My roommate from BYU-Idaho

I was in Boston this weekend for a convention and as I was walking around the exposition center I saw someone that I recognized. I immediately knew her name was Erin, I just didn't know how I knew her. As I was scrolling through all of the options she looked at me and said, "Is your name Abby?" She was my roommate at Ricks from 2001 to 2002. She was there with me when I was applying to be a YPM in Nauvoo. She asked about Phil and I told her that he and Roxy got married and have two kids now. It was very exciting to see her. She is such a great girl. I hate losing contact with people so hopefully more people will randomly come back into my life again!!!

Halloween 2007

A month ago was Halloween and I wanted to post some pictures of the event. First, a word of caution. Never leave a carved pumpkin on your mantel over a long weekend. You may just come home to a sea of mold dripping out of its mouth. Not to mention the pumpkin had collapsed on itself. GROSS! Second, our Halloween party was a huge success. We invited the Bartlett's and the Adamson's over for dinner in a pumpkin. We also had dry ice creating a misty effect with our root beer. It was a lot of fun. I can't find a picture of all of us... We hang out with the Bartlett's and Adamson's all of the time. It has been a lot of fun living here in Detroit with such great friends!

A little too much pink!

Well, I had been trying for a long time to change my blog's background. I found a cute template online but never figured out how to apply it. So I have officially gotten rid of the pink and hopefully this will be better until Erin teaches me how to make my background cute and have songs play when people come read it!! Help please!! Suggestions are welcome...

Missing My Wife

My wife has been out of town this past week. She's with all of her speech-language pathology friends in Boston for a yearly SLP conference. From talking with her on the phone, it sounds like she's having a blast. She's gone to Fenway Park, got tons of free stuff at different booths, and going out to eat on a nightly basis. What a life!

As for me, I've been working like crazy. I'm working three jobs right now: at a neuroscience research lab, at the local Children's Hospital doing research, and at a home health care facility working on business development. Although I have long days, I enjoy working and being productive. I'm also finishing up my applications for business schools and health care management programs. The goal is to have the process done by the end of the month.

I went wall climbing with the young men for an activity on Wednesday. Salomon, Aramis, and Bernardo showed up, and we enjoyed climbing a lot. We got the chance to go up about three or four times a piece, and by the end of the evening we were exhausted. My arms hadn't had that type of workout in a while. Si se puede!

Tomorrow's the big U of M/Ohio State game. I'm rooting for Michigan to win, of course. It should be a good game, although a lot of the Michigan starters are banged up. Go Blue!

The Air Force Relay Marathon

Well, We did it. Jonathan, Laura, my mother, and I all ran our relay marathon. We ran it in 4 hours and 30 minutes. It was such a blast!! We trained for a couple of months together. Mom was the anchor in keeping us going and preparing for it. We were so proud of her. She ran 5 miles!! She hasn't been able to walk that far let alone run in years and years due to her heart complications. I ran the second shortest length 6.3 miles. However, that was alos no small feat. I had to train a lot to do that since grad school has sucked me dry of all energy and opportunity to work out. Since the marathon that has changed. I work out 2-3 times a week and am feeling really good right now. It has actually helped me in school and keep priorities where they need to be. back to the marathon.... The best thing about it was since that since I was the third leg of the race and had to wait two hours or so to start. While I was waiting I was able to see my Dad, Eliza, and Mary all running together and run with them for a little bit. It was motivating to see how happy they were. They all ran the full length marathon. Maybe one day I will be able to run one with Dad. I don't want to be the only kid who doesn't do it. I learned that if you train consistently you can prepare yourself. That is what happened with me.
Hopefully, one of these days, I will find a picture of just me and Jonathan. Until then, the picture of all of us will have to do!!

Jackson's here

What a sweet boy. It was very humbling being in Minnesota and seeing what a great mom Roxann is. She has so much love for her kids and is so good with them. I loved being there. I especially loved being around Jackson. He was still only a week and a half old so he was quite sleepy. However, he was starting to be more alert and would open his big blue eyes and just watch everyone. It wasn't always easy but it was a good learning experience. I think by the end of the week I realized, "hey, I could do this" which was monumental in and of itself. I don't have to be terrified any longer of the memory of Charlotte screaming in pain when I broke the cardinal "don't let them stand in the tub" rule a year ago. I successfully gave her two baths. The image of my own clumsiness affecting my children has softened. Maybe I could be a good mom someday. Besides...who wouldn't want something this cute and cuddly to play with every day. Isn't he adorable!!!! What a sweet nephew.

Charlotte Time

Two weeks ago I went to Minnesota to help Roxann with the new baby, play with Charlotte, and hang out. I posted pictures of my trip. I spent a lot of time with Charlotte. She let me share her room with her. I slept on the trundel bed and she woke me up in the morning. It was a lot better to have her as an alarm clock. She is such a sweetheart. She loves reading books, coloring, singing, playing outside, swinging, bathing, etc... She does a little bit of everything and has so much energy and love. I loved being with her. I think I wouldn't mind skipping the newborn baby thing and going straight to the toddler stage.

Picture #1 Charlotte hanging from the playground
Picture #2 Charlotte and I were sharing the stand up teeter-totter while Phil was on the other side... I think that is why she has a scared face on. He can be quite intimidating on that thing.