Wow, there's a lot to catch up on. Why do I do this to myself? Here goes...
Me: I celebrated my 48th (almost typed 38th) birthday on October 5th. It was General Conference Sunday and it was fabulous. Mel gave me some awesome bubble bath stuff and I took a lovely bath. I also took a nap, took a walk, and had some mint chocolate chip ice cream. I made dinner on Saturday that I just had to heat up, so clean up was minimal. I love birthdays. They're an excuse to just take it easy. To celebrate, I also went to lunch with my friends Wendy Lee, Debbie Larsen and Kim Blight. We've been celebrating birthdays for years...since our boys carpooled together to junior high. We went to Wild Zucchini and ate pasta and had a great visit. Next birthday is Wendy's in January. Looking forward to it already. I also went to lunch with my walking buddies/sisters, RaDawn Mehr, Sherie Ritchie and Sandy Hewlett. I really do love them like sisters. We tried a new bakery/lunch place that was ok, but the company was fabulous. Then, Jamie Wigington, my former neighbor and October birthday buddy went to dinner and a movie. It's our annual tradition. I also got to go to dinner with mom and dad. My birthday loot included aforementioned bath supplies, chocolates, a cute ghost halloween decoration, a WW drinking cup, a cute sign about friendship, workout videos, and cold-weather walking clothes. Birthdays are the BEST.
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| It was my 30-year high school reunion and someone posted this gem. Derek refers to me as "the hot dude on the left." with me are Craig McKinley and Annie Wagner. |
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| Aunt Carolyn was in town and we all went to the women's broadcast at the end of September. Mel, Ann Hunter, me and Carolyn Brandt |
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| My favorite...Halloween decorations |
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| Me at Gardner Village. So glad we went at night. The lights were so pretty. The weather was great, too. |
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| Me and Mel coming home from NPS, aka "the expired food store." We found some great stuff. |
Work is going great. It's meat week and I feel that for the first time I've had time to spend with the kids, talking and getting to know them. We've been testing recipes and that has kept us busy during lab. There's also just a lot of "stuff" to take care of during lab. I finally got caught up and can just be with my peeps. It's been great.
I got an iPhone. I feel like a teenager with my first cell phone. It's so pretty and cool.
I have been offered a job as a WW leader. I start my training in December. So excited about that. I get to lead meetings on Tues nights. Just 3 hours/week. It's perfect and I get money doing something I love. Wow, now I officially have the two best jobs in the world. Sorry, people, but I got them!
Keenan: Keeps going at work. He's enjoying time in the bishopric. He gets to go to activities with the deacons and he seems to enjoy that. He turned 50 in September. We celebrated by going to Kamas and trying the best burger in Utah. It was really good. We also stopped at the outlet mall in Park City and he got some clothes.
Kamiko: Continues to be a fabulous missionary and inspiration in good ol' Santiago. He's now training a new missionary, Elder Tibbits, who, we found out, is Daysa's 2nd cousin. How's that for a small world? To make it even smaller, a couple of weeks ago, one of the Oswald's neighbors from Orem was visiting Kamiko's ward in Santiago. They got talking and put things together that they both knew the Oswalds. Crazy.
Someone asked me today if I just wish he could stay longer because they're out of trouble on a mission. I said "No." I love my kid and can't wait for him to come home so I can give him a big hug. I continue to have facebook friends in his wards. Boy, speaking Spanish has sure come in handy. He's back in Quilicura, his first area, but in a neighboring ward. He had been in Pudahuel for 6 months and the members really sang his praises. The were sad to see him go. This past week, he was with his companion at the mission doctor and he ran into a buddy from the Santiago MTC, who is serving in the South Mission. Good times. I love that kid. He stays positive and is still the fun guy we all love.
Oh, the best thing was that we had his trainer, James Call, over for dinner recently. James is a BYU student. I got to find out everything I've wanted to know like: how do they do their laundry, why is Kamiko getting so fat, what is a typical day like, etc. I am so appreciative that James took such good care of Kamiko. I asked him what his first impression of Kamiko was and he said "I thought he was VERY enthusiastic. When I found out he had been zone leader in the MTC, I assumed he was a typical guy who had been deacons quorum president, teachers quorum president, etc. Then I found out that was not the case." He and Kamiko really hit it off, even though they're very different. Both happy and hard-working. I guess that's what it takes. I gave that kid a huge hug. Closest thing to my boy.
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| Fernando and Kamiko |
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| Kamiko, Elder Porter and some young men or missionaries. I'm not sure. |
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| Partners in crime. They got along so well! |
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| Feeding Elder James Call. Oh, I found out that it took Kamiko about a week to be comfortable with Spanish. Bien hecho! |
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| Eating Papa John's at Pia's house with Elder Porter |
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| Sebastian and Kamiko |
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| Kamiko and Elder Tornow...North meets South...friends since the CCM |
Allie: Still loving the Razorback life and excelling at school. She studies hard and has taken advantage of opportunities to see that part of the country. She's been to Tulsa, Branson, St. Louis and Houston. She hitches rides with friends. She and her roommate continue to be best buds. A lot of people think they are sisters. They are also good friends with a couple of girls down the hall. The four of them, plus Cristina's boyfriend, Cam, have a great time together. The singles' ward is pretty small, but she's giving it a chance. I'm very proud of her for this adventure. She's a great girl. We bought her ticket for Christmas break and I'm excited to have her home for 3 weeks. Yeah Allie! Woo Pig Sooie!
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| Sisters? Roommates? Allie and Cristina |
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| The girls at Fayetteville's farmers' market |
Now that I have an iPhone, I can facetime her. That means we just dial each other up with the facetime app and we can live talk and see each other.
Melia: She still rules the house, setting the agenda for FHE each week. We've watched "Dancing with the Stars," gone to Gardner Village to see the witches, and gotten frozen yogurt...almost. When we got to the frozen yogurt place, we saw that they had moved. When we got to the new location, a tiny shack, we saw that they only had a few flavors, none of which impressed us, so we didn't get yogurt.
She's working at Hapari now. That's the swimsuit store where both Kamiko and Allie worked. She doesn't get a lot of hours, but it's a way better fit than Old Navy was. She'll get more hours starting in March, when their new line comes in and people start swimsuit shopping for next summer. She's getting excellent grades. 1st term ends tomorrow and she'll have mostly A's with a B or two. Way to go, baby Mel! She is one smart cookie. We work on ACT prep every week and she's really good at it. She's going to a girls' choice dance this weekend. Should be a lot of fun, even though she's having 2nd thoughts about going. Her date has to work all day and will get off work barely in time to go to dinner.
She went to homecoming with a friend and, boy, did they look cute! I can't believe she's a junior. Time is passing really fast now.
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| Mel and Wyatt Burns going to homecoming. I loved, loved, loved that dress. So cute and so Mel. |
