September flew by and most days were spent doing school work but we still found time to do some fun things as well. Although as their teacher I'm obligated to say that the most fun they have is school...just don't verify with my students.
Vivi loves to draw and I love her creations. She always has a story for every drawing.
This is the face Viv's was envisioning for her squirrel pictured above.
Skippy has stuck around, even with all the tough love she receives. At least Asa doesn't carry her around just by her head anymore. We love progress around here.
We've had lots of soccer and I'm not completely sick of it yet so that's good.
Rocking the shades. We went on lots of walks/bike rides that moved at a snails pace.
We did the phases of the moon with Oreo cookies. Don't quiz us on it though...all we learned was that we still like Oreos...
Mirror selfie with Mariah...she is getting so tall and grown up.
Vivi loves wearing my childhood dresses and one day Asa wanted to give it a try. He didn't last very long; dresses back then just weren't as comfy.
Eliza made Vivi a leaf crown.
We went to a new pumpkin patch and almost melted in the late summer heat.
The littles and I didn't last very long in the corn maze. But the big kids were in there for at least an hour trying to find all the hidden objects for their scavenger hunt.
So proud of their persistence. Their hard work paid off with a stick on tattoo for each of them. Probably not what they were hoping for, but they said thank you just the same. And Eliza was there, I just somehow didn't get a picture of her.
Olive, A little girl from our church drew this for Tanner, it made me smile.
We celebrated Chet's birthday with a friend party this year and it was the easiest one so far. The kids showed up and they were off playing night games the whole time. All I had to do was bring the cake out and cut it up. I can do parties like that.
The boys heckling Chet during the song was a favorite of mine.
The next day we went to the temple with the stake. It was pouring rain on the drive there but stopped just in time for the children to go and walk through the foyer of the temple and do their service project. We ate lunch with others from our ward and then I took my youngest for to the gun shop. Chet and Mariah were able to do baptisms that afternoon. I enjoyed talking with JK on the drive.
The girls and I did a lip mask...we laughed a lot so I guess it was beneficial.
We met up with Emily and Andrew for a weekend in Missouri. We went on the Mississippi River for a little tour about Hannibal and Mark Twain. Honestly, Emily and I didn't learn much on the tour because we were talking the whole time.
Tanner and I finally got to go to the bed and breakfast that we were going to do on our anniversary. We toured the mansion house with Emily and Andrew and it was pretty amazing. Then we visited for a while before getting sushi.
The hot tub and Bathrobe were definitely a highlight for Tanner. My highlight was sleeping ten hours. If you're looking for a good time...maybe don't invite me. Tanner caught up on his sports highlights and probably enjoyed the silence. We did have some great uninterrupted conversations which are rare these days.
The breakfast was also a highlight...
We can't take normal food pictures obviously...
The next morning we went on a hike with Em and Andrew and then randomly found an epic disc golf course.
It was more like a golf course with a fee, golf carts, and multiple courses.
These two played a round...
And Emily and I talked; I'm sure you're seeing a theme here. I loved getting to spend time with Colette. She is so squishable and sweet and was such a good sport getting hauled all over the place.
After a quick dinner we headed to the whole reason for the trip: Skywars. Andrew is quite the fireworks buff so Tanner and I really didn't know what we were getting ourselves into. It was amazing. It's a competition of sorts so we were able to see seven different fireworks displays and a drone show. The fire bombs were my favorite/terrifying part of the show. The second hand cigarette/marijuana smoke was my least favorite. We smelled more like chain smokers than pyros...maybe they're synonymous with most people? Nothing a shower and good fresh air couldn't fix.
It was so great to get to spend some time with the Zengers. We finished the late night watching the BYU game and then said a half asleep goodbye to Em and Andrew early the next morning then headed up to Kirksville for church.
Brittany and Baydon watched our kids and besides Asa, I don't think they even missed us. Asa wasn't feeling well so he was pretty clingy with his siblings but they were such great helpers. It was so good to get away for a while and so good to be back with our babies. I can't think of a better way to finish the month off.
