What we've been up to lately:

1. babysitting nieces and nephews while my brother and his wife took a much needed, much deserved just-the-two-of-us trip to SF. I'm almost thinking I could have 7 kids and be okay…almost. My kids loved their time with their cousins.
2. pulling weeds and more weeds. Does it ever end? One of the few reasons to look forward to winter, I guess.
   
3. driving through Tooele County's canyons to ooh and aah over the delicious colors everywhere. I hear people call this 'leafing.'
4. following the Rugby World Cup and BYU football. Aki loves the fall. And I love his friend Steve for taking Aki to the games. (Steve is available and very eligible by the way…especially if you like awesome seats at BYU games!)
   
5. watching our fave TV shows. I'm pathetic, but this is how I self-medicate—it really works! I'm so glad to have them back so I can feel like myself again!
6. thanks to my niece Alli, reading (just me) the first book in that darn vampire love story trilogy that every blog west of the Mississippi mentions. I guess it's obligatory reading or something. Anyway, it was fun to feel 15 again for a few days. Now I have to get my hands on the second book. I can't wait.
7. relaxing (just Aki…okay, both of us…I couldn't let him relax all by his lonesome!) and enjoying 5 days off of work. He says he struggled through his first day back.
8. loving on this cute little girl of ours. Makai is slightly too big for cuddling, but he still loves to play with my hair for comfort.
   

We're looking forward to dinner and a movie tonight, the treat of a long-lost friend who has moved back into our world. The weekend plans also include putting up a few Fall/Halloween decorations and sorting through all the kid clothes, switching from summer to winter clothes and putting too-small clothes into storage.