Jr. Eagle Night

We had fun attending the varsity game Friday night.  It was Jr. Eagles night, so we went over early to tailgate with the team.  Nolan ran around with his friends for a while and then got to walk in as a team to the game.  All the Jr. Eagles players lined the field to make a tunnel for the varsity team to run through.  Nolan loved it! It's fun to enjoy Friday night games together.  

 

Corn Maze

It is finally starting to feel a little more like fall.  One Sunday we decided to head over to do the corn maze at the park.  Jack was thrilled to be coming and loved exploring.  It is never a very difficult maze to do but I do still love going each year.  

 

Football

We are spending a lot of time right now supporting the boys in football.  The boys spend a lot of time practicing and working hard and we enjoy supporting them.  It is fun to watch them play!  They are both doing well and work hard for their spots.  Garrett is playing a lot with the JV team but also dresses for the varsity games.  Nolan loves coming to the high school games and hanging out with his friends.  I try to pack snacks and treats so we aren't spending a ton on concession food.  Life seems busy right now, but we know it is only for a season.  We think about how many games and years we get to watch our kids play and they really do go by so quickly.  I always appreciate when Garrett looks for me in the stands.  It makes me happy to know that my boys know we will be there to watch them.  I always wished my parents came to more things to watch me.    

 

Conference Weekend

 We were excited to enjoy conference weekend together.  It has been so busy lately that I think we all enjoyed having a day to be at home and relax.  We were able to listen to conference together all day.  I was able to organize some things I brought home from my parents house and also put up my Halloween decorations.  We all enjoyed little naps and just having a day to recharge.  We also enjoyed the talks and messages given.  All such great reminders and things to work on in our lives.  Lucy was able to attend conference in the conference center for the first time on Saturday. She got tickets from someone for the afternoon session while waiting in the standby line for the morning session.  She had really good seats and had a really nice experience being there in person.  I am glad she was able to experience that!  

Packing up Moms Things

It has been almost four years since my mom passed.  During this time my siblings and I have wanted to have a few of mom's things.  We did go through some of the holiday decorations a few years ago and that was nice. I know having something like a piece of her jewelry or a Knick knack from around the house would be so special.  My dad just hasn't been ready.  He was finally ready and so we quickly made plans to go through as much as we could.  Lauren came down and Christy, Jordan and I took off work to spend the day going through things.  Us girls went over the night before and boxed up the Purdy heirlooms.  We plan on going through things more thoroughly in the spring when more of us can be here in person.  Friday, we spent the whole day going through things and distributing and boxing things up.  Somethings we were able to decide who got them and if there was a lot of interest then we boxed it up to address in the spring.  It was a hard day, not how we would have pictured or wished the day would have gone.  I think we waited too long to go through moms' things.  We should have done it when we were all here for the funeral. At the end of the day my dad explained to us that it was so hard for him to get rid of her things.  Her purse was still sitting in the laundry room.  He said seeing her things around the house brought him so much peace.  It was hard to hear because at the same time we had been asking for things to help us have some peace.  Just small things to have in our homes to remind us of mom would have been so healing.  We have waited patiently and hopefully for me this will bring some comfort and closure that I have been needing and wanting for these past years.  The house feels less and less like my home.  It will always be home but without mom's presence it has lost that special feeling for me.  Mom truly brought this house to life.  I think back to growing up in this house.  it was always full of life and activity.  There were kids running around the yard and playing non-stop.  There was dancing and singing in the kitchen.  Games were played and homework was done at the kitchen table.  Always music playing on stereos in the bedrooms with dancing and trying on clothes.  I grew up in a magical time in a magical setting.  I will always be thankful for that.  This house and everything about it was moms dream.  Mom loved her family and loved the home she created.  She made this house a home and without her it feels so different.  Packing up her things and going room to room was almost like I was saying goodbye to the home I grew up in. 

Happy Birthday JJ

I feel bad that our weekends have been so full this month.  JJ taught a conference two weekends and then this past weekend we helped watch the Smiths kids while they were out of town.  We haven't been left with much time to celebrate JJ's birthday.  Then it landed on a Monday. He said for his birthday he wanted to go to Garretts football game.  We all meet up there and enjoyed watching him play.  JJ had to get on a staff meeting call for OEP.  He is always working so hard. I felt bad that even while trying to watch the game he had to be on that call.  Garrett had an ok game.  They threw the ball to him a few times, but they were bad throws, and he didn't catch them. They finally subbed out the quarterback the last quarter and he got the ball a few times.  We got home and had JJ open his cards and gifts.  We then sang to him and had some cake and ice cream.  We love JJ and today was the perfect example of how hard he works to provide for our family.  We love him and hope that his day was special.  Hopefully we can have a delayed celebration for him.   

 

Nolan played a great game at North Point Saturday morning.  He has been struggling with his PAT kicks this season.  This is the first time they can rush during the kick.  Last year they could just stand there, and he had all the time in the world to kick the ball.  This makes him really nervous, and he feels rushed to kick the ball.  It also has so many moving parts and we can no longer just take him up to the field to practice kicking.  It takes the center who snaps it and the kid who places the ball to practice with him as well.  Nolan hasn't been very successful with his kicks this season.  This game especially he let it get in his head, and I could tell it was really bothering him.  I was glad they let him keep trying but he missed every single time. He still had a great game playing cornerback.  The team won another game, and we are still yet to be scored on.  These boys are having a great season! We are watching Finley and Baylor Smith for the weekend so that afternoon we headed to their pool to swim.  We are still enjoying warm weather here! Nolan was excited to jump in and cool off. 

 

Garrett has been playing a lot in the JV games.  He had some good passes thrown to him during the game Monday.  He even almost got a touchdown.  It was so close!  He had to have been on the 1-yard line.  It was so exciting.  I think that is cool they chose to throw the ball to him.  He is having a fun time playing and we are happy for him.

Lucy got off the frontrunner at Rachels house that night so she could go to Strummers baseball game.  It's fun for her to be able to spend time with family while she is in Utah.  She said Strummer played really well and she had a nice evening.    

 

We are thankful our neighborhood pool stayed open a few extra weeks.  I enjoyed going up a few times after I got off work and relaxing.  Nolan and I made sure to swim as much as we could the last weekend.  It was so warm still and the water felt good.  We decided to go up Sunday afternoon with another family in the ward and swim one last time. I am so glad we did!  We had been trying to coordinate swimming all summer and it never worked out.  I'm glad we got to spend the last day swimming together.  Its always a little bittersweet to have the pool close.  I love relaxing and spending time at the pool during the summer.  Nolan is my buddy, and we have made so many fun memories at the pool together. I'm always so thankful for our pool and the joy it brings us each year. 

Lucy got off the frontrunner Monday on her way home from class to spend some time with Grandma and Grandpa.  They took her out to dinner and also sent her home with a bike.  Lucy is excited to have a bike to ride around campus.  She likes being able to spend time with Grandma and Grandpa on Monday evenings.  They took her out to dinner this evening for pizza.   

Football

We celebrated mom's birthday on the 4th. The sisters all decided we would remember mom by getting flowers, eating carrot cake and lighting a candle for her.  These were some of mom's favorite things!  It was nice to have these things to remind me of her on her birthday. 

We were at the football game Friday night sitting next to Heidi Brower.  Her daughter is Lucys good friend Kennedi.  She facetimed Heidi and Lucy was with Kennedi.  We thought it was fun our daughters were hanging out while their moms were also hanging out. 

Saturday morning football at home.  It is so fun to watch my boys play football. Nolan had a great game.  One of the moms took some pictures and there were some good ones of Nolan, #2. That evening we went out to dinner with Spencer and Amy and Casa Tequilla.  It was fun to catch up with them and enjoy some yummy food. 

After church relaxing on the deck.  It was a little warm and sunny, so Nolan got an umbrella to have some shade.