16th Anniversary!

Wow, 16 years! It seems like it's been longer than 16 years and also how did time go so fast?

We did two trips this year for our 15th, sort of so we didn't do much celebrating this year so other random happenings are included on this post!

Like Clark building a synth!




Here is a new fall dress for Shanna!


My kids love it with the library check-out receipt touches the floor.


I had a primary meeting at the church and the kids had fun messing with the chairs and tables.... Looks unstable...




Shanna made a chocolate pudding, graham cracker dessert.


There is a used music store in Harrisonburg.  We finally checked it out and Clark loved it.




Now for the anniversary!  We ate at the Union Station restaurant. 




Another fun cross country meet.  This one at Shanna's school.


We parked by our "twin" one night.


We went to a Stuarts Draft for a marching band competition.  We arrived just in time.  Lee went in to watch since you had to pay to enter and we hung out outside. 


And in the fall, BYU football is bound to be watched!


We had fun at our friend's house that night, reppin' the BYU Cougars!


My kids always get a kick out of seeing animals.


Guess what Shanna did?!


I will do a bigger post on this later, but I have been introduced to the minimalist movement.  I never knew a "movement" existed.  I know about decluttering, and even read The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Condo.  I even read a Year of Less.  But I did not know about "minimalism" and that it was a thing till I saw the Minimalists on the Rachel Cruze show.

Recently I went through my kids' stuff.  The girls had way too much.  I had two huge lawn and garden garbage bags full of stuff. When I initially went through their things when they moved down stairs I had filled up those garbage bags.  I kept them for 3 months.  I finally got rid of them. They did not say anything about wanting anything from them.  And I didn't think they would miss anything.  I purged their items yet again.  And they have given away some things themselves.  Their rooms aren't perfect, but they are much more manageable.  Now only if their clothes would stop jumping out of the laundry basket, landing on the ground...


AHHH, the clutter!


The girls joined FCCLA at middle school.  They had a field trip to the State Fair.  They could participate if they entered an FCCLA item into the fair.  Haley sewed an apron. Shanna made a table, which I think is pictured later.


I felt like a grown-up! 


The sour dough bread from Bella Gelato is so yummy!


More cross country!


Shanna and her friend Claire.


The girl's room after the second big purge.




Elden had his raingutter regatta.  And he WON!  We were really surprised by that.  So fun!




More cleaning and purging.....








I also made little treats for the primary kids for after the program.


Shanna had her award ceremony for cross country!


We also went to a Harry Potter night in Staunton.  Lots of fun activities there.  Also tons of people were dressed up and businesses decked out.


















We saw our friends who were volunteer that night.  You got to find your patronus which was fun.


You could visit different people through the night and collect trading cards.






A random couple who dressed up and let me take their picture.






And back to more house organizing, I purged out books and music and this is what is left! I am not good at styling things, but I am satisfied with the result.  


We also went up for Jessica's birthday!  So fun!


It was a great September!