The White 'Fro

This is me exactly one year ago. I thought I'd take a trip back to the 80s and perm my hair for the summer. Man, it was exciting. Just thought it would be funny to share. I really liked the perm, but I got sick of it after a while so it only lasted just over a month. I still have the rollers, maybe I'll do it again someday. I just don't know if I'm feeling quite as frizzy at the moment.

Warding Off Baby-Head

Earlier this summer I decided to try memorizing one poem a week. So far I have not been very disciplined in sticking with it; I have only gotten through two poems. So today I sat my self down and got to it. I figured I would share because poetry makes me happy and maybe it will make someone else so. And it will help me to remember them better. The poem I chose for this week is by Amy Lowell, an American poet from the early 20th century. Hopefully someone else will enjoy it as much as I do:

September, 1918

This afternoon was the colour of water falling through sunlight;
The trees glittered with the tumbling of leaves;
The sidewalks shone like alleys of dropped maple leaves;
And the houses ran along them laughing out of square, open windows.
Under a tree in the park,
Two little boys, lying flat on their faces,
Were carefully gathering red berries
To put in a pasteboard box.

Some day there will be no war.
Then I shall take out this afternoon
And turn it in my fingers,
And remark the sweet taste of it upon my palate,
And note the crisp variety of its flights of leaves.
To-day I can only gather it
And put it into my lunch-box,
For I have time for nothing
But the endeavour to balance myself
Upon a broken world.

Amy Lowell
1919


In case you are wondering, the other two poems are "Those Winter Sundays" by Robert Hayden and "This Is Just To Say" by William Carlos Williams (which can be found on the right of this page).

Family Bonding

I've been able to feel our baby move for a few weeks now, but this week Alex was able to feel him for the first time. It was really exciting. We had our first family bonding moment between the three of us. Below are some pictures of our first baby purchase. It's a little silly but we thought it was kind of funny. And also very cute.

May Already!

A lot has happened in the last month. We finished out the semester and we did pretty well too. Alex got another 4.0, that's two semesters in a row! And I placed third in the school's creative writing contest. Alex got a job doing research at a water lab here on campus and I am starting the summer semester with a few classes. We're keeping busy and especially enjoying the change of weather. Logan sure is beautiful in the summer. We're slow at the blog business, but here are some updates.

Baby . . .

BOY! We went to the doctor's office on Monday for an ultrasound. They did a complete exam of the baby, including the most anticipated is it a boy or girl?. Our baby boy is perfectly healthy and in fabulous shape. He weighs about 9 ounces now and is right on track. We are so thrilled to be having a boy. We're trying to work on some names but are having a hard time coming up with ones we like. So far we think we like Graham. But we'll see where we go with it. We also made our first baby purchase, a little onsie. Baby shopping is so fun. Anything that small is automatically adorable. Hopefully these pictures show up, sorry they're a little blurry.

Arches

We spent part of last week in Moab with my family. I've been to Arches several times but everytime I go it seems even more spectacular. The hikes were beautiful, the weather wonderful, and we had a blast camping by the river. Alex fit right in with my dad and my brothers, climbing all over nearly every rock in the park. The first day we were there it was so windy that I got pretty nervous to see Alex climbing really high on a cliff face. So, it wasn't exactly a cliff but there was possibility for some danger. I think my maternal instincts are starting to bloom. The best day by far was probably the Fiery Furnace day. The Fiery Furnace is one of the most amazing places on earth. There are narrow finger canyons and washes, towers of red rock, and the coolest crack climbing and bouldering of almost anywhere. It's pretty intense hiking and climbing, but so beautiful. I've been before so I decided I'd better sit this one out with my sister who is also pregnant. She, being eight months pregnant and for obvious reasons, stayed behind with me and my mom. So the two pregnant ladies and my mama spent the day doing all the easy hikes while the rest spent four or five hours exploring one of God's coolest creations. The trip was fun and it was great to spend time with all of my family.

Alex being a monkey boy.

A testament to the wind.

Double Arch, my favorite arch. Also in the movie Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

Alex, my dad, and one of my brothers defying death.

And the famous, Delicate Arch. The two tiny guys underneath the arch are Alex and my brother-in-law Mike.

We've moved!

We got a new apartment just a couple of blocks away from our old one. This new place has two bedrooms, a dishwasher, and even washer and dryer hookups. A total score for us and the area. We really like it. We're still trying to get organized and unpacked so we'll be sure to post some pictures when we do. The only down side to our new home is that we no longer live across the street from the temple. I really miss seeing it everyday when we walk outside. But we are still close and the wonderful spring season seems to present moments of beauty all around. In the meantime, here are some pictures of our old place.

Living Room, the red window is the front door.

Looking in from the front door.

Kitchen Table

This is the view from the street. We were in the basement on the side of the house.

This was our first day in our apartment. How exciting!