October 2022

 We started off October by having a fun date night at the Ohio Theater. We got to see Hamilton! It was mostly good, although there were a few people whose voices I didn't love and poor Richard got stuck next to a very drunk lady who kept bumping him, laughing at the wrong places, and singing along to every song. But going to musicals is one of my favorite things so I still loved it. 

On the Hilliard scavenger hunt we did, we found a new path that was really pretty and peaceful. We have had the most gorgeous fall so we went there one afternoon to walk around and we could have spent forever in those woods!

We also had to check off one little park that was by the Hilliard splash pad. Even though we have been in that area many times before, we had never walked down far enough to see the path with the plaque that teaches about the first black family to own land in Hilliard.

Kaylee and I got to go on the best trip ever! Our family found out that Phantom of the Opera was leaving Broadway and Holly really wanted to take her family to it. So Kaylee and I and Mom and Dad decided to tag along! It was literally one of the most perfect trips ever and we filled every minute with fun. We did get a little lost on our way from the airport to the hotel but we finally made it and met up with Mom and Dad. While we waited for Holly's family to arrive, we walked around and went to Rockefeller Center and Radio City Music Hall. We also saw a super cool church and went inside to walk around it as well. 

We went back to the hotel to meet up with Holly's family. While we were in the hotel, there was a knock on the door and someone delivered a letter with this message:

It was the most amazing surprise ever!!!  Kristi and I had talked so many times about how badly we wished we could see Hugh Jackman in the Music Man and Mom and Holly made it so I could! I was like a giddy kid on Christmas, I could not stop smiling. We had a little bit of time before the show started so we walked through Times Square and Grand Central Station to show the kids and then grabbed dinner. 

We walked into the theater and I could not believe how small it was! Even though we were in the last row, we could see all the actor's faces perfectly and it felt like you were right there in the action. Hugh brought such an amazing energy to the show and it was a blast to watch! I was so so happy that we got to see him! Best. Night. Ever!!

The next morning, we headed to Battery Park to catch a ferry that goes to the Statue of Liberty. We couldn't go all the way up to the crown but we could go inside and walk up hundreds of stairs to the base of her feet where they have platform that you can go outside and walk around and see the incredible view of the New York skyline.

We also stopped at Ellis Island on the way back but all of us were pretty exhausted by then and hadn't eaten anything all day except a few snacks. We watched a short film and saw a few things but then hopped on the ferry to go back to New York. 

We grabbed dinner and then walked back to the hotel where we ran into a giant street market that went on for blocks and blocks! It was really cool and we all found some souvenirs to buy. The theater for Phantom of the Opera was pretty close to our hotel but when we started walking, the street was SO crowded with people that Chase turned down another street to see if he could get away from some of the crowds. He accidentally turned into Times Square where a huge concert was going on and there were millions of people all packed in there! It was pretty funny that we tried to avoid so many people and walked through one of the most crowded streets in America! The Phantom play was really good overall, except Christine's voice wasn't great which was disappointing. But it was amazing to be back at the play that brings back so many memories of my childhood and share that with Kaylee.

The next morning we woke up and headed to church. They obviously get a lot of visitors to their ward and everyone was very nice and friendly. After church, we went to the 9/11 memorial fountains and walked around there and the Oculus. Then we were able to go into the 9/11 Museum which was incredible! We literally walked around in there for 4 hours and still didn't see everything and could have stayed longer except all of us were so tired of being on our feet and were starving. There were so many things that it was a little overwhelming but I loved it and wanted to see everything and read every plaque. The last thing we did was go to the In Memoriam section where they have pictures of every single person who passed away on 9/11. They also have tables in the middle of the walkway that has a touch screen on it and you can pull up information on any person. It has extra pictures of them and their families, info about where they lived and what they did and some of them had a recording of someone speaking about them. It was awesome! 

After we left the Museum, we grabbed dinner and then went to the Manhattan temple, which is attached to the other ward building in NYC. We needed to use the bathroom so we decided to try to go in and I'm so glad we did! A local artist who is a member of that ward, has painted these gigantic Book of Mormon portraits and they were hanging up in the hallways of the Church.

Afterwards, we walked a little bit on the edge of Central Park but we couldn't see much because it had gotten dark already. We were all dead so we went back to the hotel and just played some card games.

Mom and Dad left super early the next morning but Holly's family and I had some time to explore more. We decided to explore the High Line. It was more walking which we had had PLENTY of but I'm glad we went on it because it was gorgeous! We got there at the perfect time in the fall with all the bright colors and it was such a cool little oasis right in the middle of the city.

The last thing we did before heading to the airport was go to a place called Spyscape which was SO COOL. It was part museum and part spy training with games and activities. It was one of the most unique, cool places I've ever been to. Somehow we didn't take a single picture of us there though!

We got stuck for a couple hours on the runway as a storm was delaying a lot of flights but luckily we made it home safely, even if it was a little late. It was such an incredible trip and I loved being able to share it with Kaylee!

We came home to a fun, random surprise. Disney Plus had chosen a few of their subscribers to randomly receive a Disney package. We got the Aladdin package and, while some of it was lame, there were a few cool things and it was super fun to be one of the people chosen!

The day after we got back, Kaylee had her first orchestra concert of the year. They had it in the middle school cafeteria which felt odd but they did a great job!

Kaylee also got new glasses! I hadn't realized how bad her eyesight had gotten and felt bad we had waited so long to get her new glasses. They fit her so perfectly and made her look very grown up.

She also had her last cross country meet. She was having a hard time breathing and struggled at the beginning but pushed SO hard at the end and got a new PR. It's been really fun for her to run with two other girls from our ward and have gotten really close to them. 

We finally had enough leaves that had fallen to rake them up. It made me a little sad that Brooklyn was the only one who had any interest at all in playing in them. So many reminders that I don't have little tiny kids anymore!

We got to spend a lot of time outside in this amazing fall weather. We went for a Sunday walk along a trail behind one of the parks near our house and the colors were gorgeous!

We also finally carved the pumpkins we had gotten a few weeks ago. Although our fall was so warm I was glad we didn't carve them earlier because they would have been fully rotten by Halloween. 

The week before Halloween, I decided to do a Dia de Los Muertos FHE and we made an ofrenda for Grandma Joye. I wasn't sure if the girls would be interested in hearing much about her but they were really into it and kept asking to look at more pictures and we watched all the videos we have of her. It was really sweet and made us all feel close to such an amazing woman.

That same week, we had a Relief Society activity where a woman in the ward who is from Mexico taught us all about Dia de Los Muertos and showed us how she puts together her ofrenda every year and then we all shared a picture and story of an ancestor and added them to the ofrenda. It was a great activity!

Hocus Pocus 2 came out and we decided to watch it as a family and make it a whole night. We made colored pasta with eyeball meatballs, Halloween cutouts in our garlic bread, and a Winifred veggie tray. 

Kaylee and I needed to go help out at the school to do costume fittings for her play, but Richard took McKenna and Brooklyn to Fliptastics Halloween party and trick or treating down Old Hilliard. The gymnastics party was a little bit of a let down but since they came home with a ton of candy, they weren't too sad about it. 

Later that day, we went to the ward trunk or treat and even before Halloween, our kids had a ridiculous amount of candy!

Then we finally got to go trick or treating on the actual day of Halloween, which hasn't happened for years. Reagan Harston came with us as she has every year since we moved in and we also had Brooklyn's friend, Ella, and her parents go around with us. This is the first year we've been able to go trick or treating without it being freezing cold or raining, it was wonderful!

Sept 2022

 Hilliard sent out a park scavenger hunt as part of their quarterly city magazine so of course we had to do it! It was actually really fun and got us to some new parks that we had never been to before. We even found a new walking trail that we really love!

Kaylee decided to try cross country this year. I think at first she just liked being part of a team and being with friends and being involved but she ended up really enjoying it and I love that I have a buddy to go on runs with. 

I finally got released as the Primary President after 3 years. When Richard had been called into the Spanish Branch Presidency, they told me I would probably be released soon. But since it had almost been a year and the Bishop had recently told me that he didn't think it was the right time, it seemed like it came out of nowhere and was a big shock for me. I was incredibly sad and have never been so devastated to be released from something before. I have loved that calling and being in there with the kids so much!

We went to a festival in Old Hilliard that we have been to a few times before. The kids usually aren't excited to go but when we get there and they start getting candy and balloons and playing games, they love it and want to keep searching for more stuff.

Richard's birthday was pretty low key. We have been really busy with all of the things the kids are involved in so even with his birthday on a Sunday, we couldn't do much during the week leading up to his birthday (although the Hilliard festival was the day before and he does love going to those). We did go out to eat one night at BJ's but every other night was busy! We wrapped up the tennis rackets he had wanted (and we had already used) just to give him something to open and the girls gave him a couple of homemade gifts as well. On Sunday, we went to the waterfall trail in Dublin that we have been to a few times over the last two years. Brooklyn wanted me to stop and take her picture while she posed at every little spot.  

His did get to celebrate his birthday the next day however, by driving up to Cincinnati with some friends to go to a baseball game. He didn't get any pics of the group that went but he got a lot of far away pics oft the field so at least he has proof that he went! Ha ha.

McKenna decided to play soccer again but I was a little worried about it being coed this time. Her coach also doesn't seem to know a lot about soccer so he wasn't very helpful for her but she enjoyed it anyway. She decided to try playing defense this time and loved it!

Richard took McKenna and Brooklyn to a Cinderella community play. All the actors were kids and so, while Richard didn't think it was the most amazing play ever, both girls really loved it and even wanted to go see it again because they liked it so much. They did a preview night at the library with some Cinderella themed crafts and we did go to that and Brooklyn loved getting to talk with the girl who played Cinderella.

August 2022

 We flew home from Utah on August 2nd. Richard was starting to feel a little sick and by the time we got home, he was exhausted. The next day he woke up and felt awful so he decided to take a COVID test and it pretty much immediately showed positive. He and I were both pretty sick for about 5 or 6 days and it took even longer to get our full strength back. Kaylee was a little sick but wasn't too bad and McKenna and Brooklyn both seemed to escape with no symptoms. It was not a fun way to come home but we were so grateful that we were able to do everything in Utah first. And especially grateful that we somehow didn't give it to my parents!

We had a very boring couple of weeks as we recovered and couldn't be around people. The girls really struggled going from constant fun and entertainment in Utah to being stuck at home with nothing to do and no one else to play with. The first couple days when Richard and I were so sick, McKenna really stepped up and took such good care of Brooklyn. They created a very intricate game that took up the entire floor of the play room and played it for a solid three days. She was also very sweet in helping Brooklyn get food and making sure she was taken care of. It was really great to see and so helpful for us.

I was also very grateful that we got out of quarantine in time for the kids to go to school for the first day. I think they were very excited to get out of the house and see people again! Ha ha. Kaylee started a new school again, since 6th grade is in it's own building, and Brooklyn was happy to have Mckenna with her for one more year. We decided to try out having the kids ride the bus again this year and Brooklyn was excited to try it out. 

Kaylee has really loved being in Young Women's this year and has an amazing group of girls her age. One of the fun activities they did to start off the school year was Chalk Wars, which was really fun. She was a hilarious sight coming home dyed all colors of the rainbow!

Richard decided he wanted tennis rackets for his birthday but wanted them early so we could use them as much as possible. Kaylee was busy but we took McKenna and Brooklyn to try out their first taste of tennis and they both loved it! It's been fun to have something new and fun to get us outside and exercising together.

We found out from a friend that there is a program that does a free tennis clinic for elementary ages students every week. It's taught by high school tennis players and they teach them how to play tennis by doing different games with them. McKenna and Brooklyn decided to try it out and they have really enjoyed it.

I took McKenna on a date to watch the BYU vs OSU soccer game! It has been so fun for me to be able to share my love of soccer with someone and I loved being able to show McKenna how good the BYU team is. They completely dominated and we had a blast cheering them on.