I'm starting to become one of those slacker-blogger types I complain about. I'm always telling Brian how I wish so-and-so updated more often and wonder why some people always post in spurts. Well, let's call it like we see it folks - HERE I AM! Life happens and then blogging priorities quickly make its way down our to-do list. Never fear, though - we are back in the saddle and we're going to try to stay on top of things. Whether that means one post a week or a month - we shall see! So, without further adieu, here goes another catching up post!
August was a great month here in Ohio. Lots of humidity, sun, mosquitoes, swimming and hanging out with friends. The daily dialogue went something like this: "It is so hot and muggy here. Turn up the AC! Blasted frizzy hair! (After 20 min of playing on the playground with Brighton, Brian says) Let's go - I'm sweating. And plus Brighton's face is red." Followed by more sweating and complaining...
Be careful what you wish for! Today's morning news reported that by mid week the lows would be in the 40's! 40's? Arizona's lowest of lows isn't even that cold in the middle of January! Oh man, what did I sign up for?! Sure, it's no Siberia, but heck, the coldest place I've ever lived in was Texas. Sounds like an adventure to me! Well, as one girl here put it (which I though was so profound) "At least you'll have fun buying cute sweaters and jackets!" Oh...yeah!
Anyhow, enough with the jabbering. Here's the update:
Brian is still working and is loving it. His hours aren't as intense as Arizona, but the work is - in fact even more so. I won't bore you with the gross details, so you can ask him about any exciting stuff he's run into lately. And trust me, he's got some VERY interesting ones.
He also recently got called as a senior nursery assistant. Hee, hee. Gotta love that one!
As for me, I got called to be the Laurels advisor AND the ward photographer. How ironic is that? So, that's kept me very busy lately. Not to mention young. My head is spinning trying to keep track of what's "cool" these days. I'm still having fun with li'l b and doing the photography here and there. And still trying to get this place settled and somewhat esthetically pleasing. It's no IKEA showroom, but it'll do for the next three years at least!
Brighton is running around like that road runner from the Looney Tunes cartoon. He likes playing his piano and dancing, doing somersaults, jumping off furniture, eating watermelon and reading books. He does this routine pretty much every day! And the three words I hear constantly around the house are: "this!" "uh-eye!" and "Jesus!" He's finally learning his alphabet - slow start - but we're getting there! Last week he learned the letter B! Ahh...the life of a toddler. Eat. Play. Poop.
Here's a visual recap of last week:
Brighton reading his favorite magazine -
We decided to take a stroll in the park one afternoon. Brighton assumed the fountain was a big bathtub and tried to climb in.
Then he and Brian ran around for a bit. His little legs move faster than he can handle and he fell into a huge puddle of mud. As you can tell from this picture he is taking after me. Of course, Brian can't wait for all of the mud and bugs that come with being a boy.
And as usual, our adventure ended with a nice long bath. I have a feeling that this is just the beginning of his boy adventures to come!
WE'RE STILL HERE!
ABC's of ME.
Okay, so my friend Mindy Lou "tagged" me. I've been reading everyone's blogs sporadically because frankly, as you can tell from my lack of blogging, that we've been completely swamped over here. But, I told her I'd do this so here goes... Oh and for the "older" folks - and you know who I'm talking about - a "tag" is like a getting-to-know-you form of some sort that the sender fills out about themselves and then forwards it on to someone else, then that person fills it out about and sends it out and so on and so forth. You follow? Anyhow, here goes:
ABC's "getting to know you"
TAG ABC's of you. Each player then tags 3 people and posts their names, then go to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.
A- Attached or single: Married. Brighton's the one who's "attached" to Brian.
B- Best Friend: You know who you are! BFF!
C-Cake or Pie: Chocolate.
D-Day: Saturday
E- Essential Item(s): pre-Brighton days: debit card, a fruit smoothie and a mall. Now: diapers. wipes. goldfish. dog kennel.
F- Favorite Color: White (yes, even with Brighton around)
G-Gummi Bears or Worms: Da Bears.
H-Home town: Even though we won't be living there - Hawai`i is my home!
I- Indulgences: Shopping. Eating Desserts. Repeat.
J- January or July?: Two great months! I'll pick January for li'l b.
K-Kids: 1 awesome little b. he's like 3 kids in 1! I definitely got my money's worth!
L-Life is incomplete without: Oxygen. Oh, you wanted a sappy answer? Love. Aww...
M- Marriage Date: July 18
N- Number of Siblings: 3 bruddahs
O- Oranges or Apples: Apples. Um hello, my maiden name?
P- Phobias or Fears: Public door handles, bathrooms, buffet utensils (come on people, think about it!), hotel rooms, those nasty indoor play areas, restaurant menus - oh I could go on and on. No really.
Q- Quote: "You're a liar Collette." -Lexi, age 2. This was her response after I told her I didn't know where Shamoo lived (when two minutes earlier I asked her about seeing him at Sea World). Ha! Take that! She is still the "smartest" little girl I know. I love Lexi-isms.
R- Reason To Smile: 1.024 days until we are done with residency, but who's counting?!
S- Season: Summer, of course! Who doesn't like baking in high UV sunlight in the middle of an Arizona Summer when the temps are nearing 118 and your car is so hot you can't even touch the steering wheel (and that's WITH the sun visor on)?!
T- Tag Three: Tandy, Emily, Amy (H&A) - Ooo this is going to be good - can't wait!
U- Unknown fact about me: In school I loved writing reports, making posters, giving presentations and doing stoichiometry. Today, I can't even remember what I did yesterday.
V- Vegetarian or Oppressor of Animal: Well, I did just eat ribs the other night, but on the other hand, I do eat a lot of chocolate and since it does come from a bean...
W- Worst Habit: Making sure that the faucets don't have any water spots on them. Thanks Elsa!
X-Rays or Ultrasounds: I like the dentist x-rays - especially after the dentist shows you your impacted wisdom teeth and keeps bugging you to pull them out.
Y-Your favorite food: Chocolate Chip Calzones (from CJ), Pazookies (from BJ's), Strawberry Shortcake (from CF), Nielsen's Frozen Custard, etc. We are making our future home plans based around these restaurants. :) You think I'm joking, don't you?!
Z: Zodiac Sign: Are we back in the 60's or what? In today's world, the question seems to be either what's your blog address or if I'm on Facebook yet.
So, there you have it. Some completely random and useless facts about me. Don't you feel enlightened? Well, enough about me - I'll be back soon with some updates and photos!
FROM THE DESK OF BRIGHTON...
ALL THINGS BRIGHT AND BEAUTIFUL
And I have to admit and I'll probably get booed, but nature photography is just not my thing. But, just to give you an idea of our day, I took a few snapshots of the beautiful scenery.
SLOW DOWN SUMMER!
Having said that - we've been taking Brighton swimming a lot lately. And since it's been a while since his swimming lessons, we try to practice as much as we can. No matter how many times he gets dunked, he keeps going and going. He loves the water. Luckily, our city recreation center has an indoor pool, so we'll have to get our swimming fix there during the Winter. Here's an old clip from when he first started his swimming lessons in Arizona and then a few recent photos of the little tadpole. And don't worry - no little Brightons were harmed in the making of this video.
WE'VE GRADUATED FROM THE HALLWAY!
Well, those days are O-V-E-R!
