So back to the grindstone in September. This semester has proven to be a busy one, and Joshua has had to put in a lot of hours away from home, split between commuting to Tulsa for a clinic internship on Mondays and Tuesdays, completing internship applications, research, and attending classes here in Stillwater the other days. But we have treasured our time together as a family, and the kids and I have found ways to occupy our time when he’s gone—we take a lot of walks, go to the library for story time, spend time on callings, experiment with new cooking recipes, play games, and sing songs. Julia and Ethan are so special; Julia loves Ethan and tries to care for him as well as she can by holding his hand, giving him hugs, and sharing toys with him and comforting him (and alerting me) when he cries. She also has started to learn to clean up around the house and loves to help cook and do whatever we’re doing. She enjoys talking on the phone to grandparents, playing mommy to her baby and pretending to get ready for church by gathering together an ensemble which includes her purse, dress, keys, sunglasses, and other such accessories. She is really becoming a beautiful, kindhearted girl. Ethan has learned to roll over, although he rarely lets us see him in action. He is a really happy and easygoing baby, and will smile and laugh in reaction to any facial gesture you might make at him. He brings such a special spirit of joy into our home. And he sure is handsome! We love our children; they mean everything to us and we are so grateful for the privilege of being their parents.

Family Vacations

This summer we went on two fabulous trips in August—first to Boston for a Psychology conference and then to Colorado for my cousin’s wedding. Boston was a lot of fun and we got to do a lot of neat sightseeing, but it was pretty exhausting running around and using public transportation with the kids. We especially enjoyed eating a cannoli in the Italian quarter of the city and had a lot of fun making our way through the Freedom Trail and seeing historic sights. Another plus: the farmer’s market in Boston is amazing!! I wish we had access to a market like that here, instead of Wal-Mart. Major downside: our hotel was far from downtown, and the commute was pretty difficult just to traverse the bus and subway systems, let alone with two kids. Joshua also attended an awards ceremony where he received a special national research award—we are so proud of him!

Our Colorado trip was a lot of fun too, but unfortunately I forgot to load the camera with batteries. But you can imagine the fun it was for the kids to see grandparents and for me to spend some time with my immediate and extended family. We really enjoyed swimming, playing tennis, and attending the wedding luau party and catching up with everyone. Julia got sick on the last day of the trip and threw up a few times, including in the car on the way home, but by the next day at home she had recovered.




Joshua and Julia were just sitting on the bench when this strange guy came and sat next to them.

We spent a couple days walking the Freedom Trail, a path through the city that takes you to all of the historic sites.

Our week long bus passes were also good for the fairy, so we decided to take a break from walking and travel around the bay.

We had to stop by Chinatown for Joshua

This is the oldest restaurant in America. Their clam chowder was great!

Paul Revere's house

Taking a break on our way up to bunker hill

This monument was built on top of bunker hill, a site of a famous battle in the American revolution

We all climbed up the monument. I think there was over 400 stairs. Julia actually got to ride all the way up so that is why she is not trying to catch her breath like the rest of us were.

In the background you can barely see the white steeple of an old church. It was the church were the lanterns were hung "one if by land, two if by sea."

Ethan's haircut

A couple a months back, we started noticing that Ethan had some major bald patches on his head, and Joshua thought a shave would do him a world of good. I was a little hesitant, but Joshua insisted, so Ethan had his first hair cut at 3 months. For a little while, he looked pretty bald, but now his hair has grown back in a little and it’s thicker (although he has some new bald spots, but don’t tell Joshua—no more shaves so soon!).

Before

Before

After