Updatus Maximus

Okay, I've been putting off blogging long enough--Conference weekend is as good as any other time to sort through my hundreds of pics.  I'll try to keep it brief, but I ain't makin' any promises!

Our house is truly starting to feel like our own.  There are a number of items that still need to be attended to indoors, and the yard is still atrocious (mostly out back), but it's habitable indoors.  My new favorite part of the house is the garage.  We've never had a garage since we've been married and I am LOVING having all that storage space to put stuff in, as well as somewhere to park the van.  It's also handy since one of the Wudge's favorite places to play is in said van.  I think it's a hold-over from when we trekked across the nation, but whatever the case may be, I close the garage door, open the van and let him loose.  Hours of fun...

We also have a fantastic driveway with an entire extra car space and a patio to the side of the garage.  The kids have really enjoyed riding bikes, rollerblading and running through the KidWash.

Of course we pulled the KidWash out when the weather was a little cooler, but the kids kept running through it, despite the blue lips and fingers...

 Or should I say, scootering through.

Boy do we love living by cousins.  What are the chances that I would EVER be able to live by Julie & Rob??  We feel very blessed to be so close, and we haven't even fought over Grandma once!

This is the view from the front of our house.  The clouds were extremely low that day, obscuring even the mouth of Rock Canyon. 

We've seen rainbows, gorgeous sunsets, and big cloud shadows on these mountains.  I am in love with them.  It's worth it to be in Provo if only to be so close to this big lugs...

So we were at on of Shrimp's soccer games (more on that later), and I get this frantic phone call from the eldest (who elected to stay at home and do some homework).  She had taken a study break (bad move) and went out to ride her scooter for a bit, when she hit a rut in the cement and went flying.  I ran home, took one look at her head, and zipped her to the urgent care center.  She managed to get 6 stitches just a quarter inch away from her last set of stitches 7 years ago.  It's true what they say, you know, about head wounds bleeding the heck all over the place.  She marked up the sidewalk with her blood 4 doors down from us all the way up to the front porch.  When she went out to get a picture, our neighbor suggested putting her finger by the drops so you could get an idea of how big they were.  (I should say "are" since they don't show any sign of disappearing despite a few rain showers.)

Now when cousins, friends, and sisters walk to our house, they make sure and note Bub's blood the entire block home.  It's fun to be famous for something, right?

Speaking of school, here is a first day pic for the older three.  Mini started a week after them.

And her is my delightful little Shrimp sitting on the sidelines and waiting for her turn to play soccer.  She loved playing, and though I don't think she'll ever be an international star, she wasn't too bad.  Frankly, she just loved being with all the other kids and making new friends.  I've never known anyone to thrive so much on peer interaction as that kid.

The funny thing about this soccer was that the coach didn't have any practices, so Shrimp walked out on the field the first game knowing less than nothing about rules or even how to play.  She's a quick learner, though and was playing like a pro by the end of the game.

We wanted to keep Domba & Bub running as they have been doing for so many years now, so we enrolled them in Team Provo, the city's team.  They have weekly races running against other schools or districts.  This was their first one and they both got 2nd place.  They have really worked hard, which is saying something as they've had to acclimate to the altitude and the (steeper) hills.  Sadly, Bub's school has no after-school athletics, so we are trying to keep her going until high school.  Fortunately, there are a lot of good city athletics programs.  I thought Ann Arbor was big into running.  I feel like a number when I run in the mornings--the rest of Provo is out with me!  It's pretty crazy.

 So one of the things we discovered in our wildly overgrown yard was these yummy green grapes.  We had WAY more than we could eat, though Dh & Wudge spent a lot of time washing and plucking them.  (Okay, Wudge actually probably spent more time eating than plucking, but he was known to swish them in the water a few times before refilling his mouth.)

The weird thing about these grapes is that they had an almost spicy taste to them, as in cinnamony flavor.  It was subtle, but very different from what you get in a store.  Can't wait to have them pop up again next year!

The Wudge has been the master of mimicry of late.  If someone is laying on the ground, he'll lay right down with them.  If they are jumping up and down cheering, count him in.  This is just one of many of him trying to fit in with all those older sister's of his.  He must be the most petted, spoiled little man in the nation.

My baby girl started kindergarten this year.  I am SO grateful that Provo offers a half-day kindergarten.  I know Mini would've struggled with a full day, much as Domba did in MD.  As it is, we have fun mornings together, her & I & Wudgie, and then she goes to school & the Wudge & I take naps.  It's very cozy, and I've enjoyed having those two around to help me.  Mini tells me every day that she "is going to be {my} very best helper ever today."  It's very endearing.  And since the Wudge only wants to do everything we're doing, I generally have lots of company while changing the wash, loading the dishwasher, and unwrapping fragile decorations to put up high.  Oh, wait, that last one doesn't really fall into the category of "helping". 

 I had to put this one up of the Wudge in his raincoat and boots.  He doesn't have pants on, but he's got raingear and Bun-Buns (his bunnies)...  That's enough for him, even when it's 50F outside...

 Now I know that we are truly home: Bony is on the wall!  Bony joined our family in June of 2009, a product of Shrimp's science camp at preschool.  He's getting on in years, but still cuts a fine figure, especially in the dark of the night when you see him out of the corner of your eyes...

 I thought I'd end on these two beauts.  The one below is just standard Domba weirdness.  She was born a ham.  The one above at first looks like your touching picture of a young girl (Shrimp) intently focusing on General Conference.  However, if you are a fan of the Office, you will recognize my little sign just above her head.  It's somewhat ironic that it and President Packer are in the same picture, wouldn't you agree?