Trunk or Treat 2008

We went to our ward's trunk-or-treat party last night. It was pretty fun. I have to say, if they would have had a costume contest, I would have won. Every single person I ran into told me they thought my costume was the best. I was actually pretty nervous because we have a lot of conservative republicans in the ward, so I was afraid I wouldn't have any friends left after I dressed up as Sarah Palin. Actually, I don't know if I went as Tina Fey as Sarah Palin, or just Sarah Palin, but whatever it was, it worked.

Grace went as a fierce knight (not Joan of Arc as everyone asked...) and Hattie went as an adorable Tinkerbell fairy. David's last minute costume was a Bruce Springstein/Emilio Estevez/80's white boy punk. Hattie hated the party. She was really scared of everyone being dressed up. At the very end after people started taking off costumes and many had left, she had some fun though. We stayed late to do our turn cleaning the church. Didn't want to go this morning! Now, I am SO glad we did too.

Meeting Kate

After so much planning and anticipation to see little Kate, we finally made it to Salt Lake on October 9th. We had to delay our trip even 2 days later than we wanted so that Grace could be in her Kindergarten class picture. As I was packing, I started getting sick. This is not good considering Melissa is even a bigger germ freak than I am. I knew she would not let me see Kate or let my kids play with Sean unless we were totally healthy. We had just gotten Grace over a cold and we weren't sure about Hattie either. I was dying. I thought we might not get to see them before we left if my virus went through all of us.
Luckily, a kind-hearted instacare doc gave me some drugs the second we landed in SLC and Harriet and Grace stayed healthy. I finally got to hold Kate a few days later (me under a quilt!) and then a few days after that I really got to snuggle her and smooch her. Well, I guess I got to do it a couple of times anyway. It was so hard to wedge my way in to take her from Hattie! Harriet clocked more Kate holding time than the rest of the family combined. I don't think even Melissa has held her that long if you take away nursing time.

We love that little Kate girl. She is everything you could want from a little baby. She's healthy, strong, not too fussy, and simply adorable. I can't wait to see her develop her personality and get to know me and play with my girls.
After finally getting better, the weather turned from cold and snowy to warm and sunny, and we had a great finish to the trip. We didn't have long, but we were able to fill our buckets with family time. This is the best cure for everything. Grace and Hattie love their aunts and uncles. They adore their grandpas and tolerate the grandmas. We're not sure why the sour faces with the grandmas. We know they love them deep down because of other things they do when grandma isn't looking, but they sure do put on a poker face when a grandma tries to get some love in person. Still it is so nice to have a grandma or grandpa to help and play.

My favorite things from the trip:

1- waking Hattie up at 3:30am to drive to the airport - she opened her eyes and said "ready go on a airpane?!" She had been asking to get on the plane for days.

(Hattie and Grace take the airplane safety seriously!)

2- Hearing Grace tell me that "the only thing that cares (matters) is that we have fun." She told me this after I stopped quick with the car and Aunt Christine's birthday cakes went flying and got smashed on the floor.

(thanks for waiting 2 days for your birthday party Christine!)

3- Seeing Grace play with Grandpa Earl. He is her lifelong love.

4- Meeting Kate

5- Holding Kate

6- Kissing Kate

7- Watching Hattie hold Kate
8- getting to see Jessica for a couple of days and staying up late with her - thanks for the great hair cuts!9- seeing Grace wrap her arms and legs around Aunt Emmie. They are kindred spirits, soul sisters, and best buds.
10- Staying up WAY too late with my mom to talk and watch funny TV and SNL clips online. We can't get enough of Sarah Palin and Tina Fey!
11- Taking the kids for a ride in Grandpa Lyle's cool car.
12- Playing Uno with Hattie everywhere we went. She's pretty good, but after a while, she gets too upset and I finally had to put the game away. (will someone please fly to Boston and play Uno with Hattie?!!!)
13- Getting to see my friend Molly and going for a walk in the beautiful Park City weather.

14- Reconnecting with a former student, Adrienne. She and I have been e-mailing for a few months now and have discovered that we are kindred spirits too. She is 10 years younger than me, attending the U, applying to med school, and doing all of the college student things. But, we have so much in common it's scary. I hadn't seen her in 5 years. We went to a movie together and then talked until 1:30 in the morning in her driveway. I wish I had the presence of mind to snap pictures when I'm with friends, but the camera instinct only comes out when I've got my kids with me. I'll have to embarrass Adrienne by throwing in a picture she sent me of her as homecoming queen at the U last month. I hope she decides to attend med school here in Boston so we can hang out more!
15. Have to add one more...I was SO HAPPY to find a quilt for Hattie at Gardner Village! I've been working on this bedroom since our last Utah trip and it is finally done now. I found the absolute PERFECT quilt that exactly matches the room and Grace's quilt and it was even a BARGAIN. I'm still giddy from finding it!

I guess I had too many favorites. I could keep going too. As always, we are so grateful to everyone who helped us get to Salt Lake and have a great visit. We are especially grateful to David who took us to the airport at 4am and who is left home alone while we are gone.

Now, we have to get through a long, cold, New England winter. I'm not sure when we will be back to Utah. It will depend on lots of things. Now that Grace is in school, I have to be more careful with travel. She's already missed 11 days of kindergarten and it's only October! We'll look forward to having a few visitors here around the holidays and then I may have to see a therapist to get through the rest of the cold winter months.

Welcome to the world Kate!

We are lucky to have a new niece in our family this week! My sister, Melissa, had her baby girl on Wednesday. Her name is Kate Elayne. Elayne is after our beloved Grandma Primmer. I am so beyond happy for Melissa that she has a daughter. Kate is already a mini-me of Melissa. I absolutely cannot wait to see them both. I am taking my girls to Salt Lake on Thursday to meet their new little cousin. I'm hoping for lots of Kate-holding time for me. Hattie squeals with delight at each new picture that is sent our way of "baby Kate." I know she wants to hold her too!

Diary of a Ute fan

First this week has been killing me. Between the Red Sox playing in Anaheim and the Utes playing on Versus Thursday night I have been somewhat sleep deprived. Of course there was no way I was going to miss the Ute game on Thursday against Oregon State. I generally don't get to watch many Ute games, but so far this year I was able to watch the Michigan game (in HD-which was awesome), Utah State, Air Force, and now Oregon State. Not bad for an East coast dweller.

There was a lot of buzz for this game after Oregon State knocked off the then #1 USC last week. The Utes have been sloppy with the ball lately and Brian Johnson hasn't looked all that great which had me concerned. The first quarter was played to a draw and I was liking what I was seeing from the defense. The second quarter the Utes were clicking and pulled out to a 20-9 lead. The only TD for Oregon State coming on an interception returned for a TD. However, the defense showed some signs of weakness when they gave up 80 yards in 4 plays to end the half and Oregon State made it 20-15 after failing on the 2 point conversion.

As the third quarter commenced things started going downhill. The defense was playing decently, but the offense looked horrible. Brian Johnson fumbled and that led to another Beaver TD and going into the fourth quarter they led 21-20. For the first 13 minutes of the fourth quarter it was more of the same. The Ute offense struggled and went 3-and-out almost every posession. When Oregon State scored with 2:18 left to make it 28-20 I'd have given up hope. Jared texted me saying he hoped that I wasn't up watching the game. I quickly called him to commesurate the loss when low and behold Johnson woke up and decided to prove Jared and me wrong. The Utes scored in less than 30 seconds and converted the 2 point try to tie the game. The defense held and then some luck and bad clock play on Oregon State's part led to the Utes trying the field goal as time expired.

A great game to watch, but I was sure tired. It was 12:30 AM and now I was all wound up from the depths of despair to losing the game to the high of a great comeback. I watched a little post-game and then turned on Scrubs to wind down. By the time it was all said and down it was nearly 2 AM before I fell asleep.

Sure I was tired, but it was completely worth it. I still bummed that I can't watch the Utah-BYU game, but let's hope the Utes can win out and bust the BCS once again.

Curse the Immutable Laws of Physics

As you can tell from the picture, my luck finally ran out and I was involved in an accident. The picture doesn't quite do the damage justice. Luckily no one was hurt and the car will hopefully not be totaled. It happened on my way home from work on Wednesday. I had come to a stop and was about 8 cars back from the light. I had been stopped for a couple of seconds when I saw a car fast approaching in my rear view mirror. I could tell he wasn't going to stop in time and braced myself. Sure enough, the jarring sounds of crushing metal and the ensuing whiplash confirmed by suspicions. This is what happens when you try and go against the laws of physics. Momentum will win out. What his brakes couldn't do, my car did for him. He must have hit me going 25-30 mph.

Besides doing significant damage to the rear bumper, it also bent the exhaust pipe and dented the rear hatch. In fact, the rear hatch won't open now. At least my car was drivable. The car that rear-ended me had to get towed from the scene of the accident. Adding a twist of irony is that the guy who hit me works at the same place I do.

I do feel lucky that I wasn't injured. I woke up Thursday and felt a little sore and even now I have a little bit of back pain, but nothing too serious. Now it is just the hassle of dealing with his insurance and getting the car fixed. The adjuster looks at it tomorrow. Here's hoping it doesn't cost more to repair than the car is worth.

Of course when I got home Wednesday night I started thinking about all the coincidences that put in the wrong spot at the wrong time. First, I left work 30 minutes later than normal. Second, I took a different route than I normally do. The accident happened in a spot I always go past, but I took a route that may have been faster than my normal route. All the little things that could have made a difference.

Oh well, at least my car is old and I am OK. One accident in 16 years. Let's hope for no more.