Favorite Things of Fall 2008

Fall is over, but just barely. It officially ended Dec 20th, so I am only a little late. :)

Here are my favorite things of fall 2008:

1. Roommate Reunion - In September my old roommates and I got together for a weekend getaway. With seven of us living literally from coast to coast I think it was a huge success that we were all able to be there. We stayed at a cabin in Heber (20 miles from Park City, Utah) for a couple nights and we had a great time catching up, talking, eating, laughing, making jewelry, soaking in the hot tub, hiking, playing ping pong, and just relaxing.

(America, Erin, Diedra, Charis
Anna Marie, Gina, Melissa)

I love these women. They are good, strong, wise, funny, spiritual, humble, intelligent, caring, insightful and for many years now they have been some of my real-life heroes. I’ve always admired them, and after spending a few days with them my admiration for them only increased. A lot has happened to each of us since we were nineteen and twenty years old. Life never quite turns out exactly how we expect. Each of them is stronger because of their trials and has greater compassion and love. I admire them for the contribution they each have made to their families, communities and to the world.

I really could go on and on about them individually, their strengths, ambitions and all their accomplishments - just like a proud mother. I feel so blessed to know them and I want everyone to have the same blessing. We talked about putting a group blog together, so when that gets going I’ll post a link. Until then I can refer you to Gina’s blog. I love reading it! Even if I didn’t know her I would love reading it.

2. Russ’s last semester!

For those who missed this chapter of our lives, or if you are one of our children and simply don't remember, I’ll try to briefly fill you in. If you’ve heard this before just move on down to the next one. After Russ graduated from high school he worked for a six months before serving a two-year mission. When he returned he started school full-time. During his first semester we started dating, got engaged, and in June of 2000 we were married. I had one term left before graduation, so that summer Russ worked while I finished school. By July we were anticipating our first baby in March. Our plan was for me to work full-time while Russ went to school until the baby came, but everything fell apart when the morning sickness took me out and I was way too sick to work.

That fall Russ enrolled as a part-time student and worked full-time, by October he had a job offer to work full-time in for a start-up tech company. Like many start-up companies the hours were long (50 - 70 hours a week) and the school pace slowed significantly. Russ wasn’t sure what he wanted to major in, he loved to teach, had a passion for history, and also had a knack with computers. After a year of wavering and trying a few other courses he decided to major in Computer Science. In 2001, Russ was hired as Software Engineer Consultant for LexisNexis in Provo. We bought a house. He continued taking classes at night. Naomi was born. Then he worked for the LDS church as a software engineer. He was called to serve in the bishopric. Savannah was born. He was then hired by VitalSmarts as a software engineer. We sold our house and bought a new one. He was called to serve in the Young Men’s Presidency, which includes weekly activities and occasional weekend scout trips. Mason was born in 2007. All along Russ took classes year-round, one, two and sometimes three at a time. Every other year I would have a little breakdown and insist that we sell the house, he quit his job and just finish school. Then we would talk through it and look at all the options, and then ultimately decide that it didn't make a lot of sense to quit the same job he would hope for after he graduated.

He stuck it out. We stuck it out. Now he is done and it doesn’t quite seem real. We don’t know what life is like without homework, tests, finals, research papers, and projects constantly hanging over head. I try to look at the bright side of this alternative route to a bachelor’s degree, there are some advantages to combining work and education, but we will both quickly add that we don’t recommend it.

3. Daddy-Daughter Derby

My last activity with the Activity Day girls was a good one. For the annual daddy-daughter event we had a pinewood derby. The girls and their dads put together some creative cars and without any weight rules or limitations we had some exciting races. It's a beautiful thing, dads and daughters spending quality time together.


4. Oh Baby! I received one of the cutest pictures ever in my inbox. This one...

Isn’t he absolutely darling?! Calling him a cutie pie is an understatement, he is more than a cutie pie! Did you notice his long dark lashes, his perfectly round cheeks, and every lovely locks? His name is Truman. I just wanted to give the everyone a chance to adore him as much as I do. Thanks Aunt Raquel and Uncle Jesse! It’s really fun to be related to one of the world’s cutes babies and to get such gems in my inbox.

5. School for the kids! Education is a good thing. Keeping energetic kids busy is also a good thing. I really like when kids go to school.



6. Football - We went to the BYU/San Diego State game. (Thanks for the tickets Aunt Pam!) It was a nice long date and BYU won!


7. New Camera! I've loved playing with it!



8. Mild weather is always a plus. We made extra trips to the park this fall, and all the neighbor boys had a few more days to play outside.