Whirlwind

"Whirlwind" would be the word to describe the last month of our summer. We have finally settled down and started returning to our routines.

We moved into our house on July 18th. Things are steadily being put away in their new "homes" as we get the final projects done. Some of the pictures below show some parts of the house...more formal shots to come later.

Right after we moved in, we left for Chicago to visit our families. It was a wonderful trip, and although it was at a crazy time of our lives, it was well worth it. I loved seeing my two-and-a-half year old nephew and hear all his new words and phrases. What a cutie! I also met my new nephew, who is a doll! Wrigley got to meet the entire family and run the older dogs ragged. Since we drove out there, we took a side trip to Mt. Rushmore. It was my first time, so I loved it. We took in a Cubs game too, of course! We also saw the new Batman movie with Matt's family. Mostly we just hung around with our families, relaxed after a ton of work this summer, and had a fun time.


When we got back, we had about a week to get stuff cleaned up and things attended to before my mom came to visit. I loved having her here. We took her to Yellowstone and Jackson Hole. Both days were perfect for the trip. Then she helped me in my classroom for two days, which really was a HUGE help! Thanks, Mom!!! Come back soon!!! And send the rest of 'em!!!

The same day my mom was leaving we were heading to Denver for Matt's brother's wedding. So we drove down to Salt Lake together and said our goodbyes at the airport. You know, it's bad enough to say goodbye when no one is watching, but when everyone in the terminal can see you goobering it's just not fun! Anyway, our trip to Denver was so fun too! Jay and Britt's wedding was beautiful from beginning to end despite the rainy weather. Matt, Sean, and Britt's brother & sister had a great time decorating Jay's car at the reception. Payback is a beast!!! While we were in Denver, I got to meet up with my best friend from college. Stacy and her husband, Kent brought their little boy Jonas to have dinner with us at the Hard Rock Cafe. It was so wonderful to catch up with her on things we don't always share on the blog :-). Being that we haven't seen each other since before either of us were married (about 5 years or more), we decided that blogs are the best invention ever...because as soon as we saw each other again, we hugged and then we were able to pick up with whatever is currently going on instead of spending a ton of time catching up on everything. Thanks, Stacy for making the trip downtown for us! You're the best!

We got back from Denver last Sunday night (the 17th). I started my teacher meetings for school on the 18th and school started on Wednesday. I've got a large class - 24 - but I think they're a pretty good group. 17 of them are boys so I have my hands completely full if not overflowing with craziness. Matt has been busy with the final projects on the house. He still has to finish the rock outside, the baseboards around the tile and wood floors, the master bathroom (almost done!), get the plumbers back to finish their jobs, get the cabinet guy to finish his stuff (oh, what I nightmare with him...story for another day), and level the landscaping. But the good news is that our mortgage loan went through and the house is ours.

I know you're itching to see pictures of the house. I know. I know. I know. I'm working on it, okay? Here's a picture of Wrigley instead. This was actually taken by my nephew, Kaden. I'm totally saving it for the day he becomes a famous photographer...it will be worth millions! :-) He took a bunch more shots too - most of them were delete-able, but I saved quite a few - he's got a good eye at three feet tall!