Chapter Two: October 2013

Does anyone else remember that Primary song? Here is a refresher in case you've forgotten:

It's Autumntime Primary Song

And it is absolutely beautiful. I wish I had some good pictures of the beautiful red and orange and yellow trees all around our apartment. We had a few weeks where a family of blue jays took up residence in the trees by our parking lot - but it seems to have gotten too cold for them and they've flown south. We still have our little flock of quail, though - now probably 30 or more in number. I think my favorite part about this apartment is the huge mass of trees, bushes, and ivy right outside our window, and the constant sound of birds. And it's beautiful in the fall with the ivy leaves turning red and brown.

Of late: Ryan is marching steadily onward through the first semester of the accounting junior core and doing a great job of it. We've finally found a sort of balance - most days we have enough time to eat dinner together and do something short, even if it's later at night. He interviewed for two internships for this summer and was offered one at Squire, just right up the road in Orem. It's an advisory internship, which is what he thinks he wants to go into, so we're excited for the experience he'll get. It will probably be May - August, too, which will be great, and we won't have to move with a 4-month old (yay!).

They also offered him a part-time job in the interim - which he accepted this morning for just 5-10 hours a week, so that will also be great experience. In his "free" time, he's been busy putting in new blinds, helping me move furniture around, finishing up lawns for the summer, and driving me to Smith's at 10:30 at night to buy "real" chocolate.

I am still working from home about 18 hours a week as a project manager for a translation company in Salt Lake. I enjoy the job, it's picked up a little in the past week so it's not quite as boring :) Plus it's flexible, and most of the time "work" means watching my email, taking care of things as they come in or are assigned, and washing dishes or cleaning the floor in the meantime. It's nice to be able to stay caught up around the house while still working. While not working, I've been organizing the apartment, trying to get the second bedroom baby-ready, working on craft projects, cleaning, doing Relief Society stuff, and visiting with friends. It's still weird not working/studying full-time, but as I've started needing a nap more and more each day, I am a little bit grateful for how things are.