Highlights & Favorites: A Sentence a Day in September 2025

September was another one of those months that seemed to just fly by! We had a very busy month of travel, lots of family time and celebrations, and lots of changes too... but not really our weather. That stayed pretty consistently warm and dry all month.  

1. So thankful for a day to relax knowing we'd be very busy the rest of the week. We had a quiet Labor day around the house, I did some reading, some blogging, some TV watching, 2,426 steps. 

2. So thankful I finished everything on "my list" by noon. My last day at home consisted of lots of errands-- the mail, the post office, the bank, the grocery store with Evan, etc. so my husband and I would be all ready for our trip the next day. 6,189 steps.

3. So thankful for an easy and uneventful travel day. We were up bright and early and on the road by 4 to get to the airport for 5, we flew to Kalispell, Montana with a quick 1 hour layover in Chicago. We ended our night eating a delicious dinner at The Huckleberry Patch. 3,878 steps. 

 

4. So very thankful we booked a return boat trip to cut out those last 2.8 miles! Another very early morning as we were on the road by 5 and made it all the way through Glacier on the Going to the Sun road and into Many Glacier park to hike up to Grinnell Glacier starting at 8 am then back to the patch for dinner again. 26,961 steps. 

5. So thankful to have a day of "rest" so my body could recover. We toured the Conrad Museum, learned about the Hungry Horse Dam, and had a delicious dinner at Mercantile Steak. 4,122 steps. 

6. So thankful for the opportunity to see such beautiful vistas. We started our day with a scenic boat ride on Lake McDonald, hiked the trail of cedars and up to Avalanche lake, then stopped for a late lunch/early dinner at Great Bear Cafe. 19,238 steps. 

7. So thankful for such a delicious week of food. We went into the North Fork area of Glacier and spent our morning at Bowman Lake then we stopped at Polebridge Mercantile for some sweet treats before heading to our rental for a nap and a delicious late lunch/early dinner at Dave's Famous BBQ. 10,382 steps.

8. So thankful the rain stopped as we entered the park! Slept in a bit, ate breakfast in the room, then headed back to the park for our final day; drove the Going to the Sun road and stopped to hike St Mary's & Virginia falls. 16,054 steps. 

9. So thankful the delay with our plane was on our second leg of the trip and not the first! We laid around the rental until 10am, headed to the airport and had a loooong day flying home with a flight delay in Chicago. 4,515 steps. 

a delicious lunch at the Kalispell Airport

10. So thankful to have slept in my own bed! Arrived home at 1 am, took a quick shower, then slept until 8, went grocery shopping, to the apple orchard, to the library, did laundry, prepped food, and drove my parents to pick up their car at the repair shop. 6,336 steps. 

11. Thankful for deliciously fresh produce.  Haircuts with my mom in the morning, hiking with Evan before lunch, went to get gas, to the post office, and to pick up our CSA box.  9,827 steps. 

12. So thankful to meet up with our hiking group once again! Gym with my mom, hiking with Evan and our hiking group, then a quiet afternoon at home. 12,790 steps. 

 

hiking at Bigelow Hollow

13. So thankful Evan talked me into another hike. My husband and I drove a car to drop off with Alec for the school year, I went hiking with Evan, and then "supervised" my husband, step-father, and Ian removing the trees from our front yard (one partially fell while we were gone so we decided to take them both down). 11,224 steps. 

It looks so weird with the trees gone!

 

14. Thankful for a wonderful and memorable night out with the family at Cedar Street Grill. I spent my morning buying tickets and making reservations, walking the whole river trail with Evan, then stopping for ice cream for lunch, we ended our night with dinner out with my parents. 13,076 steps. 

 

citrus salmon wit rice and eggplant

15. Thankful for the one on one time with Evan this final year he's home. Gym with my mom, started Evan's senior year of high school/homeschool, helped him look for some job opportunities then worked on cleaning the upstairs. 9,327 steps.   

16. Thankful that I managed to get nearly everything done on my to do list. Finished cleaning the upstairs then Evan and I did school before heading out on a short hike then ended my night at the grocery store. 12,005 steps. 

17.So thankful that I got the grease out of my pants (helping to cart the old chair to the dumpster I ended up with a large smear of grease on my favorite capri pants). Gym with my mom, school with Evan, then we went shopping for his birthday gift; he picked out a new computer chair. 8,383 steps. 

18. So thankful the rain held off while Evan and I hiked. School with Evan, we hiked Natchaug forest then I finished cleaning the house and ironed Evan's shirt for his first ever job interview. 10.853 steps.

 

19. So thankful that all my guys had a great day! Gym with my mom, then I made Evan's cheesecake cupcakes for his birthday while he went on his job interview, we went hiking, and I spent my afternoon chatting with Alec about campus life lately. 10,566 steps.  

20. I spent my morning getting ready for Evan's birthday party, my afternoon making cards and scrapbook pages, then hiking with Evan before his grandparents came over for a delicious birthday celebration.  9,023 steps. 

 

21. Thankful for such a quiet and productive day mostly at home. Evan and I started our morning with a hike and then swung by Wonderland Comics so he could spend some of his birthday money (though he ended up having to order the anthologies he was looking for online), I spent the rest of my day reading, working on the blog, and hanging around the house. 10, 646 steps. 

 

22. Thankful Evan's job offer came through. Gym with my mom, school with Evan, we finished filling out MOST of his college application form, then I headed to Target while Evan had a friend over and I ended my night grocery shopping while the boys cooked their own dinner. 8,583 steps. 

23. So thankful the bank could use my credit card as a second form of ID otherwise I would have had to drive back home (I had no idea I needed 2 forms of ID to close an account). I spent the morning prepping food then took Evan to the bank to open his own checking account, we came home to register him to vote and then spend a quiet afternoon at home. 6,532 steps. 

24. Thankful for much needed rain today. Gym with my mom, then school with Evan, it was rainy so I spent most of the day in the kitchen making granola, granola bars, more marinara sauce, and then finally dinner. 5,579 steps. 

25. So thankful for a good rain jacket that kept the top 1/2 dry while hiking. We woke to rain and plans to just work on school today but the rain appeared to stop so Evan and I headed out on a quick hike (getting pretty soaked when it started raining 1/2 way through the trail!) and picked up apples at the orchard too then I worked on decorating for fall and went to pick up my CSA box from the farm.  8,041 steps. 

26. So thankful for the most beautiful sunrise this morning. Gym with my mom then Evan and I met our hiking group and we hiked for over 2 hours checking out a brand new trail for all of us; it was so pretty! 16, 427 steps.  

 

gym/hiking outfit; without the coat 

hiking at Mansfield hollow

27. Thankful for a delicious ice cream treat with the whole family; my mom & step-father included! I spent most of my day in the kitchen making food, I payed bills, read my book, and enjoyed some sunshine. 6,683 steps. 

28. So thankful for getting to see so much family today. We had a quiet day at home other than a quick trip to the grocery store though we did have lots of company-- my brother & his wife, my father in law, my mom & step-father and even my mother in law all popped in at some point. 3,147 steps.

29. So thankful for such a lovely morning at the zoo. Gym with my mom, school with Evan, then he and I went to the zoo; we came home to NO power so I headed out the library and ran errands. 13,240 steps.

30. So incredibly thankful for another fabulous concert experience. A quick morning of school with Evan and and then we headed out to the 21 Pilots concert around 2pm, not getting home until 12:30 the next morning. 7,180 steps.  

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