The Rest of September

We had lots of life happenings once we got home from our final trip of 2022, starting just a few hours after we got home.  With mountains of travel laundry piled up in the mudroom, we all fell into bed, exhausted from our early morning and long day of travel.  But we didn't stay in bed for long. Noah heard a noise downstairs, insisted that Adam come check it out with him, and they were the first to discover that the water pipe behind the washing machine had burst and was quickly forming a lake that was pouring down into the unfinished part of our basement!  The blessings- that they heard it so quickly, the damage was minimal, and the water that flowed into the basement only hit concrete and a carpet remnant that we pulled out and tossed.  No drywall, hardwood, or carpet damage.  Just imagine if that pipe had decided to burst five minutes after we left on any one of our trips this year.  We would have had a major home renovation to deal with!

It's also a blessing that Jason was able to fix the pipe the next day.  I love being married to a man who is willing to 'give it a try' when it comes to fixing things. And usually he gets it right and saves us time and money!

But I didn't wait that long to get the laundry, which now included a week of suitcase contents for everyone, just about every beach towel and several rugs and blankets, and every other item of fabric that had been in the mudroom, washed.  And because of a power outage at his middle school, Adam joined me!  We powered up with some Chick-fil-a. 

Life lessons learned in a laundromat.

And what a sweet reward- the very last quarter he needed to complete his states and territories collection appeared in our hands this day!

Some mornings we're climbing the walls before school. 

Some mornings we all feel like this rumpled finch. 

Some days are really long. 

One sunny day we went back to the skate park! (Emma was at two parties this day!)

Later that same day it poured. 

Leah was the only one who wanted to dance in the rain. 

Eventually everyone joined her. 

Laney is always keeping a close watch on all the things. 

Homecoming week meant school fun!  Anything but a bag day meant a blanket knapsack for Adam. 

Emma looked just like a California girl on beach day. 

She has decided on quite the instrument for 5th grade band- the euphonium! 

I quite like it's mellow sound compared to the trumpet (no offense trumpet players of the family!) but some of us think it's just too loud. 

This month has been filled with beautiful sunrises- the reward for early morning walks. 

Hey!  We live in that house. 

Daddy and I spent a night in Nauvoo while the kids stayed home with Sister Franco. We got to eat dinner with and learn from the general Young Women and Young Men's presidents Connie H. Cordon and Steven J. Lund, and the best lesson we all heard from the Saturday night fireside when we were home again was that you should NOT mess with rocket fuel!  The dangerous stuff of the world- don't see if it will actually burn you, just stay away from it!

When we got back we had an impromptu fire night.  Adam decorated Laney with glow sticks to keep the hawks away.

And Halloween is just around the corner, so costume ideas are abounding!

These two goofballs spent one night torturing Laney by showing up on the doorstep dressed like crazies.

And somewhere in September I decided that I could spend a few hours a week in the schools, where they are in desperate need of subs. 

It's exhausting, but I love the chances I get to be in the kids school and remember what a long, loud day is facing them every time they head out the door. They are amazing!  And I'm quite glad I don't have to go every day. And Laney really likes it when I'm home again.