Summer is gone but it’s still hot

Spencer had a great soccer game this week! It’s been a pretty rough season so far  they haven’t been able to put things together to win  but this game it’s like they suddenly gelled and they started playing so much better as a team. I knew they could! They won 7-2 and Spencer scored a goal. It was a great morning. 

We had so much fun with our cousins that came to town last week. We went to the park with them and had a family breakfast. Wish we could have hung out more but between school and work, we are so booked during the week. It was great to spend time together on the weekend. 

The cats seem to think the table is a good place to sit these days. Thats new. 

We had an impromptu water balloon fight this week. 

The cats are at the frenemies stage. They are never very far from each other.  But not fully friends yet. We were shocked a day or two ago when we saw Freya groom Remi one night while we were all sitting in the couch. Making progress! 

Aaron is actively trying to get her to sleep with him. So cute. 

We had a late summer birthday party with my family last Sunday. It was kind of a combined housewarming party, first family party at our house. So fun. 

 

Nearly normal

It’s been a pretty low key week. Just the normal stuff. We’ve started getting Halloween costumes. Chloe’s arrived yesterday. She’s the cutest Luna Lovegood!

I got my wedding ring back on Friday. I had them change the setting for my center diamond. It’s been driving me crazy for years. The setting was just very sharp. I wanted it lowered and not sharp. They changed to this kind of setting instead of prongs to hold the diamond and I love it so much. To fit it in, they also turned my center stone so it’s not on point anymore, and that’s a fun change. Plus they cleaned and rhodium-dipped it and tightened all the settings on the other stones, so it feels brand new again. I love that. 

Spencer did a thing! He got a perm and it is so fun. He looks so good with curls. 

Freya and Remi continue to figure things out. They’re currently in the we pretend to fight with each other phase. Freya spent the first week hissing and growling at Remi anytime she saw her. Remi is a quarter her size, but I think she’s tired of that, so now she’s doing a mix of fighting and running to hide under the couch. So far they’re not doing any damage to each other, so that’s good. Genevieve has decided to be team Freya. The other kids are mostly team Remi. It’s kind of amusing, not gonna lie. I’m glad we’re past the hissing stage.  

 

Racing

It’s been a month shy of nine years since Bill last ran a race longer than a 5k, if I have my memories right. He’s got some big goals for this last year of his thirties, and we started a big one by training and running a half marathon together! It was fantastic. We don’t get to train as many long miles as we would have liked with soccer and a hunting trip and moving and starting school and work and all the other many things that fill our time. But we did manage to get a 10-mile run in a couple weeks ago and basically figured it’ll go how it goes. 

 

And guess what? It went great! We ran the Revel Big Cottonwood Race. It’s a really good run series. Most of it is downhill, as the majority of long Utah runs are. The weather was perfect. 

We hit mile ten and Bill’s body was like yep, this is my max. Except we still had three miles to go and guess what? He gutted it out. It was hard and he pushed so hard and he’s definitely sore today, but wow, it was impressive. This face says it all. Half marathons are hard! I felt pretty good yesterday, but wow, I felt it when I woke up this morning. I love these races. I run two a year at minimum. One spring one, one fall. I love the work and the feeling of accomplishment. And Utah has so many beautiful races. This place is an amazing place to live. 

Weekends, especially Saturdays, are precious. We have to get stuff done! The work week is jam packed, so Saturdays are when projects happen. We’ve been noodling around in our heads what we want to do with our basement and upstairs living room for the last month, ever since we tried to move the sectional down and we’re so sad to find out we couldn’t get it down the stairs. I didn’t like it in the upstairs and even contemplated taking it back to Costco, because we got it just earlier this year. But I do genuinely like it, so yesterday I asked Bill if he was willing to try with me one more time to get it downstairs, figuring it probably won’t work but it’s at least a couple thousand dollars to do something different furniture wise here, so I really wanted to be sure. And guess what? We had to cut a little bit of that thin fabric they put underneath couches and unscrew some hardware, and we have some scrapes in the doorway to the basement to touch up, but we got it down! We were SO EXCITED! The basement looks so good now and I love its flow. Aaron and Chloe played with legos for hours today after church. 

And last but not least, Chloe suddenly decided all her teeth were coming out right now! She’s been so slow to lose her baby teeth, but they’re flying along falling out now! Love her toothless smile so much! 

 

Cats and stuff

 Aaron found this super fun light at hobby lobby that is perfect for him. 

Spencer and Bill went elk hunting this weekend! They didn’t even sight a single elk, but they had a great time. Spencer is already planning another weekend. They didn’t realize they’d be up so high and definitely got a little altitude sick. Spencer is now hunting, so I don’t know if he’ll have any luck, but hunting is all about the hunt anyway, so all good in the hood. 

We got a cat! Remi is just about three months old and the cutest little gray cat. She’s currently hanging out in my room for a few days while her surgery site from getting spayed heals, and we’re trying to get Freya used to toys that smell like Remi and such before we introduce them to each other. So far not a lot of luck there. Freya hisses and growls at the toys, haha! She apparently thinks she’s the only cat in the world. Should be exciting as she realizes that’s not true. 

We’ve started to head out at night and walk or ride bikes to various parks at the end of the day. It’s fun. 

Settling in

Somehow it’s been a month since we moved in, and I have no idea how that happened so fast. But we’re way more settled in and really happy with how it’s all come together. I got a haircut this week. I chopped off a few inches and I love how bouncy it feels. 

Genevieve turned 12! Her young women’s leaders brought her this cute sign. 

Chloe got a new bike. 

We setup a hammock on the deck outside my bedroom and that’s fun.