earlier. We picnicked and celebrated Geoff and Ceci's birthday. Again, I didn't get more than one picture. I've got to get back in the habit of pulling my phone out!

Monday was Geoff's actual birthday and he really wanted to go biking in Sundance. I'm not much of a biker, and am definitely not in shape for a big ride, so I watched Em's twins so she could go. Nikki joined them later in the afternoon. It was just what he wanted, and the day warmed up enough to be perfect.

At home I was taking kids to and from dance, preschool and running Em's carpool, but we did have enough time for Zoey (and Tate was her assistant for a short while) to doll me up for a fancy ball.

Ceci's birthday was Wednesday and we kidnapped her for breakfast. She is THIRTEEN afterall! We had to do something a little unexpected! She went gangbusters with a cinnamon roll and a mountain of hot cocoa and cream, in addition to large pieces of french toast. 

She and Adele decided to stay home and play all day. In the evening we had her chosen dinner, BBQ chicken pizza, and had a Harry Potter marathon, getting through a movie and a half. 

The day after her birthday, at school, Bailey and another friend decked out her desk.
She wore the party home...

A few days later, on Friday after school, she had four friends over for a birthday party. I created a scavenger hunt at the mall (thank goodness for Pinterest!), they swam, had pizza and watched Wonder Woman. It was the first time EVER that she had a birthday party with a group of friends that are her actual friends. With her birthday right after school starts, and either homeschooling and not having friends, or just starting new schools and not having made friends, yet, she hasn't ever had a solid group of friends to invite. It was so fun for her.

We met up with aunts and cousins for dinner and to watch the Women's Session. Afterward we all "tried on" Britt's hair to see what we would look like with those blonde hair extensions.

General Conference weekend is something we look forward to and plan around, but this year we missed nearly the whole thing. Geoff's dad and wife Robin stayed with us five days, which was really fun. Geoff's uncle Jan and aunt Mala were in town on their way to bury his grandmother's ashes. We rarely see them, and it was a treat to spend time with them. We had a big, pizza lunch and passed out all of the little things Jan brought from his mother's life to share with everyone. Everyone went to visit Mesha's grave, while Adele and I left to set up her annual CHOICE Jr. Board festival, which was raising money for Peru this year.

It was better attended than last year, and ran smoothly. Each year will get better and better as the Jr. board learns what works and what doesn't. The family all came to support her, which was nice. We toured Temple Square and still managed to squeeze in a Sunday brunch and making tiramisu, but the pumpkin donuts had to wait...

Bailey came over and, as usual, these three dressed up like yoga/energy-type people. I crack up at how they act out what they observe.

But the most exciting part of September is that we got a kitten. Initially it was a mom-is-nice agreement to have the kitten of a stray cat stay one night with us (the litter was born in a classmates window well). We all instantly fell in love with her and her stay extended to several nights. Our neighbor told us that she knows someone in our building who has a cat and the building managers said it wasn't a big deal. We decided to take that as permission to have an animal and kept her. It took us awhile to agree on a name. After a couple hours we decided on Mila Vesuvius Odysseus State Street Limone. No real meaning (other than State Street is where we live), but we sured laughed and laughed. Truly a family inside joke only.

Mila is playful, loving, curious and easy to train. Never in a billion years did I think I would ever agree to a cat. I don't like cats and have allergies to some, but so far so good.

We have some very happy kids.