A quarter of the way through.

I'm falling behind on keeping up, so I thought I would post a quick update.
Senior year is 1/4 of the way over. That. Is. CrAzY.

Mar has been busy busy, as usual.

September 12
Here is her performance (with her friend Annie) at the Choir fundraiser:

September 15

For pre-Homecoming festivities, she was Belle at what CV calls "Stomp." It's a family/community kick-off to Homecoming week. I have never attended. I think we were out of town last year (or otherwise occupied), and this year Bill and I were working away on Tay and Nae's house. I was a little sad when I heard Mar was in the parade... and I had missed it. My cute friend Lindsey attended and sent me this pic:

September 18

I gave Mar her second perm of the year.

She wanted it tighter and curlier, so I pulled from the deep recesses of my brain how to wrap a spiral perm. She got what she wanted... 

September 21

CV Homecoming game V Legend

Bill and I attended, and ran into our nephew, Kade, in line. COOL.

We enjoyed the game (rooting for either team... not only because we are alumni parents of Legend, but also because a guy in our ward coaches for them... but also hoping CV could pull out a win for Homecoming), and had fun trying to pick out some of our seminary kids in the halftime show.

September 22

Homecoming Dance.

Mar was a bit worried she wouldn't get asked {since her heart is really in Michigan} but one of her good friends, JJ, asked her. I was happy she could put that $24 dress to good use haha.

She had her nails done the day before with her friend Annie. I had a gift certificate (a birthday gift from a friend) that I hadn't used for over a year, so I gave it to Mar for this special occasion. Good thing she didn't drop a load of cash on it, because she had to cut them a few days later so she could practice her guitar with the choir for an upcoming performance.

Dinner was at our house, which was pretty easy peasy since the kids all had a food assignment. I made a green salad, fruit skewers, and provided all the Italian soda supplies.

We went to Festival Park to take pictures... along with half of the school. It was fun to see so many kids dressed up and getting pics. We took a boatload, and so I'll try to share only a few (and they may not even be the best ones, since I AM in a bit of a rush today).

It was nice that these peeps are all good friends and hang out frequently anyway. It made it less stressful for everybody... including parents hahaha.

September 26
First choir concert of the year.
Have I mentioned that Mar is in THREE choirs?
This is a group called Red Hot - this year all women. I loved Mar's performance in this number. She looked awesome, sang awesome, and definitely let herself shine a little. The only teeny thing that this momma wanted to fix was how dirty/fingerprinted her glossy black guitar was. Haha. Lesson learned.

Bill and I sat through both concerts in order to catch all of Mauri's performances. I enjoy them and think the choir teachers at CV are terrific. After the concerts, Mar and Annie were the donation-basket girls.

 September 29

Lexee's QUARTER OF A CENTURY Birthday (Happy Birthday, Lex!)

We went to see a {somewhat} local professional show of Mamma Mia!

Turns out, it was the exact show (lines, songs, etc) that CV is doing. Mar says CV has a bigger cast = bigger song and dance numbers. I can't wait to see it!

September 30

Tay and Nae officially moved into their townhome.

We had moved the majority of their things over the week prior, but they moved the rest of their stuff from our house, set up Evie's crib, and slept there. Phew! It's been a whole lot o' work, but we are so so excited for them.

Pretty much caught up, now. Yee-haw!

Remember... temperance, patience, diligence.

It's been a bit of a rough go for me lately.

It may or may not have much to do with being tired...

...from early-rising for seminary,

...from late-nighting while waiting on a teenager (who can't wait to be an adult and out of the house - which has honestly crushed my mom heart a bit), or while planning and preparing seminary lessons after a long full day of momming or friending or serving,

...from broken cars and broken washing machines, an unfinished backyard and a messy garage,

...from helping Tay and Nae prep their house for move-in, while trying to maintain some order in my own home,

...from having a huge list of things I WANT to do/make/create, but not currently having the personal (+ mental) and physical space AND a block of time large enough to do them,

...from my own disappointment in myself because I over-indulge in Pirate's Booty and candy, rather than exercising, to soothe my anxiousness over feeling like I am not in control.

I gave a lesson on Doctrine and Covenants section 4 last week in seminary, and we talked about the godly attributes we are asked to acquire and perfect. Obviously I have a long way to go! Today, I have thought about temperance, patience, and diligence in particular. 

I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.

Here's a quick recap of some of the good things going on around here:

Bill and I went on a hot air balloon ride. That was a bucket list item for me, and was exactly what I had anticipated it would be... lovely. I thought I would be more nervous, but I wasn't AT ALL, even when our pilot had some difficultly finding a place to land and gauging the wind, and our fuel was running low. No stress on my part. It was a welcomed break.

Afterwards we ate at Rudy's, which has been on my places to try list ever since I heard about it. It was super good, but I was a tad disappointed they didn't have burnt ends with cheesy grits on the menu. Some friends of ours had told us about them, and I thought they said Rudy's had them, but perhaps they were talking about somewhere else haha. The smoked baked potato was sooooo good!

Tay and Nae closed on a townhome in Parker this month! We are so excited to have them nearby in a town we love (and are so familiar with). Their 30-year-old townhome has been a rental for 15 years, so it needs a little TLC, but it couldn't be in a better location, and it has nice big rooms. They are completely remodeling the full bath before they move in, and we've been busy painting baseboards and doors, tiling under the washer and dryer, and wiping out kitchen cabinets in preparation for move-in day. This week we are hoping to get the tiling done in the bathroom (floors and around the bathtub). We shall see. They will have plenty of home improvement projects to keep them busy for a few years.

Bill is maintaining his status as an athletic supporter sponsor for Legend High School, so we had the opportunity, once again, to participate in their Homecoming parade. (Other years here, here, and here.) Since the theme this year was "All American," Bill decided that having me drive his white 2004 Honda would be in keeping with the red, white, and blue color scheme. Why does any of that matter? Because...

 ...his {old} battery konked while we were decorating the car - not sure if it was because we left the key in (while it wasn't running)... the door open... the wipers on... but we discovered it was dead just prior to the start of the parade. Lucky for us, we were on a slope and I'm a PRO at popping the clutch (from my pre-marriage years of sharing my grandma's old Datsun B210 with my sister, which had a broken starter for quite some time, so we learned to always park on a hill to get the momentum going enough to pop the clutch without having anyone push us hahahahaha). I've had so many lessons in humility, another godly attribute mentioned in D&C 4. I obviously still have much to learn {wink}.

It worked. Phew. I still have it.

And yes, it DID rain on our parade.

Can I just mention how difficult it is to maintain a 3 mph speed uphill with a manual??

AAAUUURRRGGGHH!

Mauri had the opportunity to sing the National Anthem with her choir (and others) at a Rockies game. She did that a couple years back with Legend. Bill loves any reason to get to a Rockies game.

 It was a beautiful night and we had pretty darn good seats (in the handicap row with padded chairs), but we were a bit disappointed in the Rockies loss to the Dodgers.

And I have to share a couple of quick pics of my girl V. It's crazy to think of how much she has changed over the past 10 months while she's lived with us. She is her own little person with a whole lot o' personality. She likes to test her boundaries, and loves to chatter endlessly about her last doctor's visit... or owie. She hates wearing pants... and shoes (totally a sensory issue, which several of my kids dealt with back in the day -- before it had a category/label haha). She is pro at the fake laugh, and thinks it's hilarious when she burps or toots. Love her to pieces.

I've been missing my other little munchkins - Scarlett has picked up on how to use Marco Polo, so it's been fun to get some of her polos telling us about her day and what she's doing. We are heading back to UT for part of Fall Break, and I can't wait to spend some time with my buddies L and M, too.

I hope they remember their Gigi and Little Billy!


And speaking of remembering... I will never forget.
I am flying my flag today (it's actully been flying all summer long so it's a bit sun-faded), exactly like I flew my flag THAT day 17 years ago.

That day I was home with my 9 month old baby, cleaning away, with no TV (we couldn't get local stations without cable or a dish, which we didn't have, so only had video/dvd capability at the time), when Bill called and told me to turn on a radio, which I did. I listened for an hour or so, with only my imagination to visualize what was going on.
My very first response was to grab my flag (this flag) and hang it over our porch.

We are planning a road trip next summer for Mar's graduation, and will be going to NYC as part of it (and to Washington DC... and hoping to stop at the 10 temples we'll pass by along the way). I've never been to New York, and look forward to visiting the 9/11 Memorial. 

Seminary begins... and a quick weekend wedding trip.

Seminary has begun. And I am so so tired.
I spent the week prior getting things ready for our class.
I tabbed the Study Journals... and LOVED how they turned out.

I spent a morning helping two other teachers tab journals for their classes, too. Then it took me the remainder of the day to get my own done...

...and to compile, assemble, and label packets. Hopefully our students will utilize them well!

Seminary started on Wednesday, Aug. 15th. Bill taught the first week (I made the schedule haha), but we needed a substitute on Friday so we could attend Cheyenne's wedding in Salt Lake that day. We left for SLC after Seminary on Thursday.


We had an amazing opportunity to stay in a condo in City Creek... 19th floor... for free. We couldn't pass it up. It was perfectly located -- we could just walk to the wedding Friday morning.

Thursday evening we walked around downtown, went to see one of the Meet the Mormon movies, and hunted down a drug store so I could purchase a toothbrush. I had left mine - charging - at home.

When we returned to the condo, Shilo texted that she was in City Creek, too, with Mic and Haven (all who were spending the night with Cheyenne at a hotel, but were waiting for her to get done with a dinner with Richard's fam). It was fun to hang out for a bit and chat with them.

On Friday morning, we decided to hit a couple more of the Meet the Mormons shows before heading to the temple for Chey and Richard's wedding.

When we got to the temple waiting room, we found Doreen and Dakota. The Salt Lake Temple has started doing THE COOLEST THING. They have a dressing room off of the waiting room so an unendowed mother can help her daughter put on her wedding dress. I was so glad that Doreen could participate in that way. It has to be so hard to not attend the wedding of your daughter.

 It is so sweet that these Parker, CO girls are all still so close. They are awesome.

 Cheyenne's family.
It's awesome that they have great relationships with each other... it wasn't always so.

After the wedding, we met up with Shi, Lex and Emmett, Britt, Austin, Scarlett, and Ellis at the condo (seriously making good use of it... it was SO AMAZING), and had some lunch.

Then we made our way out to Bountiful for the ring ceremony and reception. Jason and Kody joined us there.

Grandma and Grandpa G. joined us too. So fun that they could come!

Bill and I got up at 4:45am the next morning to make the long trip back for the CO Open House that evening at 5pm.

I know... we're crazy.

But everyone made it there, and Tay, Nae, and Evie were able to come congratulate the happy couple.

I helped with the Open House by making about 80 mini bundt cakes. I had baked them the week prior, then popped them in the freezer. Lynnea so kindly took them out of the freezer Saturday morning, so they were defrosted and ready to... frost (haha) when we got home. I was happy that they tasted yummy AND that I could help in a small way. There was a lot of other food, too... I just didn't snap a picture of it.

Speaking of pics, my phone camera must have been inadvertently switched to a different setting, as all my pictures are narrow and LONG. Gotta fix that.

Little Billy and Evie at the Open House.

It was a privilege and a blessing to participate in the wedding festivities. We love Cheyenne and her family. And she found a great guy. We wish them all the best!

And now, already, we are another week down with Seminary (I taught this week), and I'm still so so tired. I hope things will balance out... soon!