2022 :: week 36

September 4

Elliott did a great job giving a talk in Primary. His topic was trusting in the Lord and he shared how our family has been learning a lot about trusting the Lord this year after Memaw had her stroke. Elliott didn't need any help reading his talk, but he did want his dad standing with him to help feel less nervous. 

September 5

We spent Labor Day evening where we spend most Labor Day evenings, closing down the pool for the season. We used to meet up with church friends, but most of those friends have moved or stopped buying pool passes. This year several friends from our neighborhood joined us and we had a great time. It was chilly earlier in the day, but the sun came out just in time for a fun farewell to summer. We ate pizza and cookies and had a grand time running through the sprinklers and going down the slides.

September 6

Elliott played catcher for an inning at his baseball game Tuesday night. He did a good job, even though he much prefers playing short stop or first base. After the game I dropped Elliott off at home and headed over to spend another night with my mom. My dad traveled to Idaho for a week to attend his sister's funeral. Aunt Eve passed away on August 28th. Jill, Emily and I have been taking turns staying with Mom so dad could go to Eve's funeral and spend a little time in Bennington.  Part of Mom's evening routine is watching an episode of Midsommer Murders before we go to bed. I really loved spending this companiable time with my mom.

September 7

It's funny how siblings can be so different from each other. When Will was little he was so scared of  hand dryers and was wary of even using public restrooms that had them. Miles delights in setting them off and seems to enjoy the warm air on his face. In other news, Miles is doing a great job of letting me know when he needs to go to the bathroom, even when we are out and about.

September 8

Miles and I were with Memaw while she received speech therapy Thursday afternoon. Her SLP is great and really encouraging. I have noticed that since she has been home her memory is much clearer. She is much stronger too, but her shoulders and knees have a lot of pain which make it hard for her to stand up on her own. While we were at her house we found out that Queen Elizabeth had passed away. It felt very fitting to be with my mom when she found out. Her mother was born and raised in England and grew up admiring the young princesses Elizabeth and Margaret (my grandma is only 18 month younger than Princess Margaret).

September 9

In the morning I walked up to the park to help with "Donuts with Grownups" before school. Since we we up and ready to go and the weather was gorgeous Miles and I decided to visit the zoo. It was our first visit just the two of us and we had a lot of fun. Miles set the pace and agenda with only a few suggestions from me (I did make him take a potty break). We rode the train and carousel, visited the penguins and the goats. Highlights were hearing the tiger growl from only a few feet away and watching the sea lion show. 

September 10

We had an open Saturday morning and were able to visit the Spinach Festival for the first time in years. It was even better than we remembered. The lines were relatively short and we were able to ride the paddle boat twice. The boys went fishing and both Will and Elliott (with help from TJ) caught a few. The kids played several intense rounds of gaga ball and I was proud of them for not cheating even though many of the kids playing pretended like they weren't out when they clearly were. The weather was gorgeous and we enjoyed catching up with the Throssells and running into other friends as well.