For faithful readers, you might still be interested in what we did in October. I definitely want it for my own personal record if nothing else. This month was full of . . .
Feeling . . . cozy during General Conference. It rained and rained and rained on Conference weekend (they say it's the most rain we've received in a single day in over a hundred years). For those going to the Conference Center, the rain was probably a bit annoying, but for those of us watching from home? I couldn't have asked for more perfect weather. Picture me with my knitting and a blanket over my lap, the rain running down the windows outside, but watching inspiring talks inside while eating a warm cinnamon roll. Perfection. I actually set a little challenge for myself to finish the second sock on a pair I was making for Max during the five sessions of conference, and I did it! My favorite talks were from Kevin G. Brown (so so good!), Steven C. Barlow, Tracy Y. Browning, and Jeffrey R. Holland.
Giving . . . and receiving. My knitting group's mystery gift exchange took place this month. Back in March (April?), we each came to knit night with a skein of yarn which we placed in a paper bag. We then randomly chose a different paper bag to take home. In my paper bag, I found a couple of skeins of lace weight cashmere yarn that belonged to Wendy. I knew they needed to become a lace shawl (which I shared photos of in last month's recap). I had given a skein of purple variegated yarn. To be honest, I didn't know what to do with it myself, and I thought maybe whoever randomly drew my bag might! Wow, did she ever! On the night of our exchange, I opened my gift from Emily. It was a pair of socks made from the purple yarn. I could tell that there was something else in the bag, and she said, "I made something with the leftovers." I unwrapped it to find the most beautiful short sleeved sweater with the purple used as thin, accent stripes against a neutral backdrop. I was in total disbelief: she secretly knit me a sweater, and it fit perfectly. And more than that, she knew me well enough to know I wouldn't love a variegated purple sweater so used it as the contrast color instead. I am amazed every time I wear it. Then I gave my gift to Wendy. She immediately wrapped that lovely, floaty shawl around her neck and seemed to like it as much as I loved my sweater and socks from Emily. This gift exchange is a room full of joy where the givers and the receivers are equally feeling so happy and loved. It's truly one of the best things I've ever participated in.
Losing . . . our bunny, Monty. And when I say "lose," I don't mean he ran away, but rather, he died. We gave Monty to Bradley (and Ferb to Clark) three years ago for Christmas. At the time, they were already four years old, so we knew we would probably only get them for another three to four years. It was perhaps the best Christmas present we've ever given. Just so much fun, and thinking about it and remembering that Christmas made me cry. Monty was fine when I took the first photo below on a Sunday, but on the following Wednesday afternoon, he was showing signs of obvious distress. Mike called a couple of vets to see about taking him in, but decided to give him through the night. Within an hour, Monty was gone. We had a little funeral for him and told him what a good bunny he was (because he was!).
Attending . . . the first band concerts of the school year. Max, Bradley, and Clark all had concerts. This was Clark's first band concert ever, and he looked like a little pro on the tenor saxophone. Between Bradley and Clark, they represented in all four of the junior high bands, including both of them in jazz band. My favorite part of the concert might have been watching a kid totally fake it on trombone, but the music was enjoyable as always, and we were lucky to have some grandparents come to support both concerts. (And a special shoutout to Mike's dad who totally changed around Ian's bad attitude about having to come to the junior high concert and made the whole experience more pleasant for everyone involved.)
Starting . . . a lot of projects. Some of them got abandoned right away for one reason or another. A couple of them stuck but are just going to take some time. The only things I finished were the pair of socks for Max that I already mentioned and a cardigan that I sewed instead of knitted.
Building . . . walls. Bradley and Mike tackled a project at the family cabin that has been wanted for a long time. The second story contains three bedroom areas but none of these had their own walls or doors. This made it so that if you were sleeping in one of these spaces, you could basically hear everything in the main living space of the cabin. Bradley lives for a building project and happily took an entire Friday and Saturday to be Mike's right hand man. It was hard work. On the first day, they worked until 11:00pm in order to get to a good stopping place. But they finished all the framing, dry wall, and door installation, and now another family member is taking over the mudding and painting.
Squeezing . . . in a trip to the pumpkin patch. Truth be told, some people didn't want to go (maybe a little bit me?): a trip to the grocery store would be just as good. But the pumpkin patch voices were bigger and stronger (Clark), so we made a last minute decision to go on a Monday evening and pretty much abandoned dinner to rush out the door to get there while it was still light. And we had the best time. There is something about the pumpkin patch (at least the one we go to) that is so relaxing and brings all the fall vibes. We loaded up the wagon with our picks and then got shakes at JCW's afterwards, and I was glad that we had made the effort after all.
Playing . . . at the park, going on walks, and just generally enjoying being outside. I'm still going strong on my walking challenge, and Silas and I spent time at the park multiple times each week. We have to take advantage of the perfect weather while it lasts (although, Amy from the future here, with the way December is going we might get that perfect fall weather longer than we wanted).
Speaking . . . in church. I had the opportunity to give a talk in sacrament meeting. Truth be told, I had turned down invitations to speak two other times in the last six months (I had good reasons, but still), so I was glad to finally do it and hopefully be off the hook for awhile. I spoke on a subject near and dear to my heart (experiencing God's love, especially when we're struggling to feel anything at all), and I used Elder Barlow's excellent talk from General Conference as a starting point.
Traveling . . . to Tennesse with Bradley. The three of us had such a nice time together listening to good music, eating good food, and enjoying the beauty of the Smokies in the fall. Click here for a more detailed recap.
Holding . . . down the fort at home. Meanwhile, when we were in Tennessee, the rest of the boys were hanging out, mostly by themselves, but also with cousins, and Ian was with Mike's parents for most of the time.
Nagging . . . about college applications, essays, book reports, chores, homework, eating a decent dinner, etc. Why can't kids just do what they're supposed to when they're supposed to do it with no complaining whatsoever? Is that too much to ask?
Heading . . . on a little road trip. Aaron went to Idaho with two of Mike's sisters and several cousins. The main reason for their trip was to go to a Ben Rector concert, but they also squeezed in a tour of BYU-Idaho, a ropes course, and spending time with Mike's brother and his family.
Reading . . . a particularly lame book for book club (The Peacock and the Sparrow). In fact, some people didn't even read or finish it, which is rare for our book club. Luckily, book club itself was saved because the person hosting had just harvested the last of her gorgeous dahlias, and we all got to make and then take home a stunning bouquet.
Spending . . . all day on dance activities. And when I say all day, I really do mean pretty much all day. Max got asked to his first ever high school dance (Monster Mash). His date picked him up at 12:30, and he didn't come home until 12 hours later. For someone who loves recharging at home, it was a marathon day, but he stuck with it and mostly had a good time. (Funny side note: as the boys were at the dance, Mike and I went out to eat at a Chinese restaurant. My fortune happened to be, "On a Saturday night, you'll dance like nobody's watching." I sent Max a text and told him he could have my fortune for the night.) Aaron got asked by the sophomore sister of one of his best friends. Monster Mash is typically a dance where sophomores ask seniors and seniors ask sophomores, which is exactly what happened in Aaron's group, and it was one of the most fun (and massive!) dance groups he's ever been part of.
Dancing . . . on Halloween. I said we were never going to do another family costume with each person needing a unique costume (so much work!), but then we somehow decided to be the Saja Boys from KPop Demon Hunters, and every person needed . . . a unique costume. KPop Demon Hunters was the surprising hit movie of the summer/fall, and so we knew it would probably be a popular costume, but we still decided to do it because, come on, we had the perfect number of boys for this boy band plus their supernatural pet. We thrifted most of the pieces and then altered them by sewing or painting or adding on embellishments. As usual, Clark brought the enthusiasm and motivation and did almost his entire costume all by himself while putting the pressure on us to finish the others. In the end, we had Aaron as Jinu, Max as Mystery, Bradley as Baby, Clark as Romance, Silas as Abby, Ian as Derpy Tiger, and Mike and me as fans. On the afternoon of Halloween, I decided I should finally watch the movie. I had heard the music dozens of times and seen bits and pieces but never watched the whole thing all the way through. (Verdict: I liked it!) Another family costume in the books, and the boys even learned the 14-second dance from "Soda Pop" to go with the theme.
Walking . . . the neighborhood on Halloween night. We had the nicest Halloween weather: warm temps, no wind, no rain. We went to our neighborhood potluck before everyone scattered: Aaron, Bradley, and Clark all went with friends while Max held things down at home (actually, he didn't hand out candy but put a bowl of it on the front porch and watched a movie in the basement, haha). Mike and I went with Silas and Ian who knocked on doors and enthusiastically called out "Trick or Treat." Silas' stamina gave out before Ian's, so I took him home where he immediately tucked into the spoils of his evening. Mike and I finished the night with a couple of Halloween episodes from The Office while being so grateful that the next day was Saturday and not a weekday.
Humming . . . "Soda Pop." With all the costume making, movie watching, planning, dressing up, and dancing, there wasn't a day that went by where we didn't catch ourselves singing or humming that song. In Mike's words: "That song does linger."
And with that, let's finally, finally, check off this month's recap.
