Fall on me . . .

Growing up in Phoenix, the time around my birthday is usually just the time when you can start thinking about opening your windows at night as the heat begins to relent. This year, obviously, it’s a little different. Julie decided that we should celebrate my birthday up at Sundance, and it turned out great. Even here in the mountains, the heat has been reluctant to move on. But we finally got a storm in here on Saturday that cooled things off nicely. The temperature probably dropped 25 – 30 degrees in about 48 hours.

We got our babysitter and left the girls at around 3 in the afternoon. We headed over to American Fork Canyon and drove up the Alpine Loop to Sundance. It was absolutely beautiful. Julie was disappointed that it was rainy and cloudy, but I thought that it made it look even more beautiful. Here are some pictures:

beautiful aspens

alpine loop

aspens

wow

the drizzle was constant

We were hoping to ride the lift up to the top of the mountain, but it was raining too hard, so they closed the lift. So we spent some time walking around and looking at everything. They had setup for a wedding on the lawn by the pond, but as the guests started arriving, the rain really started coming down. Poor snobs.

Our reservation was at the Tree Room at the resort. I got a pepper steak with this mango chutney on it. It was one of the best meals I’ve ever eaten.

sundance

i love the trees to the right

there was a reception and lots of rain

us

setting

lift

the birthday boy!

dinner company

We had a great time. It was fun to get away and see the changing scenery. Fall has always been Julie’s favorite time of year. It’s always my favorite as long as she’s around. 🙂

http://www.flickr.com/photos/midder/

Hogle Zoo & softball too!

We got to go to the zoo with the first graders on Friday. We were surprised to see all the parent volunteers there. There were so many we had one other student (Ashton, Grace’s friend) and Grace. We didn’t get to the zoo until 10:30 and were wondering if there would be enough time. It turned out to be a great trip and just right. The zoo is not very big–so two hours was plenty of time. The elephants were a real hit and so was the leucistic (without pigmentation) gator. Brian and I juggled the babies a-ok and all in all it was just right for everyone.

good try grace

where are we going?

Hogle Zoo

So we got home in time to regroup for our softball game that evening. One problem we were short a babysitter. We decided to take the kids (the peanut gallery) and it turned out ok. I found that if I sat Gwen on the bleacher and walked off she just sat there because she didn’t want to attempt to get down–that worked pretty well. We have had so much fun playing with the neighbors and they are a lot of fun too. Brian has proved to be a real asset to the team and I am well…part of the team (they’re good sports)!

your up!

dugout/nursery

After the game we again regrouped for another block movie projected on the wall of the Richins house. The girls go crazy about this and get so excited. We watched Hook & The Three Amigos and the kids have loved it! We are lucky to have found such a great neighborhood and such great friends. More photos here http://www.flickr.com/photos/midder/

watching movies outdoors in the neighborhood

John, Mary, Telina & Joe

Grace, Adelaide, Abigail & Olivia

Just to clear it up

It wasn’t a “scratch” or something like that. Julie likes to make light of the intense pain and suffering I endure. Alas, this too shall pass. As proof, I offer these pathetic pictures — that I had to take all by myself, by the way. Try taking a picture of your right pinkie with an SLR camera. Not you, Catherine. You’re left-handed.

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I know, it’s amazing I’m able to keep it together as well as I do. Tough as nails, this one. You would have been scared as well. The doctor brought out what can only be described as a machete to cut the “growth” out of my finger to try and stem the infection that was sure to race up my arm to my brain, likely ending my life. She brought a few extra nurses in to witness the complicated procedure. Either that or they just wanted to make sure that I didn’t pass out while they stuck a needle as thick as a ball point pen into my finger. I wasn’t sure which hurt more — being gouged with that blunt object (the needle) or having the doctor take the machete and nearly amputate my right pinkie at the top knuckle. Hopefully I’ll keep my nail. My hand model career might be over either way, though, so maybe it’s OK if it goes. I’ll just look tougher, something I’ve been working on for a few months now. In any event, crisis averted. I am alive. And it no longer hurts to put my right hand in my pocket to get my cell phone for all those calls I get.

Some of you know that I spent about 10 days in Phoenix, most of which (as per usual with me) were spent wallowing in self-pity. I think I stopped breathing for about 15 seconds when I first went into our house down there. But a few days of cleaning it up made me realize what a drama queen I am. Though it was a surprisingly emotional thing. If I can only get someone to take a baseball bat and go find the tenants . . . maybe not a good idea. So we decided to put the house on the market, along with 55,000 others. Hopefully ours will shine through and all will be well. I think all will be well no matter what happens. Lessons learned have been valuable. Thank you, all, for your help. Mom & Dad, Julie thinks I get too spoiled down there. I think it’s OK.

We won our softball game last night, 22-2. I hit a home run, if you can believe it. Not an over-the-fence home run. It was more like one of those hit it to the idiot in right center field and watch them miss the ball while I round the bases kind of thing. But a home run nonetheless. I don’t think that the other team was that bad. We just had one of those nights where we were channeling a higher power. The other team was channeling . . . well . . . a team like ours. It was fun. Afterward our neighbors got out their projector and showed The Three Amigos on the lawn up on the side of their house. Amigos were falling from the sky, Lucy ate at least a pound of skittles, and we were all very tired by the time we went to bed past midnight. Who am I kidding? It’s 12:18 right now. I’m rarely in bed before midnight.

It was a good day of football for the Pac-10. I’ll just leave it at that, in hopes of avoiding another flame war.

Julie really dislikes these blocky themes I always put up. We have pretty different tastes, apparently. I needed something a little more basic. And boring. And without Comic Sans, which, as it turns out, is the stupidest font in the history of fonts. People think that if they use Comic Sans that they’re suddenly a scrapbooking genius with their original lettering. Uh. Wrong. So you’ll have to bear with my plain themes. Until the next time Julie logs in and changes it, that is.

Lucy’s ready for school “rain or shine”!

I can’t seem to get Brian to post so unfortunately you get to hear from me. Lucy started school today and she was so excited. She had a crazy twinkle in her eyes and toes! Lucy Annso excited she kept jumping off the step

All the girls are eating up their music classes. They are learning the Solfage method of music training. It’s the same method used in the Sound of Music. It is used commonly in Europe and in the US in most colleges of music including the famous Julliard school of music. They are all really liking it but the hardest part about the lessons is that the classes are interactive with mom. Uh, that would be me! I am to be with each of them ALONE singing and dancing etc… once a week! Fortunately Abigail and Grace are in the same class but I still have to juggles the others 3 times a week–can’t bring siblings to class:(!

Today we had some rain and Lucy was running around out in it with a broken umbrella. She wants to be like Mary Poppins–I guess we need to start with a new umbrella! Mary Poppinsa gustone of my favorites

I took some pics of Abigail when she got home from school. She is getting to look so much older even though she’s a flyweight.
serious abigailseriouslaughing

Grace is excited about her upcoming trip to Hogle Zoo with the first grade and HER DAD (couldn’t say no to the big brown eyes). Gwen is literally tearing up my house and has recently become very very picky about what she eats! How about that bow??!!
Gwen with a bow that was WAY TOO BIGcloseuppouting her Great Grandma Amy's lips

Brian got a hangnail (or some kind of scratch) on his right pinky 2 weeks ago and his pinky has continued to swell and get VERY infected. He finally went to urgent care where they lanced it, bandaged it, gave him a prescription and instructions to soak it in Hot (as he can stand) water. He told them I had told him to do the same for about 10 days but that I had told him to add salt to the water. To that they laughed and said, “You’re wife just wants it to hurt a little more than it should!” So…Brian is currently upstairs sniffling about his finger–it really dampens his typing skills. Even he admits he is a big pansy when it comes to pain. We are so glad to have him back from Phoenix…but that’s another story! more photos here http://www.flickr.com/photos/midder