Scott and Jer, photojournalists

I feel like I should start with James, the quietest member of our family. Poor little guy gets overlooked sometimes because he's so sweet! As long as he's fed and well-rested, he's all smiles. I tried and tried to get the smile I get all day every day: the smile so cheesey that his lip dips lower than his two tiny bottom teeth, but to no avail. Here's the best I could do. He's just barely learning how to make mischief:
Here are his chubby little fingers grabbing at the sunlight:
And here's how excited he is for church every Sunday:Isn't that a hilarious pic? We couldn't get them to smile for anything. It's actually much harder to get a serious pic of Scott than a cheesy one...

One fantastic perk to being in Phoenix is that Jer's grandma Ruth, going on 98, lives in Tucson, just a day trip away. She lives with Jer's aunt and uncle, and Scott loved visiting "the house with the two grandmas."
Most days lately, we go to the gym, have a little preschool time with Scott (anyone ever heard of the Kumon workbooks? I got them at Target -- they're SO fun!), and try to visit one of Scotty's three buddies here in the valley: Logan Eberhard, Miles Millecam, and Amelia Jennings. For those of you who know the Jennings, can I tell you how much I admire Brittany? She's my latest hero for giving birth to her second little baby girl at home (planned, with midwives), without ANY drugs, in about 3 hours' time. We went to drop of a gift that afternoon and there she was, out in the yard with the baby, watching Amelia play with Brad. She looked awesome! The day of! Crazy.

We're having lots and lots of fun planning for our big move to PA. We're open for suggestions on how to find good housing and how to move. Has anyone ever used a realtor to find a rental? Any terrible/awesome experiences relocating across the country? And what about PODS vs ABF vs UHaul? Any suggestions? All advice welcome! Lisa Yorgason sent me a flyer for a house her friend is selling in Allentown, and it just happened to be sent to her by one of my good friends from BYU! So sadly we'll just miss each other, but it's great to have someone to give me the violin scoop on a town before I even get there.

Now for our photojournalism segment... Lots of pictures, but I couldn't decide which ones to leave out, so here they are:

I went to take a picture of the baby the other day and found out what Scott had been doing while I was busy upstairs.

I thought his little tour-o-the kitchen and patio were pretty good. My favorite is his shadow on our weed patch…I’m not sure whether he was taking a picture of the “garden” or of his shadow? I also liked that he took a picture of our palm tree stump come bird feeder. It's one of the classiest parts of our pad.

Jeremy had just as much fun on our trip to the Botanical Garden’s Chihuly Exhibit. Amazing! You know how pictures go: times the coolness of the pictures by 10 and that’s what it’s like in real life. Scott was surprisingly interested in the cacti, the bugs, and the glass sculptures for a full two hours. My favorite exhibit was the boat full of giant marbles/psychedelic beach balls.

This one was titled "The Moon"







The hardest thing for Scott all day was not being able to touch the cactus.

My kind of chandelier...

I really wish I knew how to make the pictures bigger...if anyone knows a trick, please share! It was an inspiring afternoon. So glad we went!

big news!

Residency news: Allentown, PA for 3 years! Yay! Jer's very, very excited. He digs the program and has had in on his short list for well over a year now. I have to say it took me a few days to get excited, but now I really and truly am. I can't wait to get back "home" to the east, and for Jer to have the eastern experience.

I can't say I won't miss 70 degrees in February or orange-blossom-infused air in March. But we've been soaking in this southwestern winter fully preparing for 3 cold ones to come. Boys need to play in the snow, right?

Perks I'm personally looking forward to: New York, Boston, DC, Philly, ETC! Hooray for giant cities and all they have to offer! Road-side stands, PA Dutch country, state parks every few miles, cicadas in June, fireflies, lush green, maples in fall, azalea gardens, muggy summers, August afternoon rainstorms, rolling PA hills, H&M (hope there's one closeby!), my favorite people in MD, and just the *feel* of the east. It feels so different from the west. Both are great, and I'm so happy our family will have a little stint back there because we'll probably settle west.

More news and lots of pics to come. We're currently waiting for internet to be installed at home and trying not to curse Cox techs for whatever's holding them up. Right now I'm standing at a library carrel. Flashbacks to BYU before it was laptop-land.