MIA

It's been a long time since I've written anything on our blog, and of course that happens often when I really should be writing a lot! First, we are BACK! After a fun-filled midwestern summer, we're fully enjoying the dry air of the west again. We're still sort of getting unpacked and settled, but we're back. The last couple of weeks have been very crazy, though. After Justin finished his internship, we played a few days, finished up some things on our to-do list and saw some friends, then headed to Chicago for a few days via Amtrak, which deserves its own post entirely. Just in case I don't get back to that novel, the trip went well - all six hours of it - and I better understand why train travel is so nostalgic and fun, and also why it's such a struggling industry. I mean, we were almost an hour late getting to chicago, and when the train leaves on time that seems a little excessive. The stations were not that nice, and were rather inconvenient, but the ride was comfortable and fun, and it was relaxing watching the scenery fly by while the kids colored and watched movies.

Chicago itself was a lot of fun, too! I'd never been there, so we really just saw a few highlights, but it seems the kind of place one could spend a lot of time. The kids favorite part, of course, was swimming in the Lake. The free part. I think of it as the "wrapping paper" syndrome, but it's nothing I'm in a hurry to fix. Some pictures are posted online at Justin's picasa album and my picasa album.

After Chicago we packed up the car and headed west. It was really nice to get to Colorado and feel the cool, dry air of the upper elevations. We both realized we'd been a little homesick for those mountains!

My baby brother, Mick, returned from his mission a day or so before we made it back, so as soon as we arrived we joined the party already in progress as my siblings and their kids came in from all over the country to welcome him home and to participate in our first ever S. Family Reunion! We've been homecoming-ing, shopping, spending time at Seven Peaks, going to lunch and in the meantime trying to get the kids adjusted to "normal life" at home again as Erick's started first grade and he and Izzie are into Soccer on top of her Gymnastics.

Oh, and Izzie's seen the eye doctor (inflamed, as we suspected) and the rheumatologist, and through a miracle-worker at the state is ready for her treatments to resume at Primary Children's, so hopefully she'll be kicking the ball without hesitation soon enough. She's sore and swollen still, but has really been a trooper. We're optimistic the Remicaid will work as well and as quickly as before, but know often kids develop immunities to these medications so are still crossing our fingers and praying for a positive outcome. We'll let you know.

Yesterday we returned from the cabin and our big family reunion, and I feel really old! It's weird still being one of the grown-ups, and somehow it doesn't seem to get any more normal. It was fun, however, to see how the kids are growing. For the first year in who knows how long, my dad's had little ones to really pull behind the boat tubing and otherwise - Erick's face was plastered into a HUGE smile the whole time, and even Izzie and Audrey and their cousins got in on the action. We played at the beach, boated, roasted hot dogs and marshmallows, sang campfire songs and participated in the talent show. You should really see that Izzie hula-hoop! She can do three at once and keep them going really well, but we only took one to the cabin. We shook the dust off our camping equipment and slept in tents outside the cabin, and I think everyone really had a great time. It was the epitome of great "car" camping, really, complete with cots and indoor plumbing. I hope we do it again soon.

So now we're back. Most of my family will be leaving in the next couple of days, Justin starts school Tuesday and Izzie will begin preschool soon after that. The grass is greening up again, the evenings are getting cooler, and BYU Football kicked off their season yesterday. It's starting to feel like fall, and definitely like home again! :-)