The Beach

 Saturday lots of extended family joined us in Fort Bragg for some fun. We ate delicious food and watched BYU stink it up and then headed to the beach. The beach was PERFECT!

















These two little girls were so excited to get swim suits on. They went crazy. It was actually one of the cutest things ever!

I really only took pictures of the two girls. They ran and ran and then ran some more. The tide was really low so it was perfect for them.

 We were able to go through the cave. Catch some star fish and then release them. Find sand dollars. Mostly pieces of sand dollars but one that was still pretty intact.

Two little beach bums.

We wore them out. They played so well together. There were lots and lots of giggles.

 Autumn Rain is a year older than Olivia. She could run so fast. Like really really fast. And she could run forever. She loved chasing people on the beach. It is crazy the difference in motor skills from 3 to 4.

 The girls loved Aaron. Loved chasing him, loved having him throw them, and they loved throwing sand at him. He was a good sport.

 He kept them entertained the majority of the time.

 This little stinker loved throwing sand on people. She thought she was so funny. Her mom fixed her hair halfway through and I love this picture of her running back out to join us. Mischief written all over that face.

 We wore Olivia out. Well she wore herself out on our walk. She chose to be a dog and crawl the majority of the way. Whatever floats your boat, but she was working really hard. I carried her back and then Ben rescued me.

 I love this little yellow swimsuit. It is so cute. It makes me smile every time I see it.

 Monday we went to glass beach. Had I known that it isn't so much a beach we would have gone somewhere else. We made do and the views were great. We played and played while Ben and Katie were at the dentist.

Again I ended up carrying this girl quite a bit. She goes and goes and then crashes hard.

My Dad and I also taught her the art of picking blackberries. So yummy!

Birthday Girl

 Olivia's birthday is at the end of October, but her parents let us celebrate a little early while we were here. I kind of hid the presents but she found them. She waited up until Ben and I got back from the grocery store so she could open them. So exciting.

 She knows how to open her presents. She didn't need any help. Games and princess toys. What more does a three year old want/need.

She was pretty excited. I can report that she made it through the memory game if she didn't have to take turns and we did play candyland once all the way though. It is so hard to take turns.

We saved the cake for the following night because it was too late. She loved the Tangled cake and we all loved that it was an ice cream cake. She was so tired because we had just spent three hours at the beach.

Digging in.

 It was fun to be able to watch her open presents and all the excitement that comes with birthdays. She looks like a 5 year old (quite tall), talks like a 4 year old, throws fits like a toddler, and crawls around on the floor like a dog. She loves going outside, loves treats, loves to have books read to her, and likes to watch her news (any show she picks but she calls it her news, seriously so funny.) She is one package of surprises and fun. She keeps us on our toes and we all think she is hilarious!

The Fort Bragg Secret

 What, no one ever told you what Fort Bragg is like in October? Let me tell you it is a well kept secret. It is AMAZING! I packed all my warm gear because I was ready for cold and fog. I should have brought shorts. It was sunny and beautiful every. single. day.

 It was only foggy one morning of the four I was there. And fog rolled in one evening. The temperature was in the 70's every day. According to the locals this is typical October weather.

 I might have to go every year for fall break. It was so refreshing.

Morning jogs. Beach and parks in the afternoon. Family. An adorable niece that loved the attention I was willing to give her. I am home and I took tomorrow off. YES! I will have a laundry and cleaning day before I throw myself back into the real world. I took 354 pictures on my trip so more to come later.

Conference and so much more!

 Once in awhile at work we get something fun in our mailboxes. A couple of weeks ago we got a gift certificate to In-N-Out. Not my favorite but I gave it a try. Still not my favorite but a free meal is always nice, especially on a busy day!

It's been crazy at school. This year I am using heart rate monitors. They are awesome. The girls watch their heart rate and when they are below their workout zone they know they have to move. It has been great. My students are actually getting a workout in PE, but it has also been challenging for them. They aren't used to having to get a REAL workout every time they come to class. Emotions have been crazy. Last week I had more emotional girls in class than I ever had every other year combined. YIKES!!! But it is worth it because my class is now actually going to benefit their health, which is what motivated me to teach PE in the first place.

Friday I headed up to my Aunt Nancy's for conference weekend and a baby shower for Amanda. My mom was able to come to town, which was awesome, and so me and her two sisters stayed up late playing Ticket To Ride on Friday night. (I headed up after soccer. We won. Jana was on another scoring rampage which was great. Somehow I ended up with a soccer ball imprinted on my leg. I don't remember getting hit that hard in my thigh but it is still there with a nice bruise above it. Weird?)

Anyways we were playing games at Nancy's and I get a text from Dan:

 I think my bed survived but seriously do you all need to get in it. Weidos. Aaron was also in town with friends for the weekend. Fun to see him.
 
Saturday I tied a quilt for Sam and Amanda during morning conference and then bound the quilt between sessions. The shower was Saturday evening, nothing like waiting until the last minute. But it turned out cute so it was worth it.

Katie and I were throwing the shower. Here is the invitation I put together in photoshop. I was happy with how it turned out.

We did a book theme because Sam and Amanda didn't have a lot of books yet for the little guy. Everything we did revolved around a children's book. Thank you pinterest for all the ideas. I could have never done it on my own. We hung little onsies above the refreshment table and the fireplace where we put the gifts.

So many super cute onsies!

 The thank you bags were cinnamon bears, sweedish fish, and candy corn to go with the three books on that table.

 We set the table with laminated pages from old books we purchased second hand. They were great little place mats.

We served blue punch with rubber duckies floating inside. They were floating great until we added the ice. That was a fail, but it was a cute idea.

 We served three kinds of soup and rolls for dinner. Katie knew of the book Mean Soup and that helped us decide on what to feed everyone.

 Dessert was cookies and sesame street cupcakes. My cousin Heather made the cupcakes and they were awesome! Super cute.

 I just could not get enough of the cupcakes.

 The shower was really fun and it came together nicely which is always a bonus. You just never know with things like that.

Today we watched General Conference at Nancy's and made our traditional conference breakfast. Nothing like eating way too much and then trying to force yourself to stay awake.

I love general conference. It was amazing as always. I am so excited about the new age for missionaries. What an amazing change. I feel like so many more girls will serve. I just loved my mission so much and will forever be grateful I had the opportunity to serve. I really appreciated how they stressed that it is still ok to go later. It is so important to be prepared. I have never done anything as exhausting and hard as serving a mission, but if it is right to go earlier now you can. I love President Monson and am so grateful we have a LIVING prophet to guide us!

Fall is here . . . . well kind of

 My house feels wonderful most evenings and nights because it is actually cooling down. The days have been a little cooler but it still was quite warm today. It threw me for a loop when we went outside after lunch. I thought, dang I am so done with the hot weather. I do hate how dark it is in the morning. I second guess rather I should bike to work every. single. day. Who wants to bike in the dark and the cold? Not me but I am trying to bike anyways. Last week was less successful but here's to a new week.

Last weekend I had a chance to check out Scheels. It just opened in Sandy. It is huge. It's like walking into a mall. It was CROWDED, because it was opening day, but fun to look around. Overpriced in my opinion but there were lots of items that could potentially tempt me.

Cute little jars of candy for the sisters I visit teach. Seriously why do I wait until the end of the month? I drive myself crazy. Our relief society was split last month so I have all new sisters and a new companion I am excited to meet some new people!

 On Saturday I wanted to bike the Alpine Loop but Friday I had soccer late and I didn't wake up until 9:30. And I was soooo lethargic. I didn't want to do a darn thing, especially not bike 50 miles. So I biked a flat 27.3 miles and told myself I would bike the loop  Monday after work. So I biked to work this morning 6.5 miles and then after work biked up to Aspen Grove, round trip about 38 miles. I was so tired. Biking straight uphill after work was also not a great decision.

But it was beautiful and that was my motivation.

 It is crazy how steep it is from the highway to Sundance. It kills the legs. I average around 5 miles an hour for those two miles. Lots of time to ponder life and let's be honest when you bike that slow you can take some pictures too.

I usually go to the top but I just didn't have it in me today. I might try to sneak up there one more time before it snows, we will see.

Then I played basketball tonight. Extra bad idea. We have a really competitive group playing on Mondays. The majority played college ball. It is really fast paced. I normally love playing, but tonight I was dying. During my third game in a row and 4th overall I had to sub. I never sub in basketball but I was worn out. I ended the night entering grades while basketball was played without me. I probably overdid it today and will regret it tomorrow.