10/15/23

I was on hold with Anne's Rx company for a while this week, trying to work out some insurance details, and when the woman helping me pulled up our info, she kind of startled, then said, "Oh, you have a lot of fun at your house!" I laughed, and agreed there's never a dull moment! But she, in her cute Southern accent started talking every time she was waiting on her computer or for another rep to get on the line, about HOW MUCH she wanted a big family (and her fiance wasn't having it!). She talked about meeting her biological Dad at 11, and how he had 6 siblings, and her Mimi (grandma) had 25 (!!!!!) grandchildren and 7 great grands, and CAN YOU IMAGINE?!!!! She delighted over hearing Seth in the background, would ask, "Tell me what you do for breakfast?", or "Do you ever just send them outside because it gets so crazy?" and when I told her how they ran around the neighborhood with friends, which helped, she exclaimed, "You mean you have kids in TWENTY-TWENTY-THREE running around outside?!!! YOU ARE LIVIN' THE DREEEEAM!!!" and repeated it often! Sweet reminder in an unexpected place!! And it has been a delicious week during the magic of Fall. Dad had Monday off, and he's been determined to self-install our secondary water line, so I offered to help dig (mainly because I wasn't overwhelmed this week, & the weather was dreamy, so I loved an excuse to be out there!). The biggest job was digging under the sidewalk, but we finally got everything prepped and ready to connect (just in time for rain to come!). Then it was cool and misty and rainy and ALL the leaves are showing off, so I soaked up cozy story time with Seth, fun jog/walks through the farm trails, and GORGEOUS drives through Sardine Canyon. (Seth tried taking pictures & couldn't get over what a RAINBOW of colors was everywhere--especially since every time I've pointed out the red on the mountains to him he's told me it's lava and didn't believe it could be leaves). The girls were out of school Thursday and Friday, so we slept in, {broke up fights between the girls}, went thrifting, continued our Greek wedding movies, found tennis lessons for Anne, and cleaned out our side yard with the city's free dumpster days. I got in a temple session Friday morning-- (10th anniversary to Grandpa's dying!), then Dad & I ran into Emily's MTC companion while we were out for date night in Logan. Saturday morning, Brent and Dad went to help Maddie & Brian move to their new place in Pleasant Grove & visited with Uncle Martin & Aunt Karen who live down the street from where they're moving; and I spoke at LaVonna's graveside service while the older girls were at orchestra, before we got home for Lucy's soccer game. Woke up to zoom in on Baby Heidi's blessing this morning, and pictures of Grandpa's old truck that Uncle Briant just bought/fixed up! Had some good visits, including one to the hospital, and squeezed in a fun birthday breakfast on Wed w/ Treena and Joan. Seth found a pair of glasses out in a backyard tree (one of Jane's friends left them there), and is convinced they are his--I can't get over how much he wears them--he is also obsessed about wearing this "necklace" he made out of earplugs wherever we go. He had a bad landing on Bubba's trampoline Friday, and when he was still begging to be carried everywhere on Saturday, I decided to take him to urgent care (now that we HAVE one!!!), only to have him not even need an x-ray.