September travels

We started September off right by spending the weekend in Tucson with a bunch of the Marsh extended family. John and Lucina got a few rooms at a resort so that we could all meet up for the BYU game. Rory and I went down early with John and Lucina and while Stephen spent the day at work we played in the pool and had a blast. He made it that night just in time to catch the family dinner at Oregano's

 The next day we played and hung out while the boys went golfing and once again had a blast. John, Ashleigh, and Siena had arrived late in the night and Rory was so excited to have a play mate. That night John, Ashleigh, Stephen, and I went out to dinner at El Guero Canelos before making the way to the game. I had to include this picture of Stephen with the cup of churros and ice cream because is there a more beautiful sight in this world than the man you love holding a cup for churros and ice cream for you? 
It was an unexpected win for BYU and it ended up being so fun to be at the game. I saw that rare side of Stephen that only comes out when he's watching BYU sports. You know, the side of him that stands on the bench, turns to greet his public with a solemn face, and then proceeds to alternate between pounding his fist to his chest or raising it high in the air for his "people"? Yeah, that one. I was invisible to him all night and I'm not sure I have ever laughed more. Man, do I love this weirdo. And if you think I am exaggerating that screen shot taken from ESPN is about all the proof I need. 

It was a quick, but very fun, little escape. When we got back home we realized that Rory had picked up a new skill- she now stripped off her diaper before falling asleep for naps or bedtimes. How advanced, right? She must be ready for potty training or something you might think, but no, she just wakes up in a puddle of her own pee if we don't catch it soon enough. 

The next weekend Rory and I drove down to Redlands, CA to meet up with Courtney and her crew. We got there in the afternoon, and once Curtis was done with his time at the clinic for the day we made out way down to San Diego for my cousin Parker's wedding. It was a great excuse to be together again so soon after Kendall's wedding and it was especially awesome to not be in charge of anything this time! We took one picture! It was bliss. Having never been there before, I thought it was pretty cool to be in the San Diego temple. 

Before the reception, Parker and Kara held a ring ceremony for her family members that weren't able to join them in the temple. They asked my dad to officiate and he did a really lovely job. I hope that I got from him his love of the gospel and his love for others, though I do think I was blessed with my mom's filter instead of my dad's nonexistent one. ( He did such a lovely job on the ceremony that I won't document the way he offended the bride's mother at the rehearsal dinner, but just know it was hilarious.) 

Their reception was held in a botanical garden that evening which was just lovely. I spent most of the night trying to keep Rory from jumping in this pond and I was pretty successful. There was Olive Garden, dancing, and cake, so overall it was an extremely successful party. 

Everyone headed out the next day and I drove back with the Papenfi to Redlands to spend the week with them. I love any time I can get to hang with Courtney and this was no exception. Thankfully, Curtis's schedule as a fourth year med student is a little less insane so I even got to see him some of the time too! We spent a lot of time playing at the park, swimming, eating good food, and watching good shows. Oh, and also a lot of time trying to get Rory to NOT strip every time she slept, which as you can see I was not so successful at. 

Rory loved having pretend siblings for the week and even though she spent most of her time trying to fight them it was clear she was so obsessed with Quinn and Dean. She was so obsessed with Dean that after seeing him use the potty she decided she wanted to go on the toilet too. We spent our last few days there with her doing all her peeps in the potty, aside from during nap time when she'd strip down and pee in her bed. It was crazy. One time we were even at the park and she used the public toilets FIVE times, and she went every time! It was seriously crazy. 

Our last night in town we enjoyed some fancy grilled cheese and gourmet ice cream and it was such a blast. I really hope we get to live closer together someday because hanging out with my sister all the time is just the best. 

*Side story: I received a text from Stephen saying that he bought a tool from our neighbor and he needed me to venmo him $250 for it. I was so bugged. I had been saving up for his birthday present and to afford I was waking up early to teach classes the whole time that I was with the Papenfi. I just couldn't believe that he would buy some random tool that was that expensive without even thinking about it! I was so mad I even full on vented to my mom and sisters and fumed about it for a while. 

When Rory and I got home we chatted with Stephen for a little bit before he made the comment, "I think the closet is stinky again, can you go smell it?" (and yes, we have had stinky closet problems in the past) I opened the door to find brand new shelving that Stephen and my neighbor had built together! It was so gorgeous and such a shock. Stephen is not one for surprises like this, so it totally blew me out of the water. And then of course I felt terrible for being so mean. And then of course he told everyone how ticked I was and they all thought it was hilarious. But I'm the one with a brand new closet so ha ha ha.