a is for apple

On Labor Day, our sweet neighbors/friends invited us to go apple picking with them at a local orchard. We had a great time & ended up with a lot of apples. Like, WAY more apples than I ever would have purchased at once. I am planning on making them into some kind of treat, but I have had meetings at unearthly hours this week (7:15; 8:15; 7:30 -- keep in mind I have to drive at least 30 minutes before I get there) and have worked late, which doesn't leave much free time :(
So, keep the comments coming & let me know what I can turn my apples into!
P.S. That cute baby belongs to our next door through the wall neighbors & we love him a lot!

out of the mouths of babes

I feel kind of guilty for blackmailing people to get comments . . . but probably not guilty enough to never do it again :)

Does anybody besides me remember that old church movie 'Out of the Mouths of Babes'?



Well, I am thinking about carrying around a concealed video camera (is that even legal?) to create my own 'Out of the Mouths of Babes'. Or maybe it will just become a recurring series on this blog. Anyway, here is the latest installment -- short & sweet:

I went to a fourth-grade classroom to meet some of my new kiddos. Within about 2 seconds, I heard a little whisper from the back, "Who is that lady? She is pretty!".

And for the record, I did NOT look that nice yesterday. Or maybe I did. Is it ever a good thing if a 9 year old thinks you look nice? I just can't decide.

it's been a while

So, I haven't blogged in a long time -- maybe because I don't get enough positive feedback when I blog or maybe because I have been having so much fun or maybe because I am just lazy :)
Here are some quick updates:

JOB: My job is great! I drive between 1 - 3 hours each day, so my car and I are becoming one. The poor Bonneville would have never made it out here :) I have met most of my speech babies and I miss the ones I had last year. My favorite seech story from the past week {written as it was spoken}: "My gwampa gave me a calf this summa. It is bwack and white, but its mom is aw (all) wed (red). He stiw (still) eats fwom its mom."

SCHOOL: Cody reads a lot. One article compared organizational theory to shoes -- who says marrying me didn't aid in his education? He also starts teaching a section of 50-60 students tomorrow :) He is the only first year student in recent history to ever be assigned to do that!

HOUSE: Love love love it! There is no more to say.

FRIENDS: Love love love them! There are quite a few couples in our ward that we plan on being super good friends with.

IOWA: Fab. It feels like home {to me}. I haven't gotten my fill of corn fields, flash flooding, or humidity yet. I hope I never will. Football season starts Saturday -- apparently it is quite the event -- there will be a future post on that!

The end.

Leave comments & I might post more :)

some iowa tidbits

*I started work on Monday. I never realized how destitute the Utah education system was ... it will be hard to leave my job when Cody graduates (is it pathetic that I already love my job enough to think about leaving? I have had a lot of time to think lately!). To my speech friends across the nation, do any of you work for AEAs? And what do you think about it? Maybe my rosy colored glasses will come off soon, but for now I will keep them. You can see where I work by clicking these words. We live in the magenta area (Iowa City) and I work in the blue area (Southwest Region), specifically HLV, Lone Tree, and Williamsburg. I am planning on quite the commute!

*Some of the biggest shocks for me have been sounds. Thunder 'rolls' here instead of echoing off the mountains -- it is really wild. It is so deep and lasts for several consecutive minutes. Consequently, the thunder keeps me up at night. There have been thunderstorms four of the eight nights we have been here. I have slept through ONE :(

There are also these crazy loud bugs that come out in the evenings. You can hear them through the walls of your house! We first encountered them when we stopped at Winter Quarters. The sound was so loud that I didn't believe Cody when he told me they were bugs . . .

*We have fab neighbors! He is doing a residency for opthamology & she plays the violin in Orchestra Iowa. AND, they have an adorable 10 month old boy who will hopefully relieve the pain of missing these two:

our house!

here are a couple videos of our new house. the password is 'house'. creative!

to council bluffs

this was my view all day

at the winter quarters cemetery.

this statue is kinda hard to see, but it is a couple burying their child. heartbreaking.

so glad we are driving across the country instead of walking/pushing/burying our babies.

cody at the spot where we think (95% sure) his great-great-great grandma was buried.


beautiful temple. worn out girl.

we plan to come back soon winter quarters :)

p.s. this exhibit was at the visitors center and it was amazing!

where we have been . . .

. . . is in the car. Since the beginning of July we have driven 2958 miles. Good thing our car is comfortable :) Here is a breakdown {complete with assorted pictures}:

256 miles to Idaho Falls & back for the 4th of July

{No pictures here. We were too busy winning the family scavenger hunt and watching Frank's awesome fireworks!}

1520 miles to Oakdale & back to visit Cody's grandparents

630 miles to Cave Falls for the annual camping trip

552 miles to Sidney, Nebraska

{No pictures here either. Any photos of today would only have sagebrush & semi-trucks in them. Or the marinara sauce explosion that soaked my sweats & the lovely forest green carpet in our hotel room. Or Cody channel surfing. Nothing too fab.}