I don't have much to say by way of introduction, so let's just get right into October's activities, including . . .
Running . . . cross country. Both Bradley and Clark ran cross country this fall. Clark actually ended up coming in third in one of his races, which was a huge surprise for him. They both improved their times throughout the season and enjoyed the camaraderie on their respective teams.
Switching . . . violin teachers. When Ian started learning the violin in the spring, he took lessons from George, a teenager in our neighborhood. However, over the summer he was able to have a few lessons with George's teacher, Anna, who said she would take Ian permanently once she had a spot open up in her studio. And that happened this month! Although Ian loved taking from George, it has been great to work with Anna. She is so positive and knowledgeable, and he is making good progress with her. And he got to play in his very first recital at the end of the month. It was for students only, so I didn't get to hear him, but he played a piece called, "Black Cat, White Rat."
Exchanging . . . mystery gifts at knit night. Back in April, each of the women in my knitting group brought a skein of yarn, placed it in a nondescript paper bag, and then chose a different paper bag to take home. When I opened the bag I had picked up, I found Becky's yarn: a beautiful speckled skein along with a bright blue mini. I thought for a long time about what to make Becky with her yarn and finally landed on a simple shawl with bold shapes made by using intarsia. I added in a few of my own scraps to give it a few more pops of color. When I was done, I still had a little bit of yarn leftover, so I made a little pair of baby socks because Becky is having a baby in a couple of months. The night of the exchange, we all took turns opening gifts made with our mystery yarn. Not only did I get to see Becky's excitement as she opened the gift from me, but I felt that same excitement when I received my yarn back from Marilyn, transformed into a beautiful colorwork cowl and pair of fingerless mitts. It was amazing to receive a knitted item from someone else (and the perfect thing for me too since I wear cowls and mittens every day during winter!). This was such a fun evening.
Taking . . . in the sights of Boston. Maxwell's long-awaited 14-year-old trip arrived. After months of planning and go back and forth between a couple of locations, we landed on Boston, and it was the perfect choice. We had such a good time, just the three of us. I can attest to Boston being beautiful in October. I am writing a whole post about all of our activities, but for now, enjoy a few teaser photos.
Visiting . . . a local yarn store. One of my best friends, Sarah, has watched my knitting journey from the very beginning, and she finally decided to embark on one of her own! It's been so fun helping her learn new skills, talking about techniques, and finding yarn and patterns. I've been trying not to overwhelm her with my enthusiasm, haha. She was needing yarn for another project, so we decided to take a field trip to Seed Stitch in Bountiful, which I hadn't been to before. We took our time browsing all the yarn before finally making our purchases. We finished off the morning with lunch and cookies at Cutler's. It was so much fun that I think there will be more yarn/lunch dates in our future.
Participating . . . in a test knit. When we were at Seed Stitch, I bought yarn to make a Christmas cowl. Then one of my knitting friends let me know that Jamie Lomax of Pacific Knit Co. was looking for testers for her latest holiday doodle pattern. She comes up with a bunch of colorwork charts that fit under a certain theme (in this case, holiday), and then you can mix and match these charts in a pattern of your choice. In my case, I used two of the charts to knit a very Christmasy cowl, and I can't wait to wear it in a few weeks. Besides the test knit, I also sewed another pair of Chanterelle Pants. And I made the Anne socks from my friend, Emily's "Fall in Love in Avonlea" sock set. I knit on these socks as we drove through the spectacular colors of New England, and these two things will forever be linked in my memory. And I finished a cardigan I had been working on for awhile. I've been wearing it with everything (as you can see by how much it's featured in this month's recap).
Celebrating . . . Mike's dad. He turned 70 earlier this year, which meant he was released from the First Quorum of the Seventy and made emeritus. (However, he was called as the Sunday School General President, so he doesn't get to fully retire just yet, but his responsibilities lightened significantly, which is nice.) Mike's sister threw him a retirement/birthday party, retirement-home style, so we all dressed up like old people and played Bingo.
Hosting . . . book club. I'm always relieved when I can check this off my yearly to-do list. Hosting is not something that comes naturally for me, so I always feel a certain amount of stress planning the food, leading a discussion, and making sure everyone is having a nice time. But I love hanging out with my bookies, so it is worth it to take my turn once a year. And the best part this time was that I actually loved the book (a last minute change). It was The Dry by Jane Harper, an engaging mystery set in a small, rural town in Australia. Besides that book, I also read:
The Wild Robot by Peter Brown (I read this to Ian and Clark, and then we went to see the movie with Mike's friend, Heidi, who was the head of story on it. So fun.)
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving (listened to this with Max and Mike as we drove through autumnal New England)
Rise to Rebellion by Jeff Shaara (only listened to a couple hours of this one--the part that was most relevant to our Boston trip)
Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes (loved revisiting this favorite from my childhood, especially right after being in Boston)
Watching . . . many episodes of Gilmore Girls. My sister, Anna, and her baby, Declan, came over every Tuesday in October, and we spent the time chatting, knitting/cross-stitching, eating lunch, watching Gilmore Girls, and snuggling Declan. Pretty much perfect.
Having . . . fun at Monster Mash. Aaron got asked to the dance by his friend, Jane. Their group dressed up as construction workers. It was a large group so quite an striking theme once they were all together. In the morning, they went bowling and then out to lunch. They met up again later in the day for pictures, dinner, the actual dance, and then caramel apples and a movie at one of the girls' houses.
Procrastinating . . . writing a talk. Aaron was asked to speak in sacrament meeting. He put off writing the talk until Saturday night. I went to bed before he finished, and then we rushed off to church the next morning. Usually I would have read over his talk before he gave it (although, he's 16 so maybe I don't need to do that anymore), but there wasn't any time for that. So I was listening to it for the first time along with everyone else, and it was so good! He shared meaningful experiences and insights. I guess he does well with that midnight hour pressure.
Painting . . . and carving pumpkins. I kind of wish this wasn't an annual tradition, but the kids love it, so we always end up doing it. I will say that they put a lot of care and thought and time into their designs.
Misunderstanding . . . the game. One Saturday morning, a purple crocheted dragon showed up on our front porch along with a note detailing a complicated game. It seemed exactly like the kind of thing Clark and his friends would do. I could even guess which one had made the dragon, written the note, and planned out the whole thing. Clark was not aware of any such game, but I told him he was the only logical person it could be for, so he better pass it along. He dropped off the dragon on the porch of one of his friends, and we continued on our way. Fast forward three days later when Aaron was poking and looking around the house in a very suspicious way. By that time I had totally forgotten about the dragon, and when I asked Aaron what he was looking for, he just said, "Nothing." However, the next day, he asked, "You didn't happen to see a dragon anywhere, did you?" "That was for you?!?!" I exclaimed. I couldn't believe it. Aaron was super miffed that we had just made assumptions. Luckily, the neighbors hadn't made the same assumptions we had, and the dragon (Egbert was his name) was still in the same place Clark had left it. Technically, Aaron should have had four points for keeping the dragon so long, but he said that since it wasn't at his house that whole time, it shouldn't count.
Listening . . . to the brand new Letourneau organ in the new music building at BYU. There was actually an entire BYU Organ Alumni Conference that went over several days, but I only ended up going to the one concert. My professor, Dr. Don Cook, along with Neil Harmon, performed the recital, and they chose pieces that really showcased the organ's capabilities and diversity. Most of the time I feel like I'm completely out of the organ world, so it was nice to dive back into it, if only for the evening. Mike and I enjoyed it very much. I also saw several old friends from my college days, including one of my very favorites, Alena, who took me under her wing when I was a lowly little freshman.
Attending . . . my new little nephew's baby blessing. We were happy we got to go to Declan's blessing. It was held at my sister's house. There was family from her side as well as her husband's. It was a lot of people for a small space, but what a special way to welcome a new baby to the family with so much love in one room. Afterwards we went to a park and had lunch together.
Attempting . . . potty training. I say "attempting" because we are very much still in the thick of it with Silas. Skip this section if you are not into talking about bodily fluids. He caught onto peeing right away, but, as seems to happen so often with potty training, his body tensed up and he wouldn't poop. This resulted in a visit to the pediatrician to try to get things moving again, and we still, several weeks in, haven't had much success in that area. I know it will happen eventually, but in the meantime, we're all a little over it.
Nodding . . . to the beat at the first band concerts of the school year. Bradley and Max both had concerts this month. I was nervous that Max's band experience in high school wouldn't live up to what he was accustomed to in junior high. However, it has been really great so far. He sits between two seniors, and they have both been so nice to him. Plus, he gets to be in band with his cousin, Addie, which is just the best.
Shuffling . . . bedrooms. Yes, again. It seems like we have to do this every few months to keep the peace. Now Silas, Ian, and Clark are all in one room, Max and Bradley are in another, and Aaron has somehow, incredibly, ended up keeping his own room. So far, everyone is very happy with the arrangements (especially Aaron, who has his own space guaranteed for at least another few months).
Hiking . . . in Neff's Canyon. I only made it up there once before all the leaves fell, but it was a gorgeous day. My mom, Christian, and Anna and Declan also came. It wasn't much of a hike since Silas thought he needed to sit down and take a rest on every rock we came across, but we mostly just wanted to crunch through the leaves and breathe in the cool, crisp air, so it was all fine.
Using . . . a tripod to take our own family photos. It could have been a disaster, but we had several things working in our favor: an overcast day with the most gorgeous filtered light, a nearby canyon showcasing autumnal perfection, and heavily bribed children. We came away with the photos we needed to mark another year, and then we wondered what we should do with the $500 we saved by taking them ourselves.
Sitting . . . in a dental chair for the first time. Silas had his first visit to the dentist. In true Silas fashion, he worried about it for a solid week before it was time to go, even telling me, "I'm little. I'm not big, so I can't go to the dentist." When it came to the actual day, I had Ian go first. Silas and I watched, and I narrated everything that was going on. Amazingly, when it was his turn, he hopped right onto the chair, opened his mouth, and acted like he'd never had a single anxious thought about the dentist. (Speaking of the dentist, we all had checkups this month. Somehow our semi-annual appointments hadn't been scheduled the last time we were in, so it had actually been longer than I care to admit since most of us had been.)
Fainting . . . at the dermatologist's. Clark and Max both had appointments with the dermatologist. Clark had to have some warts injected. After he was done, I was making some followup appointments when Clark fell against my shoulder. I thought he was just trying to get my attention, but as he collapsed onto the ground, I realized he had actually fainted. I called for help, and they quickly got him back into a room and had him lay down and drink some juice. Once we were past the initial shock, Clark was thrilled he had a good story to tell.
Drinking . . . soda. We have never been big soda drinkers, but now Aaron goes to McDonald's with his friends a couple of times each week. He always gets soda (and sometimes only that because it's the cheapest thing on the menu), and then he gets a refill right before he leaves and brings it home for Silas. It's become a cute little ritual for them. One time, Silas and I went to have lunch with Mike, and Silas got his own soda, and he wanted to make sure to bring it home for Aaron, which I thought was super sweet. However, I kind of wish it could be something besides soda. How about broccoli?
Dressing . . . up in matching costumes for school. Clark's good friend, Jude, was planning to go as Napoleon Dynamite for Halloween. As soon as I heard that, I knew Clark would make the perfect Kip to go along with him. And . . . I'll let the photo speak for itself. I think you'll agree these two were made to be Napoleon and Kip.
Playing . . . cops and robbers for Halloween. That is, one cop (Silas) and seven robbers (the rest of us). We went simple for this year's family theme, but I think it was pretty effective nonetheless. And it was pretty true to life since it is Silas who runs the show and keeps us all in line most of the time. We ordered a 3T police officer costume but found the sizing to be all over the place: the pants fit Ian perfectly (so more like a size 7-8), the sleeves were more like a size 5 except that the cuff was so tiny, it could only be buttoned around a doll's wrist. So we had to get a bit creative with alterations and substitutions. Silas spent the day yelling into his walkie-talkie, "I need backup!"
Living . . . his best life trick or treating. This holiday was made for Silas. Not the scary part. Just the knocking-on-doors-and-getting-candy part. He had a lot of endurance for walking the streets and getting the treats. Our family started Halloween night all together at our neighborhood potluck and then scattered: Aaron, Max, Bradley, and Clark all went off with different friend groups. Mike, Ian, Silas, and I trick-or-treated the neighborhood.
Until next time . . .
