A Change of Plans and cs.byu.edu

Well, many of you already know this, but for those who don't.... are you ready for the big news?  We're moving to Boston!  Just a tad different than Boise, huh? As you can imagine, things have been a little crazy around here trying to decide what the heck we are doing with our lives.  The last month has been a whirlwind trying to see if we could hurry and get an offer before we had to move.  We still had the job at HP, but as Scott got further into his master's he discovered that he really enjoyed doing research as well as software development.  He interviewed out in Boston at MIT Lincoln Labs, and it seems like a good fit.  We just officially decided this week, and we leave here two weeks from yesterday!  So we're trying to figure out airline tickets, moving companies, moving our car, hotels, etc, but we're excited! Never a dull moment.

Oh, and if Scott hasn't been busy enough interviewing and accepting jobs, you should see what he's been doing in his free time.  Check out cs.byu.edu.  And I'll just put up a screenshot too...

What a guy!  Oh, and yes, you noticed correctly.  He's defending his thesis three days before we move.  :)  Wish him luck!

Oregon trip: Dogs, Cows, and Cheese

So these are a few of Alan's favorite things of all time, and he had such a fun time with all of these things while visiting Scott's parents for Thanksgiving.  It was so fun to be able to relax (a little!) and spend time with family.  We had an absolutely wonderful time.  Unfortunately we didn't get any pictures of the immaculate meal, but here are a few we managed to snap while on our trip!

Here's Alan sporting his new coat.  He seems to like it. :)

At the Oregon Coast.

At the Tillamook Cheese Factory.  I can't imagine a place Alan would rather be.

He's a pro at throwing back his head and making a mooooo sound.

Can't miss that opportunity. :)

Free samples!

Alan absolutely loved George.  He would be throwing a fit and then see George walk across the room and immediately "say" puppy! and start panting.  Hilarious.

George was very patient and let Alan give him some loves.

Both wanting a snack.

George really wanting a taste. :)

Doing dishes with Grandpa (for hours!)

And loving every minute of it.

Jimmertime

That's our Jimmer on tomorrow's Sports Illustrated!

(article at byucougars.com)

Mama's little helper

Alan is busy, busy, busy!  He always wants to be involved with everything.  Currently, his favorite activity is rearranging the house.  He seems to think that the house would look much better if we kept the laundry baskets in the kitchen and the highchair in the bedroom.  Mom disagrees. 
But probably his second favorite housekeeping activity is vacuuming.  He still loves doing dishes, but he loves to push the vacuum around the whole house.  Here are some pictures of our busy little guy.

You have no idea how much concentration it takes to vacuum this floor.

Better take a little break and watch some TV.

Let me see...I can fix that.  Just gotta get this in here...

Phew.  I'm done.  Better take a nap and let mom finish.

Election Day

Today is election day!  Google Maps gives you directions to your polling location.


What a blessing and a privilege it is to have the right to choose our government leaders.

Halloween 2010

Alan, the pumpkin's not too gross.

No need to convince me, Dad!

We chose this pattern because it was easy, not because it was sad.

Janelle made these without one stitch! (including ordering Alan's from Amazon)

Jessie and little Jessie

Alan's favorite part of the party was probably the balloons.

Happy Halloween!

Welcome Home

Here are some pics from my most recent trip home.  Alan and I went back to NJ for 10 days while my parents were in Albania and Italy picking up my brother Geoffrey from his mission.  So the first week we were there, I played mom for a week.  It was so fun to be able to spend some time with my younger siblings that I don't get to see very often.  Then once my parents got home, it was a great little reunion, minus Marc and Steph who are there now.

Evan's Soccer Game

Pumpkin picking was a HUGE hit. :)  He calls them balls.  Actually anything round is a ball.

It's more fun when you're not being forced to sit still for a picture, though.

Despite swings & playgrounds, as you can see, Alan had the most fun in the dirt.

He was fascinated by these balloons. (balls)

Hugs all around

Happy homecoming

More soccer games, and I must admit that Ev is a very intense and good player.

Cheering section.  Oh, Alan loved Ginny too.  He started panting every morning when I he got up because he wanted to see her.  Also Anne was able to come visit for a little while too!  So fun!

Balls and Dirt.  Doesn't get much better than that.

Geoffrey even managed to make it home in time for a playoff game.  Game 1 of the NLCS, which they lost, but oh well.  I thought I better put this up while the Phils are still hanging in there by a thread.  I had given up hope before the win last night, as Scott can attest to.  I became a Rangers fan. :)  Anyone but the Yankees or Giants.  But I've decided to wait and see if they can somehow manage to pull this thing together.  So there you have it.  Still a Phils fan.  

Emily came home too, and her boyfriend, Jimmie got baptized.

Post Baptism

Balloons, again.

And he loved throwing the balls to my little cousins.

All in all a great trip!  It was so fun to get to see Geoffrey again and the rest of the family too.  Alan was soooo good on the plane rides.  I was seriously dreading this, but he was just as good as could be.  Fell asleep for a little bit on both flights, and was pretty happy the rest of the time.  We're looking forward to Christmas when the WHOLE family will be together again. 

September Summary

So here is an attempt to catch up and describe a little bit of our life lately.

I must admit, a good portion of our time has been spent following BYU football, and the Phillies.  BYU football.... well, it's one of those growing years and we're all feeling the pains.  Hopefully we'll get a few kinks worked out throughout the course of this year.  The Phillies have had some better luck and put together a pretty strong finish.  Go Phils in the NLCS!

September at BYU is filled with about every kind of opening social imaginable.  I didn't have to cook dinner for a week, although we probably had our quota of hot dogs and pizza for the year.  This is our ward in the annual Wymount tug-of-war contest.  Our ward got 2nd place for the 4th year in a row.  Unbelievable!  I don't have any pictures of the actual tugging though, because Alan freaked out with the screaming as usual. :)

We get to watch baby Benjamin sometimes when his mom is in school,
and Alan loves it.

He's a pretty sweet guy and loves to give kisses and hugs. 
Benjamin is a great sport about it too!

This means I like to climb on everything.

This means mommy left me alone in the kitchen for a few minutes, although now that I can open the fridge, it is even scarier.

This means I want to watch Old King Cole.

This means mom said "no."

This is our ward volleyball team, which to date, is defeated.  They did manage to win one set though!  We're hoping for a win in the tournament this Thursday!

And this is their lovely cheering section. :)

All of these things are somewhat funny to me, because it is so typical BYU, and we've been here such a long time. Though, it will be kind of sad to not have any of these things too. But we're excited for the next big adventure, whatever it ends up bringing!

Steph and Marc's Wedding

August 27, 2010