Fall fell fast! Birthdays, basketball, a "baby sprinkle" and Hell Week!

It begins the season of holidays: My birthday, followed by Halloween, Thanksgiving, then Christmas! It brings longer nights, cooler temperatures, and (this year!) even some glorious rain! Even overwhelmed with my job (nine writing classes!), I've felt moments of holy gratitude for fall and the celebratory events that come with it.

But fall fell fast! So many activities in October, and now it's already November.

Birthdays! Eli's daughter Jane and I both have birthdays in October. Mine comes first on the 20th, but this year, Jane's parents hosted her party early on the 17th. Jane's Pokemon birthday party was a glowing success; she was giddy with excitement and smiling ear-to-ear the entire day.

My birthday on the 20th was decidedly more lowkey. I worked both at UVU and the U. of Utah that day, but squeezed in lunch with Shulamith and Amanda in between schools, then met up with most of the fam later that night for dinner. 

Isaiah was in Toronto but was back in town Friday, so he and Shulamith and I grabbed dinner before attending the Utah Jazz hometown season opener. This team! Likes to mess with me! Playing fairly strong through the first half, they fell to pieces in the third quarter, handing the ball to New Orleans all wrapped up with a bow, over and over and over, then missing free throw after free throw. Ugh. Happily, they pulled out a nail-biter finish in the fourth, and won by one measly point. As my dad always said: A "W" is a "W."

The next weekend, I hosted Amanda and Eli's "baby sprinkle." It was a lovely time, I thought, with several friends stopping by to sprinkle love on Amanda. She opened all sorts of adorable baby girl fashions and also some fun books (Jane's favorite present), as she and Eli and Jane prepare to welcome a baby sister in early November.

Shulamith and I joined Orange Theory Fitness four months ago, on the recommendation of my niece, Katie. We love it! We both had done strength training regularly (Shulamith four years and me three), but we never worked so hard, so consistently as we have in the last four months at OTF. And we never ran. Never. Now we run. We hate it. But we do it anyway. 

The eight days before Halloween, they do this thing called "Hell Week," each day with a different theme and costume, and insanely hard workouts. Now, be clear. Their workouts are always hard. "Could they get harder," we asked ourselves as we signed up for Hell Week. The answer is yes. Yes they can. And they did. Yikes! Here is one picture from "wig day."

Fall fell fast! Happy post-Halloween, everyone! And welcome, November!