Book Club!

I hosted book club. We read a book that Claire insisted I read- The House of My Mother. It is about a famous Mormon Mommy Vlogger who eventually was arrested for abusing her children. It is a wild read, and Claire and I second hand trauma bonded over this book,and I knew I needed to do it for book club.

For the treats, I decided to do a Utah themed spread. Crumbl cookies (and they happened to have my absolute favorite- Dubai chocolate cookie) and a soda bar. I was quite proud of myself!

Lunch Date!

 Audra and I went to lunch with some of her band friends from high school and their parents. It was fun to catch up. Everyone is doing really well, and all four did marching band at their college.

Another Whirlwind Weekend

 It was a little crazy, but my friend Kim and I flew to Salt Lake City for the wedding of my old roommate, Crystal's, wedding. It was wonderful! We stayed downtown which was a lot of fun, as we got to see all of the construction happening on the temple.

We went to a very fancy Italian restaurant for dinner. It was delicious!

Of  course, we had to sneak in a visit with my girl! We had breakfast with her and it was wonderful. Kim asked her how she liked BYU, and Audra didn't hesitate, "I LOVE BYU!" Yay!!!! Music to this mama's heart!

We did a lot of shopping as well, and ended up at Brick Oven, my personal favorite, for lunch. I wanted to call Audra to come with us, but she was with her friends. It didn't take her long to ditch me for a boy (Matthew, for the record, who came over to bake cinnamon rolls and watch a movie with her)

Then, of course, the wedding. It was beautiful and perfect, and they both were glowing. It was such a JOYOUS event, and I am so glad that we went!

I'm so glad that we went and got to share in this beautiful event! Life is hard, and we need these moments with loved ones to remind us of all the good in the world! It was simply a glorious weekend!

But, it was even harder to say good bye to Audra as we likely won't see her again until Thanksgiving. Thank goodness for Sunday Zooms!

Wedding

 We went to a friend's wedding reception, and it was so wonderful to have something fun to celebrate. It's been a terrible and unbelievably hard few weeks, and it was nice to have something to celebrate and to have joy. I was grateful. Anna looked beautiful.

Sophia Payne

 While at the lake, I got a terrible text from one of my best friends, Molly, She lives across the street from another best friend, Rachelle. She said there were 4 firetrucks, 3 ambulances, and 2 cop cars in front of Rachelle's house and she was rushing over to find out what was going on.

An hour later I got the devastating news that their beautiful daughter Sophia, a dear friend of our whole family, but who was especially close to Claire, had committed suicide.

Ben was golfing with Mac. I immediately started calling him, but he didn't answer. Finally he answered and I told him. We came up with an impossible plan of figuring out how to tell the girls.

When we got back to the cabin, together we told the kids.

Telling them was one of the worst moments of my life.

We decided we needed to cut our trip short and would drive home Saturday instead of Sunday. I needed to be there for my friend, the girls needed to be with the YW, and I needed to be there as RS President.

While at the beach, I was very distracted as I was on my phone determining what I needed to do as RS President.

I talked to our RS teacher. She said there was no way she could teach a lesson after this tragedy, and she had a beautiful idea to do a testimony/hymn singing instead- sisters would share their favorite hymn and testimony and we would sing the hymn.

There really are no words for this tragedy. We will remember Sophia forever. Our hearts are absolutely shattered.

Disney Dinner

 Our ward and friends have really stepped up since Matt's passing. Even my Disney friends, who I have only met once or twice in person, rallied together and made us a Disney Dinner. It was so incredibly thoughtful of them! The love we have felt from so many has meant the world to us.

French dip sandwiches and No Way Jose. Perfection!

Torie was the ring leader and chef.

O'Fallon Park

 We had a great time with our dear friends the Leubners today. We got up early to head to O'Fallon and made it there at 8:50 and got one of the last few parking spots available. Ben had never been here and he loved it- it is a beautiful hike. The weather and company were simply perfection!

And then Camille went with Ben and me on a date to DQ and we played Castle Panic while Claire and Audra went out with friends. It was a great night.

Broncos Pre-Season Game

We went with our friends the Burnhams and the Paynes to the Broncos pre-season game, and they won, 41-0. It was a lot of fun- a lot more fun than we expected. The atmosphere and stadium were excellent. The food was delicious. And the company was the BEST!

 

Seattle Day 7: UW

 

Camille has decided she wants to go to UW. She has a whole plan, which includes being close to Grandma and Grandpa in case she ever gets lonely. I have to remind her that she is only 11.

At any rate, my dear friend Danielle offered to give us a tour of campus. I think it just made Camille fall in love more.

We also went to the troll. My dad suggested it, and why not?

For work, I had to get pictures of this pink duck in various places we traveled, so there's a couple of duck pictures thrown in here, too.

She took us to U Village, too, for lunch.

This library is stunning! I like to think I would study here everyday if I went to school here.

The boys and girls would NOT stand next to each other and barely communicated. It was hilarious.

Then, afterwards, the Hale's came over for a tea party which Alicia organized.

Audra and Jayson

 Jayson has been such a great friend to Audra- he is truly such a blessing for her and we are so grateful for him. Here they are after their band concert:

Escape the Room

I went with friends to Escape the Room and The Cheesecake Factory for Dinner. It was kind-of a VERY belated Birthday for me, and it was a lot of fun. We did a Jurassic Park themed room which was really fun. And, we made it! With about two and a half minutes left, though admittedly we needed a lot of clues.

I have the best of friends! I have always been blessed with really great friends. I love it when I get to go and hang out with them (though Ben and the kids are jealous we did an escape room, so we may need to go as a family to do one again soon!)

 

But, not to be outdone, we DID, as a family, finish our at-home escape room that the Hale's got us for Christmas. We survived it! It was great.