September: Football Games, Arno and Annabelle's Birthday, Chalk Festival, Pinewood Derby, and a Coworker Gamenight

 The end of September was very full! We were able to take Marcus to, if I remember correctly, his second game of the season. It was just us because the rest of the family had things going on. The funny thing about the game was that before it even started, the refs were like, "We don't even have you on the schedule, so we're going to have to move you to a place that is available for a game to be played on. We moved to another field which was over a bridge, etc. But then, in the middle of it all, they told us we had to move back to the previous field because the field that they wanted was already taken with a game. So we moved all the way back. It was a bit frustrating, but in the end, they played their game. Marcus made a good catch during this particular game. Afterwards, we went to In-n-out. However, it was really late and we didn't get home until after 11, and we forgot to notify people that we were stopping to eat, which was our bad. Since then he has played several more games, all which we haven't been able to watch for various reasons. However, he did end up getting a touch down in the most recent game he played.

It was Arno's 77th birthday on the 19th of September but we celebrated the Sunday afterward. We asked him what he wanted for his birthday dinner. Kirsten made him roast beef, and Sarah and I made him mashed potatoes with fried zuchinni fries. Very yummy dinner. Then the family gave him some presents in the living room. In his present, he got a myriad of different Little Debbie's cakes, as well as sugar free and regular Dr. Pepper. Danielle gave him a card as well.

It was Annabelle's birthday on the last Sunday of September, but unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of the event. Which is a shame, because it was quite the little shin dig. First off, Annabelle enlisted Sarah and me to blow up balloons for her party. We were also helped by Olivia. But we got so many balloons blowed up that it covered a good part of the living room. Annabelle made her own cake (because she is a cake making connoisseur). She also made her own salsa which we got the cilantro for. The salsa was so good. I helped by toasting lots of pieces of bread in the oven. I got it down to a science. The bread was for BLTs that she made. She had the party outside and invited a lot of her girl friends, who were all wearing princess tiaras. After the party they watched The Princess Bride. David enlisted me to help set up the movie screen, projector, and speaker for the viewing. All in all, I think she had a great time. And to top it all off, she was able to go to a Cage the Elephant concert in Dana Point with her mom! I think it was celebrated to satisfaction.

On September 27th, President Russell M. Nelson of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints passed away. He lived to be 101 years old, and was a great leader of the church. He will sorely be missed.

That same day, in the morning, Sarah and I were invited to go with the family to the Orcutt Chalk Festival. At this festival, they have many school bands and other musical people perform. Annabelle played in two bands. We also saw the Chordsmen which had Jonathan John, and we saw Orcutt Academy Choir perform, which included Madden Resendez.

There were many people that had squares to do chalk drawings on the black top in Orcutt Downtown. David, Marcus, and Ben all did a chalk drawing. They were even featured in the Orcutt Newspaper. There were also some really other Amazing chalk drawings. There was also a green and red labyrinth that Sarah and I travelled through. It was pretty cool. We went to check out the different vendors but didn't end up getting anything. One of the vendors wanted it to be sunnier so that her crystal glasses could show rainbows, but instead it was cloudy, which was exactly to my liking.

That same night, we went to the Pinewood Derby. We went to watch, but Primary asked both Sarah and I to judge and make certificates in the moment for all of The participants of the derby.  As you will see, there are a lot of contestants. It took the whole derby to do so and I only watched a few because Staff was making up the names and I was writing the titles on the certificate.  Here are the cards and the names we gave them. 

Best on Ice

Most Loyal

Most Medieval

Gnarliest

Most Colorful

Mousiest

Cheesiest

Most Honorable

Most Silver

The Most Futuristic

Cyberest

The Sparkliest

The Most Galactic

The Healthiest

The Most Buzzin'

The Merriest

The Truest

The most Electrifying

The Centennial

The Grindiest

The Most Lone Wolf

The Speediest

The Handiest

Lastly, that same night, Sarah and I went to play games with my coworker, Morgan Rangel. She teaches 4th Grade at Santa Ynez and lives in Santa Maria. It was a fun night. We ate pizza from Costco, and we played "Who Will We Eat?" A game about being marrooned on an island with a group of people and the cannabalism that takes place. We also played Codenames.