Spooky Season! October.

October! We did it! We ended the month with some fun pink eye and a lot of candy and that's just how life is right now. (and honestly, how life will be for the next 6+ years...)

What We Did - 

We've gone for a few years now, so I think it's officially a tradition for us to go to Logan for the day in October. We ogle the leaves in the canyon, go to the American Heritage West center for fall activities, and this year we also met up with my mom at the Pumpkin Walk. The kids pass out for the drive home and it's a great time all around. We celebrated Everett's second birthday! I went to Evanston for my work's Fall Social. We went to a movie night at Norah's school, but had to leave with 20 minutes left because the sprinklers turned on. I had a fancy friend brunch at La Caille. Brian and I went to Thriller on their final tour. We went to a "spook alley" (it wasn't spooky) at  Millcreek Gardens, played mini golf at All Star, and went to Discovery Gateway for June's birthday! We played at the playground at Norah's school, and had a sugarhouse park playdate with friends. Brian and I went to the Sadurn concert. And we wrapped it all up with our "spooky" candlelight dinner, Norah's school Halloween parade and trick or treating for all the kids who didn't have pink eye. (It was Ev. Ev had pink eye.)

Inspired by - 

The weather, the leaves, my kids loving the spooky decorations on houses.

Watching -

Derry Girls, Taskmaster, Frasier, Ramy, Abbott Elementary, and I started Gilmore Girls for the nth time for fall and comfort reasons.

Reading - 

A Special Place for Women, I'm Glad My Mom Died, Our Wives Under The Sea. All of them bangers.

Thinking about - 

Getting older, releasing guilt, taking care of my body, how my kids are growing so fast and I feel like I'm forever so joyful and in a constant state of mourning for how fast time passes. 

Listening to - 

Sadurn, crappy Halloween playlists while I craft with the kids, podcasts on Stitcher premium while I have a month of free access. 

Researching - 

Halloween costumes, outfits for Lizzo and Harry Styles concerts, shoes, Halloween decor for next year. 

Organizing - 

Kitchen cabinets (veeeery slowly), a system for all the incoming paper and art projects from my lovely daughters. 

Cooking + Eating + Drinking - 

Drinking tea and pumpkin coffee, eating anything that can go in an air fryer (I finally got one), cooking very minimally as always.

Grateful for - 

Being able to celebrate holidays with my kids who love them, friends who will listen to me complain all day, and that the Java Joe's in front of Smith's finally opened. 

What the girls are into - 

Norah - Assembling her Marceline costume. Drawing witches and devils and "____ of death". (Pumpkin of death, panda of death....you get it). Watching Owl House. 

June - putting on concerts, dressing up, writing letters and drawing people, wearing stick-on earrings, her pink flats, and her new fairy wings.

Neither of them are into wearing pants. I finally, sloooowly, convinced them they needed to wear pants every day instead of shorts. It was a reluctant success. 

What Everett is doing - 

Getting sick! Also talking so much, mostly just in single words. And mostly just the ending sounds of those words? But it's great progress. He is running, bouncing, climbing, rolling, all the time, but also likes to pretend to take a nap. Sleeping is one of the great loves of his life, along with cheese, Bluey, and markers.

Magic - 

The weekend before Halloween was filled with lots of Halloween art and crafts, spooky episodes of bob's burgers, and an afternoon of perfect weather and painting pumpkins outside. 

Looking forward to - 

Ugh I don't know. I'm not excited about winter, or the endless sickness that seems inevitable. I like Christmas, but I don't want to do all the work for it! I'm sure I will get in the spirit eventually. Oh! But I have a Harry Styles California trip next month and that is definitely something to look forward to.

Focused on the movie.

Very excited about his fireman outfit.

Evanston

Concerned that a friend was in the tree.

June's selfie with her kids.

Planting trees to save the Earth. 

Brunch friends!

The view from Norah's playground is insane.

"pumpkin of death"

The (almost) best month of the year! (September)

What We Did - 

Brian and I had a day date for our anniversary. We got our favorite breakfast, and went to some small shops to look at records and crystals and tarot cards. We had a biking playdate. I took the girls night swimming in our apartment pool. It was super fun, but also had the unfortunate timing of being a day when it had dropped 20 degrees overnight. Still fun, but chillier than expected. I worked a shift at Barnyard Friends at the State Fair. The kids and I met up with my mom at the Ogden Dinosaur Park. We had a cook-out in the canyon with friends, a playdate with Jeremiah and Shannon. We took an aquarium trip for Norah's birthday. The kids had a weekend in Malad so we could have a whole weekend in Park City! I followed it up by flying out on Monday for Minneapolis for my very first work conference.

Inspired by - 

My fall nostalgia cd. (age of adz by Sufjan Stevens). 

Watching -
 
Task Master. Masterchef. Glow Up.

Reading - 

Seance Tea Party -(a very sweet YA graphic novel that deals with grief and changing friendships.) Halloween books to the kids. I tried to start a book and had somehow missed that it was about two young sisters going missing and had to nope out IMMEDIATELY.

Thinking about - 

My work conference at the end of the month. Fall activities I want to do.  This viral house tour and a kitchen couch. How Jason Mantzoukas will probably never date me because we have a 15 year age difference. 

Listening to - 

Age of Adz (see above). The Twee Spotify playlist. 

Researching - 

Dressing for your Venus sign. Cute ghost art. Magnetic Fields lyrics.

Organizing - 

Packing lists. To do lists. The kids closet. 

Cooking + Eating + Drinking - 

Drinking - (hot) coffee with pumpkin spice creamer!! Eating - a baked good hopefully! Cooking - very little! Sorry about your lack of vegetables children!

Grateful for - 

Traveling safely, making a couple friends at the conference, Ashley introducing me to americanos a few months ago, the muddy buddy cookie I got at the Mall of America.

What the girls are into - 

Norah - losing teeth, being excited for her birthday, making lists (my heart!!), being worried about the environment.

June - wearing costumes to preschool, NOT being interrupted, writing letters and her name (my heart again!!!)

What Everett is doing - 

Finding ways to be cuter every day. Doing pratfalls off his elephant car. Adding on to his noise repertoire with ghosts, trains, and buses. Pretending to be a cat. Being so happy just to be included. 

Magic - 

The view of the Utah mountains from a plane. 

Missing - 

My kids because I foolishly booked our park city weekend right before my work conference. 

Looking forward to - 

Halloween! Harry Styles and Lizzo concerts! Wearing boots! 

Norah was taking a group photo for us and Ev needed to join in. And then the last picture! They are the same person.