Nora's Fall Orchestra Concert

Nora had her first Junior High Orchestra concert!

When I was taking her picture, a fuzzy little photobomber appeared, haha

She is in the Intermediate Orchestra

Her Orchestra teacher, Mrs. Smith

She was sitting in a place where we couldn't really see her, but we enjoyed listening

Mrs. Smith left for a minute, and came back dressed as a witch during the Advanced Orchestra's performance

Mike's Surgery

On Oct. 3, Mike had surgery to fix his deviated septum, and reduce his turbinates (structures inside the nose). 

Before surgery

After surgery - this was pretty rough. It took a couple hours to get his pain under control. (He actually told me to take this picture, btw)

Starting to feel a little better, almost ready to go home.

During the surgery, the doctor put in a plastic stent in each nostril, and secured them in place with a stitch. After a week he had a follow up appointment to get them taken out. I was surprised by how big they were! No wonder he had been so miserable!

It's been a rough and painful recovery, but things are starting to get better. This is the mountain of pillows on the bed to help him sleep in a more elevated position. He is able to breathe out of both nostrils at the same time now, so the surgery did help him to breathe better, which was the goal.

September Misc.

A few more pictures from September:

My cuddle buddy, Max

We got both of the kitties collars with ID tags. They weren't too happy about them at first, but adjusted pretty quickly. I think the little fish tags are really cute!

Oliver makes me laugh when he rolls around and stretches on the floor

Driving up to Sunday dinner

Tuckered out Dorie at Grammy and Grandpop's, haha

Sam was assigned to give a science presentation to his class about Oobleck (cornstarch + water), and talk about how sometimes it acts like a liquid and sometimes it acts like a solid. Nora and Sam did a trial run at home, and added some food coloring for fun

Sam giving his presentation to his class. He did a really good job!

Is Max melting here? This is how he got the nickname "Ooey-Gooey" - he seems like he is made of taffy or molasses or something

Sam made a "mega arm"

The kitties are currently obsessed with the ottoman in our master bedroom

The girls and I decided to make a special project...

K-9, the robotic dog, from Doctor Who!

The kids have also been making lots of slime

Sam and his dragon

Cute little Dorie

Oliver being a little naughty by being up on the table - but he looks so cute with his tail wrapped around his paws

Dorie helping Nora watch for her school carpool in the morning

Mike and I went to Corteo, a Cirque du Soliel show, that was in town with my side of the family.

Before the show we had dinner at a Mongolian BBQ restaurant by the Maverick Center.

V perusing the menu

V with her "creation"

The show has an unusual premise. The description from their website:

"Corteo, which means "cortege" in Italian, is a joyous procession, a festive parade imagined by a clown. The show brings together the passion of the actor with the grace and power of the acrobat to plunge the audience into a theatrical world of fun, comedy and spontaneity situated in a mysterious space between heaven and earth.

The clown pictures his own funeral taking place in a carnival atmosphere, watched over by quietly caring angels. Juxtaposing the large with the small, the ridiculous with the tragic and the magic of perfection with the charm of imperfection, the show highlights the strength and fragility of the clown, as well as his wisdom and kindness, to illustrate the portion of humanity that is within each of us. The music, by turns lyrical and playful, carries Corteo through a timeless celebration in which illusion teases reality."

The stage set up

A promotional image of some of the acrobatic act with the giant chandeliers

This small lady was attached to some giant balloons and came and floated over the audience. They said if she started coming down by you, to give her a push up on her feet!

It was a really neat and whimsical show

One of Max's favorite things in the world - laundry fresh out of the dryer

Cooking Class

We had the opportunity to take a great cooking class at the Park City Culinary Institute SLC Campus along with my side of the family.

The class was called "Utah Farm to Table" and we learned how to make roasted potatoes, grilled carrots, salad, and chicken with cream sauce.

We watched some demonstrations, and then tried it ourselves

Nora was at Kate, Beth, and Reece's table

Cutting up some colorful potatoes

The kids were really good at peeling carrots

Before grilling the carrots, we boiled them for a little bit, and then put them in ice water to stop the cooking

V really liked smelling all the different fresh herbs

Grilling the carrots - we got to try purple and white carrots as well as orange. A few of our carrots fell into the grill 😬

Cooking the chicken in butter with herbs

Making the cream sauce

Enjoying our hard work - it was a very delicious dinner!

The kids had a great time and loved being involved! Evie told me that this was one of her very best memories. The kids have been trying more cooking at home, and are great helpers when I'm cooking.