One Busy Month

First off, since when is it okay for it to snow in September? Yet, snow it did. Don't get me wrong, I'd much rather be cold than hot, but honestly. Snow in September? Global warming, ha! I guess mother nature figured September wasn't memorable enough without the frosty finish. My recollection of our adventures this past month say otherwise.

In preparation for our coming addition, I had spent some time online looking at cribs and fell in love with a "manufacturer overstock" listed on Craig's List. It was brand new, in the box, and selling for about half the retail price of similar cribs. The only drawback was that the seller was in Orem. After two failed attempts at picking it up (the first because our van was in the shop, the second because our van wasn't big enough), Jordan's parents kindly agreed to swing by and get it for us on their way home from a drive up to Mirror Lake. To top off the second "trip of errors," we had planned on going to a quilt show at the Springville Museum of art and got there only to find that it had closed two days earlier. We were, however, able to see friends and family during both trips, so our endeavors were not entirely fruitless.

Our ward sponsored a family camp-out early in the month and I decided it would be great fun to go. Jordan was ultimately unable to get Friday off, but decided that if Isaac and I still wanted to go, he would join us when he got off work (yes, that would be at 11pm). It was a bit of a stress getting our bodies and all our gear out the door, but Isaac and I miraculously made it to the campground just in time for dinner and I still had enough light to get the tent set up. The trip really opened my eyes to how long it has been since I'd been camping and I was shamefully underprepared. Isaac's pajamas didn't have feet and I didn't think to put socks and shoes (as opposed to his sandals) on him before we left. I took a sweatshirt and jacket for him, but didn't think to grab anything more than a long-sleeve t-shirt for myself. Luckily, I had the presence of mind to bring at least a small flash light and I managed not to forget Jordan's sleeping bag as I was grabbing my own. Despite the lack of planning on my part, we really did have a great time. I sat around the campfire with other ward members until Jordan got there and then we all broke for bed. Jordan and I were both relatively comfortable until Isaac woke up in the middle of the night and insisted on sleeping with me, but had no interest in staying in my sleeping bag, which was an extremely tight fit even without the wiggling. He finally managed to fall back asleep and I was able to pull him down into the bag with me and then slept rather uncomfortably for lack of room. So, basically . . . we'll be spending a lot more time planning before we jump into the car for another camping trip.

Isaac and I went to the State Fair with Nana Johnsen, Sidney and Wyatt. As far as kid appeal goes, Isaac probably had a bit more fun at the county fair where he got to pet the bunnies and wander with a bit less "large space paranoia" from his mom. However, he did like the "Little Hands on the Farm" exhibit where he got to be a farm hand and earn enough money to buy his very own Marshmallow Mateys. He was especially fond of riding the tractor and milking the cow. I think he would have sat under the cow all day if I hadn't insisted on moving on to give the other kids a chance. Here's a video of him hauling a load of hay on the tractor. The quality isn't great coming off our regular camera, but he's sure cute anyway.


Another highlight of our time was watching the Turkey Stampede. It was a bit more entertaining than the pig races a couple years ago albeit more chaotic. Having spent many hours in kid-friendly pursuits, we didn't have very interested young ones when we got to the adult-appeal exhibits. Denise and I decided that in future years, we should look at all the "domestic" displays first, so when kids got sick of having fun at the fair we'd have satisfied our interests as well.

In other news, Jordan and I both chopped our hair. I've been wanting to do Locks of Love for a long time, but was trying to grow my hair out so it wouldn't be super short when it was cut. Eventually, I just got sick of the weight (and subsequent headaches) and decided I was done waiting. Bring on the short hair! (The pictures are less than stellar, but you at least get the idea). Any of you who were around the last time I had short hair (which was in 7th grade) may or may not recall that I absolutely hated it. Most of this was due to the fact that it ended up being significantly shorter than I had expected as a result of one incompetent hair dresser. Overall, this time around I've been very pleased. I don't know that I'll keep it quite this short indefinitely, but it's at least now a consideration.
A few days after my 50% reduction, Jordan buzzed his head and lost probably 80% of his hair. He's loved not needing to comb it, but was a bit alarmed at how "shiny" and noticable his gray hairs are at the shortened length. Isaac missed out on the hair cutting fun of September, but I forsee October bringing a nice trim to his head.

This midmonth we attended the Colors reunion concert with Michael, Shannon, Megan and Preston. The last time we attended a Colors concert was right after I got home from my mission at their "final" concert, the night we held hands for the first time since before I left (aw, shucks...) [and our first date to be "officially" dating again]. The concert wasn't as long as any of us would have liked, but it was gratifying to see our companions' reaction to the Colors Live Experience and thereby receive public acknowledgment that we have excellent taste.

Sometime in the middle of the month we discovered that BYU-Idaho offers a distance education option for their RN to BSN program and admits students every semester rather than the traditional once in the fall. It took a bit (okay, really a lot) of scrambling to get everything together, but we were able to get an application off before the October 1st deadline and are now just waiting to hear back. If Jordan is admitted to the program, he will take two on-line nursing classes beginning in January and then two more each semester for two semesters finishing up in December of next year. This would then allow him to start into an NP program a year earlier (2009) than if he were to start an RN to BSN program in the fall. The longer we stick around South Weber the more ready we are to get some roots growing and would really love to cut a year out of the five-year plan. Here's hoping.

Oh, and I almost forgot to mention our ward Super Saturday. You may wonder why it should be worthy of note, but wonder no longer. I spent my time busily assembling the lovely blue dress featured here in photo form. As this was a service project, all the pattern pieces had been previously cut out, but all the assembly is my very own handy work. That is with the exception of two minor repairs which the kindly (and perfectionistic) sister who had been guiding me took it upon herself to make while I broke for lunch. Considering the fact that this was only my second attempt at a real construction project, I think it turned out just dandily.