I love summer. I have a feeling I am going to love summer even more now that I am working in the schools too. However, there is something about the crisper air that me feel even more grateful than usual. For instance, while outdoors helping students golf during PE, I noticed how easy it was to see the mountains clearly. I felt intensely grateful that I could stand on the property of where I worked with three of my children attending here, could see the elementary school where my youngest child was, and could see my neighborhood all at the same time on such a beautiful fall morning.
Other beautiful fall days I have felt grateful to escort Natalie and A. to the park or watch double header baseball games. Last weekend my parents had perfect timing. As soon as they sat down Danny was up to bat and hit a triple, then was able to run home on an error and there was A LOT of cheering! Sure looked and felt like a home run to us! Danny is growing up so fast. He's noticeably taller and his voice is changing and there's fuzz on his top lip and he feels so tired. At parent teacher conferences his teachers mentioned how they can tell he's had/is in a growth spurt. Speaking of parent teacher conferences, I'm so grateful for my children's teachers and the administration. I'm also super grateful that my mom can come over and babysit so that I can do things like go to parent teacher conferences for two hours. I walked in the house to the sight of HeadBanz being played and the sound of laughter. Best way to come home! Also, Hubby needs huge props for dealing with all the things his wife used to handle that are now on his plate like orthodontist appointments and pediatrician visits and sick kids and all the other reasons to be late to work or to come home early or to work from home. He has really stepped into his new duties, which I appreciate immensely along with being super proud of him. Now that I am working outside of the home he gets to be an even more involved father than he was before. I think that is a pretty neat side effect. Oh, and I have to laugh at how little my first paycheck looked against one of his. And he gets paid twice as often as I do too. Ha!
Here's a picture of when Michelle, Natalie and I went to Crackpots for the first time in suuuuuch a long time to help support an elementary school fundraiser and to make Halloween decorations. It was calm and fun and creative and simply wonderful. We are already looking forward to our next excuse to go.
Michelle attended her first court of honor with the BSA and received her troop neckerchief and her Scout rank the same week she attended her first campout with the troop. She had a great time camping at a nearby reservoir for two nights along with hiking, earning her whittling chip, and helping prepare breakfast. I am so glad for this campout because camping was the number one reason she joined BSA!
General Conference weekend was wonderful as usual. Perfect weather and traditions meant that we could do things like bake Halloween sugar cookies in the morning and pull weeds and clean out the rabbit hutch while we listened in the afternoon. The boys were off playing a double header of baseball again but us girls that were home all listened. I loved how positive the talks were and how focused they were on our personal relationship with the Savior and God. Elder Uchtdorf's talk reminded me of Winnie the Pooh because Natalie and I had just listened to the chapter about going in circles thinking they were going to find Heffalumps. Danny also began basketball on the middle school team the week following General Conference. He was so excited he had a hard time going to sleep before the first day of practice and woke up early. I heard there are almost 90 boys signed up so we'll see how this giant team goes for him!
E.B had the wonderful idea to walk to the Lyons Dairy Bar for an Activity Days activity and I’m pretty sure we had the best night ever. You should have seen these 15 girls all lined up in a row and ordering their ice cream cones ever so nicely and loving the walk to and from almost as much as the ice cream itself. As I watched them waiting for and getting their ice cream I felt just so grateful to be there. The sun disappeared behind the mountains quickly and we ended up walking back in the dark which added a nice Halloween feel to the adventure. They played Ghosts in the Graveland, laughing and screaming after finishing their treats. We snuck in a tiny lesson about the Word of Wisdom and before we knew it our fun was over. Such a great night!
Finally, I am so grateful to have Natalie in my life and it was a joy to celebrate her half birthday. She is growing up so very fast and looks like a big kid instead of a little one now. For her cake she requested we take her to Target to go see what was available and came home with fall themed cupcakes and Papa Murphy’s pizza in the shape of a pumpkin. We then watched an episode of What If? and played Twister before bath time. So grateful for our one and only elementary schooler!
I am so proud of Danny’s baseball team for playing hard and not giving up. During their last double header I got to watch as they fought hard to win 8-4 during the first game and then made an amazing comeback during the second game. They were down 1-8 and had an incredible inning to not only catch up but also pull ahead by 9 runs to win that game as well. I was so impressed that they were able to pull that off! And, since my theme here is gratitude, I’m grateful to watch my favorite son play while wearing the winter coat, hat, and mittens I brought along just in case.
Although he wasn’t sure how it would go, I’m so proud of my boy for suiting up and going all in on his first basketball games for his middle school team. He walked away pretty happy his team won both of their games and he came away as one of the highest scorers. It was a joy to be there watching and I’m so proud of him for trying something new. I am also so very grateful for the school staff willing to take on extra long days for the students’ benefit. Truly so impressed.
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