September 2024

September was quite the blur. When we got home from California... school had already started for Bryn...and Ailey was still at home for another week before BYU-Idaho started. Kameron and Erin were on their honeymoon and then once back were busy starting their new married life in Utah.

Full back to school fit check.

Bryn was immediately back into the swing of volleyball, school, seminary, and all the things. Ailey and I did a bunch of shopping before we took her back to Rexburg. Luke finished up his summer sales job in CA and spent the remaining week with his family who recently moved from Maryland to St. George, Utah.

Kameron and Erin had a great time on their cruise and thoroughly enjoyed the Bahamas and their honeymoon. Here are some pictures that they sent to us. Looks amazing!

A good time was had by all! 

They also got to see Kam's really good friend Jared and his wife in Florida and hung out with them for a day or so before their flight back to SLC.

We got in some last minute boating the weekend before Ailey went back to school. We were thrilled about that! September usually has good weather here but you never know.

September boating is the best! The water is still nice and the weather is still warm AND there aren't that many people on the water. Bryn got in some good practice driving the boat. There was good wakeboarding and some good napping. LOL.

Ailey and I got in a few more games of pickleball. We often played at the park right across the street from Tyler's office and he would usually show up and play for a bit too. 

We also did some preliminary wedding dress shopping. Reilly and I went with Ailey to try on some dresses to see what kind of style she was wanting. Karson came too and slept through most of it! Bryn was so busy with school, sports, and all of her various activities so we facetimed her with the different options. The garment friendly wedding dress options were slim here in Spokane. Nearly every dress was sleeveless and we would have to purchase those separately and have a seamstress put them on. But Ailey was able to narrow down the style that she wanted and the veil that she wanted.

Sleepy Karsy.

Here are some dresses that Ailey tried on that were not chosen. At first Ailey thought she wanted a full princess style dress but then she tried some on and decided that they weren't for her. Then she tried on some like this that were medium full and again decided she didn't want this style either.

She went in thinking that she didn't want a fitted dress and then she tried some on and really liked them.

We left without a dress but Ailey had a much better idea of what she wanted in style and fabric and even in the kind of veil she wanted so that was good.

Then it was time to take Ailey back to college. Bryn stayed home. We didn't want her to miss any more school and sports. Tyler and I drove Ailey down to Rexburg and we met up with Luke. We got her moved into her new apartment for the next year.

While waiting for her to be able to get into her apartment we hung out at the Idaho Falls Temple.

We got lunch at our favorite corndog food truck.

 So good! We love a corndog!

We did the crazy and exhausting Walmart and Costco run with all of the other college parents. It was weird to only be doing this for one college kid this time. We got Ailey moved in pretty quickly and Luke was a big help too. We got done in enough time that Ailey wanted us to go look at wedding dresses while we were in town.

Many more dresses were tried on. This time most had sleeves and were garment friendly which was very nice.

And...a dress was purchased!! But none of these.

After that we headed out to dinner at Red 8 to celebrate a new school year and finding a wedding dress with Ailey and Luke. Double reasons to celebrate!

Then it was time to say goodbye until Christmas. It was easier to leave her knowing that Ailey has Luke and that they will look out for each other especially with Kameron and Erin in Utah now.

It was a long and wild day but also such a good and productive one!

The only downside was that on our way to our hotel room I got a string of nasty texts from my aunt. She unfortunately lives in Rexburg and saw Tyler while we were out and about. So once again she started demanding some of my mom's personal belongings and demanding that I leave them on her doorstep before I left town. As if I travel around the country with my mother's belongings on me. Good Hell. And as if I would EVER give them to her. She is insane. Leave me alone please. Ailey also unfortunately lives in the apartment complex across the street from her house. GOOD LUCK AILEY!

Tyler and I spent that night in Idaho Falls. Tyler was thrilled to Door Dash himself a hearty breakfast the next morning. He's a Smitty's Pancake House fan! LOL. Then Tyler and I drove down to Utah for a quick visit to see the newlyweds.

It was so fun to see where Kameron and Erin are living. They are in the Odgen area. We saw their cute new apartment. It was fun to see their neighborhood, church, neighborhood park, library, and all the things. I like being able to visualize their area. We went out for lunch at Cupbop which I absolutely loved! I need this in Spokane! It was fun to be tourists in Ogden. Neither of us were very familiar with Ogden despite growing up in Utah. It just wasn't a place that we ever really went. Kam and Erin gave us the grand tour. We saw the Ogden Temple and got ice cream at Farr's amongst the other sites.

 

We did some shopping and then hung out at their apartment and at our hotel room. They showed us all of the fun pictures from their honeymoon. Then they picked a bbq place for dinner. It was also delicious! They were so much fun to spend time with!

It was great to get a little alone time with them too.

The next morning we all went out for breakfast and then it was time to say goodbye. That is the hard part! They are so happy and that makes it easier! They are at an exciting time of life and I am so glad that they found each other!

Then it was back to Spokane and back to Brynnie and Beverly. We have had a whirlwind season of travel with the wedding and college drop off. It felt really good to be home again!

Ailey and Luke had their first day of school at BYU-Idaho and Ailey texted me her first day of school pic.

Ailey also FINALLY has an appointment with the infusion clinic to get her iron infusion. It's several weeks away but at least it is on the calendar. She had to go through the whole process of getting approved again in Idaho. It is so incredibly frustrating. 

Ailey also found a new job that she is excited about. She is working for Ascella Health as a prescription insurance specialist. It's a good job that will coordinate with her school schedule.

We got caught up on the moving plans of Tyler's sister and mom. They are moving to Silverton, OR at the end of the month. There was a big fallout with Tyler's brother and his family. They want nothing to do Lori and little to do with Judie. Is estrangement en vogue now? Lori did get them to agree to meet with her and a therapist before she left to see if they could work out whatever the issues were before she left. It didn't go well. Her therapist said they were terrible. Hmm...sounds familiar. It's hard for her. Lori has always been extremely close with them. Things were said that were extremely hurtful to her and hard to move past. The kicker is that they don't want to move past them. They just want no contact with any of the family. My hardened rock of heart doesn't give a $%&* ...we were never that close with them... but I do feel for Lori and Tyler's mom. 

My cousin Wendy who lives in Silverton has been extremely helpful to Lori and Judie. She found them a townhouse to live in. It belonged to her former bishop. She has gone above and beyond to help them and we really appreciate it. It is going to be so strange having them in the same small town though. Worlds colliding.

Bryn has been intensely busy with volleyball...practices and games...and FCCLA. She has also decided to run for Sophomore Class Student Council as the PR person. Go Bryn! Football games have started up and Bryn and her friends go to all of them. She has struggled though with the knowledge that Ailey won't be coming home to live again...just visit. It has made her very emotional. More change. It's understandable. They are very close sisters.

I've been working hard on prepping for the Fall Open House at Midtown Market. It's been crazy and hectic but this is always a very successful open house. We had two big vendor nights. I had to do a big switch out of summer items and I brought in Fall, Halloween, and Thanksgiving. Unfortunately on the biggest and busiest vendor night Tyler locked the keys in the car. It was stressful! But thankfully I got everything done and the Fall Open House was a big success!

Reilly and Karson came over a quite a few times...before Ailey left... and after. He is getting so big! Karson is in a 4T and he is only 19 months old. Reilly has also started taking a boxing class at a boxing gym downtown. She absolutely LOVES it! We've gotten to watch Karson a few times while she goes to her class. We're so proud of her! Sounds HARD!

The last week of September was particularly warm and beautiful. Bryn headed off to school and Tyler decided to take the day off so we loaded up the boat and headed for Hayden Lake. It was supposed to be hot with the temps in the high 80s and sunshine for most of the day. It was glorious!

This adult boating day has become something of a tradition...and not one that Bryn is pleased about. LOL. We boated, swam, and soaked up the sunshine just the two of us. Paradise!

It was our last boating day of the season and the true end of summer. We enjoyed every last bit of the day! Although thankfully it was not our last lake date night. We managed one more! September was blissfully warm and sunny. I love a good date night at the lake. Look at that pink sky! Heavenly!

Ailey and Luke got their engagement pictures taken and back. They turned out cute and just what they wanted. They were very happy with them! Ailey wanted water and autumn leaves and she got them. The Tetons for the win! Here are a few of them: 

It's really hard to believe that we will have another wedding in less than a year. Gulp.

One weekend Kameron and Erin drove to Rexburg to surprise Ailey. She had a lot of fun with them. I know she misses having them closer. Ailey and Luke went to lunch with them and then Kam and Erin went to see Erin's brother and his wife. The timing was actually perfect because Ailey's wedding dress had just come in so Kameron and Erin were able to go with her to the fitting. Erin sent me pics and video. I am so glad that Ailey had them there for that especially since I couldn't be there with her. Then the four of them went out for ice cream. It sounded like they all had a fun time and then Kam and Erin drove back to Ogden that night. Just a quick day trip.

Bryn and the YW were in charge of our ward's activity this month. They did a Ward Olympics. Tyler was one of the judges. It actually turned out to be pretty fun and hilarious. Tyler also got in on the Tug-o-War contest with his friends and they won of course! He is freakishly strong!

Great job Brynnie and the YW!

I normally hate ward activities but this one turned out to be fairly fun. LOL.

September was lovely, busy, and filled with travel, family, friends, getting back to routines, and summer winding down. Also my peace roses were on FIRE this summer! So pretty.

This month was also the 5 year anniversary of my mom's passing. Five years. I would have thought it impossible to live without her for this long and yet here we are...five years later. She is no less missed and her vibrant personality is no less dim. What a five years it has been and how I wish she were still here with us! I love you Mom!