A Few Fall Tidbits

Nathan went to great efforts this year to throw me a surprise 40th birthday party.  He even convinced his parents to come out for the weekend.  It was a great evening visiting with friends and family along with my favorite chocolate cake.

The next day we drove up to Chiloquin for the free Halloween train.

It was surprisingly fun.

We also had beautiful fall weather.

The kids all got to pick out a pumpkin.

The following week, I only managed to get pictures of Halloween costumes for Danielle and Connor.  She was a ballerina, and he was a secret service agent.  Nicole was Hermione, and she looked just like her, so I was disappointed that I didn't get a shot of that.

The following weekend, we spent our 4-day weekend with Nick and Karla in California!  We had a great time with them and enjoyed spending time together!

Connor took me camera from this point on, and he had such a good eye for photos, that I think I should hire him for my blog!

I'm glad we still managed to make some good memories despite the crazy semester!

Cousins

One of my favorite things about our new home is how close we are to family.  We love the fact that we have people coming to visit us, and that we can visit them in a weekend!  Nick and his kids came out for an impromptu visit over General Conference weekend, and we had such a wonderful time.  My only regret was that Karla couldn't come with them, and it was much too quick.

The nice thing is that we were able to go down and visit them just a month later.  I am looking forward to many visits like this.

Another thing that I love about our new home is the view.  The summer was beautiful with the luxurious greens, the fall color was breathtaking, and tonight the snowcapped city is stunning.  I will try to snap some pictures in the morning.  We also have ready-made sledding hills right outside our door. 

I walked the kids over to their lego robotics meeting tonight, and I just pulled Danielle on the sled behind me.  She thought it was a blast, and I found it to be a decent workout.

I took my last final of the semester today and got a 97%.  I didn't realize just how stressful this semester has been until I felt that load lifted.  I felt light as a feather all night.  When I finished my test, I tore through the house screaming and celebrating that I was done.  The kids were pretty sure that I had lost my mind.  Tonight we sang around the Christmas tree before bedtime, and I laughed and joked more than I have for many moons. 

Only two semesters to go, and none will be as weighty as this one was.

Boston

Nicole turned 9 this Fall.  As part of our established tradition, we took her on a surprise trip.  She loves American Girl dolls, and I wasn't sure how to fit that into my life, when Nathan and I had to travel to Boston for his ICMA conference.  Then, I suddenly had a spark of inspiration and googled to see if there was an American Girl Doll store in Boston!

Success!  The morning after her birthday we woke up before the crack of dawn to take a plane to San Francisco and then on to Boston.  We got settled in that night and then the next morning acted as proper tourists.  We took a trolley tour through all the main sights in Boston.  I have to say that Boston is my new favorite!

Though we aren't huge baseball fans, we still couldn't miss historic Fenway Park.  We also loved seeing all the boats against the backdrop of the city.

We got to go on a tour of Paul Revere's house.  I always find history so much more interesting when it is placed in context of a particular location. 

The North Church was much closer to where he lives then I had before thought, and I can see how it was a perfect signal.

We got to make requests from a woman playing Benjamin Franklin's Glass Harmonica.  It was actually quite lovely.

We had a lot of delicious meals including in the Italian district where we had some amazing, authentic pizza!

It is one thing to read about the USS Constitution and another to climb aboard.

The trolley itself was a lot of fun, hearing the colorful stories in a B"ah"ston accent.

One of my favorite spots was the actual garden depicted in the famous book, "Make Way for Ducklings."  We absolutely loved it!

We were also blessed to be there during some fabulous weather, which we heard from many sources is not the norm.

There are even statues to memorialize McCloskey's famed book.

What came as a big surprise was that this was literally across the street from the famed park:

The next day was reserved for going to Natick mall and scrutinizing every detail of the American Girl Doll store.  It was a treat!

Nicole saw everything in person that before had only been perused in catalogs.  She had a little birthday money that she spent on a couple outfits.

The day was a success!

Including sushi for lunch. Our favorite!

Our hotel room was really comfortable, and we hung out there most of the next day and had time to chill and relax while I did a little schoolwork, and she played and watch T.V.  The best meal of the trip was our last night at Atlantic Fish (http://www.atlanticfishco.com).  I wanted an authentic bowl of Boston Clam Chowder, and I wasn't disappointed!  What a great trip!  One of the highlights of the trip was watching as Nicole read Harry Potter #6.  She had to wait till she was 9 to read it, and she loved it as much as I did.  She is a special and wonderful girl!

New Home

This is our third house we have bought, and I have learned that the first year in a new house is always expensive.  It seems like there are several pressing and time-consuming jobs that can't be put off.  The biggest one in our new home has been the deck.

Amid my unpacking, classes, and internship I have also managed to sand and paint our deck once Nathan rebuilt the balusters.   This weekend I have 56 more balusters to paint before Nathan puts them up, and I can call it good for the year.  And just in time, because winter is getting close.

We took a couple trips out to Crater Lake, but I am yet to see it up close.  There is only one trail down to the lake which is quite steep.  The first time we went, it was too cold for our little ones.  I came completely unprepared not even thinking that we would need jackets in July.

The second time we came, Danielle and Nicole were done only halfway down, so I hiked back up with them, leaving the boys to go on.  Nathan was kind enough to take pictures for me.  Next time, I am leaving the kids at home, so I can actually make it to the lake.

That won't be happening this year, though.  Snow fell in September and the lake is already closed.  I didn't realize till we went to the visitor's center that Crater Lake is the 5th deepest lake in the WORLD.

Connor was the only one crazy enough to swim in the snowmelt.

It was more than a little invigorating.

Nathan celebrated his 39th birthday.  He had his traditional enchiladas, refried beans, chile rellenos and for dessert:  carrot cake.  We had a great time with the Garretts that weekend.

Amid everything, we worked on the deck in all our spare time.  It has the same square footage as our first house.

I did it in sections, and finished the side by our bedroom first.  This picture really doesn't do it justice, but it did look a lot better.

And what a view we have every morning.  This fall has brought fog over the lake nearly every morning.  The leaves have been turning, and I count my blessings every day when I look out from our new home.

I will have to take an after picture on this side.  We are close.  We should be done this Saturday.  Then I can put my attention to other matters.  Like finishing my Lifespan paper or taking a few quizzes.