Onederful!!!!

Little Penny Jane is 1!!! Happy birthday sweet girl!

Saturday

One great thing about baseball season vs soccer season is that we have Saturdays free.  Watching baseball practice is very boring, I am hoping the games will be better.  I also miss our soccer friends, but we wanted Ethan to diversify and learn a new sport and he seems to enjoy it.  So anyway with our free season of Saturdays we will need to plan a couple of weekend trips.  I want to go to Philedephia, and also I'd like to go to Sleep Hollow and Monticello and I'd love to take Hannah to go see the Radio City Music Hall Christmas Extravagana.  Realistically we might do one of these things...but it's fun to dream.

So yesterday I had a stake dance and BBQ to throw and R took the kids to VA to pick up a new kayak and to go to a battlefield and to Sonic.  They reported having a pretty good time.

Hannah went with Alyssa to see "Potted Potter" in DC

and then she came to her first ever stake dance. I think she had a lot of fun.  I had fun having her there!

Hannah dancing!

Honeymoon report

Yesterday I had a fun chat with Jenna.  I got caught up on her life: school, apartment, honeymoon.  They had amazing time.  Seeing her pictures makes me want to go to Hawaii!

horsey love

After school Grace and I went to Wheatley's Saddlery to get some riding pants and boots.  She is starting riding lessons next week and she is super excited! Walking around the shop was super fun.  It smelled all leathery and horsy. They had Breyer horses and boots and tack and all the horsy things you could want.  It reminded me of when I was young and we'd go to the feed store and I would walk around dreaming of having a horse.  I bought a pink horse pick one time, and a curry brush another time.  Just in case I ever got a horse of my own (which for the record I never did).  Sierra and Jenna and Hannah have all taken riding lessons.  Now it's little Lu's turn.  Yay!!

Stuff

Thursday night, sitting at the playground, the temperature outside is just right. Ethan is at baseball practice, Grace and I are across the park at the playground. She has met a girl and the two of them have climbed to the top of the rock wall and are deep in conversation. There are quite a few kids here, taking advantage of the last long evenings before fall settles in. Oddly there is a little girl I know here, practice is not really in our neck of the woods so it's surprising. Her mom and step dad are in our ward and she's a cute little thing. Her dad has her every other week and its his turn. I feel kind of like I am spying on a secret part of her life, although of course I am not. Divorce is a hard thing. Last week Mark and I saw each other at Jenna's wedding. It's not hard to see him , but it is curious. It makes me think how things might have been different. It was hard for the girls..actually sometimes for the 3 younger too. Making a good, wise choice of a mate is SO important and has such far reaching consequences. I listened to thePriesthood  session of the last conference while I was painting the bathroom this afternoon. Lots of amazing talks. I was thinking while painting and listening about all the things we need to teach Ethan and the girls and about how righteous living spares us some of the trials and hardships around and strengthens us for the ones we are not spared. I am grateful for the Gospel plan, for the blessing and gift of the Atonement, for the balm it provides our hurts and the forgiveness it affords our mistakes and missteps and misfortunes, and the chance it gives us to grow and change and become Christ-like.

It's been a pretty good week. Ethan has played a bit of baseball. Chris had him over to his batting cage for some tutoring, he went to scouts and has worked on lots of homework.

Grace has been getting up at 530 with us this week since its our week to drive the STEM carpool. She had her first Brownie meeting of the new year. She loves Brownies and they have some great fun activities scheduled. Including an overnight to the aquarium to sleep with the dolphins!

Hannah had a theater meeting, is running for freshman class president, and never cleans her room... Typical teenage life.

Labor Day

We had a fun day planned and executed!  We went to Mt Vernon with the McCombs, one of our favorite families!  It was pretty muggy out but the kids had a good time and as you know I love Mt. Vernon.  They had never been so it was fun to take them and show them some of our favorite spots.

After Mt Vernon we headed to their house and had a BBQ.  We had 5 families and lots of tasty food.
I <3 their back yard, it's so fun.   They have a great big hammock that I would love to lay in and read.  The kids always love the trampoline and building fires in the firepit.

The only bad part of the day is Hannah was a huge stink and refused to go with us to either outing, now I have the sad responsibility of discipline execution.  I'd much rather she just obey and not throw defiant fits.

Millie's birthday

Millie is 10. She's a sweet ol girl. The kids wanted to have a party but we settled for a hat and a treat:)

Today was fast Sunday. The testimonies were touching and instructive. Loved it.

Michelle gave an amazing lesson! It was a good day.

Did some work for my calling. Made a dinner everyone liked.

Now Hannah and I are making cookies.