October 2019

 October is always a busy month for us and this one was no exception.  And with 3 girls now in school holiday preparations get a little extra crazy!

We started of with the annual Walk to School Day.  It was cold but the girls enjoy participating. 

Cutest laugh...

And right away I jumped on a plane with my besties and headed to San Diego for a quick Leopard Ladies trip.  

 We started off the trip with Tacos at Salud!

 And then a jaunt through Balboa Park...

Then we headed over to Old Town where we toured the Mormon Battalion Museum.  

 And then hit up the marketplace for some dancing, shopping, and eating!

The next day headed over to Coronado Island and rented some bikes.  It was the most amazing place for a bike ride.  Perfect weather, amazing views, and the best of company.  

We stopped at the massive Coronado Hotel to enjoy the beachfront

Then we drove up to La Jolla where we found the cutest little town to eat and shop at before heading over to the coves to hang out with all the sea lions.  

Then we decided to do hike called The Ho Chi Mihn Trail.  This was definitely not the kind of hike we were expecting to do.  Apparently we followed the wrong path and after struggling to get down through all the steep crevices with awkward maneuvers we came to a 20 foot drop with no way down.  (Note: we had been assured by other hikers above us that there was a way out and that we were fine to keep going.)  The only ways out were to turn around and try to climb the several steep drops that we had come down, or rock climb up the side of the mountain next to the 20 foot drop.  Since I have about zero fear when it comes hurting myself I climbed right up the side of the cliff... only to find that there was a large drop on the other side.  Carla came up right behind me and we straddled the cliff attempting to help Megan and Melanie get up.  Little did I know that they had begun to panic and the real struggle began.  (If they tell the story they would say this was a life or death situation.)  In my mind, we were in a tough spot and just needed to figure out how to get out.  So with panic setting in and Carla and I unable to get enough of a stable footing to really help them we started to worry about how we were going to get out of this situation.  And just like that our Hero, Steven, showed up.  A kind young man stopped to see if we needed help, and help us he did.  He was able to give Megan and Melanie the stable hand they needed to get out.  Phew!  After that, we headed back on the correct trail and headed upwards for some great views.  

Forced smiles after the trauma...

The next day we headed to Cabrillo National Monument and Lighthouse.  It was another beautiful place surrounded by ocean all around. 

Then we went to see the Unconditional Surrender Statue...

And the USS Midway...

 Then to Little Italy for some amazing food and ice-cream...

And Seaport Village for some shopping and walking with a beautiful sunset...

 And of course we couldn't leave without a Leopard Ladies photo shoot!

And braiding our hair together. Brown, blond, brown blond...

These 2 found a piano at the airport and provided some entertainment...

And I couldn't resist taking a picture with the words beau Devin!

I brought Tess home some face paint from San Diego. She was thrilled. 

Right back to the swing of things...

I was able to go make Scarecrows with Tess in her Kindergarten class. It was a fun day.

Another mother sent me these cute pictures of Tess and her friend London on their first field trip...

 Took Tess and Coco to the zoo one day.  It was so fun seeing them get excited over all the animals. 

This was their favorite part.  The otters were unusually playful today and the girls just loved running around with them. 

Angie and Aaron invited us to go to St. George with them over Fall Break.  It was a quick trip where we played at the park, swam, played games, ate a ton, hiked a little, chased lizards and played in the sand at Sand Hollow.  These kids sure do love their cousins and it was fun for them to spend so much time together.  

Coco is learning so much and we all get so excited about the new things that she does.  One of our favorites for this month are asking her animal sounds.  She says the animal before she says the sound every time.  It is the cutest!

 Took the girls to a pumpkin patch called Hee Haw Farms.  They had a lot of fun but it was so cold that we decided not to stay too long...

When your hair appointment falls on a weekday and you're forced to take your toddler with you...

Luckily she was really good...

 Crazy hair day... (Addie was too cool to participate this year)

On a much warmer day we took the kids to Jaker's Pumpkin Patch and it was much more enjoyable...

Wayment Family Pictures on a freezing, snowy day...

 Halloween came quickly and the girls all looked so cute!

Roman Princess, Minnie Mouse, Eleven from Stranger Things, and the Tin Man

We had the Halloween Parade...

I helped with Tess' class party...

And then created an escape room type party for Addie's class called the Hungry Mummy.  The story was that a mummy got stuck in our world on his journey to the underworld so he took their class treats and locked himself in a coffin (which I built).  They had to work in groups to work out puzzles and find clues in order to remove the curse and unlock the coffin.  It was so fun to see all the kids get into it and work out all the different puzzles and riddles.  

 Devin and I surprised Addie by dressing up as Robyn and Steve from Stranger Things...

 Trick or Treating was so fun.  Coco wasn't so sure about the whole process at first but as soon as she realized that going to each house meant more candy she was all for it.  She even started saying "Tick Teat"

 October was also the month that I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia and POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome).  I had been having symptoms since May and after doing several tests, X-Rays, and an MRI I was finally given the diagnosis.  Fibromyalgia is a pain disorder where my brain sends pain signals to my body even when Im not actually in pain.  It causes a decrease in energy and means I need to learn how to manage stress and find ways to use my energy resources efficiently. POTS is a blood disorder where my blood is not circulating to my brain efficiently.  This leads to feeling light headed and requires me to consume 4,000 to 6,000 mg of sodium a day as well as an increase in water to increase my blood volume. Moving forward will mean some changes and struggles but somehow we will figure out a way to live with it and find a new "norm."