Has it really already been 2 years? :o

Joshua turned 2 this past Friday...can you believe it? We had a small get-together with some friends and family, with a few presents for Joshua and, of course, birthday cake. Enjoy the pictures!And here's a short video of the devouring of the birthday cake...much cleaner than last year!

I'm so grateful to have this little guy in my life. Thanks for coming to our family, Joshua Logan! WE LOVE YOU!!!

Almost Done!!!

Cody is almost done with his finals! It's been a long semester, and I'm sure he's so happy to be just about finished. The only thing that's left is a little memorization for his Saturday math class, and then he's done for the next two weeks! I'm sure he can't wait to have no school for a little bit...he's been going almost non-stop for a year now. Keep it up, my love! =D

O Christmas Tree

Would you believe we found this 6.5' artificial tree, pre-lit and everything, for only $35? That's like the cost of a real tree! So yay, we are now officially decorated for Christmas! I apologize for the poor quality of the picture...this one was taken with my cell phone. We got some better pictures with our digital camera, but I can't find the cord to upload the pictures to the computer. I guess this one will have to do for now.

Oh, and it snowed last night and a little bit more today, so it really feels like Christmas now! Funny how this native southern California girl, who never had a white Christmas until a couple of years ago, is so excited for snow, huh? I'll like it until January, probably. Then the novelty wears off.

Side note: the gift card from "The Human Fund" from my last post? There was no balance on it. We found out while trying to use it to buy this tree. Luckily we had funds in our bank account, but still. Sigh. I'm hoping it was just a mistake and not a cruel joke...

The Human Fund

We received a mysterious envelope in the mail on Saturday. The return address said simply, "The Human Fund" (anyone who recognizes this from Seinfeld, I have no idea if that is what inspired this letter or not). Curious, we opened it to find an American Express gift card. We have no idea who or where this card came from--the postmark was in St. Paul, MN, and I'm pretty sure I don't know anyone in that area--but it came at a time when it was sorely needed. Thank you, The Human Fund. We are very grateful. What a great way to kick off the Christmas season.

Early Intervention

For anyone who doesn't already know, Joshua is significantly behind in his speech development. At 23 months, he only says a total of about 5-6 words. We've been a little concerned, but had up until recently thought he was just one of those "late talkers" and that at some point he'd suddenly explode with vocabulary and start chattering away. Unfortunately, this hasn't happened yet, and our concerns have grown. We finally contacted Joshua's pediatrician, who referred us to a group called Kids on the Move.

Kids on the Move is an organization that conducts early intervention with young children who have developmental delays. We had someone come out to evaluate Joshua, and she confirmed our concerns. He is currently in the 10th percentile as far as expressive development goes, and if he doesn't make leaps and bounds in the next month, he will drop to the 3rd percentile. This means he qualifies for their assistance. We don't know yet what that will involve, be it home visits, classes at the KOTM building, a combination of the two, or what--we are waiting for them to call us back and set up an appointment to discuss the particulars. Hopefully we'll get started soon.

We really hope and pray that this program will help Joshua learn to express himself better. It's almost heartbreaking to see him point at something but only give a little grunt, or call our attention and then just say "Unh" because he can't let us know what he wants. Here's hoping our little guy will soon learn to say more words and start really talking with us!

Happy Birthday, Dad!

I'd like to take this time to wish a very happy birthday to my dad, Greg Burr. He's been a great father to me, a great father-in-law to my husband, and a wonderful grandpa to my son, and we are so grateful for all he is and all he does for us.

This picture is about 3.5 years old, taken at my graduation from BYU. It's the most recent one I could find of just the two of us. Thank you for everything, Dad. I hope you have an unforgettable birthday this year. Love you!

Playing with Daddy

Joshua likes to sit in the computer chair with his daddy. The two of them are so cute together!

I include this last one because it's amazing to me to see how big he's getting. Seriously, I can't believe how much he's grown.Oh, and good news: My brother found a job! He's been unemployed since March or April, so this is definitely a blessing. We are so grateful they have been blessed so much!

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery

There have been several times in the last few days when Joshua has laid out prostrate on the floor or couch, face-down, and made this guttural sound, almost like he was clearing his throat. I was kind of confused as to what he was doing, but figured he was just being silly. Tonight, it finally hit me. He's trying to be like his daddy!

You see, since Cody's working on Sunday nights, he is exhausted when he comes home (just in time for me to dash out the door), and he often ends up snoozing on the couch while Joshua plays and semi-watches Playhouse Disney. So, Joshua, being the adoring son that he is, has decided it's fun to pretend to be Daddy, lay on the couch, and "snore." Seriously, it's hilarious. As soon as I realized what he was doing, I couldn't stop laughing--and considering I have a migraine tonight, that was saying something. I hope to capture it on video at some point, but for now your imaginations will have to suffice. I love that kid.

There's a fungus on my back? =\

I had a mole semi-removed this morning--they're sending it for a biopsy to check for cancer (the doctor didn't seem too worried, so I'm not. Either way, I'll hear back from the lab in a week or two). Anyway, after they removed the mole, the attending nurse remarked that it looked like a tiny mushroom.

I'll never be able to look at edible fungi the same way again.

Words that touched my heart

I wish I'd come across this quote when I was writing my post on Dedication last month. Better late than never, I guess. These words spoke peace to my heart this morning, and so I wanted to share them with you. They come from Gordon B. Hinckley, who was the Prophet and President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for most of my teenage and young adult years:

"I recognize...that there are some women (it has become very many, in fact) who have to work to provide for the needs of their families. To you I say, do the very best you can...It is well-nigh impossible to be a full-time homemaker and a full-time employee. I know how some of you struggle with decisions concerning this matter. I repeat, do the very best you can. You know your circumstances, and I know that you are deeply concerned for the welfare of your children.

To you women who find it necessary to work when you would rather be at home, may I speak briefly...I honor you and respect you for your integrity and spirit of self-reliance. I pray that the Lord will bless you with strength and great capacity, for you need both. You have the responsibilities of both breadwinner and homemaker. I know that it is difficult. I know that it is discouraging. I pray that the Lord will bless you with a special wisdom and the remarkable talent needed to provide your children with time and companionship and love and with that special direction which only a mother can give. I pray also that he will bless you with help, unstintingly given, from family, friends, and the Church, which will lift some of the burden from your shoulders and help you in your times of extremity.

We sense, at least in some small degree, the loneliness you must occasionally feel and the frustrations you must experience as you try to cope with problems that sometimes seem beyond your capacity to handle. Sometimes you need food for your tables, and we trust that bishops will be there to supply food and other goods and services under the great program which the Lord has provided in his Church. But we know that more often your greater need is for understanding and appreciation and companionship. We shall try a little harder to cultivate these virtues, and I urge you sisters who are in a position to do so to reach out with greater concern to those who find themselves in these less fortunate circumstances."

Thank you, Heavenly Father, for speaking to my heart and my spirit through the words of one of Thy servants. I really needed to hear this today.

Trying to be healthier

I had a doctor appointment last week that scared me. Don't worry, I'm okay, but it was a pretty severe wake-up call to how unhealthy I am right now. As a result, Cody and I have committed to making changes in our lifestyle and eating habits, so that we can both get healthier and live a good long life together.

To kick this off, we started making a few small changes. For instance, we didn't take Joshua trick-or-treating nor did we hand out candy of our own, so there's no leftover candy around. We also left the cookies we made on Saturday at my sister's house so we're not tempted to eat them. And we resolved to include vegetables with dinner more often...so instead of just chicken and rice, we'll add some broccoli and cauliflower, or heat up some peas and carrots to go with the mac and cheese. I'm also bringing Lean Cuisine lunches to work more often instead of going off campus for fast food. You know, small things--and all those small things together will help, right?

Here's to a good, healthy lifestyle! We'll get there eventually!

What does the Joshua say? RAWR!!!!

We had our ward Halloween party tonight. It was fun! The best part was dressing Joshua up, of course. He's a dinosaur this year, and it's perfect--if you ask him, "What does the Joshua say?" he'll roar at you. It's pretty adorable. Here's a video for proof (and by the way, he keeps flashing his cheesy "I'm cute, so take my picture!" grin because he thinks Daddy's taking pictures, not video):

And here are some pictures of him, both before we left and during the actual event. He's quite the handsome little T-Rex, I must say!

He LOVED this balloon, by the way...

We plan to dress him up on Halloween night too, though we don't plan to take him trick-or-treating. It's been ridiculously cold around here lately, so I think we'll just stay home and hand out candy. But hey, that's fun too!

Night Watchman

For anyone who doesn't already know, and for those who do know but want more details:

Cody has a job!!!!

He's been looking for awhile, just something part-time so our finances aren't hurting so severely. And he was seriously looking everywhere...but of course it's really hard right now. Anyway, a friend of his mentioned an opening where he worked, and Cody sent over his resume, and he was offered a job! He's working as a night watchman at this placed called Maple Lake Academy. The hours aren't great (Sunday and Wednesday nights from 11pm-7am), but we think it's going to work out. He already worked his first night on Sunday/Monday morning, and luckily didn't feel too tired all day yesterday.

So yay, Cody has a job now! He'll keep looking for something else, maybe better hours and/or something more related to the legal field, but for now, at least he's bringing in some much-needed income. I'm so grateful that he is willing to sacrifice to help our family. =)

Some fun video clips :)

First of all, thank you so much for your comments on my last post. All your words meant so much to me, and I am so privileged to know such good people. I want to respond to each of you individually, so look for an email from me. =)

We broke out the video camera on Sunday. It had been laying dormant on our bookshelf since...well, for a long time. Joshua has been being a lot more interactive these days, and so we tried to capture some of his latest talents on film. First up, singing with Mommy and Daddy (please forgive the horrible out-of-tuneness that is our duet):

You may have noticed that he pointed at the video camera and said, "Ah-DEE!!!" Well, "Dee" is what he calls practically everyone right now. I think it's his own form of "Daddy," and he hasn't quite grasped the concept that he only has one Daddy and everyone else has a different name. So far my efforts to get him to say something similar to Mommy have proved unsuccessful.

And, second, here is Joshua performing some of his animal sounds. Some of them are a little hard to tell, but he does make them sound almost like the real animal. It's pretty cute.

Thanks for showing off, Joshua!

Dedication?

I've been thinking a lot over the past few days and decided it was finally time to write some of my thoughts done. So, I decided to take advantage of my lunch break, and here I am. This post is prompted by an assignment given by my RS President last week, and that was to share a few of my thoughts regarding a portion of the Relief Society Declaration, more specifically this sentence:

"Dedicate ourselves to strengthening marriages, families, and homes."

Honestly, I was kind of puzzled that I was assigned this part of the declaration, mainly because I'm far from the ideal wife and mother. And I don't mean that as a slight to myself--I'm referring to the current situation of my family. It had always been my plan to stay at home with my children. That's what I envisioned would happen when I was growing up and even up until a few months after Cody and I got married. But that's definitely not what actually did happen.

Most of you know that I currently work full-time away from home and part-time from home (amounting to 9 or 10 hours of work each day), and that my husband stays home with our son and goes to school in the evenings. This is most definitely not the norm in Mormon culture. The norm, as I see it, is usually the following: if the couple marries while the husband is still in school, the wife works while the husband finishes his degree, and they delay having children until he graduates and they are more financially stable, and then the wife can then stay home once they have children. If children come before the husband graduates, he takes on a full-time job and takes classes in the evenings so that the mother can stay home.

Obviously, this is not the case in the Alleman Family. And I'm really not trying to complain about it--we know without doubt that we were supposed to have Joshua when we did. But I do have to admit that it hasn't been easy, this being a working mother. I went back to work full-time when Joshua was just four weeks old, and though I was able to bring him with me for a few hours each morning, I still resented the fact that I had to work when he was so tiny. As Joshua's birth drew closer, I can remember feeling so jealous of the women around me who were also pregnant and looking forward to quitting their jobs just before giving birth. I often thought, "Why wasn't this going to happen to me? Why can't I stay home too? Did I do something wrong?"

So when I was assigned this topic by my RS President, I didn't quite understand what made me an authority on dedicating myself to marriage, family, and home--I could think of many other women in our ward who spent more time focused on their marriages, families, and homes. They had it all down pat and could offer tons more than I could. I don't even remember what I said, though I do know I tried to avoid talking about myself and my current situation because I just didn't want to get into it all. As the lesson wore on, there were comments made about how grateful some sisters were for their hard-working husbands who make it possible for them to stay home. And try as I might, I could not help but feel the jealousy burning once again.

But as I've thought more about it since church on Sunday, I realized something: yes, my situation is not ideal, but it works for me and my family. My husband has gained so much from staying at home with our son--and he often mentions that, once he finishes school and works so that I may stay home, he will understand how hard it is to care for children and that he will help out as much as he can. And I like to think that I treasure more the few hours I get with Joshua every day. Would I change things if I could? Of course I would. I would love to stay at home. But resenting it and being upset about it doesn't help anything.

So, I guess I will conclude that I dedicate myself to my marriage, my family, and my home by working hard to provide for them. It is my labors that help us survive, that pay our rent, that allow us to purchase the things we need. Working makes me treasure the time I have with Joshua so much...and even though he can't read yet, I want to apologize to him for not always giving him my complete attention for the 2-3 hours I see him every day. I will try to be better.

I'm grateful for my jobs. I'm grateful for the income they provide and that they give me satisfaction. But I look forward to the day when I can say that my full-time job isn't a paid position with healthcare benefits--it's being a wife and mother, which pays more and gives more benefits, emotionally and spiritually, than any other full-time job could ever hope to give.

Those of you out there who do have the chance to stay at home with your children, please do something for me: give each of your children a hug and a kiss and tell them how grateful you are for being able to stay at home with them. I know it's hard, but please treasure the time you have. I hope you realize how lucky you are.

What a Hot Dog Day!

Have you ever watched Mickey Mouse Clubhouse? It's got this song that plays at the end of every single episode, and I have to say, it's one of those songs that just gets in your head and doesn't leave. But, of course, Joshua LOVES this song, so we found the closing sequence on YouTube and played it over and over (at his request) one night. After about the fifth time, we knew we had to get a video of him...this one isn't actually as good as the first runthrough that night (maybe he got tired of dancing to it, I dunno), but it's still super cute.

First, to get the full effect, you have to see how Mickey and Minnie and all them dance, so click here first. Then, watch this video of Joshua:

Silly kid likes to wear big people clothes :o

I haven't posted pictures of Joshua since Cody's birthday, so I think it's about time again. The past few days, he's really enjoyed wearing my clothes--I got a new shirt from the company I transcribe for, so he wanted to wear it...I love this smile:I got some new shoes in the mail today--I haven't had new shoes in a really long time, and it was way overdue. Joshua somehow got them on and was trudging all over the house in these boots:Yeeeah...I love this kid =)

I love autumn!

I gotta say, I LOVE this time of year: all the leaves changing colors, the air turning cooler, the anticipation of all the holidays coming up. I'm so looking forward to Halloween, Thanksgiving, Joshua's birthday (holy cows, I'm going to have a 2-year-old! That's crazy!), Christmas, New Years...what's not to love?

Okay, I'll admit, I'm not really liking the idea of the 30-degree drop we're going to have from Tuesday to Wednesday this week, but I think I'll get over it. Plus, as much as it annoys me after awhile, I do think snow is beautiful. And I can't wait to watch Joshua play in it. For now, though, I think I'll just sit back and enjoy our view of the beautiful reds and oranges all over Timp. =)

*I should mention that no, I didn't take that picture...but it does very much remind me of the view from our kitchen window.

America is full of pedophiles...

...or so certain people would have us think. Why, you ask? I came across an article on a news website that totally floored me. The basic gist of the story: about a year ago, a couple from Arizona took their photos to Walmart to be printed. While processing the photos, a Walmart employee felt that some of the pictures of the couple's three children (girls ages 5, 4, and 18 months), which were taken at bathtime, constituted child pornography. They turned the photos over to the police, who then went to the couple's home and searched it, while Child Protection Services seized their children and put them in foster care. They got them back after a month, but not before both mom and dad were labeled as sex offenders and mom was suspended for a year from her job. There is now a legal battle going on between the parents and the state, the city, and Walmart for the pain and suffering caused this poor family.

Someone help me out here. Who DOESN'T have pictures of their kids, or even pictures of themselves from when they were little, taken during bathtime? I can think of several pictures we have of Joshua's little bum (he has a very cute one, I have to admit). Would this be considered child pornography? Why does nudity automatically mean pornography? Okay, I admit, not all of the photos have been released, and the police claim that the ones that have not been made public include "provocative poses" by the girls, who they claim could have been "sexually exploited." But that does NOT justify doing what they did to this family!

I don't understand America. Sometimes I think our society is waaaay too loose with its morals, way too immodest in its dress, and pornography is much too accessible. But then I see a story like this, and I think...um, wow. Now they're being much too uptight, much too overprotective. Were the photos pornographic? Maybe to one or two people, but I think most out there would agree that naked bathtime photos of small children are found in almost every household in America, and that this small piece of "evidence" of "child exploitation" was not nearly enough to justify what took place. It scares me that someone's perception of what I am doing with my child could allow government officials to come to my home and take him away. I don't like it, plain and simple.

Thanks for letting me get that off my chest.

Welcome, Baby Kaitlyn!!!

I wrote awhile back about my soon-to-be born niece Kaitlyn and the surgery she and her mother went through to help with the spina bifida. Well, I'm happy to report that Kaitlyn arrived this morning, just 6 weeks early! She was 5 lbs 1 oz, and is just as cute as can be. I thought about posting a picture, but then I decided it's the parents' privilege to distribute pictures as they see fit. There are a couple of pictures on Facebook that you can see if you're friends with Shelly, and here is a link to their blog (they haven't yet updated it as of this post, but you can check back and maybe they'll post pictures there too). I'm so excited to meet her someday. For now, we just pray that Shelly recovers quickly, that Kaitlyn is active and gets to the point where she can leave the NICU soon, and that the whole family enjoys their time together. We love you!

Happy Birthday, My Love!!! (one day late)

Cody's birthday was yesterday...to say that I was too busy celebrating to wish him a happy birthday on this blog would be an overstatement, but it was a great day nonetheless. It was pretty quiet. The night before, my sisters and brother-in-law came over Friday night and we played Munchkin, so that was fun. I made pancakes and bacon for breakfast yesterday morning, then he went to class, then we watched the BYU game (we're now ranked #7--go Cougars!), and then had Tucanos for dinner (oh, so good). We spent the evening playing games, just the two of us. I'm pretty sure he had a fun day, so I'm happy.

We also took the chance to do some laundry while the game was on, and Joshua really took a liking to his laundry hamper. He actually started to throw a fit if we took it off of his head. He probably walked around like this for a good 20 minutes, even following his daddy down the hallway a few times. He had to have his water cup inside the hamper with him, too. He's very particular. Probably his favorite part about it was running into the couch and enjoying how the hamper would bounce him backwards.

RAWR!

We spent a few hours at the Hogle Zoo in SLC today...it was pretty fun! Pretty crowded too, but it was still enjoyable. Joshua loved all the animals, especially the elephant, the bear, and some of the monkeys. He did some of the animal sounds he knows, too, including the elephant noise (it's kinda hard to type out what it sounds like, but suffice it to say he also moves his arm up and down like a trunk) and the "RAWR" which is for a lot of different things, like bears and lions. He also really enjoyed the turkeys that were wandering around and even walked up to the rattlesnake pen (while his daddy stayed safely a few paces away =P). There were a lot of baby animals there...I guess the zoo has been pretty busy this summer. All in all, it was a great day!

We are the worst picture takers...but here are a couple that we managed to take. Sorry none of them have actual animals in them.

Vacation in the desert...

Life has been super busy lately, so sorry about not posting in awhile! It seems like, as soon as we got back from our trip, we just got thrown into all this back-to-school stuff (literally for Cody, and for me as well since I work at BYU) and have barely had time for anything. But before I talk about any of that fun stuff, let's go over our trip!

We said goodbye to Joshua before putting him to bed on Wednesday night (Aug 19th) and then drove down to St. George, arriving around midnight. Our room was nice and quite spacious--on the third floor, vaulted ceilings, full kitchen and front room, private deck, king-size bed, the works. The "jetted tub" was kind of a disappointment (picture a regular-sized tub with four little jets...there was barely enough room for Cody, let alone the two of us), but that's okay.

Thursday, we slept in, then decided to go exploring and get some food for our stay. We ended up at the St. George Temple, first of all, and toured the visitor's center there and spoke with the missionaries, which is always fun. Of course, we forgot our camera at home so we were limited to my cell phone camera (thank heaven for those!):
After leaving the temple, we got some groceries and returned to the resort, where we ate dinner and went swimming, then finished up the night with a movie, The Dark Knight.

Friday, we slept in again (hey, we had to take advantage of not having Joshua, the human early morning wakeup call) and then ventured out to the movie theater, where we saw G.I. Joe. Decent flick, I thought. Then we brought In N Out back to the resort and lounged around. We attempted to Skype with my mom and Joshua back in Orem, but something was wrong with her camera, so we couldn't see him, but apparently he got a huge smile on his face when he saw us :) Then we watched Wall-E and went swimming before bed.

Saturday we had planned to go to Zion's, but after learning the pricetag of even a trip up Kolob Canyon, we opted for the much less pricey Snow Canyon. It was super hot and we realized just how out of shape we are and how silly we were for not bringing water with us, but it was still fun. It's a beautiful area down there!
We made it home in time to avoid the huge rainstorm that came through late that afternoon (seriously, wind blowing sheets of rain all over, chairs almost blowing off our balcony, 3-foot-wide gutters), but it calmed down enough for us to go to the temple again, where we saw the Joseph Smith movie. Such a good one. And I love this temple at night! Isn't it gorgeous?
We drove back early Sunday morning and arrived just in time to see Joshua before his naptime...it was so good to see him. We missed him tons. But it was definitely good to spend time with just the two of us--we've been married for three years now, can you believe it? Thanks, Mom, for being willing to come up and stay with Joshua. I'm sure you enjoyed it immensely...he's an adorable kid. And to my dearest Cody, I love you! Here's to another three years, and hopefully many, many more!

Yay, Mommy time!

That's what Cody always texts me when I tell him I'm on my way home from work. Well, this week it's got a new meaning--my own mom is on her way here from California! She's agreed to watch Joshua later on this week so Cody and I can get away for a few days for our anniversary (which isn't actually until the 26th, but school will have started by then...). I'm excited to see her! She came up early so Joshua can get used to her, which gives us a few days of play with her before we leave Wednesday night. It's going to be fun! =)

I tried to get Joshua to take a picture with me a few days ago. This is what came out:
I was trying to get this smile out of him:Apparently he'll give the cheesy smile when it's just him, but he'd rather furrow his brow when he's in the same picture as his mommy. Silly kid.

Make new friends, but keep the old!

We had a little reunion of sorts last night! One of my very good friends, Wendy, was in town with her husband Paul and their almost-5-month-old son, Reece, so we took advantage and had a little get-together with them and Shara and her husband Craig. Nothing fancy, just catching up and enjoying the company of good friends.

Wendy, Shara, and I were all roommates for a few years from 2001-2003, when we all left on missions for our Church (me in Brazil, Shara in Taiwan, and Wendy in Albania). When we returned in 2005, we ended up in the same apartment complex for a year...then Wendy got married in May '06, I got married that August, and then Shara tied the knot earlier this year in April. These girls are seriously awesome. I have so many good memories with both of them and they have impacted my life greatly. I'm so glad that we've kept in touch and still get together when we can. Thanks, ladies!
Joshua really seemed to enjoy "playing" with Reece. It made me excited to see him as a big brother...no, I'm not announcing anything, but we are planning on it sometime in the future. :)

Joshua, the computer nerd

We just can't keep him away from the computers for very long...he even uses the mouse correctly!Oh, and I did manage to get a picture of Joshua cozying up in bed before going to sleep, as I mentioned in my post from a couple days ago. The blanket/quilt was made by his Grandma Kari--thank you! As you can see, he loves it! =)

Sleeping preferences

Joshua has been a stomach sleeper practically since birth. It took a lot of persistence to get him to sleep on his back, and when he would nap with Cody he would always lay on his stomach. Once he learned how to roll over, I didn't worry much about it anymore. I guess I just assumed he was going to be like his mommy and be most comfortable on his stomach.

A few months ago, we put a blanket in his crib, along with the stuffed bear we gave him for Christmas, but he never really did much with them, just moved them around in the crib while he slept on his stomach. Now, though, when we put him in the crib, he lays down on his back, makes it clear that he wants the blanket put over him, gets a huge smile on his face while he pats the covers, and then reaches out for the bear, which he hugs until we leave the room. I'm not sure what he does after that, but that's now the ritual. He's very particular, it seems. And adorable. I should get a picture of him laying there like that, but he'd probably be too eager to lay hold on the camera to go to sleep--and as all the parents of young ones out there know, we want to do as little as possible that would disturb his sleep.

By the way--I made it to work five minutes early again today by taking that alternate route. Yay! And thank you, Shara, for reminding me that construction people especially need work these days, and we should be glad for the snow that tears up the roads so badly they need to repair it every summer. :)

Road Construction...ai ai ai

I have never seen so much road construction in all my life as I've seen this summer in Provo, Utah. I live in Orem but work in Provo, so I have a commute--but it's usually nothing big, just a 15-20 minute drive along surface streets.

The main road I take is University Avenue, which has a speed limit of 50 mph. Not too shabby, eh? Well, unless there's road construction. Those orange barrels have become the bane of my existence this summer. I've been trying to avoid the hassle by taking another route, giving me a speed limit of 35 mph but mostly smooth sailing. This morning, though, I thought that I should give University Avenue another try.

Big mistake. I left at the normal time, 7:35am, which puts me at arriving to my office at BYU by 7:55 or so. However, thanks to the lovely road construction along University Avenue, I didn't arrive until 8:03am, where I was greeted by my boss, who hates it when the office isn't open by 8am (I'm in charge of unlocking the door), my assistant (who is always punctual), plus three professors who needed to talk to me. Wow. It had to be this morning...

Don't get me wrong, I'm very thankful for those who keep the roads clean and in good condition, and I understand that it's virtually impossible to do it during the winter. But...well, it's just annoying, that's all, and I had to vent somehow. I guess I should just probably plan for a 25-30 minute commute for the time being, huh?

I love this kid.

We did laundry yesterday and decided to see how Joshua would look in his daddy's white Sunday shirt. What do you think?