There and Back Again

So we had so much fun seeing everyone in Utah. Camping was so nice and relaxing: Gavin discovered his love for 4-wheelers, Leif realized just how much he misses the mountains, and I learned that my husband would indeed save me from a middle-of-the-night scavenging bear by chopping its head off with an ax (it wasn't really a bear, but what a hero!). :)

In Spanish Fork we savored Uncle Dave's classic tomato sandwiches, had breakfast with some old friends, and realized that we just might want to plant permanent roots in that town someday. Chet and Erin's reception in Hurricane was really nice, and we were able to get some long-awaited family pictures.

Luckily, we did not have to come back to Austin by ourselves; Heather and Casey and their kids came back with us, and we crammed all the fun we could into the few days we had before Jada's surgery in Houston. We visited the San Antonio Zoo, shopped the deals at the outlet mall, played in the river, and went to SeaWorld, where Jada was riveted by "Shampoo" the whale.

After putting the kids to bed every night, we "adults" watched episodes of "The Office" and enjoyed a new dessert every night (needless to say, we all began dieting today). As they say, all good things must come to an end, and they flew back to St. George Thursday. I was pretty bummed for a spell, but Leif took me out to lunch and to the botanical gardens for our anniversary on Friday (5 years, can you believe it?), and my sadness began to fade.

It's nice that today is October; I like October and feel renewed in my efforts towards "regular" life. I am truly blessed with a wonderful family and love where we are right now--really living away from home and enjoying the opportunities that come with that. I am excited about starting another online class, joining a long-distance book club with my friends, learning what it takes to be nursery leader, and loving every minute of being a mom.

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