Continuing with this year of perfect seasons, September cooled down right on schedule to a lovely average of 72 degrees. The mornings and evenings were pleasantly cool while the days were still sunny and warm. The month was spent in a variety of ways, including . . .
Enjoying . . . Labor Day weekend with Mike's family. For the annual Johnson reunion, we were back at everyone's happy place: Spring Haven. It is a giant lodge on a beautiful piece of land in Hobble Creek Canyon. There is plenty of room for all 60+ of us, and we just had the happiest time being together. I don't think there's anything that would have made it better for our kids. It was a perfect weekend. There were endless board games, delicious food (including unlimited snacks), a dance party, rock decorating craft, many walks, book club (sharing recommendations), pedicures, bingo, snooker, hockey, family pictures, dodge ball, frisbee, and the, always anticipated, family film festival. There were many late nights in a row, so we all came home feeling depleted on sleep but filled up on family time.
Adding . . . to my art collection. I took Silas to an art show that was being held at This is the Place. My friend, Molly, had a booth, and I knew some of the artists I follow on Instagram would also be there. Art shows are such a good way to find new artists and see an array of different styles and (maybe) pick up a new piece. There were over seventy artists at this particular art show, which was actually a little too much for me. I felt overwhelmed by all of the options. But there was one artist there, Adrienne Lewis, who I've followed for awhile, and her work is so gorgeous. She had a few smaller paintings that fell within my budget, and so I came away with one of Mirror Lake. I love the thick, textured paint and rich hues. It was the perfect addition to my little art collection.
Reaching . . . my weight loss goal. After four months of very purposeful eating and exercising, I hit the weight I wanted to. I know the number isn't the actual important thing, but it was still pretty thrilling to see it on the scale. It was a slow process--just chipping away at it little by little. I developed some good habits and made some sustainable lifestyle changes. It was a joy to tackle this goal with Mike--to make sacrifices together and hit milestones and cheer each other on. To date, I have lost 24 pounds, and he has lost over thirty.
Memorizing . . . all the treats. And what I mean by that is Silas knows which of his books feature some sort of treat and which page each treat is on. For example, Pete the Cat has a page where Pete is holding a mug of what looks like hot chocolate. Where is the Green Sheep has a group of sheep celebrating a birthday with a cake and candle. In Maisy Goes to the Hospital, Cyril brings Maisy a plate of cookies. And in Max Drives Away, Max's grandma serves him ice cream for breakfast (Silas' dream!). What a funny kid.
Enduring . . . the school carnival. I know the PTA is an important piece of the school system and that there are many programs my kids would not get to benefit from without them. So I will give my monetary support whenever I can, but the truth is, I don't love volunteering to help with PTA sponsored events. I would rather help in my kids' classrooms if I have time to volunteer. So instead, I signed up Max and Bradley to help at the carnival, and they were such good sports about it. As far as school carnivals go, it was a good one, but it's just always so many kids and such long lines, and let's just say I was happy when it was time to go home.
Attending . . . an Inouye Six Hands piano concert. This is a group of three sisters (two of whom were in the music program at BYU at the same time I was) who play three-part piano pieces. We went with my good friend, Beth, and her family (her husband is a cousin of the pianists). The concert was a good mix of classical and contemporary, and these three sisters had such good energy and chemistry. It was so much fun to watch them perform (a logistical and technical feat, for sure) and fun to be there with my dear friend.
Switching . . . instruments. On the first day of school, Bradley went to band and found out that he was one of eighteen trumpets, but there were not any trombones. The band teacher asked if anyone would like to learn to play the trombone instead. Bradley was game to try, especially because we already had a trombone he could use. He caught on quickly, and, lo and behold, he loves the trombone so much more than he ever loved the trumpet. It was a very advantageous switch.
Spreading . . . out several activities over the month as part of our ward's annual Scripture Day. The teenagers in our neighborhood participated in a service project taking down all of the flags at the Healing Field that honors those who died on 9/11. They went to the temple on a Friday afternoon and did baptisms. They also had a fun evening social at the home of one of the youth leaders (and all received matching sweatshirts). They went to Music and the Spoken Word at the Tabernacle on Sunday morning followed by brunch. Sacrament meeting included three talks from the youth (Max was one of them) sharing about the Scripture Day events. And finally, they had a guest speaker and lunch after church. A lot of work goes into the planning and carrying out of this event (Mike had a small part on the committee) but it is such a rich spiritual experience for all of the youth.
Spending . . . all his money on fast food. No one prepared me for how much money teenagers want to spend on food. Aaron and his friends often go out for food after school. McDonald's, Arby's, and Taco Bell are favorite spots. Aaron spends his own money, of course (I am not okay funding this habit), but sometimes they go out four times a week, and I think Aaron is quickly realizing he might not have the money he needs for other things if he spends it all on food. So hopefully he'll be exercising a little more restraint in the next month (but he also often spends very little because he's figured out how to maximize all the good deals).
Saying . . . hello and goodbye. We had one of our nephews come home from his mission last month, and another one left a few weeks later. They're brothers, so they had their homecoming and farewell on the same day, and it was an absolute joy listening to them speak. I am so inspired by both of them.
Ranting . . . over the racket that is school pictures. I have always been somewhat appalled by the price of school pictures, but I have always paid it anyway because I like to have this annual marker of my kids' growing up. But this year? The price went up so much that I was a bit dumbfounded. Last year, the basic package was $17 and included (2) 5x7, (2) 3x5, (4) 2x3, and one class picture. This year, the same basic package cost $27 but did not include the class picture. To add the class picture, the cost increased by $20, bringing the total for the same items as last year to $47! It increased by $30 in just one year. I wanted to boycott completely, but in the end, I ordered only the class picture for both Ian and Clark, and that was it.
Playing . . . tennis. Bradley and Maxwell decided to try out tennis this fall, and it was one of the best sports experiences we've had to date. It was just the right level of commitment, and the sportsmanship was so impressive. I loved going to the matches. They were calm and quiet and the opposing teams spoke nicely and respectfully to each other. Neither Max or Bradley had any prior experience, but their coaches were supportive and positive. It's the happiest I've seen Max with a sport in a long time.
Finishing . . . up a successful cross country season. Besides tennis, Max and Bradley also were on the cross country team. They don't love running as much as tennis, but they both did their best and improved their times throughout the season. Bradley even had the opportunity to run varsity for most of the meets.
Sharing . . . the books I read in September:
No Two Persons by Erica Bauermeister (loved this intertwining collection of short stories)
Hello Stranger by Katherine Center (entertaining without being complete fluff)
Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling (had high hopes for this as a readaloud, but it ended up feeling pretty slow and tedious)
Something New: Tales from a Makeshift Bride by Lucy Knisley (highly recommend this graphic novel author--this one was all about the months leading up to her wedding)
The Christie Affair by Nine de Gramont (the perfect kickoff to my fall reading--a fictional account of what happened during the eleven days Agatha Christie went missing)
Getting . . . asked to his first-ever high school dance. For some reason, I am so resistant to every new stage with Aaron. I just never feel ready for it. Such was the case this year. With him being a sophomore, I knew that high school dances were going to be a thing, but I thought he wasn't very interested in going. Wrong. So all of a sudden, all of his friends were planning a group for Homecoming, and Aaron was very much interested. I won't get into all of the reasons for our decision, but ultimately, we (Mike, Aaron, and me) decided there was no rush, and he'd feel more ready if waited to ask anyone until later in the year. But then, someone asked him to Monster Mash, and of course I wasn't going to make him say no (especially because the girl who asked him is darling and so nice). I did have a little heads up about it, so it didn't catch me by complete surprise when a poster and cookies showed up at our door. Aaron was so thrilled, and he spent an hour trying to decide on a quick-answer text before he gave her an official answer a few days later.
Hitting . . . as many parent-teacher conferences as we could. Ian and Clark were easy since they each only have one teacher. The older boys were more difficult with seven teachers each. I think we managed to go to three of Aaron's classes, three of Max's classes, and four of Bradley's. Whew!
Tearing . . . out our backyard. After months of getting bids, making plans, and constantly talking about it, the landscapers finally broke ground on our backyard. They took down the balcony, removed all of the grass, and made the whole area a clean slate. We had one little hiccup when we realize the balcony had actually been built into the house rather than being attached later, but it worked out. Even once they got started, it has been a slow pace, so I might have before and after photos in my update next month, but also, I might not.
Hanging . . . out with my parents. Silas and I have been enjoying going to their house or having them come to ours about once a week. This month, we went on a bike ride, to This is the Place, and to a free fall activity at a local garden center (and also had everyone over for dinner one Sunday). At the garden center, Silas got quite scared by a big, white dog jumping above a fence, and he's still talking about it weeks later. It's been so fun to get to spend more time with my parents and do some seasonal things. In fact, we've been doing things together so often that Silas asks to "go to Bamboo's house" when we're getting ready for the day.
Celebrating . . . a brand new 12-year-old. Bradley had his birthday, and we loved the chance to spoil him. He enjoyed burritos for breakfast, skipping all of his Saturday jobs, going out for lunch with Mike and me, and eating an amazing German chocolate cake with the family. He also had a couple of friends over the next week and got to celebrate all over again with doughnuts. Silas was the perfect helper with opening presents, singing "Happy Birthday," and blowing out candles.
Reveling . . . in all of the fall colors. It's been too gorgeous this year: I can't take it all in. Every day, I walk out my front door, and the mountains are somehow more vibrant than they were the day before. We finally made it up the canyon one evening, and it left me wanting more, more, more. We went on a short hike, which we all very much enjoyed except for Bradley who was worried about an unpredictable toddler close to steep edges (I don't blame him).
Eating . . . such good food. We love going out to dinner (or making food) with our friends, the Gardners. To celebrate Kathy's birthday, we first met up at Pirate O's, a gourmet international market where you can basically find any ingredient or food you could possibly want. Then we went to a restaurant called Cultivate. We ordered several appetizers and a couple of main dishes and shared everything. Our very first bite was of cauliflower, which is typically a low-impact vegetable for us. That first taste was so mouth-popping surprising in the best way. We knew it was going to be a good night. (My other favorite was probably the gnocchi, mostly because it melted in my mouth in a way gnocchi never has before.) We talked and tasted and talked and tasted some more. Perfect combination. (In the photo, Kathy is wearing a hat that I knitted and gave to her for her birthday with yarn that she brought back for me from Ireland. Full circle.)
And that's a wrap on September. Stay tuned for October, which will feature more of me continuing to try to capture this perfect autumn through photos.
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