Busy In October

We had lots of fun and lots of busy in October.  My friend Wendy and I went and helped put together a million meals and we had so much fun and thought our hair nets were so cute, that we took our families back later that day (and I just now saw that my sticker is upside down. hahaha).

We had General Conference!  Ryan had an early morning soccer game in Tremonton, so afterwards, we drove over to Dustin's Dad's house and watched the first session of Conference with him.  He's all moved in to his new house in Logan and it is looking great.

On Sunday after Conference, we went for a drive/walk with Gramma Lana and found some fall leaves to look at.  

Grant chased Pepper in our yard and found himself covered in burrs.  Pepper has also had those burrs stuck in her fur, so we found the offending weed and I pulled it.  Then I had burrs stuck in my gloves, but it was a small price to pay to not have to pick them out of Pepper's fur or Grant's clothes ever again (this year, at least).

Maren is doing an internship with a veterinarian this semester.  She loves it!  The gross stuff doesn't bother her at all, and she is fascinated with the surgeries.  She hasn't decided if she wants to do this field of study in college, but she is really enjoying it right now!

Maren and Ryan had Region Cross Country, then Divisionals, and State for Maren.  It has been so fun to have them on the team together for this one year!  They have both done well and improved steadily throughout the season.  Maren ended with a big personal best time at the State meet.

We ran into our friends on a Sunday walk and took pictures to prove it. 

I am finally fulfilling a long time dream to deliver for Meals on Wheels!  I don't know why this is so fun for me, but it is!  My friend, Wendy, is doing it with me and we have a great time.

We went to a corn maze for a youth activity.

The boys made pizza for one of their activities.

We had Fall Break!  We took the kids early on Friday morning up to the Twin Falls temple for Baptisms for the Dead.  After breakfast, we found a fun place to eat breakfast called Abracadabra's.  They had some unique breakfast options and huge plates!  We weren't hungry for a long time after that.

Then we drove north to Sun Valley, Idaho to hike around and spend the night.

The kids didn't care to see this cool sculpture that Dustin had found online.  So they waited in the car and Dustin and I explored it.

Saturday was Dustin's birthday and we got up and drove to the Shoshone Ice Caves for a tour.  There is water leading to the cave and it is so cold that it freezes year round!  After the caves, we drove to The Farm to see Grandpa Montgomery.  The Farm was as lovely as ever.  We visited with family, took Dustin to the one restaurant in Buhl for a birthday dinner, and played with puppies!

On to The Farm!

An impromptu photo shoot with the old cars.

Feliz Cumpleanos, Dustin!  We love you!

Dustin turned 45, and Grandpa will turn 95 in a few months.

Maren did a Ghost photo shoot.  The pictures turned out so fun!

We had a cousins Halloween Party at Lynnette's.  We seriously could only find a couple of hours in our month that actually worked for us to get together, so it was short and sweet and fun!

Please feel free to zoom in on my face in this picture to see what I will look like in a few more years (the mask is pushing down on my cheeks and creating some really lovely wrinkles).

Grant had a choir concert and it was awesome.

Ryan had a band concert and it was fabulous.

I had my preschool parties.  I dressed up as a doctor, in honor of my dad...

The last week of October, my dad had a quadruple bypass heart surgery.  I went down after a couple of days to be there with him and my mom.  I stayed from Friday until Wednesday morning.  I really enjoyed my time there with them.  Because they live fairly close, we usually only get them for a day or two at a time, so it was nice to spend a few more days with them, visiting and helping a little where I could.  My dad is a trooper and my mom is a rock star!

He made it home and is recovering well!  It hasn't been fun, but he is getting better every day.  A couple of days after I left, my sister Monica got there from Illinois.  My sisters and I are all taking turns spending time with my parents while he recovers.

It was Halloween while I was gone, and Dustin and the kids carved pumpkins.  Grant was the only one who dressed up this year.  We are getting old.

And now, Halloween is done, Thanksgiving planning is happening, Christmas music is playing and I am happy!