October

Probably the biggest event of October was Erik's board exam. He wasn't really done with residency until he'd passed the boards, so he spent all of his spare time studying in our green basement. Sam was a big help. I'll be honest, it was really hard to say, "Oh sure, hon, we've only been doing this for 7 years, and residency was supposed to be the end. By all means, take another 3 months to disappear into medicine." But since the 7 years of grit don't mean much without passing the test at the end, I mustered all the flagging support I had left and Erik rallied and the test was defeated. No more tests for another 5 years!

Katie has been struggling with all the upheaval, and has been slow to gain weight and walk. This month she finally started walking with chairs and strollers and exhibited less clingy anxiety.

During General Conference weekend, Nana and Far-Far offered to take Sam for a sleepover. I was all over that... It's nearly impossible to get anything out of conference with little kids, so one less sounded great. Sam had a great time and ran off plenty of exercise during Nana's traditional conference walk.

Morgan drew this at our house of President Monson, I think she nailed it.

The kids have been overjoyed with the fall leaves (I'm sure that will fade once they are press-ganged into leaf details). Seasons and change are so exciting to them right now, and to us as well. We loved Arizona's constant blue skies and near constant warmth, but when there's no variety it all starts to blur together.

This Halloween I was mainly concerned about freezing to death after the balmy Octobers we've had in Arizona. Style definitely took a back seat to warmth this year. I feel a little guilty that my kids didn't look cooler, or that I didn't even browse Pinterest for ideas, but it wasn't really worth it - they were only out there for 45 minutes. Sam developed a desperate need for a bathroom that almost culminated in public exposure until we introduced ourselves to some neighbors by asking to use their facilities. That's one way to develop friendships...

Once Kate got a sucker in her hand, it was all over. She was so frustrated that we kept going to new doors and getting new candy when all she wanted was to open the darn sucker.

October also means Morgan's birthday, and another year where I somehow managed to avoid throwing a party for her peers. She got everything she wanted and needed until Christmas came around and suddenly her list filled up again.

Once Erik was done with his test, we took a long awaited trip to Cache Valley to visit family and old haunts. We still love it there.

And we got ice cream, of course. Our kids think college means ice cream, big grassy spaces to play, and kissing on A's. Whatever it takes to encourage higher education.

As the weather started to get more blustery, Erik looked toward North Ogden at work and saw this biblical downpour. He actually called to make sure we hadn't washed away.

We have been so lucky to have visits from almost my entire family since we've moved here. Becky and Travis visited for a few days and got mobbed by the kids, and my mom came for a few weeks too. It turns out we're also a perfect way station for my brother's family on their way to Canada. Who knew North Ogden would be such a travel destination?

Beautiful fall colors and a beautiful new haircut. The bangs are grown out!! No more crying and reproachful eyes because I'm just.not.soft.enough when I brush her hair.She wakes up every morning and does her own hair and I praise the inventor of the bob. And my aunt the hairdresser.

Fall was gorgeous. I can't wait for it to come around again.

Back to School

This about sums up Morgan's approach to kindergarten - bring it on. She was so ready. She loves her teacher, she has her little friends, and she's already had her hair cut by her seat mate. That was a fun day. I love it that she has a social outlet and that we get a few hours of peace each day, but I'm still ticked that she can't take the bus. Every morning I have to wake Kate up (and myself) and drive her to school because our door faces south instead of west. We are the very edge of the bus boundary, even though there's no way she could walk to school. And the best part is that our driveway is the bus stop. Every morning I glare at the children whose parents are still home in their pajamas with sleeping babies, and threaten to pile snow up in front of their bus stop. Can you tell I'm not a morning person?

Morgan also started playing soccer in a local league this fall, and it went about as I expected. She faithfully asked me if she could quit after every practice and every game. I think the only highlights for her were the clothing and accessories and the snacks. There was too much running, apparently... She did score one goal (although I'm pretty sure she was as surprised as we were) and showed great sportsmanship as she cheered louder for her school friend's team than her own. We finish the season in the spring, and we are hoping for a change of heart.

Kate being highly supportive at a game.We had to distract her with crackers or she would charge onto the field after the ball. She showed more interest than Morgan some days.

 

Peach season brought canning - we are getting better at it. Thankfully peaches aren't too bad. I tried applesauce later in the year, and after having to peel the apples mostly by hand due to mechanical failure, I discovered that a huge stock pot yields only 4 jars of applesauce. That was the end. There are some things that just aren't worth it.

After only two months away, we flew back to Arizona for my sister's wedding. Only Kate got to come with since she still flies free. We met Rick and Diane for dinner and then entered the maelstrom of wedding preparations. 

My lovely sister on her toasty wedding day. Kate was never very interested in the bride but she sure liked the flowers.

I cut some bangs, which made Morgan furious with me. Apparently she has been growing her bangs out so she can look like me - whoops.

Our house is looking better! Erik has been hard at work on the yard, and we've been gradually accumulating an assortment of manly tools. Now we are discovering things inside that need work, which is far scarier. So far we've had a gas leak, broken furnace, faulty wiring, broken fan, and other discoveries like a complete lack of insulation in the basement. Next summer: the roof. Yay.

August

I've recently made rash promises to family members to catch up on this blog - I blame the holiday spirit and too much eggnog. This is my gradual attempt to keep my word. I wonder if there will ever be a day when I'm blogging about current events and not half a year ago...

We made plans in August to go hiking with Erik's cousins family - nothing like catching up while you're too winded to actually communicate. Our plans were derailed in the parking lot of the trail head when Sam tried to keep up with Asher and Morgan and ended up falling off a high boulder. Being excellent parents, we told him to tough up and started hiking, but it didn't take long before we realized a hospital visit was in order. We left Morgan to continue the hike (another savvy parenting move) and visited one of Erik's partners at the Kids Care. Good thing the insurance kicked in at the beginning of the month! The x-rays were ambiguous, so we wrapped him up and made an appointment at Primary Children's in Salt Lake. He was looking awfully vigorous by the time we headed to Salt Lake, but we went anyway and discovered it was probably a deep bone bruise, already healing. It's like that time we paid a horrifying amount of money to find out that his brain was perfectly fine within his abnormally large head. Overcautious, that's us. Proud sponsors of America's medical community in every way.

2 years ago, we missed a Kelly Clarkson concert because of Erik's heroics playing ward ball and the resulting injury. We tried again this summer for our anniversary and had a blast. It was my first "rock concert" (I know, lame. But ask me about my Broadway experiences...) and Erik saw a whole new side of me. I may only have two dance moves but they were well used. It's so awesome to go on dates again!

We did a little more local exploring while the weather was nice - the weekend farmer's market, the train museum, boating, new parks - that probably sounds more adventurous than we actually are. We still feel a little rural, as our nearest Costco and Target are 30 min away, and a lot of fun activities are in Salt Lake or farther. But the neighborhood is stellar, and you can't beat the view.

They've been begging to go back to the farmer's market so they can ride the horse. It's gonna be a while.

Relaxing on the back porch after glorious summer food. 

We have had a lot of weddings this year - August was Erik's cousins wedding. It's been interesting to be back in Utah with a plethora of family events. We love being able to join in, but we've also become accustomed to being on our own. The adjustment will probably take a while, but it's a problem we're glad to have!

Erik had to really stoop down for this picture to work. As you can see below, I was not blessed with much height. This is Sam's trike.

At the end of the month, before we got caught up in our first year of real school, we quickly went to Yellowstone with Erik's extended family. The kids were kind of flabbergasted that such a place existed, and they only got to see a little bit of it. Sam talks very knowledgeably about "die-sers" now and they fondly remember the s'mores and the bison. 

This has actually been a good exercise for me - remembering the glories of a Utah summer makes the chilly weather and smog we're experiencing now a little more palatable.