The Latest and Greatest

Well, in an effort to stay caught up with folks - other than Facebook and the wonderful Instagram - we decided that we wanted to have a family blog. Maybe it's giving in to peer pressure, or maybe it's a simple way to keep a "journal", or perhaps we just love hearing ourselves type so much, we wanted to share that with everyone. Whatever the reason, you're welcome.

Life has been so interesting since work started again! We are still living in Montezuma Creek, with Chris teaching at the elementary school, and I am still driving up to Blanding every day to work in the detention center.  Chris went back to work August 6 (he went back earlier because his school has the School Improvement Grant), and I started on August 11. Which was also my birthday. What a way to celebrate, right? It's been interesting adjusting to being the morning person I am not, and I'm afraid I never will be. Mostly, I feel like a zombie during the week. I also started my fourth semester of graduate school - (three more to go!) - so I am in class from 5:00 - 10:30 PM every Tuesday night, which only aggravates my "zombie condition".

In other news, we have become food storage gurus. Chris was sweet enough to let me get a chest freezer for my birthday present, and we have started to fill it up with freezer meals (to help with the stress throughout the week and this semester). We have also discovered the joys of canning. My parents graciously gave us their old steam canner, and have always been willing to answer the phone in moments of dire need. We are learning! So far we've successfully put up 12 jars of peaches - one broke - and 13 jars of tomatoes (whole and pureed). Thankfully, besides the one broken jar, we haven't had an unsuccessful experience. This week, we are also learning the words CASE LOT SALE.

With the new school year, there has also come the wave of new teachers to our complex of teacher housing. We have gone from two pre-teens and two babies, to over twenty children running around. It's been quite the change! And with U of U flags (this would be Chris's flag) and BYU license plate covers (much to Chris's chagrin), it's beginning to feel like happy valley, which is another really big change. It's been fun meeting all the new neighbors! Now that school is in full swing, it's harder to get together as often, but we still try. We've had a few game nights, barbecues, and movie nights. We have a hard life.

Well, that's it for now. I think I've decided that I will post pictures of our humble abode, since many of you will probably never make it all the way down for a visit.

Love,
Allie