Sisters Weekend and Halloween
We did make it to the pumpkin farm on the 21st though after all the passport stuff and baseball and dance was done. We did the hayride and corn maze and the kids played a bit and before we knew it, the store had closed and we were the only ones still around. Kind of a bummer because we hadn't bought our pumpkins yet.
I was super stressed and busy planning for weeks for the fall fest, especially because I wouldn't be there to make sure it went smoothly, but most of the feedback I have gotten was that it was good. A few people were being fussy but I'm taking it as a win that lots of people were involved and our friends that aren't members who came had a wonderful time. A lot of my friends really stepped up and made all of my ideas happen and I think it mostly all worked. I made a few mistakes and will learn from that but for the most part I think people had fun. You can't please all 150 people, although it is a bit hurtful when people complain about ideas I thought were brilliant, but after a few days of being bothered, I decided to get over it. Now we have to get moving on Christmas.
I wasn't at the fall fest because it was my annual sisters weekend, which we actually haven't had in a few years. We all saw each other at the beach reunion last year and at my nephew's wedding in 2019 but we haven't had a true sisters weekend since 2018 when we went to Vermont for my dad's 80th birthday, and even then my parents and two brothers-in-law were there so it hasn't just been the five of us for awhile. My mom turned 80 on October 11 and to celebrate she just wanted her girls to come home so all five of us went to Rochester last weekend. I flew in and Kristi drove in and we both got in late Thursday. Debbie picked me up and the three of us stayed up talking until 2am all about my niece's wedding and the drama. Friday we went shopping and stopped by to say hi to KayLee at work, then we got Abbott's and played a game. We got Pontillo's pizza and went down to Charlotte Beach on Lake Ontario for a picnic because it was so warm and beautiful. The fall colors really were so lovely. We watched a movie and then went to pick up Cindy at the airport. My parents were at the wrong gate when she got home from her mission so we made signs and cheered when she came down the escalator, just like she was coming home from a mission. It was pretty funny and thankfully the airport was pretty empty so it wasn't too embarrassing. It was good to finally have her there. My parents went to bed soon after we got back but the five of us stayed up talking until 2 am again. Our family is quite blessed but there is still some heavy life stuff to fill each other in on and I went to bed so tired. I'm really grateful for my sisters. I was so impressed last weekend by how talented and fun and capable and independent they each are and no wonder I turned out how I did with such wonderful examples to look to and learn from.
Saturday we went to an apple farm and got fresh cider and doughnuts that were delicious. Then we drove around our town on a nostalgic tour. We drove by the very first house my parents lived in when they moved to Rochester and then the one we grew up in and all around our neighborhood where I would ride my bike and play with my friends and where Josh and I would walk around late at night holding hands. We drove by our high school and it was funny how we each have such different memories of the same place since we are kind of spread out by age, but we all graduated from the same school. Then we went to Wegmans, the greatest grocery store in the country and perhaps the world. It is so beautiful and it makes me happy to go there. I got Josh his favorite doughnuts and brought them home to him since he did a lot of work for me while I was gone. Then we watched the BYU football game, went to a nice dinner of my mom's choosing and played some games.
Sunday we went to church and even though it was the ward I grew up in, it feels so different. So many of my friends live other places and their parents have all moved away. There are only a few people there now who knew me but a few of them came up and said how good it was to see us all together. Cindy even took a picture of us in church because I am not sure we have ever all seven of us been in church together like that before. My dad was the bishop when I was born and then the stake president from when I was 5-14 so he never sat with us and by the time I was 14, all four of my older sisters had gone off to college so then it was just the three of us in church. Some people came and told us nice stories of things my dad had done for them when he was the bishop and it was very sweet of them to share that with us 40 years later. I wonder where Josh and I will live when he is 85 and if people will remember nice things about him from when he was bishop.
After church we went back to KayLee's house and had lunch/dinner so Kristi could hit the road and then my flight left at 5:30. I don't always love being with all of my sisters at the same time because they often fall back into the pattern of treating me like a little sister, but this time was better. It was a nice weekend and I'm glad for the time with my family and it was fun to just be together as the original seven Burninghams. I have certainly been blessed with goodly parents and I'm so thankful for the way they raised us and taught us and continue to love and support us.
I got home by about 9pm and I was so tired but very wired because I was so anxious to hear all about the fall fest and how it went. I had a hard time sleeping that night and just feeling settled, then Monday I was so busy doing laundry and cleaning up the aftermath of a busy weekend and I went to try and find pumpkins because we hadn't had time to carve them yet. Josh was such a great sport and spent hours setting up the party just how I wanted and cleaning it all up and running the kids to all their stuff and serving in his calling and we were both exhausted Monday. I did find the last and saddest pumpkins at the farm and Josh carved his Monday night while the kids did theirs Tuesday afternoon.
Halloween was fun and low key. Lily and Curtis decided not to trick-or-treat so they made a fire in our fire pit and handed out candy from the driveway. Darn kids are so lazy today; they don't even have to walk up the driveway or ring doorbells anymore. But they had fun together and since they were handing out candy, I walked around with Josh and Emma and Brandon. He was a minion and Emma was Elphaba from Wicked. I even had Defying Gravity playing on my phone the whole time we walked around and that was fun. I enjoyed talking with Josh and saw a few neighbors and it was a nice evening. Even though I had bought a ton of candy they were out by the time we got back (probably because I usually make kids come to the door) so we wrapped up by 7:30 pm.
I still feel like I am so behind and there is so much to do but both boys have their last games on Saturday and then I will have my evenings back and won't be constantly trying to schedule rides and how to get everyone where they need to go. Curtis had a game Monday and it was so windy and cold and a bit rainy but Brandon and I stuck it out. His team lost terribly but Curtis had an awesome game. He finally got to pitch for the first time this season and he did an amazing job! I was practically in tears when he got three kids out one right after the other (strikeout, pop fly that another kid caught and then he got a kid out at first who was leading off). He had another game last night and also played quite well. He pitched three innings and the first one was amazing, second one was very good and the third one was good. My favorite play was when he caught the ball the kid had just hit right back to him. I hope he can stay on this team for spring because I really like his coach and the kids are nice and they are a good team, albeit inconsistent. Curtis also ran in a cross country meet Wednesday afternoon and came in 8th place overall and his school won the meet. His PE teacher is a great guy and I really like him. He encourages Curtis and is so good to him. I couldn't pick Curtis up until way after the meet ended because I was teaching piano but his teacher let him hang out and was willing to wait with him until I got there and made it possible for Curtis to participate, which was super nice.
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