Hello

[Jennifer Bringhurst]

The end of the summer is coming, finally.  I hope all the new babies out there are doing well.  I'd love to hear more about everyone and how you're adjusting.  It's been kind of a quiet summer for me, but Justin is really into the Olympics and he's getting ready to go to the US Open tennis tournament in NYC in a couple of days.  Alice got her tonsils out two weeks ago, just in time for school.  It so strange to listen to her sleep now.  I'm used to her heavy snoring or labored breathing, but now it just quiet...almost silent.  It's much more restful for her and I hope that helps her once school begins in a few weeks. 
So, today is our ninth wedding anniversary, but we both forgot all about it.  Not good, but we decided it's better that we both forget than just one of us.  No hard feelings that way. 
Here are a couple of pictures of my girls.  Have a great day everyone.
 
Jenny

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[Adrian Brown]

Hi everyone,

Halloween time!  Yoroko has had a hard time deciding what she wants to be for Halloween.  She started with "toothpick" (which I gently steered her away from- how do you make a toothpick costume?) and moved on to ninja, followed by Kim Possible, then a witch.  We have costumes for the last three (it's mostly just clothes, so no big deal) but now she says she wants to be a princess.  I think we're going with witch.  Max was going to be a ninja too, but has consented to be a cat instead.  Davenport trick-or-treats on the thirtieth, and our ward is having a trunk-or-treat on the 31st, so Yoroko is looking forward to quite a haul.  We've carved four jack o'lanterns, and we found out this year that Davenport has a Halloween parade every year, so we're looking forward to that!

 

Davenport just had its first hard frost, so whatever was left in my back porch garden is dead now. :-(  I had more flowers than vegetables this year.  Spencer and I talk about buying a house but conclude that really, what we want is a yard, not a house.  Yoroko is very excited about winter and talks about sledding and Christmas a lot.  I'm not looking forward to it so much!  We did get our garage cleaned out so that we can park the car in it this winter.  It will be nice not to have to scrape it in the mornings.

 

I left the Fellows program early in June (but I can still be on this list, right?) :) and I'm working at a command here on the Island that's under BRAC.  It's supposed to move to Detroit in 2011.  In 2010, I qualify for the "priority placement program", which will put me at the top of the list for jobs in a geographic area of my choice.  So I don't think we'll be moving to Detroit, and hopefully this program will come up with someplace warmer for us.  I'm wavering between Alabama and Texas.  And Colorado Springs.  Since it's two years away I have lots of time to think about it.

 

Max and Yoroko are getting bigger and smarter every day.  Max has learned to point at things recently and he's very proud of it.  He's not talking at all yet, which puts him behind the curve.  It's a real change from Yoroko.  When she was this age she already had fifty words.  Max is a grunter.  I think it's partly due to all the ear infections he had last year.  Hopefully he'll catch up soon.  He is an absolute delight to watch and to play with.  He's also a little monkey- always climbing on everything.  Yesterday Spencer wasn't getting lunch ready fast enough so Max pushed his chair over to his high chair and climbed in himself.

 

Yoroko has learned all her letters and their sounds and two days ago sounded out her first word: "Suh- Ah- Muh...Sahmuh...Sam! Mom, it says Sam!"  She is getting closer to reading and we're very excited for her.  She has also gotten better and better with scissors and glue and she and I have lots of fun doing crafty stuff together.  Like making big swirls of glitter on construction paper, and gluing fuzzballs to popsicle sticks, and drawing with markers on pumpkins.  She had a line for the Primary program this year and we practiced all week...the leader tried to prompt her on Sunday but she just whispered, I know! and then repeated her line perfectly by herself.  She was also a key voice in the choir hollering "Onward! Ever onward!" when they sang Called to Serve.  She loves to sing.

 

Spencer finished his associate's degree this summer. (hooray! ten years and five schools and finally something to show for it! hooray!)  He also made three kinds of jam - raspberry, strawberry, and crabapple from a tree in our front yard.  Yum.  He is always busy with the eternal round that makes up the life of a stay-at-home parent.

 

His mom is coming for Thanksgiving and we're already planning for that culinary festival of fun.  I haven't seen her in awhile and I'm very excited.  I'm going to take the whole week off.  During the fiscal year-end in September, I racked up eighty hours of comp time, so I'm feeling a bit free with my leave at the moment. :)  I'm hoping to use some of it in February to take a vacation somewhere sunny.  I was leaning towards Florida (where my sister lives) but someone suggested St. George.  Any other suggestions?  The only criteria is that it has to be sunny and warmer than it is here in February.

 

I hope you all are doing well!  I'd love to hear from any of you.

 

Adrian Brown

www.spencerandadrian.blogspot.com

[Christine Call]

Hey Adrian, if you head to Florida, you should stop in and visit us in Huntsville.  We should be on your way if you are driving.
How old is Max now?  There is a definite difference in boys and girls as far as verbal development goes.  Jensen really didn't start talking until he was 2 and a half. He had a pretty good vocabulary before that, but it wasn't until then that I remember him putting full sentences together.  Jaina had a pretty good vocabulary around 1 and was speaking in sentences by 1 and a half. 
Well folks are at the point of no return on our house plans.  We have changed them a ton since the beginning of the summer, and are really pleased with the final product.  I guess one of the big benefits of meeting with so many builders for estimates was that they gave us a lot of good suggestions that we had never thought of.  Right now we are mortgage shopping, and are crossing our fingers that we will break ground before the end of November.  We are also hoping that the downturn in the economy will translate into lower building costs for us.
Jaina and I went to lunch at Jensen's school last Friday, and it was fun to see him in his element.  While we were there Jensen's teacher asked me to be the room mother for their class, which I agreed to, but I thought it was odd that they didn't have a room mother yet since school started 2 and a half months ago.  I still don't know exactly what a room mother does, but I have been asked to organize volunteers for several events that are coming up.  I would like to be more involved with Jensen's class, but it is hard with Jaina.
Jenny and Kim, I have noticed that my kids fight more now that Jensen started school, have you noticed the same thing?  Are Logan and Alice riding the bus or are you driving them?  I drive Jensen to and from school and I can't believe how much it cuts into my day.  I am happy to have more one on one time with Jaina though. 
Vanessa, how was your move?  We haven't heard from you guys.  Have you gotten into the having 2 kids groove yet?  I suppose it helps with family around.  We are coming out to Utah in July for a family reunion next year and would love to get together with you guys.
I hope everyone sends Halloween pictures.  My kids are so excited.  Jaina is going to be a doctor, and Jensen is going to be a Ninja for school and trunk or treat at church, and then Darth Vader for real trick or treating.  Jensen has been counting down the days for a week now.  It is amazing that he can keep track.
Well I have written enough, I hope you all are doing well.  Adrian it was so great to hear from you, and I hope to hear from everyone else soon.
Love you all,
Christine