Happenings and Anecdotes

I can not stay awake through a whole movie at home, and frequently can't stay awake during theater movies either.  LaBoeuf is my perfect movie companion- we weren't even through the opening credits when he rolled onto his back and started snoring. 

My dear dad delivered to Janet and me TWO HUGE coolers full of apples.  We were absolutely thrilled with our windfall and immediately started making applesauce.  It took about ten days to work our way through them, but in the end we had almost 100 quarts of applesauce. 

I just want to say a word about home canning- I LOVE IT.  It makes me feel like a pioneer.  It seems like such a miracle (albeit an extremely labor intensive one) that we can transform fresh food into food that I can stock my shelves with all winter long.  I love how my kitchen smells when I can, I think the colors of the food are beautiful, and I love seeing my shelves fill up with locally grown fruit and veggies.  Probably my very favorite part, though, is that at least one month a year, I see my friend Janet every day. 
 

My friend Jen was in town from DC and is shortly on her way to Hong Kong for the next few years, so when my sister-in-law Emilee and I had the chance to meet for lunch we jumped on it. 

Jen and Emilee are cute young moms with babies, and I'm all of a sudden that old lady whose kids are in school all day and only has regular cups and toys that are choking hazards.

My dad, the girls, and I snuck away to Pocatello for the night.  My kids love to see those Sheltons!

Hey, You.
Yeah, kid, you.
Stop growing up immediately.

Now that the Shelton's have Russell, the softest bunny ever born, Kiki has another pet on her wish list.

I think Beefy is enough mammals for one house.  He sure is a cuddly one.

We had big plans for Fall Break, but thanks to our recent government shutdown, our plans (a long weekend in Arches) were cancelled.  We decided that a good alternative would be to do fun things around town for the break.  We went swimming, and to movies, and to the dinosaur museum.  On the last day of the break, I took the girls up to the Gateway to see the planetarium. 

I also had time for some crafting on the break- LaBoeuf's Halloween costume.

LaChief.

I love his expression in this- all serious and angry.
I slept with one eye open for at least a week.

The highlight of the break was a trip to Build a Bear Workshop- when I told the girls we were going they were so cute and excited.  Kate seems so grown up sometimes that I get pretty thrilled when "little girl" things still appeal to her.

I bought this book- it's a book about how our mistakes can be turned into something beautiful.

After I read it, I said, "That is one of my favorites!"

Maggie replied, "Because you HATE IT when we waste paper."

 

Maggie came home from library day at school with "Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul:Volume III."  I've not ever felt that my children weren't properly supervised at school, but I can't help but feeling that someone in the library was laying down on the job.  "Plus I got a bookmark," she told me, "so we don't miss one single page."  I've read her inspirational tales of friendship, physical hardships, you name it, and I feel like I've been a real good sport about the whole thing, but I hit my limits last night when Kiki's bedtime request was "the one about the cheerleader."

Forever Families

Aargh. These pictures are hopelessly out of order.  

Another amazing part of September was that we were able to attend two sealings for families we dearly love- the Murray's to their new daughter Lou, and my brother and sister-in-law's.  They were great days all around. 

Sealing Day was an extra big day for the Judd-Murray clan.  Lachlan was baptized and confirmed, then Louisa was blessed, and THEN they were sealed together at the Logan Temple.
 

I remember dreaming with Rose in college about what our future families were going to be like.  I'm pretty sure I predicted a whole bunch of boys for myself, and I'm also pretty sure she NEVER predicted she'd wind up with a family that was 3/5 Chinese.  Yet, somehow it seems to be exactly right. 

 

I will mention one thing that ISN'T exactly right and HASN'T been exactly right for a long time- our house.  It has this awful tan siding and a sinking front porch, and we have hated it since the day we moved in.  Since our many achievements in life have yet to include "unlimited income," this was a project that waited...and waited...and waited.  At long last, though, we have found room in the budget for a facelift.  This picture is in the early stages of the demolition.  Stupidly, I didn't take a before picture, but I promise, it was worse looking than this photo. 

 

This was the day John, Lindsay, Preston, and Theo were sealed.  I had been lucky to attend his endowment the week earlier, then Liza, my Uncle Bill, and Aunt Arlys all made it to the sealing.  It was a happy day, and even happier for them.  My sweet nephew cried through the whole thing and my heart was touched. 

 

Grandpa Jack came to the afterparty.

Jack and Charlie remind me a lot of each other.

Cute Whitney with her Grandpa.
We are blessed with the most devoted grandparents.

And here we are back in Logan...Between the baptism/confirmation/blessing and the sealing, we had lunch in Logan and shopped along Main Street.  Does everyone's college town hold as much sentiment for them as Logan does for me?  It made me happy just to be there.

 

These two girls delight me in every way.  Even though one second they are loving on each other and the next second they are at each other's throats, there is enough good to far outweigh the bad.  I think they had a fun day that day.

Bruce and I at the Logan Temple.

September turned out to be a very spiritual month- which was good because I think I sinned a lot in October. 

September Happenings

Do all dogs have the talent of curling up to cuddle with their bums right by your face?  LaBoeuf seems to, without exception, execute his preparatory "walk-around-in-circles" with the singular goal in mind of placing his posterior as close to your head as possible.  Perhaps if we relocated to the other side of the equator he would reverse his direction. 

My birthday is in September- it was very quiet this year since I was registered for a marathon the next day.  I ate with Maggie- she sweetly invited me to lunch with HER for my birthday, which meant school lunch, of course.  It was surprisingly tasty, but I did have to follow up with a second lunch to properly carb load.  One piece of pizza just wasn't going to cut it. 

I was in bed by 7:30 after a "senior citizen" dinner at Olive Garden- we ate at 4:30.  I had to rise at 3 a.m. the following morning to be to Salt Lake City in time to catch my bus.  I had to pee at the 7-11 on the way- this sign was on the door. 

Liza and I rode up on the bus together.  We wound up dealing with a huge delay- the bus in front of us was high centered on a rock- but it turned out to be for the best- we only froze at the start line for about 10 minutes before the race started. 

All smiles before the hell began.
We were just above Guardsman Pass.

I really tried to improve my race strategy this time around- I carefully paced myself the first 18 miles and I was able to run the whole time without bonking.  I shaved 45 minutes off of my last marathon, and I felt really good about that.  The decline was murder on the legs- I have never seen so many people walking the last few miles as I did at this race. 

My friend Anne was cheering at the finish line.
I got all emotional. 

Liza could barely stand up for this picture.  She also had to go down her stairs backwards for days since her legs were so sore. 

Big Medals.

Of course Bruce and the girls came and cheered for me! I was so happy to see them.  They are a very supportive bunch- they never complain about my early runs, or long Saturday runs, or general stinkiness.  I couldn't do it without them.

LaBoeuf has been with us for a year now.  He has made himself right at home.

He finds if he sheds on my clothes before I even get them on it saves him time later.

I bought him a new woobie and he was so excited.