Fall

I started take J dog for some walks in the canyon. It was so beautiful so I snapped some pics of the leaves. They never do the beauty justice!

 Happy Fall Y'all!

Rage Trunk or Treat

Barbie was all the rage in October so it was only fitting that we did some Barbie trunks. A few coaches decided we'd do the barbie theme and dress up as them and do our trunks like them. I used 18 in doll furniture to try to make a barbie house. 

We had holiday barbie, construction barbie, cowgirl barbie, yoga barbie, bed time barbie, and many from the movie. It was a fun night!

 

Mollie's 13th

Miss Mol turned 13 on the 5th! Another teenager in the house! She wanted cinnamon rolls for breakfast.

She got all the things a teenager wants right now.....stanleys, beads, and clothes. 

She talked her dad and I to going to lunch at Applebees. She was darn spoiled with Mt Dew and everything. 

The next day, we rented Rage and had a big teen neon party there. 

She had about 25 kids show up.

Pizza and candy and cupcakes  kept everyone fed. 

Zhaner made a quick appearance. 

And these girls did all their posing at the photo booth. 

Too cute. 

We tried to have organized games but they really just wanted to run around, so I gave up and they just played and did their own thing. I guess they are officially too old for organized parties. 

They capped the night by singing Taylor Swift songs in their girl group and screaming at the top of their lungs. I love her friends. 

Here we go on this teenage ride! I know we can get through it!!! Love you Mollie girl and the good kid you are. MUAH!
 

September things

In September, we were very busy, which is normal. We had our Stake Primary Activity and my station was an obstacle course! It was fun, but labor intensive. But it made me feel great when several kids said it was their favorite station!

They all learned a song and it was absolutely powerful to hear them sing a song all together! They then got to sing it at Stake Conference. So cool.

We had a visit from Clyde and Evelyn. Nap time is always exciting with Mollie nearby.

We sent the kids off to school and went adventuring! We went down town to see the SLC temple progress. WOW its so amazing what they are doing to it. Can't wait for it to be complete!

Then we drove up a canyon loop to look at the fall leaves. We did see some and it was so pretty and relaxing. We wore them out I think but they were troopers with their recent injuries to keep up. 

We went to an RSL game which is always fun! 

And of course ran into Zhane! Such a cute kid. 

We made a trip to Idaho for gma's birthday. It's fun to get these kids all together and see how they are growing!

And my garden is producing some fun things. Last year I got mini carrots. This year I got alien carrots! They did a little better in my garden this year, but not much!

And I was pleased and disgusted to find this lovely circle of life photo in my garden one day. Yes, that is a praying mantis holing a big juicy caterpillar upside down eating it one bite at a time. Sick. And cool. 

And our temple is coming along so nicely! They started turning the lights on at night and it is just a beacon of light and beauty that can be seen all over the valley! I love it and can't wait for its completion!

And we took the kids out of school for a temple day. They are always special. And look at that clear blue sky! Happy September!

 

Parable of the Burnt Pizza

This night was one to remember so I added it in. 

The Parable of the Burnt Pizza... it's a long one.

Tonight the boys went to a race and I thought a pizza night with my girls would be fun. We headed to Pizza Hut because we haven't had that in a while. We ordered our food at 6:40.

I needed to pickup Brielle at 7:30 and started to panic a little that our food still hadn't come by 7:15. I was getting hangry. I finally decided to leave my girls and go get Brielle. Surely the Pizza would be ready when I got back, right?

At 7:45 the Pizza was still not there. I asked about it and they were just putting it in the oven. I felt a fire light..... Let me back up...

As I sat there for 90 min, I watched as a dozen people came in and tell an over-sized man how bad he was doing at his job and how the wait time was so ridiculous. They yelled and said unkind things. So I held my tounge.

I also watched this large man struggle to move his body as he worked as quickly as he could, panting the whole way. I watched him bring out orders over and over to busy, mean, hurried people and he got no thanks.

At 7:50 we finally got our breadsticks. They were delicious. As we ate, we watched a customer get up to leave. Him and his family had been at the restaurant for 2 hours.

Other grumpy customers watched intently along with me as he patted the large man on the shoulder. He said, "Hey, don't listen to all those guys. You are doing a great job. I can see how hard you are working and how busy you have been. You're a good kid. Keep up the good work and don't listen to those mean people." He looked him in the eyes, smiled, and left.

I watched the other people in line soften. Smile. And immediately relax their tense, impatient bodies as they remembered that this guy was a PERSON.

The big guy didn't move for a second. I think he was absolutely stunned by someone who took a moment to be kind.

Soon after that, our Pizza was finally delivered just before 8. We were starving and I was imagining how great it was going to taste. He sat the Pizza down. I smelled it before I saw it.... burnt Pizza.

The "regular me" opened my mouth to say- no way are we eating that- and demand a new pizza... but something stopped me. I closed my mouth & looked up at him....I think he was bracing for the worst.

I had a choice to make.

I decided to thank him, smile, and for tonight, choke down burnt Pizza at the risk of making this man feel even worse than he probably already did.

I don't tell this story to tell you how great I am. I was not happy. It took 1 man in a room of grumpy people to soften everyone's attitudes. One man who chose kindness over cruelty. One man who could see this person's worth hidden deep inside his large body. One man who's brave act lifted this man.

It took one person.

I yern to be more like this man!

I want to be more patient, more kind, more brave and more charitable. Tonight, I'm thanking the Lord for burnt Pizza, this hard working man, the brave kind man and the very valuable lesson I learned.

I hope we all can be more kind and see people's worth and not let our hangry moments allow us to treat anyone like any less of a person than the child of God that they are.