How come both my kids slept over at my mother-in-law’s all weekend and it still felt busy?? Kicked off the weekend with Dempsey’s school fundraiser then Joey basically spent all weekend building a closet in the kids’ room and I did who knows what while the kids helped decorate for Halloween over at Chad’s. We were all back together on Sunday to celebrate Joey’s grandpa’s 90th (!!!!!) birthday and I’m ready for October to roll in and Dempsey and I’s cold to roll OUT!

Dempsey came down with a cold at the end of last week and spent a miserable night in our bed, so I was worried he wouldn’t even make it to school on Friday but he seemed game to go and Joey is hellbent on giving him a 90s childhood, which means going to school unless you’re in the hospital. He was nervous for the run they were doing later on, but put on his best brave face and walked in. Turns out the event was so fun! He thought he might do three laps but he did 13!!!! I was impressed by all of the kindergarteners 👏 Afterward, we got to check him out and he and Lydia headed back with Grandma for their sleepover.

Joey and I had dinner at Yuan Wonton (the reservation had popped up two days earlier!) and everything tasted so so good!!! Plus they played BTS the entire time 🥰 I could’ve done without the wait time between courses but I’ll forgive it this time. We had a fun date night trip to Home Depot afterward to get supplies for the new closet 😂 then went home to try and catch up on BB but I was straight falling asleep, so we finished the next morning.

Saturday started with pancakes and I baked a fresh loaf of apple, Brie, balsamic sourdough! Then I went to pick Lydia up for her park playdate and got to check in on Dempsey. You could tell he was more worn down than usual but he was still up for sleepover #2. Lydia and I had fun socializing at the park — in sharing about Dempsey’s school anxieties, I have made friends with so many other parents who have gone through similar experiences and it’s so nice to know you (and your kid) are not alone — and then I brought her back to Grandma and went home for lunch, chores, a little bit of The Great British Baking Show and to get ready for dinner with Hannah ❤️ We ate at Community and it was good as always, plus I love catching up with my bestie! Got home in time to FaceTime the kids, who were just getting home from a drone show and then Joey got back to work on the closet and I read a bit before going to bed.

Woke up to a closet! Though Joey’s ankles have been numb from kneeling down since Saturday, so I’m not sure if this progress was worth it… After breakfast, I headed out to get my hair cut and Joey headed out to pick up the kids and take them straight to a birthday party! We all had a little bit of time at home between that and the second birthday celebration of the day. This time for Grandpa Dave! We had a private room at The Old Spaghetti Factory and that was probably for the best because there were a lot of kids there and all the younger ones were acting a bit wild. How cute is Lydia looking up at her great grandpa though?? 🥹 We were back home before six and thought we’d have a nice early bedtime for our tired kids but instead it was pure chaos, screaming and crying! I think they both blacked out and Joey and I were just trying to keep the train on the tracks. Dempsey literally punched his sister and the two of them were screaming at each other from their beds until I went up and had Lydia leave the room for a reset. They finally gave it up and were asleep at 8 o’clock, only an hour and a half after we took them up for bedtime 😓

Here’s to a busy but fun October in a few days!

Happy First Day of Fall! We ushered the new season in with a really beautiful wedding, one last Rockies game for the boys and a trip up to the mountains to see the changing leaves. Feels like my children are incapable of controlling their emotions when they become even the slightest bit overtired, but at least no one tried to bite me this time 😅

Friday started with another (slightly chillier) ride on the bike bus. Dempsey tried to invite his dad instead and I was aghast! But I ended up getting to go and we had another great time ❤️ I spent the rest of the day working and then called it quits mid-afternoon to get ready for Jenn and Korey’s wedding. The whole thing was just so lovely and so them. I teared up so many times because Jenn’s brother officiated the wedding and their wedding party gave such loving speeches and, well, because Jenn has been my friend since high school and I was just so happy for her! They also had drink bearers walk down the aisle, a surprise hot dog cart show up mid-reception and such an amazing DJ to mix music for us all to dance to. It was all too fun. Congrats to them!

Edited to Add: I had just laid down in bed that night when I remembered BTS was performing at the iHeartRadio Musical Festival and pulled up the live stream JUST as they were being announced! I was maybe falling asleep during “FYA” but WHAT A SET LIST 🙌 Look, you’ll never hear me diss “Dynamite” or “Butter,” but I’m feeling like the guys are finally out from under having to perform those English-language singles everywhere they go and hell yeah to that!

Joey and I didn’t even go to the after party and I was still dragging all day on Saturday. We ate breakfast and watched some Big Brother before heading to pick the kids up. Went home for lunch and lounging, though I did repot my mums and make salads for the week. Then the boys headed out to the Rockies game — they got a Helton statue and Dempsey started learning how to keep score 🥹 — while Lydia and I played, made French dip sliders and watched Alice in Wonderland. It’s so hard to get her to watch a movie over a TV show, let alone one from 1951 but she made it through the whole thing! I put her to bed and then the boys came home shortly after and Dempsey was out quick. Joey and I finished up BB and went to bed too.

Sorry, not sorry for all of the leaf peeping photos, the sight just does not get old! I made us all overnight oats so we could get the kids up and out the door as quickly as possible. We brought the iPads and headphones as a back up plan but really hoped to just make it up with food, music (LOL at Dempsey wanting to listen to “Blue” on repeat after we heard it at the wedding and played it for him 😂) and Super Great Kids’ Stories. It went okay 😅 Dempsey was actually pretty into the podcast but the ride home definitely featured arguing over music and the volume of said music until Lydia passed out. We went up to Boreas and hiked Aspen Alley. The kids were being slightly dramatic about cold air touching their bodies and having to use their own two legs in the first five minutes but then they gave it up and ended up doing really well. Dempsey walked the entire time!

On the drive home, I let the kids (and Joey 😂) get candy when we stopped to use the bathroom in Georgetown and they were none too pleased when I wouldn’t let them eat the entire bag of mini Starburst. Dempsey basically had a meltdown about that and anything else he could think of from then until we got to my parents’ for dinner that night. Luckily, seeing Uncle Wayne perked him back up. My mom made a good dinner and dessert for us all and we were back home mostly on time for bed, thank goodness. Got them down and watched the Season 4 finale of Industry, so we’re all caught up. I literally could not tell you a single thing about trading and I think everyone on the show is a horrible person but I still enjoyed watching it.

We have a busy week but I’m looking forward to it all. Happy Tuesday!