Happy Birthdays

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August is a big birthday month for us--L turned eleven, and R turned seven.

I've posted a few photos in our album. You can jump there if you "click the pic" below.

Happy Birthday: First to L, Then to R

p.s. See, I TOLD you R smiles sometimes. This one is quite a smile--maybe she was making up for lost time at S's baptism. Ha ha.

Bittersweet Summer

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What a summer! Now that I'm back in school, with the kids starting school this week, it's given me time to reflect on our experiences this summer--changing career paths, moving across the country, settling in Utah once again. This is a summer we won't forget!

It's been bittersweet, though--we had to say goodbye to good friends in Pennsylvania, with no idea of whether we'll ever be back there again, but we've also gotten to reconnect with old friends and family, who we've missed very much while we've lived in the East (and some who we haven't seen for years).

And family! We live near our family! We've gotten to see some of them more in the past month or two than we could in a year's time when we lived so far away. I was never particularly fond of the idea of my children growing up without knowing any of their cousins (probably because I grew up cousin-less), so it has truly been wonderful to be here and to get to spend time with them. A week or two ago, we were at my Mom's house in Spanish Fork, and J was playing with his cousin (who is about the same age); when I saw them, I was flooded with emotion and nearly started crying.

(How embarrassing!)

It just feels good to be around them all again!

I Live!

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I live! A whole week of law school, and I'm still ticking. Now, that MIGHT be because this was only Orientation Week, but it still felt like school. I had class/meetings every day, reading assignments/homework, and even an exam on Friday (though the faculty said they decided to call it an "exercise" this year). It was a very busy week! And frankly...

I LOVED IT!

I found the material really interesting (as I've mentioned before) and got to tour several law firms in downtown Salt Lake City, which got me really excited about the future. One of my favorite things has been meeting my classmates--great people, several of whom have experienced things very similar to what we've been through in the past few years (and one whose in-laws live in Altoona, PA!). I'm really looking forward to working with them for the next few years (and beyond).

Olympic Inspiration

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We are really enjoying watching the Olympics. My favorite so far -- by a mile -- was the men's 4X100 freestyle swimming relay. What a race! If you haven't seen it yet, it's posted on NBC's website (click HERE), though that tells you the outcome before you watch the race, which isn't NEARLY as fun as not knowing ahead of time.

One of my favorite details is that the world record was set by the US men's team during the prelims. Then, SEVERAL of the teams beat that record during the final though only the fastest of those really matters, since that is the new record. Still, it was a phenomenal race.

Inspiring!