November

We had to really talk Collin into doing the swim team so he could dive at meets. Early morning practices at EVO 3-4x a week from 5-6:30am plus dive lessons at Skyline 2x a week kept us hopping. The most gratifying moment was one afternoon when Collin came to me, mid season, and said, "Thanks for convincing me to do swim. It's been really fun." Yayyy!! I love parenting wins. This group of kids really bonded at all the meets and would have "pasta nights" together the day or two before a meet. 

Look at my diver! 

 I met a mom at a meet in Shelley's stake named Heather Hinze who had a son diving as a senior.

He made it to State! Pretty incredible considering it was his first year.

I loved seeing Travis coach him through this season.

Grandpa came out to cheer for him!

State was over the course of two days at Phoenix Country Day. Collin passed the prelims and continued on the next day placing 9th. We were so proud of him! That's a lot of pressure and really scary thing to do. This season was a ton of work. I was exhausted by the end of it and I wasn't even the one diving!

Coach Juan Beltran is the HS swimming coach and Karis is the Jr. High coach but she subbed in as the "dive" coach for meets where we needed a warm body to meet the rules. We were so grateful for their help forging a path for Collin that hasn't been available at ALA until now.

Of course, Cane's for the celebratory meal.

Our stake Relief Society does a day of service every November. I signed up to help with the sewing. Of course, after I signed up, we found out about the Easter Pageant call backs. I guess I should explain that.

A few weeks ago, I got an email that Travis was being asked to come to call backs. It was Sunday, and he was in the shower and I nearly flew up the stairs to tell him! I was SO EXCITED!! I figured if he was getting a call back that was a good indicator that our family would be accepted into the pageant! I also worried. None of us are theater people. How was he going to do? He had to memorize lines and parts of songs. I wasn't sure how to say it, but I basically (tactfully) pleaded with him. "I know this isn't your thing. But pleaaaase try hard. A lot is riding on this!" And oh boy, did he! My husband is amazing. Seriously amazing. He went all in. He spent so much time studying the parts and even went to Quin and Joy's house before the audition to get tips and help. 

So then, a few days before the call backs, I got a text from Jenny Prince, the Pageant director. She asked if she could talk to me! I quickly replied and she called shortly after. She said she had been feeling like they were missing someone from the Jairus family auditions. She reviewed the audition tapes and when she got to our family she knew it was us. She felt so bad giving me last second notice but wondered if Olive, Travis and I could come to the callbacks for the role of Jairus's family. I couldn't believe my ears. I don't know if I've ever been so excited! I thanked her over and over and told her we would be honored! 

So back to the day of service. We had to leave in the middle of it and I had the hardest time finding anyone to take over! I'm no seamstress but I really thought more women would feel comfortable sewing what was basically a straight line. I was shocked how many people I had to ask before I finally found someone!

Travis was out driving other kids to things and had to meet us at the callbacks. I picked Olive up from dance and we rushed to the church building on Brown and Stapley. We signed in and waited with about 5-6 other families until we were called back to the Primary room where all 4 directors were. They explained how the process would go and were so kind. The set up some chairs in a row to act as the "bed". Each family took a turn acting out the scene. The dad running to get Jesus and bringing him back to his daughter. The mom cradling her sick child and weeping. Christ raising the girl from the dead and the subsequent rejoicing. We were given little instruction and told to do what feels right to us. We were the last family to go. It was very emotional to watch the other families. But I was also surprised at how some didn't seem to really engage. All the other moms knelt on the floor next their daughter who laid across the chairs. That didn't seem right to me. If my daughter was dying, I would be holding her. We were the last to be asked to go. I sat at the end of the chairs and had Olive lay down with her head in my lap so I could hold her. The tears started before the music did. They had asked one of the dad's to play Jesus's role. He had shoulder length hair and the most gentle demeanor. He really looked like Jesus. As the scene started, and Travis ran to get Jesus, I cradled Olive, crying and mourning. It felt so real. My daughter was dying. How could this be happening? Then suddenly Jesus was there. I looked up at him and whispered, "Master" with hope and longing in my eyes. He put her hands on her and commanded her to rise. Olive opened her eyes and sat up, asking me, "Mother why weepest thou?" 

Oh! I'm crying again just thinking of it. There are not words to describe how transcendent this experience was. It was SO tender. SO emotional. It felt like we had just personally experienced this story in the bible. I knew that even if we weren't chosen for the part, just being able to audition was the most choice blessing.

We were sewing weighted caterpillars for autistic kids as one of the service projects and there were not enough volunteers to even come close to finishing. So I piled around 20 in my car (no easy feat.. these things are heavy!) and spent the rest of the weekend, cutting and sewing on eyes and tying the sections off ribbon. Good thing I had the Golden Bachelor to watch and Miss Olive to help me!

Weston's Sunday School teacher is incredible. Every time he teaches, the kids go home with something cool like this personalized box of cereal!

Collin's Sunday school teachers are pretty fun too!

We said goodbye to Shelly, sniff sniff! We've had her since the boys were just little. We got turtles hoping to appease pet hungry children. But now that they have a dog, and Shelly does zero interacting, they are over her. Plus she is getting bigger and bigger and so are her poops. We met a guy at our block party who lives on Rawhide and is obsessed with animals/reptiles. He happily agreed to take Shelly and we happily gave her over. He remodeled his whole side yard just to accommodate her. As we loaded her into the back of the truck and she excreted everywhere, I was less and less sad to say goodbye. These things live to like 60, so I feel we dodged a huge bullet.

My preppy 9th grader with a long sleeve pulled over a collar shirt had all my adoration that morning! He's the cutest!

Olive has made friends with a girl named Emerson, from dance, a couple years ago. She is a sweet friend and her mom is the most helpful human ever. She has rescued me and helped with getting Olive to and from dance so much over the years. Emerson is the youngest in her family by 10 years so she feels a lot like an only child. So they have invited Olive on multiple trips but I've never felt super comfortable letting her go. Well, this time, Millie invited both of us for a super last minute, day trip to St. George to see the temple open house before it was over that weekend. I debated and debated. I HATE road trips. Driving scares me and is awful on so many levels. But, I figured in 10 years, I would not remember what I had done on that Thursday, but I would remember if I had gone to the temple open house. So I said yes. We woke up at 4am and left at 4:30am. Millie is queen of road trips and drives everywhere, especially to Utah, so I thought her navigation skills would be great. I was wrong. She got on the wrong freeway before we had even left Mesa. She drove SUPER fast and didn't pay great attention to the road. She continuously took wrong turns, rerouting us and we even got lost at one point and had to pull over. I'm not great with maps and navigation but I was trying to help while keeping up conversation and managing my screaming anxiety. Construction all along the way did not help. We were driving on a one way highway somewhere in north western Arizona when suddenly we were covered in debris. We realized a car had crashed in front of us. Turns out, it had been trying to pass a trailer and hit the trailer, spinning out of control. Millie pulled over (with no shoulder) and we both got out and started running towards the wrecked car while calling 911. The airbags were deployed and the front end was destroyed, but thankfully, the woman was coherent and seemed OK. I got off with dispatchers who were on their way and the other car/trailer eventually pulled up. So we figured there wasn't much else to do and ran back to our girls. All the while, semis and cars going 70-80 mph are whizzing past us. We got in the car and I thought, "OK, please just pull out safely." Nope. As a semi is approaching, she pulls into traffic and the semi lays on it's horn while slamming on it's brakes. I could not feel the lower half of my body!!! I thought we were dead. I seriously cannot understand why a person would do something so thoughtless. It should have only taken us 7 1/2 hours to get to St. George but it took us 9 1/2!! Ugh. Also, I was doing this really stupid diet (that Millie had told me about, ironically) that is supposed to reset your metabolism. I had been doing it a couple weeks and if you stop, it ruins everything you've done so far. So I was obliged to keep at it. On this particular no-carb day, all I could eat was protein and vegetables. So the meager relief of at least numbing myself with sugar and gas station treats was not an option. 

Silver lining?

The St. George temple house was nothing short of incredible. I have NEVER seen such a gorgeous temple. It was restored in pioneer era style with the finest of everything! The enormous paintings hung from exquisite gilded frames. The ornate furniture was of the best quality. The light fixtures, carpets, decor and curtains were opulent while classic. There was brass and gold in just the right places. The wood was so rich I felt warm from looking at it. There was a picture overlooking Jerusalem that literally took my breath away. I want it for my home so badly! I walked around in awe and reverence. I've never seen a temple decorated with so many "extras". Like an armoire beset with early church history pictures and porcelain. The top level, which is reminiscent of the Kirtland temple, was the assembly hall. Completely white pews with white terraced podiums on each end, labeled in gold lettering for each of the priesthood offices. Then there was the Celestial room! Truly heaven on earth. The coolest part was that we were allowed to sit and stay! We found some couches and I got to visit with Olive and tell her everything I could about temples. Just getting to pause and take it all in was such a beautiful experience. There were so many rooms and levels I easily got lost in our wanderings. Oh how I wish we lived in St. George!! What I wouldn't give to be able to work in this temple and be here all the time. We had fun taking pictures outside and soaked in as much as we could. 

Then we went to Harmons and filled up the backseat with Grandma Sycamores bread! Yum!! Another silver lining. 

I got a rotisserie chicken for dinner. Stupid diets.

And that was it. We drove straight home. And somehow she drove even faster than she did getting here. We're talking 90 mph in 65 zones. I finally got up the courage to ask her to slow down, to which she very agreeably said yes. But after the next gas stop she was back to break-neck speeds. I offered to drive, but she refused. She had had lots of caffeine and assured me she was fine and that I should sleep. I thought if maybe I could fall asleep, I could either wake up in heaven or at home. It was night and dark outside and the girls had fallen asleep in the backseat. I tilted my seat back and closed my eyes. And that's when she started singing. Like, loud. I could not believe what was happening. It wasn't a lullaby, she was rocking out. And to be fair, she has a beautiful voice. But what the heck?? After a few songs I heard a different noise. I turned over and popped open an eye. She had her phone attached to the rearview mirror and was WATCHING A MOVIE!! I am not kidding! Well, that was that. I put my seat up and smiled and said I wasn't tired. Someone had to keep us alive! 

She pulled into my driveway at midnight. 

Longest freaking day of my LIFE!!!!!

I think this meme covers it.

The Taylor Swift concert came out in theaters! I was dying to take Olive. We invited Millie and Emerson too. It was a BLAST. I was dancing in my seat and we were singing along and just had the best time. We even got up in the aisle at one point to jam out. Such happy memories of going in person. 

Elder Rasband came for a special, impromptu stake conference. 5 or 6 stakes were invited to the leadership meeting on Saturday. Only the presidents of auxiliaries were allowed to go. Jessica is the Relief Society president right now too so we sat together. It was so wonderful. I was really impressed by Elder Rasband's kindness and love. He was quite emotional too. At the end, they left time for a Q&A. Honestly, I thought most questions lacked depth or seemed less than important for the situation. One lady asked a trivial question but got teary while talking and mentioned her son on a mission. I noticed that Elder Rasband immediately picked up on that and asked several questions about about her son. Then he very sincerely told her to tell her son thank you, from an apostle of the Lord. You could tell it meant the world to her. I was so impressed by his love and concern for her and each person in that meeting. He seemed humble and genuine and I felt his testimony and love. 

This made me smile! 

It took all year, but we finally took my parents out for their Christmas gift haha! It was supposed to be horseback riding or painting at the Gilbert Art House but it morphed into Fiddler on the Roof at Hale Theater. Fiddler has always been my mom's favorite musical and I think it's mine too. I love the music so much. Traditions!! Matchmaker, matchmaker, make me a match! Find me a find! Catch me a catch! Tevia was phenomenal. The scenes were so emotional. I was moved to tears in multiple scenes. I felt like the acting was on level with any Broadway play.

Of the 6 stakes, Elder Rasband chose OUR stake to hold a special stake conference on Sunday. In our building. It started at 10am but I got there at 7:30am to get a seat. I figured if the building wasn't open yet, I'd just open it with my keys haha! When I walked in, the Lams, Standages and Romneys were there. The Milius' came shortly after. I wasn't sure which side of the stage he'd sit on but I ended up sitting in the middle pews on the left side. And that's the side he ended up walking through! When he walked in, we were told not to try and shake his hand, but he stopped by us and noticed Tanner and reached up to shake his hand!! We were all star struck! He was the only one he did that to! It was a wonderful meeting. 

Tanner started out with a lot of vigor and vim with soccer! Then that energy sort of faded. I don't think the heat helped. I am not a fan of that gigantic GYSA complex. You gotta pack a lunch just to huff it across the parking lot and 30 fields til you get to your field. Can we please pick an indoor sport, please?

Weston's baseball team this year was a little rough. It was his last time playing Little League. He pitched occasionally, but the mound is farther away now that they're older and it didn't usually go his way. At least he got to play on a team full of friends!

He started working out at a place called APE. Athletic Performance Enhancement. One of his trainers, Omar, came to watch the boys play. Mason and Eli also go to APE. I thought that was pretty cool that he took time out of his own schedule to support them.

Relief Society temple session with good friends!

Tanner's Christmas list...

He styled his own hair after his bath. He wants to wear it like this now!

Thought it would be fun to do some turkey legs for church the week before Thanksgiving!

I volunteered at the school turkey trot! I basically turned into the loudest, most obnoxious cheerleader while all the other moms stood around. 

Girls night out celebrating Abbey and Katie's birthdays! Liberty Market. I talked everyone into getting elote pizza haha.

Fall decorations are the coziest!!! So is my FRIENDS sweatshirt while drinking my warm, chocolate collagen. We may not have pretty, fall leaves, but this time of year still gives me all the best feelings.

Tanner helped me bake pies. I forgot the sugar and had to throw out the first chocolate custard. Boo! Pie making is a labor of love.

Thanksgiving!!

We almost went out of town with the Shaheens, but in the end we stayed here.

I love the Gilbert Turkey Trot! We have been going since 2015! 8 years! Except covid canceled it in 2020. It was fun to see the Laws this year! Collin and Weston ran it with McGuire and Graham and even saw Sr. Hendrix, Collin's Spanish teacher, and ran some of it with him too. 

We didn't have the stroller so Travis and I took turns back and forth sticking with Olive and Tanner. Many many complaints and wanting to stop but they both did it!

All of my family went to the dunes. Travis's family doesn't get together until the evening. 

I miss Thanksgiving with my family, but the dunes reigns supreme and everyone chooses that whether it's an "on" year or not. It's a bummer. So we invited the Laws over for lunch. We love them and had a great time. In fact, the kids didn't want the fun to end. By nighttime, they transferred over to the Laws house and chose their friends over going to Grandma's house and seeing cousins. So just Travis, Tanner and I went to the Evans for a bit.

Camilla's Thanksgiving text had to be documented. I don't know anyone like this girl. I want her to write a book so badly!

Loving this turkey that Tanner made in school. Dad bragged that he made it on here 3 times haha. 

On Friday we decided to do a day trip to Tucson to go to the Tucson temple. I've never been before. We went to Top Golf first and had so much fun together and ate lunch there too.

The boys did baptisms while I watched church videos with the younger two in the waiting room. Then we walked around the grounds (didn't take long haha) and played a temple matching game on the lawn. We wanted to see a movie but nothing was showing at the time we needed it so we just went home. The older boys wanted to hang out with their friends so we took Olive and Tanner to Fat Cats to see the second Trolls movie.

Kelly Dickson organized a kickball game with Liam and some friends and invited us.

Trying out rags!

So obsessed with Santa hats. He and Weston fight over the best one constantly.

So so grateful for the spirit and peace the MCO concert brings. It was magical, as always. I told my family about it and was quite stressed trying to buy enough tickets the second they had gone on sale. We all went to El Charro for dinner afterward. I love my family so much. This night was wonderful!!!

We laughed about Marcie and David inadvertently matching!