Hangin' Out

Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Cheapest Mom You Know

So, when I send him off to school in these, sometimes I wonder if I am the cheapest mom alive. We found these authentic moon boots in the house, and since they fit, S inherited them. They had to belong to one of Phil's youngest brothers, which means they haven't been worn in 20+ years.

Other times, when I send him off to school in these, I can only think of this:

Small Town Schooling

We enrolled S at the local elementary school since we weren't (still aren't really) sure how long we'd be staying with Phil's Mom (Phil's arranged for a leave of absence from work). Sometime during the first week, when I went to pick him up after school, he was making gun gestures with his fingers.

"Gun games at school?" I said
"Here we can!" With obvious glee.

Welcome to small town America.

Time Flies...

... when you're livin' in your mother-in-laws basement.

I can't believe it's been nearly two months since I last posted, a pretty busy two months too. However, as I heard repeatedly from those who left India while I was there, life back in the USofA can seem pretty boring by comparison. Turns out that everyday can pretty much be the same here, you can always get hot water, your electricity is reliable. You're only relying on your dishwasher, washing machine, and car, not a whole staff of help. And, what do you know? The machines are for more reliable, but really far less interesting. So, I'm not sure what I'll be posting about... Small town Utah tales? Aren't my children cute posts? Pregnancy complaints?

Here's a few photos of the Holiday haps in our new/old world, to tide you over as I rediscover my blogvoice:

Snow Fort Building

Assisting Snow Fort Building

Sledding

Nativity Acting (and Picking)
Tidepool Exploring
Shoveling
OJ Making
Seeing 2009 Into the Sunset

Christmas with family in UT. New Years with more family in California/Mexico. It's been great to spend so much time with those we missed while we were so far away.

Goodbye

I really don't have a clue how to write this post.

My father in law, Dennis Blackburn, passed away very unexpectedly last Thursday. We will miss him terribly. He was a great father in law, father, and grandfather. He was a great example to Phil. I credit him with teaching Phil how to be the great husband and father that he is.

As a result we are back in the US earlier than we expected. We finished things up as quickly as we could in India, had our movers come a few days early, cancelled our travel plans, and returned to Utah to be with Phil's family. It was one of life's tender mercies that those arrangements all went as well as they possibly could have. We will be here for a few weeks.

And you miss out on all the witty little goodbye India posts I had planned. Maybe at some point I'll get back around to posting about our last few weeks there.

The night Max wore his wolf suit...

The invitation:

I was highly entertained, but then, I am his mother, and yes, sometimes I want to send him off to bed without his supper.

Church Worlds Colide

Some friends from Dallas are currently in India so we went to Chennai this past weekend to spend a little more time with them. You'll have to check out benac.com for the true lowdown on their travels, since I'm relying on their photography. Their travel agent/guide is a man we go to church with here. Also in Chennai are the McKinleys, some great friends of my parents, and mine as well.

You'll have to ignore N's frightful eyes, we are in the mad dash that is the last few weeks before we leave India. I don't have time to worry about devil eyes.
They are missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I credit them with my travel bug, since my first international experience was under their wing.

It was an interesting mix: influential family friends, Indian acquaintance, post marriage friends from Dallas, all shaken together in Chennai, with a heavy dose of monsoon thrown in. In the end it was a great weekend. It felt really good to see familiar faces.

The boys, including Phil, just wore their swimsuits for Saturday's sightseeing.