October was the month of Alice Lima. When we were in Brasilia we toured the city and hung out with her and her cute kids. She came and stayed in our house for about 3 weeks and we tried to show her a good time.
The day before she arrived Richie was driving me crazy. He's OBSESSED with light switches. We would just stand by the switch for as long as I could stand it while he turned them on and off. It was a good chance for me to steal kisses and snuggle him, but it was also driving me crazy every time I put him down and he started crying. This photo is evidence that, according to my sister, I'm totally wrapped around his finger. So true. I love you Richie.
When I went to the airport to pick up Alice I ran into this girl! What a coincidence! Liz was on her way to fly to Europe for a few weeks of cruising the Mediterranean. So jealous! Isn't she so gorgeous? I love this girl.
Justin is obviously an amazing Dad, but proved himself yet again by spending a few hours building Richie this awesome toy to buy me sanity and satisfy Richie's curiosity. He texted circuit sketches with our smart friend Richard and they came up with some plans for this. I'm so grateful to have a handy man in our home. It's been one of Richie's favorite toys.
During the first two days Alice was here she wanted to go to all 4 sessions of Conference. We got tickets for two of them and she picked up the other two at the Conference Center. I took her to Saturday afternoon session. Look how close our tickets were?!? It was so amazing to be this close.
I even could see Elder Aidukaitis, Justin's mission president and the man we named Richie's middle name, Marcus, after.
Sunday afternoon we had the same seats but were told they were full. I was pretty bummed. So we got sent to the balcony where it was FREEZING.
The next day we took Alice to the Pipeline trail. She loved looking at the fall colors in the mountains.
Sometimes when that special time of the month occurs and I want to curl up in a ball lie in bed all day Justin brings me home treats. He's the best.
One afternoon we hung out at City Creek with Alice. It was Richie's first time at the splash pad. He was having a great time until he leaned over to look into a jet and got a face full of water. Then he was pretty livid. After that he enjoyed the pad from a distance.
After City Creek I took Alice to the best Mexican in the world. Red Iguana obviously! She loved it but I think it was a bit spicy for her. Brazilian food is definitely not spicy unless you're in Bahia.
In the middle of the week we went to Moab for a day. We drove down really early just to take her hiking to see the red rocks of Arches. She loved it.
She loved it at least until we took her to Delicate Arch. I lied to her and told her the hike was going to be easy and had a tiny hill. She was pretty mad at first and had trouble hiking.
But when we got to the top she admitted it was worth it and was glad I lied to her or she never would have done it. Unfortunately lying to people is something I do often to get them to do physical activity they wouldn't normally do. Once I lied to my non-running sister to get her to run 5 miles with me. And what do you know? She totally did it. But I digress...
The next day we took her to Snowbird to ride the tram and take in the beauty of Little Cottonwood in the fall.
Can you believe the fall we've had in the mountains?! Unbelievable!
I also taught her about aspen trees. I taught her about how often aspen groves aren't individual trees, but individual sprouts off one organism. How the 2nd largest organism in the world (after the honey mushroom forest in Oregon) is the aspen trees in the Pando forest in Fishlake, UT. How the aspens make a quivering sound in the wind.... anyway, I could go on and on. I love the symbology and folklore of aspens.
That night we dropped Richie off with my parents and met up with Richard and Evelyn at Corn Belly's to do the corn maze. We had SO much fun! Evelyn and Richard are some of the most fun people to hang out with EVER. And even though we cheated a little, we made it through the maze.
This picture is one of my favorite of all time.
A few days later we went to Park City and did a little shopping and ate at Wasatch Brewery on Main Street. I wish I had more pictures...
One night when Justin was working 3 pm-3 am I brought him some dessert Alice made (canjica, yum!). As I walked up to the triage in the ER I saw a huge line of people. So I took a seat and people watched for 45 minutes. It was so interesting! Some people are weird. One girl came in because she punched a wall and her hand hurt. Another guy came in because he thought he "might have had chest pain a few hours ago" but it was fine now. A few people legitimately were concerned like the parents of kid who was having trouble breathing after eating something new. But most of the people should probably have taken some Advil, gone to bed, and seen their primary care doc in the morning. Justin has lots of interesting stories from the ER. It intrigues me, but also makes me sad for some lower functioning individuals with drug problems, substance abuse, and abusive relationships. But the important thing to remember is that he looks really sexy in scrubs.
Oh, and he's got a great sense of humor at work.
Oh, this is Alice insisting on seeing the Cheesecake Factory. She was amazed by how many calories we Americans can shove into our bodies in one sitting.
Alice also wanted to try American pizza. Brazilian pizza is way different. It can have bananas, ham, mayo, all sorts of weird toppings. So we took her to our favorite pizza place, The Pie. The vegan deluxe is literally the only pizza I have ever enjoyed. And Justin got his fave, a Hawaiian. She actually liked mine better.
One morning Justin and I went to a Backcountry employee sale. Rather than coming home after working 3pm-3am he went straight to the warehouse in West Valley and camped out with about 50 other employees. When I got there I was disgusted but not surprised by all the pot smoke, empty beer cans, tents, chairs and trash in the parking lot. And even after staking out his place in line at 4 am and sleeping in our Subaru trunk, he wasn't even that close to the front of the line! Geez... the lengths we go to for cheap gear....
All that waiting did pay off. I got two sets of brand new ski boots to chose from for $5 each, Justin got new trail running shoes for $5, I snagged a Kelty 25 degree sleeping bag for $1, we got ski bindings for $5, Justin picked up two sets of ski boots for $5, the list goes on and on... it was a GREAT sale actually.
On Sunday my sister in Seattle texted me informing me she was starting to have contractions. She was all set to teach Relief Society and instead decided to go to the hospital. It was a good thing she did because they didn't even have time to give her an epidural! It was 2 pushes and little Jude Michael Hulet was out by 1:12 pm at 8 lbs. 10 oz. I can't believe she had a natural birth! And to such a big baby, although this one has been her smallest. I love that she used our cousin who passed away in July for the middle name. He would be so honored if he were still here. I am all set to go see her and the kidlets in November. I cannot WAIT to see my new little nephew. Jude, I'm coming to snuggle you!!
The day before Alice returned we went shopping at Deseret Book with my adorable 3 year old niece Bentley. She and Richie had so much fun!
After Bentley went home and I got Richie down for a nap Alice and I had a girls afternoon. We went to see Meet the Mormons (HIGHLY recommend! I loved it). After we drove up Big Cottonwood, took pictures, had some hot chocolate and bruschetta at Silver Fork and laughed a lot. So fun!
The day Alice left I felt mixed emotions. She and I had so many great late night talks about the church and the gospel. She's a convert from the Catholic church and she has such an amazing testimony. She has been through a lot after divorcing her husband who is now married to another man. One of the things I love about the church is that no matter where you go in the world, if you can find members of our church, you have family. She and I clicked the minute we spent time together in 2010. She and her family are amazing. While she was here she cooked, cleaned, babysat, had great conversations and jokes, we laughed and had a great time even with a language barrier. House guests can be tough when you feel the need to entertain and keep happy. But she was SO easy. I'll take her back in a heart beat. I told her she could be my sister wife, but she wasn't excited about the idea. Maybe in the next life?
A few weeks ago I felt that it was time to make changes to my professional life. Since Justin's now working a big boy job, there's not a need for me to work so much. I debated about which job to quit for some time and felt very indecisive. A few talks during Conference really answered my questions and I felt it was time to leave Montage. I'll still be working at the U of U about 10 hours a week, plus my private clients on the side, but after 4 years, I'm done at Montage. I'll be really sad not seeing all my awesome co workers, but it was time to dedicate more time to this little man. He really is the center of my world right now. Work gives me a break and some mental stimulation, but this is what is most important to me right now.
Those are all the updates I have for now!
O
