October 2021

 October is always one of my favorite months here in Utah and this year October did not disappoint.  Here's a look at some of the things we did:

I went to Springdale for a few days with my friend Michelle and we enjoyed the warm weather and of course, some sewing.  It was a fun and relaxing few days, but I didn't take any pictures to share, which is a theme of most of the things we did this month, I'm afraid. :(

We threw a bridal shower for Delaney and had some of her friends, plus local family (those that could come) and Delaney's Granny and aunt come.  Plus Megan was in town visiting with her besties from college, so they all came too, which was super fun! Again, forgot to take pictures, but it was a fun time for all!  We also did our final walkthrough of the wedding venue and Delaney and I went shopping for center piece items and took her dress to the alterations lady for a few final alterations.  We are getting so excited for the big day!! Only 3 weeks to go!

Autumn had her fall break from UVU and she and I decided what better way to spend a fall break than with a trip to Hawaii to visit Autumn's friends, Jacee and Hannah, who are going to school at BYU-H? We boarded a plane on her 19th birthday and headed to Oahu.  We spent the week in Laie and did lots of fun things!  Well, to be completely honest, I did a few fun things with Autumn and her friends and then had a great time reading an entire book on the beach and enjoying some of my favorite spots from when I was a student at BYU-H. It was a really fun trip down memory lane for me. :) I did take a few pics of this week. :)

We went to the Dole pineapple plantation on our way from Honolulu to Laie:

We also spent a day together at the Polynesian Cultural center and had all kinds of fun there:

Unfortunately, Autumn smashed her toe using the rhythm sticks in Fiji (as only Autumn can), so we also got to have First Aid patch her up.  They were super nice about it and even commented on how it was nice to have something else to do besides treat burns on the fire dancers. ;)

Autumn, Jacee, Hannah and I went to visit the Byodo temple, which was super cool:

We also had fun exploring BYU-H campus and the Laie temple:

And Autumn, Jacee and Hannah had a lot of fun exploring the island while I enjoyed some of my most favorite beaches close to Laie when I was a student.  It was really so much fun!

And of course we enjoyed some shave ice and other really yummy food!

While Autumn and I were enjoying some tropical sunshine, Utah had its first pretty significant snow storm.  Logan got so much wind and snow that Devin and Levi were without power for about a day.  It has since warmed back up and we are enjoying some beautiful fall weather.  Devin says he and Levi worked and went to school.  They also went to a corn maze, but didn't take any pictures.

Bryce helped Seth carve this jack o lantern

So that he and Delaney could take this super fun pic

Seth and Delaney also went to a Bleachers concert in Salt Lake City and did a ton of homework and worked in between all of that.  Seth also went with Beth to an art exhibit in Salt Lake City called Beyond Van Gogh, which was a super cool immersive art exhibit that let you feel like you were part of Van Gogh's paintings.  Bryce and I went a week later and we all really enjoyed it a lot and learned a lot of things about Van Gogh and his art that we didn't know.  Seth and Beth took way better pictures than Bryce and I did, for sure:

Megan and Mitch went for a hike in McCall that ended up being just a little longer than they planned, but still fun. :) They are always game for an adventure.  They also celebrated Mitch's birthday with a sushi dinner.  

Bryce and I went to a couple of plays this month - Agatha Christie's "The Mousetrap" at Hale Center Theater (so good!) and a very small production of "The Frankenstein Story" which is a new musical written and directed and produced by friends that Seth had in high school.  It tells the story of Frankenstein as told in Mary Shelley's original book and the story and play were actually really good. We enjoyed it more than we expected to.

Autumn continues to perfect her "living away from home" skills.  She is getting better at cooking for herself and I love it when she FaceTimes me with questions about cooking or to show off her dinner creations.  She is also serving in her ward as a family home evening group leader and is being diligent despite the obstacles. :) She is loving her classes at UVU and is thriving in Provo.

Oh, and Frankie got us in the spirit of Halloween :)