Memorial Day trip to Victoria!

For memorial day this year, me, Mom, Rico and Rico's friend Kevin all went to Victoria! It was lots of fun. We stopped in Richmond for a night and were able to see the Johnsons, and then we rode the ferry over to Victoria the next morning. We had high tea at the Empress Hotel, which is always one of my favorites. We also saw the Titanic exhibit at the Royal BC Museum and went to the beach. We ended up spending a lot of time throwing rocks at logs on the beach. It was a nice little trip for the long weekend, I really enjoyed it. Getting to know Kevin was also fun, hopefully we'll all get to see him again.

la la la

well i haven't blogged in a little bit. so here i am. it was really fun to see you all at the reunion!... rico, again, was fun doing the virginia reel with me... i couldn't have asked for a better partner! kind of a segway from our dance off at new years. beej... it was great to see inside your place and meet some of the common guests there. it's been a while! ashton was a delight to see again, of course. say hi to them all when you're back up there. wooze... that was a first, eh? sleeping in the back of a pick up!

another treasured moment was bringing julian onto the plane before we took off from L.A. somehow i was carrying him at the moment and i felt this unique sense of responsibility and excitement. i was bringing him to his seat, where he'd sit for his first international flight! it was a neat feeling, maybe similar to the feeling ian and meliss had when they first brought him home. i can't describe it more than to just say it was a confirmation that he's ours! i love being an aunt, and a sidekick to the puentes.

well... things are good here. i met with my home teachers today and they're the most rad guys ever. also, i am excited to move in with roomates on friday and do the whole roomate thing again. i decided to stay in my same ward and am so glad. it's noce to get some roots down. other than that, plans are shaping with some other friends here... we'll see. i wish i had more time for my social calendar. the knee's good... the job's good. i like teaching music... love you all!

Meet the Great-Grandparents

Julian and Caleb had a great time meeting their great-grandparents for the first time at the birthday bash! The boys got a hearty welcome from Grannie- I mean Gigi- when they first arrived off the plane. Julian just stared at Grandpa for about ten minutes from the side of his eyes (we've never seen him do that before or since!) They had a wonderful time in Raymond a few days later when we went to visit Aunt Elinor and the boys met Grandma and their cousin Boyd!! They had a fun time playing together. We're still trying to get back in the swing of things here as it's been hectic since we arrived home. It sure was great to see everybody!

Crusoe

Charla's post made me want to post the poem (written by George Bilgere) we read at the family reunion.

Crusoe

When you've been away from it long enough,
You begin to forget the country
Of couples, with all its strange customs
And mysterious ways. Those two
Over there, for instance: late thirties,
Attractive and well-dressed, reading
At the table, drinking some complicated
Drink. They haven't spoken
Or even looked at each other in thirty minutes,

But the big toe of her right foot, naked
In its sandal, sometimes grazes
The naked ankle bone of his left foot,

The faintest signal, a line thrown

Between two vessels as they cruise
Through this hour, this vacation, this life,
Through the thick novels they're reading,
Her toe saying to his ankle,

Here's to the whole improbable story
Of our meeting, of our life together
And the oceanic richnessOf our mingled narrative
With its complex past, with its hurts
And secret jokes, its dark closets
And delightful romantic quirks,
Its occasional doldrums, its vast
Future we have already peopled
With children. How safe we are

Compared to that man sitting across the room,
Marooned with his drink
And yellow notebook, trying to write
A way off his little island.

back at the hospital- hopefully not for long

Hi everyone-
I am writing this post from Julian's room at the Pediatrics Intensive Care Unit!! The great thing about this situation is that I have Internet access! We don't have internet yet at our new apartment so I've been a little out of the loop, although in some ways it's been nice because I tend to spend waay to much of what little time I have online. Anyways, but the bad thing about being here is, well, being here. Julian caught some kind of stomach bug while traveling to Edmonton and had some really violent vomiting happening. It was an unfortunate ending to a really lovely trip. We took him to the Emergency room last night and they decided to admit him and monitor him for the day. He's doing fine and the doctor just told me that if someone saw him right now and looked at his vital signs they'd wonder why he was here because he looks totally normal, but with his surgical history they just want to be safe. It's kind of a wierd deja-vu to see him linked up to the trusty vital signs monitor, but he's a lot more stable than he was last time. They just started feeding him again and hopefully he'll be able to hold everything down. Fingers crossed we'll be out of here by 5pm...
Hope you all are having a great day!

Back at the Grindstone

Well seeing as how I haven't done anything on the blog for a while I have decided to make an entry. Not a whole lot exciting is happening right now. The reunion was extremely fun even Ashton said she enjoyed it when I thought for sure she would be overwhelmed and/or not really that excited about going.

Right now life is pretty lame I am studying for the LSAT and lucky for me there has been improvement in my test scores so I think that is good. But back to the reunion it was awesome to see the twins again and I noticed that there are a lot of little rug rats running around as compared to the last time there was any kind of event such as this one. Well I think it is now time to take a soak in the hot tub and then it will be time to get back to them books

I started early - took my dog

I started Early - Took my Dog -
And visited the Sea -
The Mermaids in the Basement
Came out to look at me -

And Frigates - in the Upper Floor
Extended Hempen Hands -
Presuming Me to be a Mouse -
Aground - upon the Sands -

But no Man moved Me - till the Tide
Went past my simple Shoe -
And past my Apron - and my Belt
And past my Bodice - too -

And made as He would eat me up -
As wholly as a Dew
Upon a Dandelion's Sleeve -
And then - I started - too -

And He - He followed - close behind -
I felt His Silver Heel
Upon my Ankle - Then my Shoes
Would overflow with Pearl -

Until We met the Solid Town -
No One He seemed to know
And bowing - with a Mighty look -
At me - The Sea withdrew -

-Emily Dickinson