Ancient History

We're hoping nobody will notice that this is really old news (if anyone even still reads our blog). However, we wish to maintain the consistency of this record for the sake of the record itself, so we hope you will indulge us.

Monday, September 18
Sometime in the midst of our daily struggle of deciding what to have for dinner, our next door neighbor came by to give us some newly bottled jam and asked if Jordan and I were the game-playing type. After a brief exchange on the merits of various games, it was decided that we would join the Terry's for dinner and then play Settlers as an FHE activity. It was an enjoyable evening spent getting to know our neighbors a bit better and was accentuated by the fact that neither Jordan nor I had to cook dinner.

Tuesday, September 19
At the completion of Jordan's 11-hour clinical session, which aside from starting his first-ever IV on a real patient was quit uneventful, we made a mad dash to the grocery store to prepare for our dinner guests that evening. Emily called a little before 6:30 (our designated dinner time) to say that both she and Aaron had fallen asleep and would be a little bit late. As we, ourselves, were running behind schedule this was good news to receive

Wednesday, September 20
[J] Jessica, ever the loving and industrious sister, deceived my mother into believing that today, on Mom's birthday, the three of them (i.e. Mom, Dad, and Jessica) would share a quiet meal at home. Instead, she had invited all the rest of us to surprise my mom with a pot-luck dinner. As per her matronly demands, we did not give her any gifts except that of our illustrious presence (and isn't that the greatest gift of all, really? Mom? Well, isn't it?)

Thursday, September 21
Stuff happened. Then, more stuff happened. Consequently the first stuff passed into obscurity, all things began anew, and then the following stuff spontaneously clambered into existence:

Friday, September 22
[A] We woke this morning to find that the weather was quite gloomy and decided it was a soup day. I'd been wanting to try a recipe for Pasta e Fagioli and it's always more fun to cook for more than one. So, I made that soup while Jordan's mom made a tasty butternut squash soup and we all had a yummy dinner.

Saturday, September 23
Late in the morning, Isaac and I joined my mother and sister for an outing to Provo for the BYU vs. Utah State football game. Knowing already that we would be late to the game and wanting to avoid the traffic of other fans, we decided to take the scenic route up Weber Canyon, through Heber, and down Provo Canyon. It took a little extra time, but there was no traffic and the route was indeed scenic. This being Isaac's first-ever football game, I was curious to see how he would react to the crowd. He showed his enthusiasm by promptly falling asleep, only to awaken slightly with each roar of the crowd, smack his head against my chest, and fall back asleep. We stayed in Provo for the Relief Society broadcast (baby cries are quite loud in the Marriott Center) before heading to West Jordan to meet up with my husband.

Sunday, September 24
[J] I met Alison at the Wrights' home Saturday night after a very stressful day at work, so it was very nice to have a day off to relax and go to church (with the Wrights). James received the Priesthood of Aaron today, and I was privileged to join the circle for the ordination. I have not participated in many ordinations, so it was a neat experience for me. It is interesting as relatives who I remember as little kids grow up and I begin to relate to them not just on a level of play, but on a higher level which permits discussion of serious things. It makes me really look forward to those conversations I hope to have with my own children about eternal things.

We cooked dinner for the Wrights tonight, which wasn't originally in our plan but was not an unwelcome event. We made Creamy Chicken Broccoli Things in Surprise Sauce, which went over pretty well (except for those zany broccoli-dislikers! What's up with them?!). It was late so we spent the night.

Monday, September 25
I didn't attend my boring class this morning because we were still in West Jordan. I felt slightly bad about not going, until I realized that the only reason I go regularly is because of the participation points. It's one of those classes where the teacher is so tied to her .ppt's that she can't be bothered to actually be/seem knowledgeable about the topic of instruction. I will not, despite my passion for complaining about this particular tuition-hole, say more on the subject. Anyway, we returned in time for me to attend my other class, which is better taught.

Tuesday, September 26
I did my clinicals today in the ER. It was an eye-opening experience because I saw what I thought were many cases of drug overdose, which it turns out is quite routine for Davis Hospital's ER. One of the somepeoples I don't remember told me later that the area of Davis Hospital has more overdoses per capita than anywhere else in the US. Crazy stuff. We spent the night in West Jordan at the Wright home as a waypoint for our visit to Utah County.

Wednesday, September 27
We went to Provo today, which was a somber reminder to me of the fact that some people we used to visit in Provo are now out of visiting range. In any case, we visited the BYU Laundry, my former workplace and the source of many a fond memory. It was great to visit with my former manager and his associates. I also learned through sad experience that a ranch dip stain is very hard to remove from a silk tie after six months. So, I left it for cleaning after a fruitless effort at spotting it. We went for a drive up to Sundance to take some family pictures, some of which turned out to be really cute (see the really cute family pictures hereon affixed). We scurried home so I could take a test; I resent school for interfering with quality time like that, but I think school resents me back so it sort of balances out. Or something.

Thursday, September 28
Hooray! The leftover meatballs from two weeks ago taste even better after a cryogenic sleep than they did the first time around. So, all those science fiction movies whose plots revolve around a hero awaking after centuries of cryogenic sleep and having even more coolness are right on the money. Plus, it may be one of the easiest freezer meals we have ever prepared (it doesn't even require thawing before it is reprepared), which is a definite plus. I was very excited to come home from a (sort of) long day at work and find a fresh, hot meal waiting for me, complete with a sauce uncharacteristically homemade by Alison (I having abdicated my sauce-making responsibilities by removing my presence from the dinner preparation area to go to work) which was very tasty. Everything she tries just seems to work, which I would say is not fair were it not for the fact that I am so grateful to have a great cook for a wife. She had also crafted a prototype of a star ornament for the Festival tree which was both elegant and rustic (for those of you who have not as yet gathered, we are once again decorating a tree for the Festival of Trees).

Friday, September 29
I took Isaac to work with me for a meeting while Alison went shopping. My coworkers were suitably impressed with his cuteness. Alison was suitably impressed with a certain store on 500 West in Bountiful. I was suited to impress, but nobody noticed.

Saturday, September 30
[A] My mom and I worked on figuring out a pattern for a rockin' tree skirt. Jordan helped out with his wicked trig skills because I was having trouble. Poor me! Brave and resourceful him! Well, all right, this isn't really [A]. But I did help my wife in her time of need-slash-frustration (she is a good mathematician but is "quite out of practice," in her words), and the tree skirt will be indeed rockin'. It will be star-shaped to fit the theme (that is, "Something Like A Star").

In other news, we have trials. And patience. And patients (if we're Jordan). Anyway, we liked Elder Oaks' [12] and Elder Oaks' [70] talks. Just a plug for General Conference, now available at www.lds.org.

After a less-long-than-usual day of work during which Alison spent the day at my parents' home, I rushed to Salt Lake City to attend Priesthood Session with Michael and James. It was my first live conference session and, despite the tiny seats, I really liked it. All the speakers were great (statement to be verified in approximately 2-3 weeks). Afterward, flush with the spirit of male bonding, I surprised Alison with the suggestion that we come pick her up, then drive to 106th south and eat at Denny's with the Wright Priesthood holders and spend the night at their house. It was an unfair imposition on her at that time of day, but she very courteously went along. An enjoyable evening was had; we worked on a fine puzzle of King Tut and watched some Weird Al music videos.

Sunday, October 1
We watched the rest of General Conference at the Wrights' while we worked on a couple more puzzles. I thought the sessions were both very good; I received the expected and pleasant spiritual boost that always seems to accompany two days (well, not quite in my case) of inspired messages. Alison quite enjoyed Elder Bednar's talk and its emphasis on our right and responsibility to choose for ourselves how we will react to the events which impact our lives; we are not driven from the Church, we choose to be driven. Events don't shake our faith; we choose to be shaken. Everything is a choice. Yep.

Blogst du? Wir bloggen! Ja! Nein! Frankfurter! Anyway, I suppose you've discovered by now that Jordan finished the empty spots in this blog update quite late at night, after a long day of work. However, the fact that you have discovered this fact shows that a) we published the blog, which is in itself a nearly miraculous feat; and b) you read the whole thing anyway. What divine tolerance you all must possess.