It's been a long but productive summer......

A. We had a baby. A very cute one, in fact, named Abigail Candice Stratford. She will be 3 months old tomorrow and bless my soul sleeps 10 hours a night. Still gassy all day, but at least we all sleep at night.

She was not particularly happy to enter the cold, harsh world, but she settled after a little while.

Our last visit with surrogate Grandma and dearly-missed friend, Mary Fullmer. (Wow, that sounds like she died! She's not dead--we just moved away.)

Her blessing day, and another cute picture. This chair is workin' for her.

B. We bought a house and moved from Chicago, IL to Orem, UT, thanks to a lot of help from ward members on both ends, friends, family, and the Heavens. We adore the house and yard (the kids love the trampoline and safe cul-de-sac to run and ride in), have the kindest neighbors, and we have settled in fairly quickly and painlessly.

To be honest, there are a lot of things I really miss about Chicago, though:
1. Hyde Park Produce
2. our friends (yes, I think I actually miss the produce store more than my friends)
3. diversity (tan and blond, tan and blond...)
4. Lake Michigan
5. the entertaining Chicago politics
6. walking and riding my bike to do errands

Things I don't miss:
1. the traffic
2. the litter
3. fighting for parking (or paying
4. the U of C pressure (not that Ed doesn't feel academic and professional pressure here, but BYU is full of such incredibly nice people who really want you to succeed!)

Things that all suburbanites transplanted to Hyde Park would bemoan and I would scoff at that I'm now humble eough to admit I love:
1. my driveway
2. convenient shopping
3. letting my kids roam in the neighborhood and not having to make playdates for them to do something fun
4. drive-thru bank atm's (with four kids in the car, I want to open the doors as few times as possible)

We also now live by Uncle Pete, who has a very cool Jeep and a very cool dog named Panzer. Isaac asks nearly every day when he will get to see Uncle Pete again, who unfortunately works nights and can't come hang out as often as the kids would like. It's probably good for Uncle Pete, though, since they go wild around him. He's just so cool and exciting! (Mary was actually a little scared of the bald head and goatee at first, but she got over it pretty quick.)


C. We hosted Grandma Camp a month after moving in with my parents, siblings and all their kids. It was the first time in a few years every one of us could make it, and it was great fun to be together. Everyone was here for Abby's blessing on Sunday, and then we did all sorts of activities for a week. I really enjoyed hosting as well, especially since Mom was actually in charge and I didn't have to plan meals and activities. I'll be glad that the next time we host Grandma Camp or any other big shindig, though, I won't have to put my guests on air mattresses and ask them to bring their own towels! (Moving from student housing to a seven-bedroom home takes some time to fill in the spaces.)

D. Mary and Isaac started at a new school. This was a rather traumatic process for both Mary and I, since our school district has open enrollment and you can apply for schools outside your neighborhood. When I began looking at the various schools I had two necessary criteria: it had to challenge the kids so they wouldn't be bored, and I really wanted it to be within walking distance. I fell in love with Northridge Elementary and their specialty classes--an hour of art and an hour of music every day, great test scores and a devoted and experienced faculty. However, since it was so late in the year, chances were slim to none that they'd actually get in, so I geared the kids to be excited about Windsor. We went to Windsor's open house and met the teachers and then the afternoon before the first day of school, Northridge called with openings. Well, if you know Isaac, he didn't really care. His actual words were "I'll just let Mary decide for me. She can tell me all about it." But Mary--sweet, inflexible, intractable Mary--was beside herself. After using all my powers of persuasion, explanation, reasoning and bribery, I finally just had to lay down the law and tell her that Mom knows best and she must obey. She was sure that her good life was ending, but after a week she's content and excited and I don't think she even remembers there existed a school called Windsor.

And here are some other photos of the kids, just living the high summertime life in Orem:

On the deck in the backyard.

We took them camping on the backside of Mt. Timpanogos. We only lasted until 8 a.m., but at least we did it. The kids had a blast, the parents not so much.

Mary and Isaac playing dress-up with their new friends Jared and Esther.

Linda showing off the sand from the watertable at the Thanksgiving Point Dinosaur Museum. What a cool place! Smaller, of course, but on par with Chicago museums.

This picture was actually from back in Chicago, when the kids went to Vacation Bible School at the Lutheran church in Hyde Park. The had a great time, and I think the shirts they made say a lot about their individual personalities, or at least Mary's does.

Yes, Linda is actually buck naked out in the backyard. She idolizes her brother and after watching him pee on trees, she thinks she can strip down and do the same. Her angle isn't quite as effective as his, however.

And here are a couple videos:

Again, this is from back in Chicago. They just thought this spot was really cool, for some reason.

This kid is seriously wacky. When he figures out how to time his jokes a little better (i.e. no hyperactivity at 7 a.m. and dinnertime), he's going to be one funny kid.