We started September off with celebrating 14 years of marriage! I can't believe it has been that long. Marrying Nate is the best decision I have ever made. He is my constant and I'm SO grateful that I get to have him forever. We went on a little date and got some tacos and went on a walk. He surprised me with flowers and I surprised him with 14 reasons why I love him. We make the best team and I love that I get to live life and love life with him!
One weekend we went on a little walk to Lake Wilderness to enjoy the beautiful weather and some time together as a family. A promise of Slurpee's kept the complaining down from Baylor. :)
I did some canning and it's always nice to fill the cupboard back up. I did peaches and pears. I also made some blackberry peach jam and pear jam.
One Saturday we went on a little adventure with Nona to see the Hydroplane Museum.
Paige had an experience that she never wants to relive again. She was working on a sewing project she wanted to do and all of a sudden I hear a terrifying scream along with lots of "Helps!" I run over along with Nate and she had sewn her finger and her reacting to it broke the needle off from the machine and this needle tip was sticking through her finger. It went all the way through and you could see each end of the needle of either side of her finger (and through her fingernail!). I held her hand and helped her to stay somewhat calm while Nate got some pliers and pulled it out. He got the needle out and I realized that there was also a thread through her finger so he had to pull that out too. She was so brave though it was pretty traumatic for her. She went into a little bit of shock through the whole thing and probably won't be doing any sewing for a while, but she now has a cool story to share.
Paige started track this month and is really enjoying it. The morning of her first track meet was rough. She was so nervous that she didn't sleep well and she just cried all morning and I had to force her to school. She ended up going into the office and sat with one of the office ladies whom we know from church. I'm so grateful that there was a familiar face for her to go to. I found out they sat in the office during first hour and talked about Taylor Swift and about the process of getting ready for track and going to the meet. She has decided just to do long jump this year at track meets and try running events during practice which is fine. She will continue to push herself as she gets older. I'm glad she is doing some after school activities to get to know other kids and it's extra time with her good friend.
Her first meet she did great! She is tiny compared to 7th and 8th graders. One of the 7th graders on her team was with her the whole time and was so kind and cheered her on through each of her jumps. It was so sweet to watch and she did amazing. She jumped way farther than she ever did in track in elementary school and I know will continue to improve throughout the season.
Another warm weekend led to another fun outdoor adventure. There is an artist that made 5 of these giant trolls out of recycled materials and I want to see each of them. They are incredible! This one is in Issaquah and his name is Jakob Two Trees. They are new and it was Saturday and a gorgeous day so there were quite a few people and we had to wait in line to get a picture in front of it but it was worth it.
We made a quick stop at the fish hatchery in Issaquah though it was pretty disappointing. There was some sort of event going on so there was way too many people and not very many fish going through the ladder. Baylor decided to stay in the car with Nate so Paige, McCall, and I did a quick lap. We'll have to come again in October when we usually come when an event is not happening.
We did have a little family picnic at the park right across from the fish hatchery and it was a good way to end the day.
One family home evening we talked about the plan of salvation and this was Baylor's drawing of it and I just love it so much because really the plan of salvation is all about Jesus.
Paige participated in her school fundraiser and at the end of it they did a color run.
A lot of the chalk had fallen off her through the day, but when she came home from track practice her hair and in her ears and nose were still quite colorful.
McCall is a busy little one! She is starting to get to the stage of getting into everything and loves to open and empty out all drawers that she can reach. We have to keep most of the doors closed so she stays contained to certain spaces. She also took her first steps this month!!!
Another track meet for Paige and she jumped her personal best.
For the past year, we have dealt with our sewer backing up into the tub and shower about every couple of months. We had been using this tool that had to be shoved up to clear out any blockage, but this past time I had our landlords come over to do it and there were some issues. We had the drain field fixed last year and it was determined there was some sort of issue with the pipe leading from the house to the drain spot. So our cement got all torn up and the pipe got replaced because of a big hole it in. Thank goodness we are renting and we didn't have to do it ourselves!
Little strawberry picker with Nona.
This past weekend we went to the Washington State Fair. We do the fair the cheap way so it's probably not as fun but still an experience. We packed our own lunch and didn't go on any rides and did anything that was free. So we looked at all the animals and went to all the different exhibits.
One of my favorite things at fair besides seeing the animals is seeing the hobby entries. They had collections, wood working, cooking, sewing, crafts, etc. and it is so fun to see what everyone comes up with. They had this cool penny section where the girls got to flatten a penny and also find the penny of their birth year and get it in this little card. They also got to see some small wooden tops be made and each got their own.
This section at the fair is always fun and of course for us also free!
And the girls also got their face painted for free. It was a fun day though I think we will wait a few more years until we go again.
With the girls in school, it's been quiet, but also McCall doesn't have a constant playmate so she gets fussy easily or always wants to be held. So we have been going on lots of walks at the park. She is mostly content in the stroller as long as we are moving and I get the exercise. We went today and the fall colors are starting to come out in full force and I love it.
I can't believe it is already almost October and into holiday season!
