Random Stuff From September 2025

Here are some of the random things we did in September. 

Ella ended up earning 2 more free tickets to Wild Waves so her and Justine were able to go one more time. It was on Labor Day, September 1st, and we were thinking it was going to be crazy, but it actually wasn't as busy as it was the Sunday I took the whole youth group. The weather wasn't the greatest, but it was the last opportunity that they'd have to do go so they just had to make do. 

After Justine and Ella went off on their own, I dressed their stuffed animals in their matching shirts and then posed them. 

Bunny and Pikachu had a great day at the water park even though Bunny almost got stung by a bee. 

The biggest bummer of the day was that they were out of some of their condiments and supplies. It was the end of the season so I get them not wanting to reorder a bunch of stuff right before they close down for the year. They were out of the large Icee cups and they were also out of ranch. That was the really bummer because it's just not right eating chicken with ketchup! 

Snuggling! 

On Wednesday, September 3rd, Zeke had his follow up appt with the pediatric cardiologist. He sees a cardiologist and a pulmonologist every two years to check in on both this heart and his lungs because he has Pectus Excavatum....a concaved chest. This time around they found out that part of his heart is being constricted and affected by his Pectus. We made an appt for the next month to come back in for Zeke to do an exercise test so they could gage just how affected his heart is by his Pectus.   

On Friday, September 5th, Logan came over to visit for the weekend. 

Earlier this year we talked about getting bestie pictures for the girls. I was around their age when I got bestie pictures with my best friend and it was so much fun! 

A week before Logan came over on, Saturday, August 30th, I was at the mall with Ella and Justine. We went into JCPenney's to look around. I wanted to say "Hi" to Pooja who always takes the kids pictures...now that both Owen and Jack are finished with birthday pictures we won't get to see her as often. When I was talking with her I remembered that Logan was coming over the next weekend so I should just go ahead and schedule pictures so that's what I did. The photo session was scheduled for 1:45pm the following Saturday. 

Jen met us at JCPenney's the next day for the photo sessions. Pooja had so much fun with the girls. I'll post the pictures in a separate blog. I had bought a Groupon so we would get the same deal I always get for the kids' birthday pictures, but Jen went ahead and bought the entire digital album since it was going to be too hard to decide which 3 pictures to choose from since all the pictures were so cute.  

After pictures we went and got lunch. I got Chipotle, Ella got Panda Express and Logan and Jen got burgers. We wanted to hang out more so we walked all through the mall and bought some jewelry and then we walked by Undercover Fries and we had to introduce Jen and Logan to them.  

We got a large basket to share. We get them with the BBQ and Sour Cream seasoning mixed. In fact the guy that ordered in front of me placed the same order. 

We got normal fries since Logan doesn't like curly fries and while they were good...curly fries are even better! Oh man...now I need some of there fries! 

On Sunday, September 7th, after church we needed to go buy croissants from Costco so we could have croissant sandwiches at our first Sunday Night Life (SNL) Group with the youth that started the night.

Ella and Justine messing around before everyone showed up for our SNL group. 

Every April & September, Michael and I get to go to his water conference that's put on by WASWD. The engineer firm that Michael uses always takes their customers out for a nice dinner one of the nights. At this dinner they always have LEGO flower arrangements as the centerpieces of the tables. At the end of the dinner those centerpieces get given away in some way whether it's because you have a sticker under your chair or your birthday is the closest. I mentioned to the lady that plans the dinners if she needed help putting the LEGO flower arrangements together I'd be happy to help...plus I have teenagers that love to put LEGO's together. She actually reached out to me at the beginning of September to ask if I was still interested to which I said...YES!!! She ordered the LEGO's and had them shipped directly to our house. She order 6 of the same flower arrangement. 

On Monday, September 8th, Justine came over in the afternoon after Ella was finished with school and they decided to each put one together. 

 

Actually they decided to race to see who could put it together the fastest and lets just saying racing with LEGO's isn't really a good idea. You almost always end up forgetting a step or doing something wrong. They did eventually both finish putting their flower arrangements together though. 

Owen didn't have a job lined up after his job with the water district ended. In order to motivate him to get another job, we told him that he would be working for about 2 hours everyday doing odd jobs around the house and he needed to apply for at least 2 jobs every day until he got a new job. It really ended up being so nice since we had a lot of odd jobs that needed to be taken care of around the house. The one he tackled first was burning all the leftover scraps of construction wood we had piled up next to the shed. He spent hours and hours outside burning wood. There were times the he need to go eat lunch or go do something else so then I would go out and tend to the fire. We all actually tended to the fire at one time or another. I really enjoyed taking over for Owen when he needed me to. The only thing I didn't enjoy is how I smelled like smoke afterwards. 

Jackson sits on this loveseat everyday for school and everyday Charlie comes over to kneed and then lay down for his hours and hours of beauty sleep! 

Michael's water conference was September 15th - Sept 18th. On Wednesday, September 17th, WASWD had their big party since they were celebrating 30 years of existence. We all had to wear party hats so I just had to take a picture of Michael and Peter in their party attire.

When we got home from the conference on Thursday night, Ella showed me how she learned to put her hair in a messy bun. It looked so good!!! Unfortunately she's forgotten how she did it since she can't really put her hair up like very often because her hair is so heavy it ends up giving her a headache. 

On Monday, September 22nd, we had an official first in our house. The first time I sent any of my kids to Costco to buy stuff. We had just recently gotten Michael taken off our Costco card....he has a business one through work so he never uses the personal one...and we had Jack add to our account. I needed just a few things so I went online and found the things I needed took pictures of them and texted them to Jack. Owen went with him and Jack only had to call me once because he couldn't locate a couple of things. He's since gone back one other time to buy Feta for me. It's a whole new world!!! 

Puyallup Fair & Sunset Dinner Cruise!

Last year I had such a fun time taking the youth to the Puyallup Fair that I decided to take them again this year. We met at the church at 9:30am on Saturday, September 20th and took the church van down to Puyallup. This time we had more kids that were able to come so that made it even more fun. One thing that was a bummer was that Michael wasn't feeling well that day so he ended up staying home to rest since we had plans later that night and he didn't want to have to cancel them. 

First stop was the Starbucks across the street from the Gold Gate. 

The student all had their tickets and I had an educator ticket. A couple of the students even had extra student tickets. We asked a group if they needed tickets and they didn't. There really weren't a lot of people coming through the gate at the same time we were so we just left all the tickets sitting on this statue thing for people to grab if they needed them. 

The first place we headed was the free archery place. I didn't take as many pictures this time around. Some of us did archery and then we went over and play chess. A couple people were still playing chess so Lina, Amy and I sat with a guy at another booth and learned how to play Bridge. It was a lot of fun! 

This whole area had been under construction last year so the Sasquatch had been off to the side. This time around he was in this courtyard area right when you walked in. 

 

125 years of the Puyallup Fair....still not gonna call it The Washington State Fair. 

We did all sorts of stuff during the day. We spent a ton of time in the Showplex wandering around enjoying the samples and finding things to buy. Ella and Justine bought Jibbitz for their Crocs. Jack bought a 3D printed monkey for him and Zeke. Lina and Amy bought this container of fun cute mini trinkets. I bought dip mixes and a ring. 

We did go and check out the piglets...they're so cute! 

We were trying to find other small animals like bunnies or guinea pigs, but I don't think they were at the fair that day. It was the second to the last day the fair was going on. We did see this plastic cow and it didn't have a sign on it saying you couldn't get on it so Ella climbed up for a picture. Jack tried to get on it after Ella, but it wasn't anchored to the ground so it almost tipped over. Jack inadvertently went cow tipping! Thankfully it didn't actually tip all the way over.  

For lunch we all got our own things at different times. I got my normal order which is a gyro...yummy!

I told the kids that it's pretty much a rip off to pay for tickets to go on the rides, but a couple of them had free ride tickets so they were able to go on a few rides. The lines were crazy nutso though so that limited the rides they were able to go on. They definitely had fun though! 

As it got closer to the time we needed to leave we decided to get all the desserts we wanted. Lina had some leftover food tickets that she gave me so I got my Dole Whip for free which was super cool. 

Ella and Justine got a crepe and a Dole Whip.

We headed out around 3:30pm since Michael and I had plans. I got the kids back to the church and then Jack and Ella took Justine home. While I hurried and drove the church van back to Pastor's house and then drove home. I had just enough time to change clothes and get freshened up for the next fun adventure. 

Michael's birthday gift to me was a sunset dinner cruise on Lake Union! 

It was such a gorgeous night spent with a gorgeous guy! 

Michael paid for us to have a table at the window. 

 

He ordered a charcuterie tray to be brought out once we got there. It was so yummy....I love cheese! They also gave us each a glass of champagne. 

 

The boat pulled away from the dock at 7pm. The sky was so pretty with the city in the background. 

Our table was on the first floor but once we started moving we walked upstairs and went out on the upper deck to get some pictures. 

Lake Union is such a busy lake....there was all sorts of activity on the water. Sailboats, kayaks, paddleboards, party boats...we even saw one of those hot tub boats! 

I wore my jean jacket and it was enough to keep me warm while we were outside. We really couldn't have asked for a nicer night. 

I forgot to take pictures of our main dishes. Michael ordered one chicken entree and one beef that way I could choose which one I wanted. I actually ate a little of both meals. Poor Michael still wasn't feeling the greatest so his appetite wasn't what it normally was. He ended up going to Urgent Care the next day and got some antibiotics that thankfully they helped him get better in a few days. 

We each got a piece of cheesecake with our dinner, but Michael also ordered something special since it was my birthday. 

Chocolate covered strawberries! They were so so yummy! 

During our boat ride we cruised past the boat house community where the Sleepless in Seattle boat is. We also went into Portage Bay and through the Montlake Cut over into Lake Washington. By that point it was pretty dark out, but fun to see all the lights shining from the houses and buildings. It was also nice just getting to sit and chat with my hubby.

It such a fun day spending time at the fair with the youth and then getting to go on a date night with Michael doing something that we wouldn't normally do. Great memories for sure! 

Ella & Logan's Bestie Pictures!

 Here are Ella & Logan's Bestie Pictures! 

BFF's 

They chose to wear coordinating outfits instead of matching. Logan's shirt actually has little dots on it...it's just hard to see. 

The photographer, Pooja, was so awesome. She took one look at the girls and knew that they were going to be tons of fun and up for anything. 

They had to do the traditional prom pose! 

This is how Logan and Ella sit all the time when they lay in bed and watch a show together. Logan is Ella's recliner! 

 

These girls are so beautiful...inside and out! 

           

 

Pooja had such a great time with the girls. They made her job very easy! 

Judgy McJudgertons! 

This is one of my favorites. They had a picture on the wall at JCPenney's where the two girls were doing this pose and I knew we had to try it out. I just love that Logan is laughing her head off! 

First Day Of School 2025

Our first day of school for the year was Tuesday, September 2nd. It felt really weird starting school and not having 4 kids to take pictures of. 

My sweet senior Jackson Daniel! 

12th grade...even though it looks like 21st! 

Jack has already finished so much work he only needs 3 more credits to graduate. Because of this he's considered a part-time student with Lighthouse Christian Academy. He has to finish the follow subjects...

12 - English PACE's

6 - US Civics PACE's

6 - Economics PACE's

6 Business Math PACE's

6 Speech PACE's

I love that his graduation shirt fits him perfectly.

It's so crazy to me that I have another kiddo graduating. I feel like time it flying by. 

My sweet Zeke Russell! 

Zeke is in 8th grade....last year of middle school. 

Last year Zeke did really well having a therapist with him for part of the year. His therapist left us in January 2025 and Zeke has done pretty good without her. He goes through spurts where he is able to focus and finish school in a timely manner and then he goes through phases where school is really tough for him and he doesn't finish until dinnertime. The thing that both of us need to keep in mind is it's okay for him to not finish as early as this siblings do. 

Seriously 2030 will be here in a blink and then it's off to Hawaii to celebrate! 

We've always told the kids that Hawaii is not for children so once Zeke graduates he'll be 18 and he won't be a child anymore. Our plan as of right now is to take all the kids....spouses included if any of them are married and have an amazing time celebrating all our kids being adults in our most favorite place on earth! 

We were just looking at Zeke's shirt this year I have no idea what I was thinking, but instead of buying an adult size L it's actually a youth size XXL...which he's almost fitting into now. His 12th grade graduation shirt pictures are going to be hilarious! 

My precious Ella Grace! 

Ella finished her 8th grade year last spring and then immediately started her 9th grade year. Prior to school getting out for summer she had already finish 1/4 of her 9th grade year. Her plan is to finish 9th grade by the end of February and then launch straight into her 10th grade year and finish half of 10th grade prior to summer break. 

Her shirt says 2029, but her goal is to graduate with her original class in 2028...even if she does encounter some hardships she'll most likely be able to graduate in 2028 it just might not be in the spring, but it will still be 2028.

Ella's shirt pretty much fits her, but I don't think she's going to do much more growing height wise so I think it's all good. 

 

Man do I love these kids...even if they drive me totally bonkers they mean the world to me. 

Love that they can be a bunch of goofballs! 

I don't take it for granted the fact that I get to be their mom. 

Here's to a terrific school year!