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October. Where it's gone, I do not know.

Here are the highlights:

General Conference weekend - always uplifting, relaxing, and motivating. It's also sad for me in some ways. Mainly because of all the memories and traditions that surround those weekends twice a year. It's another specific reminder of how much I miss my family.

We got callings at church. Wes is teaching Gospel Principles, and I'm teaching Relief Society.

Grandma Anderson came for her annual visit as she trekked across the country. She treated us to dinner at Legends on campus, and we enjoyed her company and gave her a place to sleep for a night. We talked sports, current events, family, and Christmas. I always like hearing old stories and about Wes' Grandpa - I wish I could have known him. Grandma also came bearing gifts! It was just our nativity set that we didn't have room for and another addition to our Christmas village, but it felt like Christmas since it was a bunch of things for the holiday.

We're not coming home for Christmas this year. A tough decision and I'm a bit sad about it but also excited to experience a new kind of Christmas this year. It just means I get to look forward to graduation that much more when family will come to us!

Wes had fall break. We're a quarter of the way through this last year! It was a pretty uneventful week for Wes while I worked all week. We did hangout with our friends, and we also went to dinner at Tippecanoe Place, which is an old mansion in downtown South Bend that has been turned into a restaurant. It was fun to be able to tour the house, but to be honest the food wasn't worth the price so it was a little bit of a let down. But still fun to say that we've been.

Here's a picture of the place that I took last year as we drove by:

Autumn is in full swing with the leaves changing and the cooler air. It's actually been quite pleasant. And my dad keeps me informed of all the weather forecasting as he is my personal weatherman all the way in Utah. ;)

I've been working on painting some ceramic holiday pieces like this cutie:

And this for Thanksgiving:

I've also been writing some new music and revisiting some old stuff. I broke out my recording equipment this week and some good things are coming. I hope to produce some Christmas favorites this year as well. We'll see how ambitious I am.

I got to FaceTime with all of my nieces and nephews in their costumes at my parents' Halloween party. I miss my kiddos! They all looked so cute, and I can't believe how much they've changed since I last saw them. And that's probably about as much Halloween-y we'll get this year since I have to work and Wes will be studying for a test at 8:30 am the next day in Michigan. Party animals right here! ;)

We've been watching Downton Abbey as it airs in Great Britain with Baley and Ryan. We still miss Matthew and Sybil from the show but it's a good season so far.

I've also gotten hooked on Gilmore Girls. Netflix keeps us company when we're apart, and when we're together we dream of life after law school. And that pretty well sums up the month! Some more good things are ahead in November.