Boston it is!

So we were finally forced to make a decision...and decided to go to Harvard as planned. Stanford gave a run for the money, though...it would have been easier to go there in a few ways but we felt like Harvard was overall the better choice. So we are excited to go out there next month! woo hoo!

HLS or SLS?

I like plans. I don't like changing plans on the fly. I tend to be inflexible, I admit freely.

So here's the deal - Stanford law school decided to admit Paul right now. Now, as in when all of our stuff is already in a warehouse outside of Boston waiting to be moved in. And we have already started paying rent for our Cambridge apartment. But Stanford has been Paul's favorite school (or it was at one point), and Palo Alto is such an awesome location...no snow! and both schools are arguably about equal in terms of prestige in the legal world. Stanford also gave Paul the same financial aid as Harvard did. Palo Alto would be easier for Darren - more grassy play areas, and able to play outside all year long, plus way easier to visit our families in Utah. I fell in love with out Harvard apartment setup - adorable brick townhouse - and geared myself all up to face the winter - I was kind of excited for it actually. So what should we do??

Stay tuned. We are flying out for a last-minute visit to Stanford to check it out. Feel free to weigh in if you have two cents to share. :)

the big move

I am so glad that we made it out of california in one piece. It always takes longer than we think for us to get all of our stuff packed away. This time we managed to get rid of many of our pointless extra things that I have been hoarding over the years. Here are a few photos of our moving adventure.

This is the storage bin that we fit all of our stuff in. We used every inch!


Darren enjoying our pit stop in Las Vegas

Our last stop in Fillmore before we finally made it to good old Salt Lake! We are happy to be here.

we're back!

Now that we are living in Utah with my parents, I spend far less time on the computer because there are so many people around to interact with. Thus, less web surfing and less posting. But here are some new pictures of our little guy. These are from Paul's USC graduation (Congratulations to Paul for a job well done!!). It was so fun to have Joan with us at the graduation! She was so cute with Darren.

Only 3 more years of school to go! haha!

10 years OLDER

you've all heard of the cable makeover show 10 years younger? well, if you haven't, the show's title is self-explanatory. i am feeling the need to look OLDER. of course not ten years older than i am, but definitely older. maybe 10 years older than people THINK i am.

i am sick of people treating me like i'm a kid. multiple times at church outings some of the other leaders mistakenly counted me as one of the young women. i was at the checkout line at an albertson's and the clerk saw my wedding ring and asked me what a girl of my age was doing with a wedding ring on and was i above the legal marriage age. customer-service-type ladies frequently call me 'hon.' i've had to go to lots of doctor visits for darren because of his head condition and the doctors and staff don't seem to take me seriously because i'm 'just a kid' to them.

so, in an effort to look more mature, let's say, i've been wearing high-heels, more makeup, and less hoodies in the past week or so when i've gone out somewhere. so far, i definitely notice a difference in how i'm treated. but to complete my new look, i think i NEED new hair. i am afraid to do this because the last time i got my hair cut short it was a DISASTER. i have the combination of a round face and thick hair, so if the cut isn't layered correctly i end up with a mushroom head (picture the mushroom dudes from the original mario bros. and you're getting close) and a face that looks even rounder than it really is.

of course i don't want a repeat of that experience but i think my trouble is proper communication with the stylist - somehow what i picture in my mind doesn't translate into what i get. but my current hair is just so frumpy that i am going to go for it and hope for a better result. i think i'll try to find some picture of what i am looking for - maybe that will help? stay tuned!

the prisoner

since darren has plaglocephaly (in other words, flattening head on one side from sleeping in the same position --i enjoy learning the official medical terms for stuff - always surprises the docs when i whip out the official lingo. thanks to darren i now know lots of new terms) the neurologist instructed me to safety pin him laying the way he never does to prevent him from laying on the side that is getting flat and making it worse. so now every night i pin him down so he can't turn over, then every morning i undo the pins and let him out. it takes six or seven pins to secure him. so far, no one has been stuck with a safety pin in this process. at least it wasn't bad enough for him to wear one of those awful helmets! i'll have to post a picture of this new sleeping arrangement.

Ten Things

so i got tagged by mindy to list ten things you may not know about me. here goes!

1. I won a school spelling bee once, in 8th grade. i got to go to the district-level competition, where i was eliminated on the word resuscitate. is that even how you spell it? hahaha. that was the peak of my spelling ability - it has gone waaaay downhill since then.

2. I had lots of pets as a child: frogs, a newt, hermit crabs, turtles, birds, etc. my mom's only rule was no rodents. she even let me keep live crickets as food for the frogs. funny thing is that now i have absolutely no desire for any pets. maybe if darren begs really cutely later when he grows up some then i will give in. maybe.

3. I used to bite my nails all the time. it took me till junior high to stop that one.

4. I used to follow my big brother and his friends around when they would play in our big backyard. i wanted to do the cool things they did, especially play in the treehouse they built in the yard. my brother was actually pretty nice to me about it, all things considered.

5. I couldn't snap my fingers or whistle until I was in high school. So in all of those school plays in grade school I had to fake it.

6. I have had stitches three times-- on my face, my knee, and my toe. now all i need is one on the shoulder, right?

7. I took violin lessons for a very short time. before i ever had one lesson i broke a string by trying to use it as a bow to shoot something. it was just not meant to be.

8. I own a ventriloquist dummy. his name is Tommy and he wears a size 3T. Besides his mouth moving, his eyes also move side to side and you can pivot his head around. I realize mom was very indulgent of my whims - she let me take acting lessons when i thought i wanted to be an actress, painting lessons to become an artist, and when i said i wanted to be a ventriloquist, she had Santa deliver a dummy for christmas. and no, i never got to be any good at it. please don't ask me to demonstrate.

9. I really don't like peas. ew.

10. I don't like to swim with my head under the water. I feel like I'm going to drown. Yes, I am fully aware how silly it is for an adult to say this.

So there you have it. that was fun. So now I tag brandy! and evany! and the coes.