September
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| Red leafed tree... I do NOT see you. |
Good thing he looks sharp!
Perhaps I wouldn't be quite so irritated if it weren't for the fact that we also paid for 4 different car repairs this month in addition to all the rest of the September stuff. Luckily Tyler was able to fix three of the four repairs himself...but we still had to wait for parts and deal with all the usual inconvenience. We are fast approaching the point where not having a car payment isn't worth all the repairs and it takes me A VERY LONG time to get to that point!! On a positive note...I am loving that Tyler can actually do a lot of the car repairs. When we first got married he wasn't handy or automotive at all...look at him now. So proud.
There isn't a sexier sight than this!!
Okay...moving on to other more positive things...
September brings cross-country season. I absolutely love it. It is the best sport to watch as a parent and, believe me, we have watched them all. Kameron and Bryn are both running XC. Well...Kameron is...sort of. He is having a terrible season. He is always on the injured list. His knee that started bothering him during Track season is still giving him trouble and it's just not worth it anymore. His running career is going to be over when XC ends. But as Kameron's competitive running is ending Bryn's is just beginning and she is kicking butt!! Kameron is an excellent coach too. He goes to all of her meets and coaches her while she runs. It is so cute and funny.
Bryn is actually running double XC. She is running on her school team and also on a city team. She has practice after school three nights a week for her school team and evening practices at the park two nights a week. For the city team they have meets every Saturday morning for 5 weeks and then the all-city meet if she qualifies. For her school team they just have two meets and then all-city if they qualify. (She has!)
Elle is on the school XC team which is fun!! Elle is a good little runner too...plus she got braces!! So cute!!
The park where Bryn has practice is absolutely gorgeous. Tyler and I do a big three mile loop there while we wait for Bryn. We have been loving it!! It's been nice to be able to get out of the gym and exercise at the park twice a week.
Sometimes this girl comes along too.
Bryn's first city meet was eye opening for her. Last year she just ran on her school team and at those meets the course is pretty flat. But on her city team at those meets the kids are hill and trail running. It was a whole new experience for her. For the first meet both the boys and girls in her age group ran together and Bryn came in 8th out of all the boys and girls...but she looked like this when she crossed the finish line.
She gave it 100%. We were so proud of her. You can't tell from the picture...ha ha...but she loved it!! That girl has a HUGE competitive streak and she loves to run. She gets so excited going to practices and meets. (I cannot relate.)
At Bryn's next city meet there were even more hills and trails but she was prepared this time. Bryn moved up the ranks and came in 6th. She loved it and had a pretty great cheering section strategically placed around the course.
We also always go out for breakfast every Saturday after the meets and everyone looks forward to that!!
At Bryn's 3rd city meet she was nothing but a blur!! I love her serious game face. Don't even THINK about passing this chick. She will not let you. It is so funny to see this competitive side because she is the sweetest and most easy-going child. Who knew she had this in her? Ha ha! At this meet Bryn continued to move up in the ranks and came in 4th!!
Proud family although a little blurred from our shivering. It was so cold and we were freezing!!
Nothing like hot cinnamon rolls and hot chocolate at a cute corner cafe to warm you right up!!
She is having a blast!!
We also managed to squeeze in another weekend out at the lake.We met up with my mom, Kelley, Stacey and her kids. Kameron joined us the 2nd day. He had too many activities to stay out there the whole weekend. Teenagers. My denial of fall was in full effect. The lake cooperated pretty nicely. We got to do one last bunch of swimming, paddle boarding, and kayaking for the season. I am so sad to see it go.
We arrived all wearing our Peace Within gear!! So funny.
I love an autumn bonfire!! Now that the fire ban is over we got to enjoy one every night.
We also went for some great walks around the lake. The mornings were a little windy but the weather usually cleared up by the afternoon.
Dane, Elle, Bryn, River, and Ailey
Dane making us breakfast. I love that all of the men in our family cook and they are good cooks too!!
There were hardly any boats out on the lake by late September so these two would take off in the kayak for hours. Chatting away... both just started middle school so I am sure that they had A LOT to talk about. :)
They called this the "Picnic Boat". They would come back to the dock several times during the day so that we could give them food, drinks, and snacks and then off they would go again.
The water was so beautiful and clear. It was a nice last hurrah to summer.
Tyler and I were able to hike twice a week for most of September...in addition to our park walks and work outs. It has been so much fun!!
One of our favorite trails
More kids that we know and love have gotten mission calls and have had their farewells...
We got to be at this cute boy's mission reveal party and hear first hand where he got called to serve.
We said goodbye to this kid. (Do you like my sly attempt at trying to unobtrusively take a pic for Reilly and attempting to facetime her during Sacrament meeting so that she could hear Nate's talk?!)
Bryn started piano lessons and she loves it!! She is taking lessons from my friend Jodi who has taught all of our girls to play the piano.
My carpool game is back and going strong...school carpools and seminary carpools.
Reilly got to attend her first general conference session in person on Temple Square. She and her roommates got tickets to the Women's Conference and she was so excited!! She loved it so much. I got the best phone call afterward.
My friend, Amy, did her Better Than School Pictures and we were thrilled to have her take our kids pictures again this year.
Hanging out at her awesome photo location waiting for our turn.
The girls practicing how to smile normally with me before getting their real pictures taken. (Yes, this must happen.) Kam probably should've practiced too. I saw a lot of grimacing and jaw clenching. Teenage boys...so much grouchiness. Less yelling/shrieking but so grouchy.
Ailey got to go the temple for the first time!! She was so excited!! Kameron was there too but refused to get in the picture. (See above.) I was not. *Sad* We had to divide and conquer that night. I had to go to Kam's back-to-school night at the high school and go around to all of his classes and meet all of his teachers to find out what the heck goes on in all of them. Bryn was shipped off to Kelley's house for the evening. It was craziness. Luckily, Tyler could go with Ailey and both she and Kameron found family names (on the Johnson side) and did their work for them. It was very cool. They all had a really neat experience. I can't wait to go with Ailey and Kam to the next youth temple night in December. It is so special to be in the temple with our kids.
So just to recap...besides all the kids going back to school, the Funky Junk Antiques Show and Labor Day weekend...we also had back-to-school night at THREE different schools, a parent's meeting for the high school's music department, Homecoming (Kameron doesn't turn 16 until November and he couldn't have cared less. Boys are so different from girls. Reilly's birthday is also in November and that was an emotional roller coaster that I don't care to relive), multiple doctor/dentist/orthodontist appointments, so many XC meets and practices, piano lessons, bagpipe lessons, team dinners, volunteering at the elementary school, XC pictures, band pictures, football games, and 1001 church events....it's been a wild ride.
I guess I can't deny it any longer now that it is officially October...Good-bye Summer...I will miss you.
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