10 for September

Here we go for September!

10 things I will miss about summer:

1. Hanging laundry out to dry. Mm, it smells so good! And it's so nice to have it all dry and put away, rather than hanging in the basement, damp and chilly.
2. Family walks after dinner with Thomas riding his bike, Ben riding his scooter, and Shane and I walking together. It had been a long time since we were able to walk together without pushing a stroller. The end of an era, I guess...
3. Zucchini. Sniff.
4. Long evenings with lots of sunlight.
5. Barbecuing on the back porch with friends.
6. Morning runs.
7. Cute summer shirts.
8. Seeing my boys skinny legs hanging out of their shorts. Ben had a pair of plaid shorts that he wore every chance he got. He called them his "color shorts."
9. Sending the kids outside to play.
10. Going to work without wearing a sweater (even if I am freezing once I'm in the building.)

Songs that will always remind me of Summer 2009:

1. Don't Stop Believing (Glee cast.)
2. Dustland Fairytale (Killers)
3. Sometime around Midnight (Airborne Toxic Event) (Shane and I have analyzed this song to death. It is the perfect snapshot of how men and women act when they suddenly find themselves in the same room after a break-up when alcohol is involved.) (Not that I would know; oh, wait, I would.)
4. Show me what I'm looking for (Carolina Liar)
5. Crack the Shutters (Snow Patrol)
6. Broken (Lifehouse) (The song from the Time Traveler's Wife trailer.)
7. Human (Killers)
8. The High School Musical 3 soundtrack. (No, I'm not 12!)
9. Where does the good go (Tegan and Sarah)

8 things that were great about September:

1. Going on vacation! It has taken me a few weeks to get back into the grove of life. I'm so glad we had that time in San Diego!
2. Ben went back to preschool, giving me 2 free hours on Friday mornings. Love!
3. Running two races, one that I organized, another that showed me I can be (kinda) fast when I want to be.
4. Running on the beach (sorry, had to put that back in!)
5. Going with Thomas for his baptism interview. I can't believe he is old enough to be baptised! I'm grateful.
6. Having my friend come back from a month in California. Our kids do everything together, and we were frequently bored without them. Thanks for coming home, Shelly!
7. Finding a new friend for Ben to play with that is a boy. He plays with girls, mostly. Amazing in a neighborhood where everyone has multiple boys.
8. New shows coming back on. Still have to wait 3 more months for Lost, though; grrrr.

7 People I saw:

1. My best-since-we-were-14-friend Rebecca. Her grandma died, so she came up for her funeral. We don't get to see each other very often, so it is awesome when we do. Our husbands/boyfriends met each other for the first time, which was awesome. So glad she has someone so nice in her life!
2. My dad.
3. My sweet boys. Having a solid week with them was so awesome.
4. Rebecca's family while we were in Las Vegas. They are just like family to us.
5. Shane's grandpa.
6. Amy. We ran the Temple to Temple race together (ok, not together, but we were both running at the same time, even if she was a ways ahead of me.) Love doing things like that with my sister!
7. Shamu. He might not be a person, though.

6 people I was grateful for:

1. Shelly for watching my cats while we were gone.
2. Vonnay for cleaning my cat box and watering my garden and buying me awesome canning equipment.
3. Janice and Bill for letting us invade their house for a night.
4. My husband for converting to the belief in Vacationing. He fell hard....(insert evil laugh)...all part of my plan!
5. Enterprise for renting us a car that didn't break down.
6. The lady that sold us her RockBand 2 game on KSL. We love to rock....

5 things I'm looking forward to:

1. Conference this weekend.
2. Going to our friend Matt's wedding. We are leaving the boys overnight with my sister, something we have never, ever done. It should be fun to have time together!
3. Canning tomatoes with my friend Melanie. She is all sorts of knowledgeable about canning!
4. Decorating for fall. Usually I do this in, oh, August, but I've been a slacker.
5. Playing Christmas music (yes, we start as soon as the "ber" months begin. But it will be on 24/7 from here on out, I'm thinking.)

4 Books I want to read this fall:

1. The Children's Book, AS Byatt
2. Year of the Flood, Margaret Atwood
3. Her Fearful Symmetry, Audrey Niffenegger
4. Lacuna, Barbara Kingsolver

3 things I need to do in October:

1. Start buying Christmas stuff. That big holiday will be on us sooner than we know...
2. Go and help in Thomas' class. His teacher last year didn't want volunteers, so it's exciting to go and help this year.
3. Mail my last SDBBE book. One girl read fast, so I had 2 books to read in September. I guess I'm done with another round!

2...Tired people in my house (Me and Shane)

1 good reason to end this list:

1. I can't think of another thing to say. I'm ready to push "publish" right NOW! Thanks for sticking through this to the end...