End of Summer Happenings

I feel like it's been forever since I've had time to sit down at my computer for more than a minute or two. So we'll attempt to update our blog...We'll see how it goes.  Both Stephen and I have gone non-stop the past 3 or 4 weeks.

A Last Minute Trip

With a week left before I started back to school, Stephen got on his spontaneous kick again and we decided to do a last minute road trip to Michigan. One of my cousins asked "who goes on a last minute trip to Michigan?" Answer: We do. Stephen's recovery from his surgery was faster than expected and he felt up to it.  So we packed out bags, were in the car in less than 5 hours and headed out on the 29 hour drive to Midland. It was great little get-a-way and we loved spending time with family we don't see but once a year or so. To sum it all up in a few short sentences.

• We had the most surprised looks I've ever seen on his family's face (that's right we decided it would be more fun not to tell them we were coming!) 
• We got to see our new niece Eva and new nephew Austin for the first time.
• I went fishing with all the boys in the family. We caught some big ones....and have the pictures to prove it. :)

That's right...there's our big one!

• Spent a day kayaking on the Chippewa river and saw hundreds of turtles. We spent most of our time trying to catch them and letting them crawl around in our kayaks.

• Relaxed, laughed and played lots of games with the family. Nothing beats a competitive game of Dominoes.
• Went to the local zoo and saw lots of animals

Just couldn't resist posting this lovely shot!

• Stephen was able to rebuild his old glider airplane and we took it on a test run. It was fun to see him get so excited. 

• Realized that road trips aren't so bad...especially if you get to stop and see the sights along the way. 

Made a quick stop at Lake Michigan on our way home and got our feet wet.

Camping with the Holden's

Roasting some marshmallow :)

We decided to do a 2nd annual camping trip with the Holden's that are out here in Utah. It was so much fun. We roped in Stephen's cousin, her husband and 1-year boy to come along this year. We had a great time setting up tents in the dark, sitting around the fire cooking tinfoil dinners,  roasting marshmallows and making smores, being creative with no bathrooms for miles around and sleeping on a deflated air mattress all night long. It doesn't get any better than that! 

James and Erin warming up by the fire!

Cheering on the Cougars
BYU had it's first football game of the season and we were able to go. Well....I'll be honest with it being Stephen's last year, we caved and got season tickets. So we'll be cheering the cougars on all season long. Waaahoooo.  It was a great game and were able to have my parents come down and go with us. It was such a blast!

Back to the Grind
Although it's towards the end of September, I still have to convince myself that summer is over. Stephen's started back into his second year in the MBA program. We're hoping that this year isn't so intense as the first (at least that's what we've been told.) He's already on the hunt for full time jobs. He has been applying to jobs like crazy. We've both decided that looking for a job is almost 6 credit class in and of itself. He's loving the MBA and we are so grateful for this opportunity. He is like a sponge and just soaking up all the info from his classes. We won't know what to do with ourselves when he graduates this spring.
I also started back into the school mode. It's been a good year so far. I have a lot more kids this year in my class, which means I have more aides.  I think that the large number of kiddos is going to be my biggest challenge this year. (which is saying a lot for special ed. I don't have any big behavior challenges or crazy parents....at least as of yet...) I love everyone of them and they are such a fun group of kids.  I'm really enjoy the year so far. It's crazy to think we've been back at it for over a month.