September morn, we danced until the...never mind.

Guess what?  They called me to help the girls in activity days!  I warned you that if I didn't post for a while it was because they had asked me to help with scouts.  Well, activity days is similar to den mom duties except that instead of pocket knives we are playing with frosting and butter knives.  I have been teaching aerobics two days a week as well so between that and the overwhelming responsibility of keeping three little people alive it has been busy.  Hope you are well.  It was awfully cold today in Colorado.  I do like fall weather though, and the scenery here has not disappointed in the least.  My squirrel friend (my niece Maggie named him "Jumper") has not been coming around as often.  I think it is because all the fruit is gone from the trees in my yard.  It never occurred to me that the squirrels were using me for fruit.  I thought we had something.  We have encountered a fox and several snakes in the area, so don't worry we are not getting lonely!

September was spent trying to adjust to our new school schedule.  I don't know how I would have made this move without T's constant help.  Here is a quick letter to all single moms:

Dear Single Moms,

You are amazing.  I don't know how you do it.

Love, Jill

I remember asking mothers if parenting became easier as the child got older.  Their answer was always that it didn't get easier but the job description changes.  I get it now.  I am not wiping down high chairs anymore, but I am working equally as hard on Halloween costumes, lunches, classroom help, callings, bills...you get the point.  T stays busy with his responsibilities as well.  Ash seems to be doing well in school.  He enjoys chess club and serving on student government.  He is all about magic tricks these days.  He is constantly pulling a quarter out of my ear and asking me to pick a card.  I've done enough card tricks with him in the last few days that I can't remember the card I have picked out of his deck.  He will just say, "Was that your card?" and I will answer, "You bet it is buddy" even though I don't have the foggiest idea if it was my card.  He spent a few days at an outdoor education program with kids from his school class.  They even spent the night there.  T was able to chaperon.  T's pictures and texts about how the events were unfolding was priceless.  My favorite texts were the ones about his snoring roommates or trying to find a seat at the breakfast table because he knew that sitting by his son would be totally uncool.

Troy's Bunk Bed! He shared that room with two other men.

Ash on his way down the mountain.  Pretty long night I guess.

Shortly after Ash and T arrived home from camp we headed to Salt Lake.  My sweet niece was having a birthday and there was no way we were missing that.  As we drove into the valley late Thursday night I couldn't hold back a tear or two.  Those mountains are like my old friends.  There was Mt. Olympus, just patiently waiting for my return.  We filled every moment with sweet reunions.  Mom and Dad had the house all dolled up.  We felt like we were at the Ritz.  They even had a mini-bar for us!  Of course they didn't have a mini-bar guys. Dad always has pumpkin chocolate chip cookies on hand so we were well taken care of.

Love you guys.

At the Station Park fountain, dancing to Michael Buble.

I think this picture is especially flattering of me. We saw some missionaries in the store and I asked T to give them a little cash.  He obliged, but he was probable thinking, "They are on a mission Jill, they are not homeless".

A view from the car window.

We were sad to go.  The kiddos took turns crying on the way home.  The good news is that Wyoming provided bathrooms every 30 minutes.  Once again, thank you Wyoming for your hospitality.  One of these days I am going to shower at one of the trucker stops we always end up at just to say I did it.  They seem quite private and well priced. Ha! Beef jerky and a shower?  Yes, please.

We have a chalk board in our kitchen that reads "52 days until Christmas".  I have found listening to Christmas music or counting down to Christmas before Thanksgiving can be offensive to some people.  I apologize if my Christmas cheer is to much for you to hear.  Please don't worry about Thanksgiving though.  It doesn't feel bad.  In fact, I'm pretty sure Tom Turkey is more than happy to skip right over Thanksgiving because it means he gets to keep his gizzard.  Anyway, my wish list is not to extensive so feel free to call me for my sizing or whatever.  Just teasing!  I would love a pet beaver though.  Oh wait, send me a beaver and your dead to me.  Love you.