October for our family means... fall, festivals, yummy foods, and Halloween. October is always kicked off with General Conference weekend. Twice a year we hear from our prophet, apostles, and other leaders of the church over a two day conference held from Salt Lake City, UT. There are five sessions that are 90-120 minutes each. Throughout the conference the speakers and music teach of Christ, rejoice in Christ, and encourage us all to keep moving forward in faith and remembering the covenants we have made with our Savior and Father in Heaven. It's always uplifting and a breath of fresh air from the world.
Jack prepped our weekend with yummy cheesecake brownie bars. They were pretty dang delicious.
I made homemade cinnamon rolls for our breakfast sessions. It's a tradition we do every six months for General Conference.
This General Conference was as always a grounding pause for our family as we head into the busy fall season. Leaders from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints share messages centered on Jesus Christ. They focus on faith, hope, repentance, kindness, and finding peace in a sometimes noisy world. This October’s conference felt like an invitation to slow down, listen more closely, take time for family, and trust that even small, steady efforts to follow Christ matter. It reminded us that God meets us right where we are, imperfect, trying, and loved. If you would like to check out the conference talks you can click here.
I had the opportunity to read this gem. Pres had mentioned it to me and his thoughts on the book piqued my interest. I couldn't believe the statistics and research I was reading about screen time with kids and youth. It was extremely fascinating and very educational. I would highly recommend to any parent navigating the digital world with their kiddos!
Playing with balloons, haha.
Jack at the piano for his FaceTime lesson with Anna. We have loved being able to continue our piano lessons from a far. Anna is the BEST teacher and we have loved having her in our lives over these past three years.
We had that delicious Margherita pizza, wings, nuggets, and pasta. It was the first time Jack had tried wings and he is in love with them. We also ordered a deep dish dessert. A chocolate cookie in a skillet with ice cream and whipped cream as part of our birthday celebration for Bri. It was a perfect night!
I absolutely love this photo of Quinnie snuggled up with Grand-Bear. This sweet bear has such a special history. He was the bear my Grand-Père lent me while I was in France back in 1998. When Aunt Steph later asked if we wanted him, it was a complete no-brainer. I loved Grand-Bear then, and seeing Quinnie curl up with him now feels like the most tender passing of time. It keeps my Grand-Père's memory alive too. This is one well-loved bear, many years apart, still doing exactly what he was meant to do.
Ready for Halloween!
Jack checked out an art studio to see if it would be worth it. He enjoyed the painting class, but wasn't thrilled with it. He loves being able to have full reign on his own creativity.
Beckham won an award from his teacher. He received the Work Hard dog tag for being responsible, and of course working hard in class. He was so excited to be recognized in front of the entire school during their monthly assembly.
Cooking with Quinn!
I have really enjoyed teaching the kids basic cooking skills over the months. They are becoming so much more self sufficient and learning some pretty awesome recipes. Quinn made Mac and Cheese for the first time. It's a favorite meal of hers, so this was quite the treat to learn. She also learned how to make orange chicken and fried rice for dinner one night. Every time the kids help with a meal they take so much pride in what they have done. We often hear at, "Do you like this? I made it!" They love hearing everyone compliment their efforts. They beam with joy when everyone loves their food.
Les goes back to school!
Perk drink in hand, computer ready to go, and all comfy in my beanie and jammies ... here go! I recently felt very impressed to go back to school to receive a second Bachelor's degree. This time my degree will be in business. My first degree was in Communications focusing on Journalism.
I actually woke up one morning with the thought "You need to look into BYU Pathways." This was such a random thought that I knew it could not be mine. I've never thought about BYU Pathways before nor did I know a lot about it. However, this is exactly how I hear the Lord speak to me. At the time though I brushed it off, because it seemed so out of no where, but the thought stayed with me and was very strong. I decided to research BYU Pathways and found it to be an incredible program. I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do with this new revelation though. I looked at the degrees, but since I already had a Bachelor's degree I wasn't sure where to go from here. I prayed about it, and during General Conference I received my answer. I needed to go back to school and get a second degree, but this time in business. I then enrolled myself and was accepted within 24 hours. They worked up my path for me in order to receive my degree and I started school Oct. 20th! Everything has moved so quickly. I couldn't believe I am back in college, haha. It has been awesome though. Super stoked to be learning from these teachers. They are a wealth of knowledge and I have been able to apply everything I am learning so far to my small business. What a blessing!
October Camping Trip! We headed to Indian Grinding Rock State Historic Park for our weekend getaway. This is one of our favorite campgrounds to date! We had an absolute blast and will be back for sure.
Pres made tinfoil dinners for all of us that night and they were so good. This was a favorite camping site because of the nature around us. They had loads of trees, a ravine, and a huge log that fell over the ravine. The kids loved climbing all around and across the log. Searching for sticks, playing football, and enjoying a fire were just what we needed.
Nothing like a morning fire to warm us all up. I love how Beckham is telling a story in this pic.
The reason this campground is called Indian Grinding Rock is due to the limestone rocks throughout the park with over 1,000 mortar holes in them. It also has a ceremonial temple, a reconstructed house, and teepees from the Miwok village. The temple is still used to this day for ceremonial purposes for the Miwok people.
Such a cool place. I would highly recommend for anyone in the area.
Brownie time with Jack.
Beckham and Quinn had their primary program in our new ward. They did an amazing job speaking and singing with the rest of the kiddos in the ward. So proud of these two.
Beckham and I at reading time.
Every night we read with Jackson, Beckham, and Quinn. We read the scriptures (a column), say a prayer, and then read a book of their choice. They also get to choose what book we read in the scriptures. Jackson chose Moses (which is very much him) and we are reading Dog Man. Beckham chose to start from the beginning of the Book of Mormon in Nephi and we are reading Captain Underpants, haha. Quinn picked Alma as her starting part. She wanted to start in Alma chapter 7. We are reading Pheobe and Her Unicorn together as well. This is something I look forward to every night. It's been such an awesome opportunity to talk about the day, find out what's on these little minds, and answer any questions that they are trying to figure out. We spend 10-15 minutes with each kid. Rock, paper, scissors is how we decided who gets to start off reading the scriptures, and we play again to see who says the prayer. It's been such a fun way to connect and bond. Love these kids!
Date Night! Nothing like incredible Greek food. We found a delicious restaurant near us called The Great Greek Mediterranean Grill. If you come to visit us, we will most likely want to take you to this spot on your trip :)
Two peas in a pod watching football together. You can't see it but Beckham has his feet in our foot massager on the ground, haha. Both are very happy in their football world.
Bigger or Better project for school.
In my first business class they hit us with this project right out of the gate. I had to trade seven times with other people for something bigger or better than what I had. I started with a fat sharpie and headed out on my journey. I was surprisingly very nervous to do this project. We had just moved into our neighborhood and I didn't want people thinking I was crazy, haha. I figured I should start slow and with someone I knew, so I headed to my neighbor Aaron's house. He traded me for a magnifying glass. Then I headed to another neighbor's house and traded for a board game and so on. It was amazing at how willing everyone was to help when they learned about the project and why I was bringing them random things, haha. I even had some neighbors say, "Oh my gosh! I was looking for something like this." I ended up with a Coach bag as my seventh trade. I couldn't believe it! I was so grateful to all of my neighbors for being so incredible throughout this process. My classmates and teacher were so excited for me. My teacher even gave me five extra credit points! Woohoo!
Halloween Fun!
This year I had decided to surprise the kids with games and crafts leading up to Trick or Treating. They were so excited when they got home from school and saw the giant balloon arch I had made. We started with the traditional carving/painting of pumpkins.
Then it was mummy time. Beckham had to wrap Pres while Quinn and Jack had to wrap me in streamers. They thought this was so fun. There was definitely some competition going on. Beckham and Pres won.
A little selfie by Beckham boy.
We also enjoy Halloween Bingo. We grab some M&M's and let the fun begin. Everyone had the chance to be the one to call out the pictures.
Costume Time!
Jack was a mad scientist or Albert Einstein, depending on who guessed what he was. Quinn was the cutest astronaut, and Beckham was a football player.
My balloon arch and our three little Halloweeners :)
Loved capturing this pick of Quinnie surrounded by all of the candy. We had piles of good and bad candy going. Beckham is not a huge fan of Halloween. He enjoys trick or treating for short periods of time. We went around our circle and then he was done. Jack, Quinn, and Pres wanted to keep going, so they took off while Beckham and I passed out candy at our house. I think Beckham likes seeing all of the costumes coming to the door and passing out candy more than asking for it.
October was a month of reflection, new adventure, great camping, and of course candy fun. Our family looks forward to this month every single year. We celebrate people we love, and that fall feeling hits the air so beautifully. I love that we can fill this time with so many family focused activities too. Love this family of mine!
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