Fall Festivities

Happy happy October. One of the best months of the year, if you ask me. The heat finally dissipates, leaves start to turn colors, the holidays aren't far away...there's so much to celebrate. Especially at our house. Why's that, you ask? Well, for starters, one of Troy's fondest dreams came true in the form of a Husqvarna 562xp chainsaw with a 24" lite bar and a skip chain. (He had to tell me what to type there, by the way.) Yes ma'am, his dream chainsaw went on sale and it was finally time to bring one home. Just look at that smile!! Did I find the chainsaw tucked into my bed, on MY side, using MY pillow? Yes. Yes I did. Troy is hilarious.

It's hard to imagine anything more wonderful than welcoming a new chainsaw into the family, but there were some other things to enjoy. Our friends the Irvines have started a tradition of inviting friends and neighbors over for fresh apple cider-making the 2nd weekend of October. Myca really goes all out making a little treat buffet. Our only job is to bring apples. The cider-making process is pretty amazing to watch. It's not really a budget-friendly way to come by some cider, as you need about 20 lbs. of apples to make a gallon, but if you have a tree and have apples coming out of your ears, it's great. We are part of the former group, by the way. 

Peter joined us this year - he had some cello events in SLC over the weekend. I love it when I get Peter all to myself.

On Sunday before Peter went back to St. George, we went to my first-ever broadcast of Music and the Spoken Word. It happens right down the road from us at temple square, but I've never been! The Becky plays in it, and now her husband sings in it. I confess that the reason we went that particular weekend was because the choir was hosting some special guests - The Kings Singers. What a treat!

After that, Halloween was in full swing. We did our usual spooky things like decorating and watching Over the Garden Wall. Chase carved pumpkins with his friends and created an Over the Garden Wall character named Enoch. Very impressive.

Chase also encouraged the chickens to do some some pumpkin carving of their own. He took a pumpkin to the yard and scraped off some of the rind just where the eyes, nose, and mouth would go. The chickens did their job and created quite a spooky jack-o-lantern for us.

Here's something sweet - Troy's mom Carol was talking about how she wanted some pumpkins for her porch but wasn't strong enough to lift them. Chase and Romney offered to go buy some pumpkins for her. In return, she took them to a nice lunch at The Olive Garden. I think it is so incredibly sweet when my kids reach out to their grandmother and don't wait for Troy or me to nudge them into it. 

Emma is in high gear at East High these days. The choir had their first concert of the year during the month of October. Her choir, the madrigals, sang the lovely Scottish tune Loch Lomond, and Emma sang a solo in it. Emma is an alto, but she took on a soprano part and did a great job. She tells me she was scared but you wouldn't have known it! She had a violin accompaniment in another piece and even got to shake a maraca in another one. 

So October zoomed by in its usual fashion.