Three Cedar Farm and Ward Halloween Party

Sunday was the Primary Program. The girls had invited their friends (again) and they all came- Geli and Luna and Mimi's family. I was nervous about playing the piano and I let my nerves get the best of me and I didn't play the greatest. I made mistakes in each song but at least I never had to stop mid song and was able to keep playing. Mandi took over for me for the last two songs which I was extremely grateful for and she did great. However, my brain was still on an anxiety trip and I said the dumbest thing to her afterwards- I basically told her that I noticed her mistakes but I am sure no one else noticed. It was a really rude comment and I don't know why those words came out of my mouth. She honestly did way better than me. Ugh, I felt so bad and later sent her a text saying how amazing she is. Hopefully she doesn't hate me.

Primary after the program was insane. One of the counselors in the presidency came up with the game and I know she put a lot of work into it but it required lots of quiet sitting while others took turns and that just didn't work well. She gave each kid a turn to: ask a bishopric member a question about the talk they gave, choose a costume item to put on the bishopric member and then try to guess how each bishopric member answered a question about themselves. Each kids turn took so long and everyone was so loud and wiggly. It was overstimulating for me and it ended up taking the whole primary time and I was so ready to go when church was over. 

Monday after we finished our homeschool work we went to Three Cedars Farm. Julie had invited us to go and I decided to invite Mimi so that Penny would have a friend too. Well, Julie cancelled on us that morning (sick kids) and I kind of wanted to skip out as well, but since we had invited Mimi we kind of were stuck going. When we arrived, there was instant regret, it was soooo busy. There were lots of buses and the lot was pretty full- we had to park far away. But despite the crowds, the girls had a good time. They played in the corn pit for a little bit before they got too annoyed with little ones throwing corn. Penny and Mimi had fun riding the little trikes around the corn pit- it was pretty comical to watch. After that we went and looked at the farm animals and Ruby played on the little slides. A few of the slides had mud puddles at the bottom so I had to save her from a dirty bum. Next the girls got cider slushees and then climbed on the wooden train- they are all just kids at heart. 

Tuesday Steven's car decided to overheat on his way home from school. I managed to drop Poppy off with some anti-freeze to help him on my way to pick up the girls from school but unfortunately, neither one of them could figure out how to open the hood to put it in. After I picked up the girls, I went back to Poppy and Steven. I let Steven take the Squeak home because he needed to get to work and I stayed with Poppy and the broken car. I could not get the hood to open either- the safety latch on the hood was way hard to trigger. Someone was nice and stopped to help us but Poppy shooed them away since Tyler was coming. Of course, once Tyler got there, he had no problem opening the hood. He showed me how to do it but when I tried, I literally did not have the strength to trigger the latch. Apparently Tyler is stronger than us all. The car still had issues overheating on the way home, even with the anti freeze, but the engine didn't actually feel hot. Tyler thinks it might be a messed up sensor but unfortunatly real or not, the car shuts down when it thinks it's too hot. I really hate that we are always having car issues, it makes getting everyone where they need to go such a challenge. 

Wednesday was a bit of a bummer day. It started out with Ruby begging to take a shower with me and then crying the whole time. That is hard on me because my showers help me wake up and feel ready to face the day. Then I took Lucy to meet a friend at the Farmington library. Lucy's friend had to be dropped off because one of her siblings was sick so the mom couldn't stay. I thought we established she would come pick up Lucy's friend in an hour but apparently we hadn't. She sent me a text over an hour later asking if she should come pick up her daughter.It wasn't that the kids were super bored or anything, they were having a good time and that was a pretty good library, but I hadn't brought Ruby anything for lunch because I thought we would leave earlier. That meant when I got home, I had to rush to feed her lunch and get her down for a nap. 

That that night we had our cake decorating activity for the Activity Day Girls. It was raining and dark and I had to drive the Suburban which is already scary to drive- adding on darkness and rain was not helpful. It was not a fun drive. When I got to the church, I parked in the back of the church because I didn't want to park that big beast by other cars. I decided to try the back doors, even though they are usually locked, because I didn't want to get drenched in the rain. Lucy and Penny decided to run around to the front, because they didn't care. I figured they would let me in if the back doors were locked. The doors were indeed locked. The girls however, did not let me in. I stood banging and yelling at the back door and I swear people made eye contact with me but nobody let me in- not even Penny. I was in charge of the activity and had most of the stuff and I could see everyone waiting in the hall for me to come set things up. I should've just ran around to another door but I was stubborn (and hormonal). Penny eventually realized it was me banging on the door and let me in, and then I yelled at her in front of everyone. It was not a proud moment and the rest of the night I just felt awkward and stupid. I think though, despite my crazy, everyone had a fun time making butterfly cakes.

Thursday, while the girls were in school, I went on another walk with Kara. We talked about her mission in Thailand and how it changed her. It was a good conversation and I am enjoying our walks together. What's funny though, is we hardly converse when we see each other at church. It's like we're secret friends, lol.

It's been getting cold, the weather is changing, so I moved some of Ruby's things into my parents garage Friday night to protect them from the weather that is coming. I ended up making a "road" in my parent's garage for Ruby to drive her cars on but, honestly, Lucy had more fun turning it into a town and driving on it, than Ruby did.

Saturday morning the girls, my parents and I went to the mall. My parents went for the food (especially the pretzels and cinnabons). The girls were happy to tag along so they could also eat some yummy food and do some window shopping. There was a Hello Kitty Truck outside the mall that brought in a lot of interesting characters while we were there. I also rode the escalator up and down at least 20 times with Ruby while my parents and Lucy ate lunch. And we went to Toys R Us because apparently it is back and in the mall but it is not anywhere close to being the Toys R Us of my youth. It was just like any other toy store in the mall. And it had a huge section of calendars which didn't seem to fit the brand.

Saturday evening we had our Ward Trunk or Treat Party. Some before pics...

Grace came to the party with her whole family because she had been invited to judge the chili. It was so nice to have her at a church event, I miss having her to hang with at church. She sat at my table but was gone for quite a bit in the beginning to judge. Geli and Luna's whole family came to the party as well and sat with us. Cherish and Roberto were up a lot, wandering the halls with Izzy. I was up a lot wandering the halls with Ruby. Then it was time to eat and I rudely cut in front of my mom and Cherish so I didn't have to wait in line- totally worth it. Ruby ended up eating two cookies so that was pretty much her dinner. So healthy. She sat with Grace for awhile- I love that she feels comfortable with Grace but I hope we didn't disease her. Ruby has had a runny nose the last couple of days and has not been sleeping well. It's been rough. 

On a high note- we won the best family costume for the second year in a row. I was a butterfuly, Ruby was a ladybug, Penny was a bumble bee and Ben was a bug catcher. I guess they didn't care that our whole family wasn't dressed up in theme- Tyler had no costume, Steven was working and Lucy wanted to be a Minion. Tyler won an award for the most interesting/unique chili. He doesn't think anyone liked it because it tasted so different but I think he should be happy he won an award.

After dinner it was time for the trunk or treat. I set up a plank that the kids had to walk before they got their treasure (a ring pop). It was an easy set up and I think it ended up being fun for the kids. It was cold that night but not too bad. I think all in all it was a good time for everyone.

Northville Skeletons, Pumpkins, End of Soccer

Sunday was a bit harried in all accounts. First our Primary Chorister skipped out after sacrament so the Primary President stepped in for her. That was very nice of Tana but she isn't super musically inclined and she didn't know the words to the songs so it was a bit of a disaster. I had to stop playing the piano at times to get her back on track with the lyrics or to explain what verse we were singing. When singing time was over, since they finally got teachers for my class, I was able to step in to catch the end of Lucy's lesson in young womens. When I walked in to young womens, Lucy beckoned me to sit with her and then proceeded to tell me that she had finished her lesson and needed me to take over. There was 20 minutes left of church for me to adlib a lesson. I had helped her come up with a lesson so I kind of knew what they went over but I had no idea what I could really add to the lesson. I am pretty sure I just rehashed her whole lesson. It wasn't great but we survived. At least I looked professional in my shirt and vest I got from Salvation Army.

Monday morning all the girls had dentist appointments, even Ruby. Usually they put all the girls in a seat and they get their cleaning done at the same time. This time they had them all scheduled at different times. I did not like that. I especially did not like that they had Ruby go last. By the time they got to her she was so wiggly and ready to go home. The hygienist was nice and had a motherly feel to her but Ruby was not having it. She did ok for the flossing but was not happy about the brushing and wiping off of her teeth. She definitely threw some fits. After that we had to wait again, until the dentist came in. At that point Ruby was asking to go home. Thankfully she seemed to like the dentist and had no problem opening her mouth for him so he could "count" her teeth and paint flouride on them. I wish the waiting was done then but there was even a line to check out. It was such a long morning and it really messed with our homeschooling that day.

Monday evening I went on a walk with Rudie and Rosie again. Rosie wanted to pull the wagon the whole time and that became a bit of an issue but Ruby was no picnic either. Toddlers are a lot and even trickier when together. I feel old when I chat with Rudie but I think it's good for Ruby to spend time with other toddlers so I think I will continue to make an effort to walk with them every couple of weeks.

Tuesday, after I dropped off the girls at school, I went for a walk with Grace to the library. It was fun to hear about her amazing trip to Scotland and catch up on things. She even brought me some candy from Scotland and a fox dishtowel. When I came back from our walk, Poppy, Grams, Ruby and I went to Culver's for lunch. Ruby was a bit of a booger about eating her chicken strips (because she apparently prefers nuggets) and had some tantrums before finally caving in and eating them. The tired mom in me had a hard time not caving in and giving her the french fries she wanted but I am glad that I persevered.

Tuesday, after I picked up the girls from school, we met some friends in Northville to see the skeletons (Mimi, Nahoko, Cherish, Gelie, Luna). We always meet at the park by downtown but were sad to discover they had bulldozed it. We love that park! Apparently they want to make it more inclusive but it was such a cool old wooden park. The skeletons were fun as usual and the girls loved getting lots of selfies with them. All the girls except Ruby. As much as she loves our "Baby Chad" skeleton, she was not a fan of these skeletons. We only managed to get her picture with one and that was with a lot of coaxing. Ben was also grumpy. He said later it was because he was hungry and annoyed that Ruby was not being fun. My parents did stop at a bakery near the end and they bought all the kids cookies so that helped us to have slightly happier kids all around. The cookies saved the day!

Wednesday I took Penny to the dentist to get her cavities fixed. Originally they were only going to fix one but they decided to do both at this appointment. I think that was a good choice because I am not sure I could have gotten her back there without lots of dramatics. The dentist, Dr. Tommy, was really good with Penny and very patient. She cried for both shots but she did good after that. He let her watch "K Pop Demon Hunters" on his phone which was a big plus. He also talked with her about the movie and it's songs and I think he just did a good job of distracting her and helping her to feel comfortable. Afterwards I got her some Wendy's because she felt she deserved it ;)

Wednesday night Penny had her last soccer practice. It was cold but Ruby just loves the park so Grams and I took Ruby to the park while Penny practiced. The park nights have been fun but with the weather getting cold, I am ok with our nights out in Milford coming to an end.

Thursday while the girls were in school, I went for a walk with Kara. This walk kind of came about slightly awkwardly. Kara just had a baby and was at church last Sunday for the blessing. I had come over to ask her how things were going. I had also asked her about nursing and she had said it was going great. Later that night she sent me a text and told me she had lied, and felt bad for lying. She wasn't nursing, she was pumping. I could've cared less that she lied or about any of it, but anyways, I offered her a walk if she wanted to talk. She is kind of an introvert so I didn't expect her to take me up on the offer, but she did. Anyways, I had a good walk with her and her baby. She is 34 with her first baby so we definitely have been on different life paths but she was easy to talk to and I like that she actually seemed interested in me as a whole. When I walk with Rosie and Rudie it seems like all we talk about is the toddlers. It was nice to have someone ask about the teenagers too. Anyways, it was a good walk and I wouldn't mind going on another one with her.

Thursday night we went to the library and then went to Kroger's to get pumpkins. I took 4 out of the 5 kids to get the pumpkins and I know they're older but it still feels chaotic when I take them all out. We even managed to set off the alarm and have the cart wheels lock on us on the way out. Super fun.

Friday morning their was a mix up in communication and we thought that Caroline was not going to come to the primary program. That caused me a lot of anxiety and emotions. The primary president was offering to step in but since that didn't go well on Sunday I was super worried about it. It was not a good morning. Thankfully it was just a miscommunication and so all that panic was over nothing.  

Friday afternoon we painted our pumpkins while watching "The Nightmare Before Christmas". Carving pumpkins was such a disaster last year so I had decided we were not going to do it this year. I think painting was a pretty good substitute. Although I wish we could put a candle in them and see them glow- it was way less stressful. Usually we have to help so much but painting was something they could all do on their own- even Ruby! 

Saturday morning was Penny's last soccer game. I thought it was going to be cold but actually the weather was pretty perfect. Penny's team kept their status of being undefeated and creamed the other team. They won 7 to 1. It was another good season. Afterwards they did their paper plate ceremony which was nice for the kids but boy did their coach get wordy this year. He gave a little speech on all 18 kids so it took forever. He does so much for the kids so I will give him a pass on this one.

Feels Like Fall

Sunday morning was nice. I was able to enjoy a slow morning and even go on a walk before Conference started. Some moms are big into baking special things on conference sundays but I really enjoy the slow pace of the day.  The General Conference talks Sunday felt like they were more what I needed and other Michiganders might have needed. I felt like this time around there were some good talks about finding joy and healing in challenges. After Conference we had some amazing chicken kabobs that Tyler had made. He often cooks on Sunday and it always something time consuming and delicious. My only complaint is he cooked the chicken on my griddle stove top and totally ruined it with the grease. He ended up scraping off some of the black coating on the griddle and now I am hesitant to use it for pancakes and french toast.

Monday after we finished our homeschool work, I finally was able to join the Commerce Ward Playgroup with the girls at Clara Miller Park. It is probably mostly a me problem but I felt like such a misfit. These moms are late 20's and early 30's with families full of littles. I am also the only weirdo that homeschools so I was the only one there with older kids (Lucy and Penny came to play pickleball at the courts). I was able to join in some conversation but I just feel like I bring a different and maybe not appreciated vibe/viewpoint. Mostly though, I spent the time chasing Ruby around because she really didn't have any desire to hang with the other toddlers. It wasn't a great morning out.

Monday night Ben had his last soccer game. It was in Howell so only Tyler went. It was probably a good thing because he did not get any play time which is a big bummer for a last game. At least his team won.

Tuesday while the girls were at school I decided to wash everyone's bedding. It ended up turning into a horror story when I found crumbs on Steven's bed and then bugs on his mattress. I was terrified they were bed bugs, but after googling and using an AI bug identifier I found out they were carpet beetles (I think in the larvae stage). Still horrifying. The discovery led to a massive cleaning of their room. I made Steven clean out the guinea pig cage, and there was vacumming and scrubbing down furniture. Thankfully the only other place I found them in their room was in Steven's trash can. And thankfully there were none in any of the other upstairs rooms, but I will still be extra cautious for awhile (checking mattresses) and extra dilligent with vacumming and washing. Boys are gross. And what's worse is Steven could care less that he had bugs in his bed. He thinks they are no big deal because they only eat carpet and fabric. So dumb. 

Wednesday after we finished homeschool, Poppy took us girls out to Burger King for lunch. The girls really love their trips to Burger King with Poppy and Ruby gobbles down all the food with no complaints which is nice.

After Burger King we grabbed Grams and went to Target. The girls wanted to look at some things and I needed a couple things. Target was having a lot of deals this week and with all my spending I did, I managed to get Target Circle for free. Tyler told me it was probably a scam and after only a few days I might agree, lol. They gave me a $10 off a $10 or more purchase of Halloween decorations so I ordered a 3 foot skeleton for $10 off. Wouldn't you know that it went on sale the next day for only $1 more than I paid (and you can't use the coupon on top of sales anyways). I feel like the coupon was not that great. Lame.

Wednesday evening the kids all went to the church to set up for the coat drive. Tyler went with them because the leaders wanted extra adults at the building to help the kids feel more safe. I was happy to just stay at home with Ruby. When they all came back Tyler and I talked about our anniversary trip and recently I had been looking at destinations other than England and was falling in love with the idea of Rome. We ended up buying plane tickets for 2 weeks in Rome in February (off season and a little cold but still 20 degrees warmer than Michigan). A total change in plans but the prices were decent and tickets fully refundable. I feel excited and also guilty for spending money on plane tickets when I should be getting my kids braces or other important things. But also, I know this trip is going to be an amazing experience. Now I just have to figure out an itinerary and decide where in Italy we will go besides Rome. It's intimidating.

Thursday morning, after I dropped the kids off at school, Julie came over with her boys. Asher and Ruby have a love hate relationship but I am glad that she has a friend to practice sharing with and that I have a friend that can relate with being old with a toddler, lol. After she left I cleaned the house- I feel like that's all I do lately. That night I went to take my mom on some errands and the girls wanted to come with. Penny decided to run down the stairs because for some reason she always thinks I am going to leave her, and she slipped and rolled most of the way down the stairs. I was so scared that she broke her arm again but thankfully she hadn't. Unfortunately though, she landed on her back and got winded. She was very emotional the rest of the night. I think she was slightly traumatized by the whole thing. 

Friday morning we had our homeschool co-op. They had picture day and I decided to get pictures but only for the older 2 girls. The lady was nice and offered to take Ruby's picture for no charge but Ruby refused to cooperate so she took a picture of me and the girls with Ruby instead. That was frustrating because I would love a nice updated picture of just Ruby. What's funny is later someone else came to take Ruby's picture for her ID badge and she gave them a big fat smile, no problem. Such a stinker. Our toddler class itself went ok. There was a lot of cleaning up after kids (we had popcorn kernels in a sensory bin and those things really pop) and a lot of breaking up fights over things because sharing is hard, but I think that's all just to be expected. Mostly I think they had a good time doing all the things (reading stories, singing songs, playing with toys and sensory bine and making crafts). I love this class for Ruby but the older girls are still not enjoying their classes. They think the classes are boring and that's probably because they still haven't made friends. I feel like we need to drop out next semester but I feel bad doing that to Julie.

Friday afternoon the boys had a dentist appointment. It feels so silly to take my teenage boys to a pediatric dentist but it's also easier than changing dentists. However, Steven turns 18 next year so this was his last visit there. He has at long last graduated from their services. The visit was fine. No cavities but some starts of one. With my luck, they will both need fillings next year. I always feel guilty at the dentist for not having fixed Ben's crooked teeth. I wish it wasn't such an expensive service here.

After the dentist, I made the boys stop at Costco with me so we could get pizza. Steven griped the whole time and was rude to me and Ben. It's funny because at the dentist he was chatty and kind to the hygentist. Why is he so mean to us?

Friday Ruby met her best friend- Chad Jr. The skeleton I had ordered from Target had arrived and she loves him. She tried to feed it pizza, asked if it wanted to go outside and swing, then put socks on it and pushed it on the swing. At one point she even told Chad Jr that she loved him. So so funny.

Friday night Lucy had her middle school dance at Renaissance. The dance was Western themed. She was saucy to me when I commented her dress might be too short (she had shorts on underneath and the dress didn't quite cover them in the back. Then she was saucy when she wanted me to do her hair but didn't like the way I did it. She can be exhausting but also we had a nice conversation to and from the dance where she talked to me about friends and things. I appreciate when she opens up to me. I think she had a blast with her friends that night as well. I am glad she has good friends at Renaissance.

 

Saturday morning Penny had another early morning soccer game. It was cold but both Tyler and Grams still made it out to watch her (and of course, Ruby and I came). Once again they won 2 to 1. If they win next weeks game they will end the season undefeated. I truly think her coach is awesome. He doesn't get nearly as intense as the other coaches, and he gives everyone a chance to play and he takes time to teach the kids. It's been another good season.

After the game I had to endure going through clothes with Ben and then writing a Young Women's lesson with Lucy. Both are tasks they hate to do so both were painful. 

Also that day I went out to lunch with Tyler, did some clothes shopping for the kids with Grams, Penny took Chad Jr and Ruby for a walk, and we checked on our pumpkin that is growing in our yard. The amazing thing about that pumpkin is I have done absolutely nothing to help it grow. We left our pumpkin to rot their last year and now we have this. It's a miracle!

Shopping, Soccer, Conference

Monday night Ben had an away game. I did not go but Tyler did. It was not a good game. They lost 1 to 6 and unfortunately Ben was responsible for one of the 6 goals- he was trying to kick it out of their goal but kicked it in. He came home really sad and defeated, it was heartbreaking as a mom to see him look so down. Thankfully most of his team was not mean to him about it.

While he was having his awful soccer game, all us girls went to Target (including Grams). I was looking for a couple Halloween pillows and I managed to find some cute ghost pillows that now reside on our couch. I also found some Crayola mess free marker packs for 70% off which made my day because Ruby loves to color but is so untrustworthy with regular crayons and markers. Our table, chairs and her own body are all a testament to that. 

Tuesday morning we hit some insane traffic on the way to the girls' school. It took us an extra 15 minutes to get there and we never even hit an accident or construction so who knows why it took so long. Thankfully we left early enough that we were not late. While they were at school I ran a few errands with my parents. They had some things they needed and I was looking for a Halloween blanket. I managed to find one for 40% off at Kohl's. I really love a good deal. 

Tuesday, after dinner, I finally met up with Rudi and her 2yo daugher Rosie (they live in our neighborhood but I met her through a facebook post). We went on a short walk and then did some sidewalk chalk at my parent's house. Rudi was nice and Rosie and Ruby are cute together. Rosie is also super strong and pulled Ruby in the wagon for a good stretch of the walk. Rudi is a decade younger than me though and she is renting and living with her boyfriend (so probably not here forever) and one of her past jobs was at a weed dispensary so though nice, we are very different and I don't forsee us being besties or anything but at least our daughters can maybe be friends.

Tuesday night Lucy and I went to pick up some $5 boots from someone on fb marketplace. She had a country themed church activity she was going to with Claire and then she has a country themed dance next weekend for school so the boots were needed but I didn't want to spend too much on something she would only wear twice. After we got the boots we happened to be driving by a Salvation Army so I decided to stop to see if they had a cowboy hat for her. It was kind of fun shopping with her for once- often she gets bored thrifting with me but she actually seemed interested in browsing. We didn't find a cowboy hat but we did find a kid size picnic table for my parent's house so Ruby doesn't have to sit on their tall bar stools to color anymore. It was a good night.

Wednesday, after we finished homeschool, we walked to the library with Poppy. I am grateful we live close enough to do this and that the weather has been nice lately. Wednesday evening I took Penny to soccer practice and then Ruby, Grams and I hung out in Milford. Ruby played at the park (Ruby is still obsessed with the swings) and then we went to Kroger's because I needed some cashback for a mini trampoline for Ruby. I finally found one on facebook marketplace in good shape, for a good price. After Penny's practice we went and picked up the trampoline. At that point it was very dark and I could not see the house numbers and it was tricky to find the house but we found it and were lucky enough that the trampoline fit in our trunk. Ruby loves bouncing on it but she also loves laying on it and eating on it and trying to color on it...she really has been a lot lately.

Thursday I ordered some fun things from Amazon for my friend's family that had been in the church shooting and sent them anonymously. I will be honest, I like getting recognized for doing things so I was trying to do something without that benefit for once. Unfortunately I was not sneaky enough I guess because she immediately messaged me when she got it and asked "Did you send the Legos?" I turned to Google AI for what to do and ended up responding "That's so thoughtful of someone! I'm glad you got it!" I did not say yes and I did not lie so I still feel good about myself, lol.

Thursday morning I went to Julie's to plan for our next co-op group. She is always very ambitious and wants to do lots of crafts which I am not quite sure they are old enough for yet, but I will let her take charge of the. My goal was just to make sure we have lots of different stations for the toddlers to play at. It should be fun. While we were hanging out Asher was having a bit of a difficult time with sharing and things and she blamed it on other kids he had been hanging around. I wonder if she realizes Ruby is one of those kids that has been a bad influence, lol. Honestly, though, he's just exhibiting normal toddler behavior... 

After our hang out with Asher, Ben was off school (Steven was too but he was working) so we went to Chick-Fil-A for lunch with the grandparents. Ben had a giftcard from seminary that he had never used so he helped pay. It was nice to have lunch with him and Ruby. He's a good kid and really sweet to Ruby, even when she is super obnoxious to him.

Thursday night I went and picked up some dr pepper for Caroline and dropped by her house because she was having a rough week. Her car had broken down permanently, Lizzie has to get daily hormone injections because she is not growing properly, and her city had been under a boil water advisory. I am glad I dropped by- we had a good chat and I felt like I helped cheer her up some.

Friday night I went to Grace's so we could make our thrift store paintings spooky. Nahoko came as well. It was fun to get artsy (and a little intimidating because my painting was so big) but I felt like if I wasn't leading the conversation, no one was talking and maybe it was comfortable for them but it felt awkward to me. So that left me constantly searching my brain for topics we could all chat about. I think I am a little more filtered with Nahoko so that was some of the problem with coming up with conversations. I also think the group is a bit more fun with the husbands there or maybe with a game that keeps us chatting. It was still a nice night though. Here's the before and after:

Saturday morning I woke up and realized that I had down the time of Penny's soccer game wrong and it was at 9 and not 11:20. That meant I needed to get ready a lot more quickly than I had thought. Not the best way to wake up. So Ruby, Poppy and I went off to Penny's game that morning. It was another good game by her team. They won 3 to 0. She is really getting better at getting in there and defending the ball. It's fun to watch.

Right after her soccer game, we went to Ben's soccer game. While Penny's game was nice and cool, by the time we got to Ben's game the sun was shining hot and in our eyes. It was not comfortable and at half time I went to my car for sunglasses and an umbrella. The umbrella was a good help for my parents but Ruby would not have it. We spent a lot of the game under the bleachers where it was cool. Ben's team won 2 to 0 and he got 14 minutes of play time. He did some nice ball touches and I feel like he redeemed himself a bit from Mondays awful game.

After all the soccer crazy, it was time to settle down and watch General Conference. Ben went to the Bloomfields house for all of conference (they are his seminary teachers and hosted both sessions for their seminary students). Steven unfortunately had to work so he missed all of conference. Grams and Poppy came over and watched with us. Ruby was a monster for the first session- lots of tantrums. I think all the time in the sun from the soccer games had made her irritable. In between sessions she got a nap and was much better for the second session. Although she just wanted to hang out and color in the guest room (she is so obsessed with coloring!) for the second session so I ended up watching General Conference on my phone in the guest room with her. There were some good talks at conference and a lot of people talking about making sure we are welcoming to everyone who comes to church and making sure that we are peacemakers. That is a good thing but maybe not helpful for those who just experienced a traumtic shooting in a church building. I wish there had been a little bit more for those saints. I did however love the passion of Elder Brown when he talked about having a testimony. That was a very powerful talk.