September 2018

September started with an unexpected recruitment to football.

A boy in Ryker's class had his mom text me to see if Ryker would 

fill in on their flag football team because one of the boys dropped out.

Andrew told his mom that Ryker was a good football player.

Well....  the truth is

Ryker had never even thrown a football.

But, we showed up for the first game anyway.

He stood in the middle of the field for the first 3 quarters.

He wasn't moving but his eyes were.

He was standing there, figuring out the game. 

I could see the wheels in his brain turning.

He was concentrating on the whereabouts of each and every boy and what they were doing.

I was a little stressed out and kept yelling at him to move his feet.

And I am sure his coach was wondering where in the world this kid came from.

But, he just kept standing still... calculating and strategizing. 

Finally in the fourth quarter, he must have decided that he had figured things out enough

because he took off and started pulling flags left and right. 

He stopped the next 10 ball carriers dead in their tracks.

Like he went from zero to hero in two plays.

He got it.  And he has skills galore.

And he is really good.

Gavin, our third missionary went through the temple in September.

It was complete chaos there.  We left straight from work, all of us and met there in different cars.  

The parking lot was completely full.  

The side streets were completely full.

There were 10 times the number of people there that were supposed to be there.
And the ladies in the dressing room were super stressed out.

We had to wait in line to get into the chapel.

That never happens.

The workers were trying to get us into the right session and they were calling out (kindof loudly)

"Where's the grandmother of Elder Farr"?
"Are any of you ladies the grandmother of Elder Farr"

Kori and I were like, "ummmmm.......we are the aunts".
And they seemed so pleased that they had finally located some of us.

And they starting pushing us toward the elevator.

And Kori can only go as fast as she can go, ya know?
And they were rushing us, nicely.  But definitely rushing.

I was a stress case when we finally got in there.  AND, the room was so full,
I had to sit on the men's side.
 Which was so confusing.

Nevertheless, it all worked out and ended up being a beautiful evening.

But, holy moley.  I was a wreck.

Morgan and Parker took a little trip to Island Park

Here's the story:

Immediately following one of Ryker's hotter than hell football games on a Saturday,

our truck wouldn't start.  

Luckily, Papa and Nana weren't far from the field and came back to rescue us.

Raleigh semi-diagnosed the problem and called the dealership.

$275 plus parts and labor.

So he hopped on Amazon.

$175.

So he You-tubed it. 

"No, no, no said Youtube.  "All you need to do is buy this part 

for a Ford Edge and it will work for your F-150".

Cost= $15.

So, he ventured down 

to the Ford Dealership to buy a part for a Ford Edge.

 Then out came the head lamp

and the Dremel.

And 20 minutes and $15 later, we were back in business.

Where did I find him and how did I get so lucky?

Kaleigh can't go 20 seconds without doing a handstand or a cartwheel.

So, Raleigh signed her up for Tumbling 1A.

She took two classes and the instructors moved her up to the next level.  

She is the skinniest, most limber little muscle chick I have ever seen.

With the cutest little smile with the biggest front teeth ever. 

We have loved going to Ryker's games.

He caught on SO well and ended up being one of the leading scorers.

He is SO fast, in spite of his enormous head.

And he is super aggressive and LOVES pulling flags.

One of the Saturdays, we ran into some friends from Corona

That's always fun.

Oh my.....   my sweet, Allie

One of the benefits of having Morgan gone is now I have so much more time to focus on Allie.

Allie has been back burnered by her very dominant sister for.....  oh 16 years now.

I feel so blessed to be able to have so much time with her now.

She is so easy and funny and fun.

I totally enjoy her.

So many fun stories happened with her this month.

But, the first one was Homecoming.

She went with Rhett Taylor, her buddy from our ward.

They are cute friends. 

And he is really good to her.

So, Homecoming Week is a daily dress up with your date thing.

And they participated in full force...

Meme Day

Tourist Day

Sports Day

Powder Puff Football

Half Time entertainment

And then the big day...

Their day date was boating at Sand Hollow in the Bishop's BRAND NEW 2019 boat

with all of the corresponding toys.

And of course, she tore it up all day long.

When she got home, she was starving and exhausted.

She laid down for a minute while we waited for Quincey to come over with her curling iron...

And overslept.....

She was super frazzled when she woke up and was uncharacteristically emotional.

Quincey got right to work making perfect curls.

And Allie got increasing agitated with the passing of each minute.

And she started crying, which she very rarely does.

And then that turned into a full on downpour of tears.

And we were so confused. 

Finally, Quincey was able to draw out of her that...

"my friends are all rich and I'm not.

all of the girls in my group are getting their hair and makeup done by professionals at salons and I'm in my kitchen with my sister."

Quincey got totally offended.... 

"I beg your pardon"  she said.

"I went to school for the same amount of time as any professional out there.

Who do you think I am?

Plus, I am super cheap."

Allie felt terrible and that made her cry even more.

But, the second Rhett walked in and told her she was beautiful THREE times, she was fine.  And I mean seriously, look at these pictures.

I don't have words.

She is stunning.

Even Raleigh got in the mix.

He's Rhett's Priest Quorum Advisor

They had a fabulous time.

She has wonderful memories of HOCO18.

Peyton is an unbelievable reader.  And she has decided that she really 

loves Chapter Books.

I often find her outside reading her stories.

Also, I think she needs glasses.  We have an appointment with the eye

doctor next month.

Quincey started wearing glasses about this age.

Smart girls wear glasses, she says.

Yes they do.

One day I was sitting at work and I got a text from Raleigh that said

"why is Allison Vacuuming?  It's making me confused."

I thought that was so funny.

I don't know why....  she's growing up?????

She's a good daughter???

Her friends are coming over????

Quincey's 22nd birthday was in September.

Every year since she was born, the weather has turned cool on the day of her birthday.

I can count on it. 

Quincey and Vince joined us at Yogurtland to celebrate.

They might be moving to Mesquite next month.

Vince got a promotion at work and has been asked to move there.

It's not that far away, but I still feel sad.

I am seriously so happy to say that September was just the month I needed to unwind from August. 

It was low key and uneventful for the most part. 

I am not as overwhelmed at work as I thought I'd be.  

I have learned to trust my staff who is really good at what they do and so if I just let them be really good at their individual jobs, I will be alright.

Raleigh was out of town for a couple of days in Atlanta for work.  I am always a little bit stressed out when he is out of town because I don't know how to work our TV or our air conditioner.  They are both very complicated.  And I have never had the desire to try and learn.  He just turns them on for me when I need them turned on.  So, when he is clear across the country, I wonder what would happen if I needed the house to be a little cooler or if I decided for the first time in my life, I'd like to watch Dancing with the Stars or something.... I also don't like to sleep alone.  I really don't like to sleep with kids either.  And sleeping alone is the lesser of two evils.  But, I don't sleep very well while he is gone.  And also, he was there during Hurricane Florence.  And I made up all kinds of scenarios in my head that involved him not being able to get home safely for various reasons.   

But, he returned to us without incident and brought us souvenirs. 

The weather never really turned cool.

But, getting out of the 100s felt like complete heaven to all of us and I broke out my boots in celebration.

We are excited for October.  We love October every year.