October 2012

I am slowly getting back into the swing of things with this blog. My attainable goal is to update the blog once a month, this way I won't get too overwhelmed and hopefully it will slowly get easier to stay caught up. :)
October started with an obviously fabulous weekend of LDS General Conference. It is seriously my favorite time of year. And now that I have my handy dandy smart phone, I can re-listen to talks/music anytime, anywhere. One message that stood out to Brad and I most was from Elder Oaks: Protect the Children. It warmed our hearts to hear him acknowledge couples that are longing to have a family. It reminded us that we are not alone, and the opportunity to be parents will be one of our greatest blessings someday. How could I forget the new Missionary change?!?! I was so giddy when I heard this announcement, thinking of so many I know, waiting just to be old enough to go on a mission. This is truly will exciting and will create a lot of changes and growth in the mission field; it is all so exciting!
During Priesthood Session, we carried on our tradition of crafting and I made this lovely number:

Brad and I also had the opportunity to attend an orientation meeting with LDS Adoption Services. We learned a lot about the process of adoption, finances, expectation, timeline, etc. We have learned there are some adjustments we need to make to be/feel more prepared. We took home the paperwork and decided we are really going to hit the ground running with an agency starting January. For now, we will be focusing on improving our networking, blog, FB page, etc., and Brad will get his GMAT test out of the way first part of January.Once we've got that under our belts, we will feel more prepared for working with an agency. HOWEVER, that doesn't mean we aren't open to opportunities now through private opportunities. We have learned not going through an agency can sometimes be harder, but it can often make it more affordable and -we feel- better for us personally. DO NOT HESITATE TO CONTACT US :)

Probably my favorite thing that happened this month was the lovely surprise getaway from Brad. We have REALLY been needing to get away and forget about some of life's stresses for a day or so. I had work off Friday of that week and Brad said I couldn't plan anything because he was doing something for me. Because I am me, I had it pretty much figured out before we went, but I still LOVED that he did it all for us. I got home from work Thursday, Brad told me what to pack and that we were going to Park City, but he didn't tell me what hotel.We hadn't stayed at a hotel since we had been married (aside from living in one), so we were looking forward to it. I was so excited, we packed our bags and were on our way within 20 minutes. It took us forever to get to our hotel and I was surprised with an overnight stay at the Chateaux. Man it is a beautiful hotel and was so cozy. We had a fireplace in our cozy room and ROBES! I've always wanted to stay at a hotel where they had robes for you to wear. I loved it :) We went down to Main Street for dinner and window shopped a little bit as we walked around. I am seriously obsessed with all the cute little buildings and the darling colors and designs of all the houses. Later that night we went hot tubbing in our awesome robes and walked around by the HUGE fire pits they have throughout their courtyard. It was seriously SO pretty and SO cozy, just the way I like it. The next morning, we slept in, got cleaned up, packed up our stuff and headed out for a late breakfast. During breakfast, Brad had a phone interview with Ancestory.com. It went well, leading him to have another interview Monday morning. YAY! After breakfast we shopped all afternoon. It was definitely a successful bargain shopping day. We were so sad for the getaway to end, but so happy we had the chance to go. I'm grateful for the hubs and time we were able to spend together without worrying about reality for a little while.

That night we went to a reception for one of Brad's friends, then went to dinner with our friends, the Fillerups. I forgot how much I love Macaroni Grill! It was fun to catch up and just chat about all of the similarities at our stage of life.

One major highlight of the month: cousin Juliana and her hubs Zach had their sweet baby boy Connor Joshua Morris. Connor was born on 10-11-12... how fun is that? He is seriously the sweetest thing! One Tuesday this month I had the opportunity to go down to Springville to spend the day with Juj and her sweet little boy. Aunt Marcie came over and we helped clean up their apartment and make it a little more functional. I loved every minute of it and look forward to the opportunity to do it again in the near future.

Isn't he sweet??? 

That weekend was Brad's first half-marathon. YAHOO! To prepare, Friday night we had Paige and Austin Slade over for a Carb dinner of loaded baked potatoes. Brad was worried all week about the race, because he had been fighting a really nasty cold all week. It wasn't gone by Saturday morning, but it was a little better. We drove up with the Slades to Daybreak, where the race started. Pai and I dropped the boys off and we on a bit of a detour drive before eating some breakfast at Chik-fil-a: in honor of their So-Jo Chik-fil-a marathon. After our breakfast we parked at the finish line and got there just a little bit before the boys started coming through. I was SO PROUD when I saw my hubs making his way to the finish line. He looked sicker than a dog, but was still going strong. Brad came in 4th for his age group overall and averaged a 7:27 mile, What?? I don't think I could run ONE mile that fast, and he averaged that for 13.1??? I'm super proud of him and pleased to know I've got a super fast husband.

(pictures to come as soon as I get my hands on some) 

After the race, the boys wanted to celebrate with touring the new SCHEELS across the freeway from where we were. It was a pretty awesome store, but I am really glad I had Pai there with me. With us going together, the boys were able to ooo and awe over what they liked, while Pai and I kept ourselves entertained and found things of interest to us.

This last week of October was kept busy with work and getting the house cleaned up. We had our Halloween party with Brad's AZ friends and wives. If you know me, you know I LOVE hosting parties and like to find excuses for them to happen. I've been so excited for this one all week, I started setting up like 4 days before it started. We had yummy Chili with bread, salad, lots of finger foods and a few games. We did a costume contest, some candy corn relays, and of course donut on a string. We ended the night with an Audrey Hepburn classic suspense: Wait Until Dark. All of the husbands were pleasantly surprised... NEVER underestimate the potential of a movie with Audrey Hepburn ;) All of the costumes were great and one, a little bit TOO real for my liking... thank you for your Zombie obsession Mr. Slade. ;)

Fred + Wilma Flinstone

Batman + Catwoman

Boarder Patrol + well, you know...

Pita + Katniss

Mr. + Mrs. Zombie...
They won the costume contest!

Sunday was our Primary Program, which had me in tears within the first 20 seconds. I seriously can't handle how cute and innocent little children are. They have such sweet voices with angelic, teachable spirits. I envy their lives everyday. I am always overwhelmed with their unwavering faith, knowing they are all children of God. I look forward to the day when we will be blessed with the opportunity to have them in our home.

Monday we had our annual "Hatch Howl" up at my Aunt Jill's house. It was fabulous as always: to eat yummy food, visit with family, and carve our pumpkins. Unfortunately Aunt Jill was sick, so she wasn't able to participate as much; which was such a bummer (it is her favorite holiday). But we still had an awesome night and I enjoyed catching up with some family I hadn't visited with in a while.

(maybe I'll take a picture of our pumpkin before it looks too saggy)

Last but not least, HALLOWEEN: The day was pretty normal, working as a nanny and following normal routine, until I was let off work early. I joined Shay and the girls to trick-or-treat at Vivint and visit Jason. While we were there we also visited with cousin Ash and I got to meet Shaun's mission trainer. Long story short, he and Ash work together and everyone but me had already met him. I was so happy to finally have my turn. It's funny how things like that make you feel closer to the missionary.

"Elder" Zach Alder

Brad didn't have his GMAT prep class that night so I was really excited to spend the evening with him. We dressed up in our costumes and handed out candy to the darling neighbor kids until we ran out. After that we headed over to Shaylee and Jasons to see the kiddos and enjoy some good munchies while watching Hocus Pocus. Such a great end to a fun holiday!

too cute!