October

October has been a busy month!

We started the month with a big potluck with friends, after the Sunday afternoon session of General Conference.  I normally don't eat at potlucks but it was all people I knew well, plus it was an assigned potluck.  We did "Cafe Rio" night, and everyone brought a different element of the meal.  It came together really well and I hope it becomes a tradition!

Playing with Ellie and Olivia in their bedroom:

Some mornings have actually been downright chilly - a welcomed change on our walks! (Olivia is riding in a friend's stroller)

Ellie was convinced that we needed this mermaid shell chair from Homegoods..

...I was convinced that I needed to buy these for Emma -- she used to rock this look back in the day. (I didn't buy them)

Olivia (& the girls) had fun with a box:

Having fun in the backyard:

Three trips to the doctor's office... thankfully just for checkups and vaccines.

I can't get enough of those chunky baby legs and cheeks:

Olivia helps me on another project:

I braved the crowds and took the kids to Oktoberfest by myself this year... we went early so that we could do the fun kid things before it got too crowded.  It was fun, but pretty crazy.  It got really packed with people by the time we left and I get nervous I'm going to lose someone!

The girls and I had some great luck at yard sales one morning a few weeks ago.  Abbie got a Razor scooter for $3 and Ellie got a Radio Flyer scooter for $3.  I also got that fun wooden toy for Olivia for $6.

Me & the older girls. I will admit, I was mostly taking this picture so I could check out my teeth.  I started getting a really bad ache in one of my front teeth about two weeks ago, and the tooth was starting to discolor.  It turns out that the tooth was dying quickly, which originated from a tooth trauma that occurred over 16 years ago (*long story).  Anyway, I was getting to be really paranoid about it and it was hurting a lot, but we don't have dental insurance and root canals start at $900 at most practices around here.... plus I was just missing my old dentist that I grew up with in NH. He was amazing. Thankfully, we live near a dental school, and I was able to see a dental resident who does mostly root canals every day!  He was great and I feel so much better - no more pain at all.  He even did an internal bleaching treatment so that the tooth would go back to a more normal color.  At this point it's actually a little bit whiter than the others but that should even out in a few weeks. (this pic was taken before the root canal... but the discoloration isn't showing up).

(Funny sidenote, I did not know that people could even get root canals on the front tooth!  I was really nervous going into the appointment, paranoid that my tooth was so dead and brittle that it would just crumble.  The dental resident did some x-rays and it turns out that I had already gotten a root canal on the front tooth next to the dead tooth... and another front tooth is actually a crown [I did know that but I always forget about it]  Ha.. I have spent a lot of my life in the dentist's chair, I guess... even if I have only been a handful of times since I got married.)

Poor little Olivia got sick for a few days:

Ellie was in charge of bringing the snack to school one day:

Monkeying around the house:

I do not carve pumpkins, but the girls and I painted some pumpkins this year:

A masterpiece by Ellie:

(*okay, the story isn't THAT long.  I was roller skating and I fell on my face.)