Catching up

The excuse:

Our iphoto software and camera have been fighting since May. This weekend, Joseph kindly bypassed the camera to Mac configuration and loaded everything onto his ipod and then transferred everything to the laptop. Result: I can now post pictures I have been wanting to blog about since March. It's one of those very strange, I do the laundry, you upload the pictures delineation of roles and responsibilities that we have comfortably settled into in our third year of marriage--absolutely based on NO rationale, nor are the tasks necessarily matched with individual skill sets; however, they exist as they do and we hold to them. It will be so interesting to see how they morph and evolve as marriage continues.

Firstly, we moved to Takoma Park (INSIDE THE BELTWAY!) in June. We live in Dru and Erin's and April and Cord's ward! Going to church with them every Sunday is the most ridiculous treat. It's like drinking a really cold, strong and tangy glass of lemonade on a hot and humid-sweat-dripping-off-your-eyebrows kind of day. It's simply the best. Dru and I are 'mommy' friends since we both have the babes during the day. The best part is that I no longer have to make Costco runs by myself, and he ALWAYS loads my car! Does it get any better? So here's a picture of our new home and Joseph and E (looking like a jailbird in her stripes):

The house has a basement where the laundry is and we have the entire first floor for our apartment. The entire back of the house on the first floor is a sunroom with windows on all three walls from ceiling to wainscoting-high level. Joe built me a window seat that runs the length of the back wall and we use it for storage. I am in the process of dyeing fabric and covering the seats. Once the project is done, I will definitely post pictures. All in all we feel so lucky every day to be able to live in such a beautiful place, to have our own place, and to have so much room and sunshine!

Secondly, there are big changes in our lives right now. Joseph entered school full-time this semester to finish his history degree and add a spanish minor. He is carrying an 18 credit load to get it all finished by December. So graduation is eminent and new horizons in sight. I don't really have a picture for this, so I'll post an excellent shot of e hanging on the monkey bars in Gilroy, CA when we visited Benae & co. in June this summer:

Thirdly, our second baby is due in four weeks! We finished our Bradley method birthing classes last week and are gearing up for the big delivery. This round we are much better prepared and are hoping for a much better experience. Here is a picture from Kasey's reception, so you can see how big the belly was a month ago:

Lastly, we have had such an incredible summer and have been able to see so many family members and friends! A huge highlight was my parent's 50th wedding anniversary and the family reunion in California which celebrated their accomplishment! My nieces both blogged about it at:

http://ryleewayment.blogspot.com/2009_06_01_archive.html (scroll down a bit to picture of Ryan on crutches)

http://heatherlorraine.blogspot.com/2009/06/janis-family-reunion.html

http://heatherlorraine.blogspot.com/2009/06/janis-family-reunion-preview-2.html

I cannot even do a little justice to all our summer delights, so I will probably just pick a few to share in the next couple of days. One thing is for absolute sure, e is an excellent swimmer and loves water of all kinds. I was the swim coach for an athletic club's swim team last year and ended up teaching a few lessons as well. She loved attending the mommy and me class with her papi, and showing all the older swimmers how much she could do. She is definitely a little show-off, and we totally love it: