Football Season--Preseason Game #3

I promise this isn't turning into a football blog, but since it's so hard for me to go back and catch up I'm attempting to stay current.

Adam and Tess joined us for this game since they live near Brighton High School (Amy was out of town and Bella and Megan had other plans), but I didn't get a shot of them.

Friday September 4th was our last preseason game against Brighton. They have a gorgeous stadium and it was a beautiful, breezy evening with a tiny hint of Fall in the air.

Landon lost his spot on the Offensive Line and got moved to Nose Guard on Defense. He didn't know how much he'd get to play this game, but ended up playing quite a bit.

It's still a bit surreal for me to see him out there.

He amped up his intensity (as a result of losing his spot) and played harder than usual.

He held his own.

It was an exciting game, but sadly we lost by one point because of a missed extra point that hit the uprights.

Memorial Day Goodness

 We piled into my mom's car for our trip out to the Herriman Cemetery.

The flags are my favorite thing to see and it's always windy out there so they are always flying.

Flower wrangling.

 My mom's parents' grave.

Family shot by Lori.

My dad met up with us for lunch at Astro Burger (so tasty) and then we all went to the movies.

Landon snapped some selfies on my phone.

14 thumbs up!

Mother/Daughter Night

Last Wednesday for a Young Women's Activity they had a Mother/Daughter Garden Party.

Whitney wanted us to dress alike and surprisingly we had something similar to wear. 

The YW leaders did an amazing job (as usual) to make the event beautiful and fun. 

Everything was ridiculously cute.

Everyone brought a salad to contribute...so Whitney pretty much ate rolls (this is my plate).

We had homemade Oreos for dessert, which were very good. I've never made these but I'm a fan.

We had to move inside for the guest speaker because it was too chilly outside (it was deliciously Fall-like) and most of the girls were freezing. It made for a cozier setting and more focused attention though. Emily Freeman is a great speaker! She talked about each of the Young Women's Values (Faith, Divine Nature, Individual Worth, Knowledge, Choice and Accountability, Good Works, Integrity and Virtue) and how they have influenced her life through women who have been good examples to her. After each story/value she would ask the girls to think of someone they know who emulates that value, this made me think of all the great women who serve as good examples to me.

After the event was over I went up to thank Emily and to tell her how much her talk at our Stake Relief Society Women's Conference a couple years ago meant to me and how I still remember what she talked about (which is amazing since I forget everything). Of course I got all weepy while talking to her and made sort of a mess of things, but I'm still glad I told her.

Scenes from the Week

Landon cut the sleeves off a couple of his workout shirts so now Randy and I are trying to adjust to this new look around the house...it's not our favorite. Apparently all the football players do this for weight lifting and such, despite their farmer tans and hairy armpits.

I found Landon dead asleep in the middle of the afternoon last Saturday. Whitney had music blasting, the lights on and was "cleaning" their room. Of course, he had his music playing directly into his brain so he didn't hear anything else but I was still surprised he could zonk out this soundly. When I went to wake him up I lifted his eyelid and his pupil didn't even dilate.

I thought it was funny that Randy had most of the lunch stuff out on the counter the night before. He is so good to make all of our lunches each morning before school.

 I met up with Jenn for lunch on Tuesday this week, good times.

After lunch with Jenn I let myself into Lori's place (it was very close to where we had lunch) because I had to pee so badly I didn't think I could handle driving home! I ended up hanging out with her kitties for 2 hours. They're not usually super affectionate, but they were literally all over me. I loved it. I watched TV on her big screen while getting some lovin from the cats, it was good for my soul.

 Seriously, how sweet is this?

The moon was ginormous yesterday morning as I drove to work. It was almost disturbingly large. I was driving and staring at it and muttering "wow" over and over again.

Whitney has a teacher she just loves so she asked him his what his favorite candies are and had me take her to the store to buy them herself!

She also wrote this super sweet letter to give him. Who wouldn't love to get such a letter?

Edited to add: I got this email from Mr. Carter...

"Jill,

So I walk down to get cavetime slips this morning and found the most awesome things ever in my box.  The treats were great, but the letter Whitney wrote to me was amazing!  She is a fantastic student (you already know that) and I want to thank both you and her for making my life easier here.  Thanks again and happy Friday!"

I got this message on my computer at work while trying to load a document. I love it that it says "Aw, Snap!".

I dragged Whitney to Landon's football game in an effort to get her out of the house. It was a gorgeous day and she had already been watching TV for too long...I think this picture really captures her feelings about this.

But if you need further evidence, here is the picture she drew. She claims she doesn't like football and doesn't understand it, but I have never seen her actually make an attempt to watch a game.

Landon was positioned perfectly for my camera, he's #84.

Family Trip A Go Go

Whitney and I left last Monday (Randy had to work and Landon had EFY all week) to join Lori, Robyn & her kids, my mom, and Adam & Amy and their kids at Amy's aunt's cabin in Star Valley, Wyoming (about 50 minutes from Jackson Hole).

I started the morning a bit irritated because I had to get up at 5:00am and because I was bugged at the amount of stuff we had to bring. It's stupid that I give in to the irritation, it must be a warped defense mechanism or something, but I was really frustrated about the whole thing and practically talked myself out of it.

 Fortunately Lori was in great form and had me laughing before we even hit the highway. We had some good tunes playing, snacks and beverages and she read Trivial Pursuit questions...I actually managed to drive the entire way there without getting sleepy!

Leading up to the trip Amy kept saying, "it's very cabiny", so we had some really low expectations, but ended up being very pleased with our housing.

I got to have this bedroom all to myself! I have found over the years that being able to retreat to "the cozy" by myself makes a great difference in my well-being. Apparently I need the escape and time to regroup.

I brought a rather ambitious amount of reading materials, but I like to keep my options open. I ended up reading The Story of Edgar Sawtelle all week and barely finished it the last night there (4.5 stars).

 

 Adam got some lounging/reading in.

The kids had a room in the basement all to themselves (woohoo!) and had a great time together.

Lori brought a couple puzzles. I decided I like the idea of puzzles more than I actually like working on them, especially if there's a good book I can be reading instead.

I did most of my reading on the deck (except for when it was too hot during the day) and enjoyed great views and could see the kids running around.

This is the back side of the cabin as seen from the street.

Ashley and I walked down to the pond and she posed every time she picked a flower.

Beautiful.

We took turns making dinner each night, which worked out beautifully (especially when it wasn't my turn!).

 Lori and Amy.

One day was really overcast and not terribly hot so I was able to sit outside for a long time. 

Coloring.

The hummingbirds were plentiful in the area and loved to frequent this feeder which was positioned near my reading spot. I was dive-bombed several times. It was so cool to be so close to them and listen to their wings...they sound just like The Jetson's space ships.

On Wednesday afternoon Robyn took the kids to the pool and everyone else was tired from horse-back riding that morning (I didn't go) so I went for a drive. I stopped at a "dessert bar" that boasted 4 flavors of ice cream! This was my $3 strawberry cone after about 2 licks...it was tiny!

I drove out in the country for a long time and stopped to take pictures here and there. I really love the country!

Wild flowers near the pond.

We played games every night and were really happy with a new game we learned this trip called Wizard (which I think Jenn gave me a long time ago).

The kids played a lot of Uno.

Adam made a big breakfast on the 18th of summer for Megan's 9th birthday and apparently I slept through it! I surfaced at 8:30 and everything was cleaned up already, so I ate by myself.

On Thursday we went to Jackson Hole for the day, which was a little challenging with 13 people. I am not a fan of Group Think and always feel flummoxed when trying to keep track of everyone and deal with the various demands of so many personalities. Aargh! 

Whitney tortured me that day with her moodiness! She was fun one minute and then difficult the next.

She tried to convince me to buy her this hat. What the?!

Then she wanted this lion puppet!

I like this shot of Bella showing Amy a picture of something on her phone. Technology.

Goodness, we were starving by the time we finally got seated at the restaurant for lunch. Whitney tried to kill me again by deciding she didn't like anything on the menu and wasn't going to eat!! It was only after seeing what all the kids got and tasting their Mac-n-Cheese (which was heavenly) that she agreed to order it. Apparently she feared the food would be weird, but honestly they had a kid menu that would have worked, there's just no rhyme or reason to her these days.

Adam and I after lunch.

After splitting up to shop for awhile we all met back up at the park in the center of town. Amy and the girls took some self-portraits.

Back at the cabin, Adam had to do some work.

On our last morning, Lori, Ashley and I cracked ourselves up with Mad Libs.

Somehow my car was more full on the trip home...what in the world?!

Best cousins in their new duds.

We were caravaning on the way home when Adam flipped a u-turn unexpectedly on the freeway. It turns out Amy told him to pull over so we could take pictures at the scenic look out. We took a group photo on Amy's camera but I don't have it yet.

Overall it was a great trip with equal parts relaxation, reading, game playing, eating, and site seeing. There are always moment of too much "FAMILY!" but mostly it's all good.