Marching Band and More

Much like our Monticello Mustang's Marching Band, time also keeps marching on.  I'm not sure how I keep getting so far behind on this blog.  Part of it is that Google and Apple aren't playing nicely, so in order to post pictures here, I now need to download each photo, and then export it as a JPEG file before I can upload it onto Blogger.  It's super annoying.  I also try to send Bentley an email each week (with pictures!) telling him what we've been up to.  So by the time I do that, it's feels redundant to post anything here, too.  But that's silly, since no one else is reading those emails!

I shall persevere.

Here are a BUNCH of pictures from September.  Yes, I went through all those steps for every single picture here!  You're welcome!!!  (Enjoy!)

Marching band is taking up a TON of Ryder and Colton's time.  They seem to be enjoying it, though, and the band has done really well in competitions, so that's very exciting!

Marching down to the field before a home game-- you can see Colton easily, and Ryder is way in the back

I just wish Ryder was happier...!

For the halftime show, Colton just plays the keyboard, so it's fun to see him getting to play stand tunes on his sax!

Camille has taken a lot of lovely sunset pictures at the games!

For my birthday, Craig got me the pasta maker attachment for my KitchenAid, so on a Saturday when we didn't have much going on, we finally put it to use!!!

Best.  Fettuccine.  Ever!!!  And really quite fun, once you get the hang of it!

Date night at the temple!

Okay, this is random, but I love it: these are my Hansen grandparents, decades ago, in front of their home in La Mirada!  As their grandchildren were leaving, they would run along the car for a moment to say Goodbye.  How cute were they???

And speaking of cute, look at this guy!

Getting ready to begin their show

Ryder is Locked In.

Any time I can spot a goldfinch, it just makes my whole day!!!

Finding out that we FINALLY had a release date for Volume 9 of The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion ALSO made my day!!!!  If you haven't read these yet, stop reading this blog and go get your hands on a copy!!!

This is a cake pop that my co-teacher made for seminary to help the kids learn Isaiah 5:20 (Woe unto them that call evil good and good evil)-- this looks delicious, but the inside is a Brussels sprout!!!  😖  (We did give them doughnuts afterwards-- we aren't just mean!)

For our stake Day of Service, we were once again helping out at PVCC's Community Garden!  I know next to nothing about gardening, but this almost persuaded me to plant one!  It was so beautiful and restful being there, even as I sat just outside pulling creepers and vines from the fence (and apparently avoiding having my picture taken!).  It was a perfect day and we were so happy!

As the evenings cool down, Camille finds creative ways to stay warm!  (She looks like her bear is giving her the best hug ever.  Or mauling her...)

Another temple date night, what?

Introducing Ella!

In addition to rearranging bedrooms, the other thing we had talked about doing after Kendra left for school was allowing Camille to finally get a pet chinchilla.  She'd been BEGGING for one for over a year now, but I wanted to wait until we had an extra bedroom to put it in.  Mostly because they're nocturnal, and despite Camille's insistence that she wanted her pet in her own room, I was quite certain that that wouldn't work.

But the joke's on me, because it turns out that chinchillas also have VERY specific temperature needs, and none of our bedrooms have very good climate control.  So she has to stay in our living room.  Which was where we used to keep Oreo.  My living room is the designated rodent habitat.  🤦

Here's the cage, while it was still pristine!  Chinchillas like to jump and climb, so they recommend getting a cage with lots of levels to it.

It was all well and good telling Camille she could finally get a chinchilla, but then they proved harder to find than I had imagined.  I found a rescue place in Maryland and eagerly emailed them explaining that my daughter would take great care of her pet chinchilla, only to get a form letter email back telling me that they will not adopt their chinchillas out to children.  Um, okay?  Do we seriously live in a world now where pets are only for grown ups????  I can't even.

I didn't want to have to drive to Maryland anyway.

I found another place in North Carolina but they had "prize" chinchillas, some of which were selling for $2000!!!!

I didn't want to drive to North Carolina, either.

Finally in desperation I just called our local PetSmart even though I've never seen a chinchilla at their store.  They told me that they don't get chinchillas, but the ones out by Target and in Waynesboro occasionally get them.  The one north of town said they thought they'd be getting one next week.  I can't even tell you how many times I called them to make sure they had in fact gotten a chinchilla (one.  They had ONE chinchilla)?  Was it a female?  What color was she?  Was she available to purchase or was she still being quarantined?

The second she was available, we dashed across town to go get her.  I've never seen Camille so happy.  

You can barely see Ella peering over the PetSmart worker's shoulder there!

Ready to take her home with us!

So we are now the proud owners of a chinchilla named Elephant (between the wrinkly grey skin and the large ears, she does kind of resemble an elephant!), but called Ella for short!

I was actually surprised by how big Ella is!  She looks so fat for having such dainty little paws!

Chinchillas, we are learning, are very fun.  They're kind of like a cross between a bunny and a squirrel-- big tails, but not as big as a squirrel.  They kind of hop, skip, and run along.  And at night, she likes to run on her big wheel and sound like someone is trying to break into the house.  I was right not to put her in Camille's bedroom!

On the Home Front

Craig and the kids were NOT just sitting around twiddling their thumbs while Kendra and I were gone!  The day we left, Colton began moving into Kendra's room.  He had been taking measurements and plotting it all out a month ahead of time (to the point that Kendra wasn't so sure he was even sad that she was leaving), and he hit the ground running when he got home from school!

He brought back the bunk beds

And luxuriated in all the extra space he now has!  (Kendra's room was definitely bigger than his old room!)

Craig sent me this photo with the question, "Can you tell which window I cleaned?"  😬

I like how pretty all his 3D printer filaments are!

It was also the ward's summer party at the Snow's, which I missed (same as two years ago when I took Bentley out to BYU!)--

Camille and Ember

Ryder

I see Colton and Camille in there, along with Peter, Gideon, Maya, Ember, and Bram...

Not sure if Ryder was trying to look like a zombie, but if so, Mission Accomplished!  Nice bonfire!

Anyway, what's not pictured here is that Craig also helped Camille deep clean her room.  I think they got rid of eight garbage bags of stuff?  Six bags of clothing to Goodwill and a lot of trash tossed out.  Not bad!  

And now we have an extra bedroom upstairs!!!  Craig put his drum set in there (which had previously been in Ryder's room, making it very crowded) and also the guitar and keyboard that Colton and Camille took from their Grandpa Smith before they moved.  So I guess now we have a music room?  How's THAT for hoity toity???  

It was nice to come home to a house that was even cleaner than how I left it!  I have an amazing husband!!!  (My kids are pretty great, too!)

Quick Bentley Update

Since he turned 20 (!!!) last week, I guess I should give a quick update on Elder Smith!

The short version is that he's doing great!  About a month ago he got transferred to his third area, St. Croix, and he's absolutely loving it there!  His companion, Elder Thompson, is from Silverdale (that's my stake!) and they seem to be getting along great.  He's enjoying not having to try and speak Spanish.  And he's meeting a lot of really cool people.  It's been awesome.

In case you aren't on Bentley's emailing list, I've saved his letters at eldersmithpr.blogspot.com.  He doesn't write that often, but when he gets around to it, he's pretty hilarious.  (Since a bunch of other people have said that, too, I don't *think* this is just a case of me being a proud mama?)  And he posts pictures here!  They're mostly himself picking up random animals he finds, which cracks me up.  What a goofball.  But seriously, I've never seen him so happy.  And that just makes me so happy.

Here are a few of my favorite pictures, just because I can't help myself!

Since he and his companion can't fly all the way back to PR for Zone Conference, they have to zoom in.  This also means they miss out on the awesome food provided at ZC, so instead, they get to buy themselves dinner on the mission credit card.  This time, they very carefully chose a sushi restaurant they'd heard good things about and...  proceeded to order a hamburger and BBQ chicken???  Teenage boys are so strange!!!  (Also, did they purposely match their ties???)

Look who found a turtle!

And a cat!

And a chick!

The plane that took him to St. Croix.  Those are Bentley's knees jutting up against the pilot's seat.  Nothing to see here, folks, this is super safe!

This lil guy is so cute!

Bentley's caption: elder oso (that's "bear" in Spanish) is still working on the word of wisdom (what's really funny is that they have the cigarette backwards, and Craig had to point that out to me, because I didn't even notice!) 😂

Cute puppy!!!

Is this guy even smaller than the last one???

Why is this very small horse just out and about?  Oh-- I guess it has a rope keeping it there.  

Clearly AI generated to look like it's a page out of Preach My Gospel.  I shouldn't enjoy this, but seriously, it's so wildly inappropriate!!!  I couldn't stop laughing!!!

They got up early and went to the eastern most point of the island so they could be the first Americans to see the sun that day!
Happy birthday, Bentley!!!  Keep rocking it as a missionary!!!!