Our trip: Part 1



This is Taft as a world traveler. He was great on the flight (about 9 hours) and even slept for a few hours. He adjusted pretty quickly to the time change and has been a real trooper by skipping naps here and there, eating and napping on the go, and staying up past bed time.

This was one of the first towns we went to, but I don't remember the name of it. For a much better description of our trip visit this blog. This town was supposedly known for it's ceramics. I thought these ceramic steps were pretty cool.

The next day we went to Taormina which was really beautiful. We walked around the town, visited this amazing Greek theater, ate lunch with a gorgeous view (the picture isn't very good), and then went down to the beach. Bumski was pooped.

This is how Taft felt about the beach. He loved it. I tried to overcome my fish fear by attempting to snorkel. You can see my attempt here.

To be continued...

September was not our month.

1. My car got towed after parking it in what seemed to be a public parking lot

2. My car got broken into. In our apartment complex. Which is supposedly secure.

3. Our stove broke and started smoking 1 hour before we were supposed to leave for our trip.

4. Our laptop got lost/stolen in the airport/train station in Paris. Taft's life in pictures was on that computer.

The sad thing is all these are pretty much my fault too. I was the one who didn't see the five hundred no parking signs. I was the one that left my purse in the car which caught the attention of the thief. I was the one fidgeting with the burner and probably caused the break. I was the one who took the laptop out of the bag to make sure it wasn't wet and set it next to Seth thinking he'd see it and assume to put it back in the bag.

I really like being right. No, I LOVE being right and I HATE being wrong. Sometimes I gloat about being right. Seth has had at least four huge chances in the last month to gloat about not being the one to do any of that stuff that I did. Do you know how many times he did? Zero.

Today is the last day of September. Here's to a better October. I think it will be better. How can your October be bad if it is spent in Sicily, Morocco, and Belgium?

I loved EFY. My first year at EFY was actually then called "Academy for Girls" which was basically EFY for 12 year olds minus the boys. I went with my friend Jamie and we probably fought at some point during the week because I'm pretty sure it was impossible for us to go more than two days without someone saying something that hurt the other one's feelings. We both brought various items from our rooms at home to make our new home for the week seem like ours. I remember my dad sent me a letter while I was there and I cried because I was homesick even though it was only a week long camp. Powerpoint must have been the new craze because the letter was about 12 pages with big font and pictures and each seemed like an individual powerpoint slide. I went to "Academy for Girls" for two years and then when I turned 14 I got to go to real EFY, with boys and everything. I of course developed crushes on at least 3 boys in one week's time and at the end of EFY swore I would never kiss a boy again until I was married. (Uh, in case you were wondering I didn't keep that promise) I have a point to this flashback. One year the theme was Joy in the Journey. I was thinking about this today because A) I was in Provo where EFY took place two of my four years and B) because I was feeling joyful a good part of the day. On my last day of work, my work friends gave me a little journal with the word ENJOY on the front and on each page there is a quote about joy. I was at a baby shower this morning for my friend Melanee who was bursting with joy as she opened her gifts and imagined dressing her new little baby boy. I of course understood her joy as I sat there holding my own little bundle. I also felt joy for my other friend, Jessie, who had her first little baby this past week. I thought how I was just barely there, but six and a half months have passed by and how I hope that I can remember to soak in how great it is to have a baby in our home. It seems like Seth and I are always talking about what we're looking forward to next. It was Taft, then it was Europe, next is residency interviews, then finding out where we'll be moving. I still like thinking about the future and getting excited for it, but I also want to find "joy in the journey" of each day right now. There's a lot to feel joyous about. Today was beautiful, the leaves are starting to change, I spent the day with friends and family, and I ate frozen yogurt. Seth isn't home right now but he'd probably say he found joy in riding his mountain bike from Squaw Peak to Hobble Creek Canyon and then going to the BYU game. Anyway, this is kind of cheesy but it's just what I was thinking about today. Now I'm going to find joy in a bowl of Cocoa Puffs.

When I was in middle school I used to fake sick so I could stay home to eat junk and watch Lifetime movies. I don't know if you've watched a Lifetime movie lately, but it seems like they're always about abused women/kids - just sad stories in general. I LOVED these shows and eventually I think they are what inspired me to go into the field of social work/child welfare. So thank you Lifetime channel.

My last day as a social worker for the State of Utah was a week ago today. I had been counting down the days, but when the day actually came, I had mixed feelings about closing that chapter of my life. I got a thank you card from a client the nigth before my last day. These things RARELY happen but it made my day. Or year. Or short two year career.

As much as I complained about this job and really dreaded some days, I now feel like I really did love this job. I realized that I'm passionate about the field of child welfare and WILL be sure to always be involved in it whether working full time, part time, or just volunteering. When I tell people what I do/did, I get the same repsonses: "Oh that's so sad, I couldn't do that"..."That must be so hard"..."I couldn't work with the parents of those kids, I would just want to take everyone's kids away"...okay, you get the point. Seth typically has a optimistic outlook on life and tends to give most people the benefit of the doubt (except SoCal people) and has said about a lot of people, "Everyone is just doing the best that they know how". I've realized through my time with this job, that 99.99% of parents love their children more than anything and really are trying the best that they know how.

With this job, the success stories sometimes seem few and far between, but it is a great feeling watching someone overcome a drug addiction and having their children returned to them, or seeing someone become self-sufficient and seeing what self-confidence can do to improve someone's quality of life.

There are many, many things I will NOT miss about this job...goat poop is the first thing that comes to mind. I'm super grateful for this job though and feel it was the best first real job I could have had right out of school. I don't think any other job would have given me the experience this job gave me.

I know that there is a time and season for everything and that right now isn't the time for me to be furthering my career in this field, but I'll still miss it a little. However, most of my first week of staying home including going on long walks to parks, The Gateway, and beautiful nearby neighborhoods. Sleeping in a little wasn't too bad either. Oh and I get to be home with pretty much the cutest baby I've ever had. AND the majority of the week I've thought, "being home totally rocks".

Taft turned 6 months old yesterday. I can't believe he's already half a year! As you can see, he learned to sit on his own. We're pretty sure he's well on his way to becoming the next Rhodes Scholar. I mean, look at his shirt, he's six months old and already a doctor. Taft spent the sixth month of his life going to St. George for a little vacay with the Herway family, rolling around our non-carpeted floor, playing with cousins or rather watching them play, figuring out how to lean very unsafely out of his bumbo, and humoring his parents with smiles and laughs.

(p.s. Taft's mom is now a stay-at-home mom. Woo hoo!)

I'm tellin' ya....it's hereditary.

If you are ever going down to Orem to watch a soccer game and decide to carpool with family and decide to meet at the old Lowe's parking lot on 90th south and just leave your car there...DON'T DO IT. Why? Because your car WILL get towed, that's why.

Somehow I didn't see the five hundred signs that said UNAUTHORIZED VEHICLES WILL BE TOWED all over the parking lot when I left my car there.

I went back to get my car after the game and saw my car was gone. My first thought was "Wahoo! Someone stole my car!" If you've seen my car you'll understand why I'd be excited. Unfortunately it was towed instead by a really rude guy who basically wanted my arm, my leg, and my first born child to get my car back. I ended up talking him into just a big wad of cash instead and got my car back this morning.

I always wanted a Siamese twin. I'm seriously contemplating chopping my hair this short again. I'm going through old pictures using the free Picasa editing software and having way too much fun.

I just found about a bazillion projects I want to do now on this cutesie, crafty blog...once again, don't know her, but love her stuff.

My younger brother, Michael, a.k.a Pete, joined the U.S. Navy today. (Did you just get a pit in your stomach? 'Cause I did.) Yep, the U.S. Navy. He reports to Basic Training in Illinois in February for 8 weeks and then heads to Monterey, California for Linguistic Training for 18 months.

I have always admired those who serve in the military and work to keep our country safe. It's a whole different feeling when a family member is one of those people. Admiration is still involved, but so is worry. This is what Pete wants to do and I'm going to do my best to be supportive and happy. And I am happy...just nervous too, in the big-sister-nervous-for-her-little-brother sort of way. I'm not going to think about worst-case scenarios (I tend to do that a lot) because that's no way to live. Instead, I'm going to proudly support my brother and all those who willingly and selflessly serve our country.

Below is a picture right before my brother went into the MTC nearly four years ago.

It's official, I'm getting dumber.

Evidence:

Friday morning I was feeling extra productive. In fact, Seth asked if I was on meth. I made it to the grocery store by 8 am with baby. I did a big shopping trip and was getting excited about the meals I had planned for the week and the fact that I was going to be making my own baby food. I got to the check out and had all the groceries rung up and bagged. Went to pay...no wallet. Awesome.

This morning, I got to work a little earlier than usual. Usually when I get out of my car, I open the door, hit the lock button and get out. Today, I opened the door, hit lock, tossed my keys into my purse sitting on the passenger side, got out and closed the door. Um, yeah. So I was locked out of my car with nothing but my lunch in my hand.

I'm trying to save money. Saving money is a relatively new concept in my brain. It was introduced to me by my hub. Turns out I kinda like it. I like new clothes more and wish I could just have both, but still, I kinda like the idea have seeing positive numbers in my bank account. Not very big numbers, but positive nonetheless. This and this have been helping me to save pennies at the grocery store. I recommend them.

*photo from Flickr, in case you thought that was my manly, african american hand.

Okay, now I HAVE to learn to sew. I don't know this girl, but I KNOW that I love these outfits she makes her daughters. I need a sewing machine. RIGHT. NOW. And some cute little girls too.

captain bumski pants is here to save the day

He's 5 months old now folks. He's growing so fast and it makes me sad a little. He's laughing and giggling more, moving more, grabbing more, eating more, etc. We just love having this little boy in our lives.