Z Sisters update - again

I hate getting out of order here and so far hosting the sisters update once every 6 weeks has been an effective way to force me to catch up before each one. But alas not this time. I have to move on even though I still haven't written about the end of summer, or the first day of school, or Brenden's 12th birthday, or many other things. Some of that stuff is covered in my past entries to the sisters updates here (Annee's 8/21), here (Ana's 8/31), here (Ie Li's 9/6), here (Rachel's 9/12), or here (Christine's 9/26).

Maybe I'll get back to blogging one day. In the mean time, here is an update from several of the sisters...

Christine

Last week:

• My pod arrived on Monday with all my stuff! I was so excited to finally get everything, especially my bed. Monday night Ben and Josh came and helped bring everything in from the pod. Then I spent a few days unpacking and deciding where I wanted everything to go, then Ryan and Ben came over Thursday night to put all the big things in place. It's slowly all coming together, definitely a process, but I'm happy to finally be feeling settled somewhere.
• Worked Tuesday and Saturday. I thought I was scheduled to work Friday and went in ready to work, but apparently there had been a miscommunication and I wasn't working. Things have been kind of crazy and the store and I guess some girls have been quitting or just not showing up so the schedule is getting all messed up.
• Went to Truckeroo Friday afternoon. This is an event that happens once a month through the summer where about 30 of DC's food trucks gather together in one place for the day so you can come in and try whichever ones you like. Thanks to the advice of Rachel I went and it was actually pretty cool and fun to try some of the different foods.
• Went karaoking with a group of people from church. It was pretty fun and good to meet some people, but I have a hard time getting really into karaoke.
• Enjoyed conference from home on Saturday and from the church on Sunday. I loved it all.

This week:

• Work. A lot. Basically everyday. They keep calling and asking if I can come in for more shifts, I guess I'm reaping the benefits of some girls quitting or disappearing?
• Continue to unpack and get everything in place. It's a process.
• Study. Somehow October is turning into my busiest month, but I'm still determined to take at least a couple tests before I start, so I will study.
• Run. These past couple weeks I have not been running nearly enough, time to get serious about the November race.
• These are the only things I'm allowing myself to do this week, I have to stay focused.

Ie Li

Last Week:

• Ran three times. My Saturday rainy, 4-mile run was my first run without any significant foot or hip pain. I am hoping and praying this continues as I have a lot of work ahead of me. My plan is to increase my long runs by two miles each week from here on out. I'm looking forward to it. I remembered that I actually like to run.
• Mei Li's farm field trip on Thursday. Loved it.
• Excused Mei Li from school on Friday so we could to go to Mount Vernon with Michiko and the boys. The weather was perfect, and of course, Mount Vernon was amazing.
• Our whole family plus Michiko and boys, drove down to Charlottesville to tour Monticello on Saturday. Monticello is breathtakingly beautiful. I want to go back and spend more time there.
• We had this great idea that we would listen to the first session of Conference on Steve's phone on the way to Monticello, and the second session on the drive back. It only kind of worked. The signal was only strong enough for us to listen to two talks. It was disappointing. And now we are catching up.
• Went to a thrift store, and purchased two large beautiful mirrors for $30 total. Both need to be painted. I think they are going above our couch and above our mantle. Finally.
• Made two batches of cinnamon rolls on Conference Sunday for the little army we have here. I've never made cinnamon rolls before, but they turned out great. They are definitely a once, maybe twice a year indulgence.

This Week:

• Run.
• Join Michiko on a couple of adventures. You can read about her adventures here.
• Steve and I are going to LA for one day. I know it's crazy, but we're leaving the kids and we really wanted to be at Will K's wedding.
• Sand mirror frames.
• Choose a paint color for the living room mirror!
• Get a new nephew? We love you, Ana!

Sarah

Last week:

• Potty-trained Huck. You'll notice this wasn't one of my goals last week, and was quite a spontaneous decision on Monday morning to tackle this project. On Monday I took his pants off and didn't leave the house and I just watched him like a hawk all day. Everywhere he went I'd follow him. Everywhere I went I made him come with me. When I'd see it coming we'd run to the potty so by the end of the day he pretty much got the picture. He was not used to my undivided attention, though, and it was starting to bother him that he never had any alone time, so a couple of times he tried to tell me "Mommy stay here, I go downstairs". I don't know if that's a good or bad thing (for him to not be used to so much attention) but either way it worked. By Tuesday he was starting to tell me when he needed to go beforehand. We've had a couple little accidents but nothing too major. There is serioulsy nothing cuter than a new toddler in undies.
• Brenden and Oliver babysat until midnight on Friday night - this is major and opens up all sorts of options for us. We had put Huck & June to bed first, although Brenden did have to read June one more story and sit with her until she fell asleep. Oliver fell asleep on the couch and Brenden stayed up watching TV later than he usually gets to. Wins all around.
• Re-potted a bunch of plants - moved the lemon tree up a pot size and finally gave Rachel's orphaned plant a permanent home in one of my favorite pots.
• Finally got back on the treadmill a couple of times.
• Finished George's xmas stocking (take 2). Hope this one isn't too small now.
• Started a knitting project to keep me awake through conference - made it halfway through (the project, not conference). Not sure if/when I'll ever finish it.
• Took Oliver & June to their first day of gymnastics and they both loved it. Need to figure out a better way to entertain Huck for 2 hours while we sit and wait. It is very close to the Springville Antiques Mall - so that would entertain me but probably not do much good for Huck.
• Got June's painted dresser back and it's super cute. Unfortuantely I didn't precisely measure the spot where I was going to put it - need to figure out a new arrangement now.
• Watched General Conference - tried to find "quiet" activities (jigsaw puzzles, k'nex, legos, etc) to occupy the kids in the room so they could at least absorb some of the spirit of the messages. Unfortuantely they all needed so much hands on help I was pretty distracted much of the time so I guess it sort of backfired.

This Week:

• Figure out a rain-out plan for the Rooftop Concert Series final show with The Lower Lights on Friday. The forecast is looking rather bleak which is very disappointing. I'm still hoping for a miracle too.
• Otherwise get ready for the final Rooftop Concert Series show on Friday. I'm excited for the show, but ready to have a bit of a break for a few months.
• Sew living room curtains. I got my fabric in the mail - the in-laws come on Thursday so unfortunately there's no longer time to have someone else sew them. That's ok - nothing fancy - pole pocket & a hem. I can do it. (psyching myself up)
• Celebrate Mom's birthday - I really love living so close to them and getting to see them easily and often.
• Work
• Run
• Sleep
• Probably give up on the thought of getting out to delivery thank you notes to the businesses who donated to the silent auction. That's probably ok, right?

Rachel is excused due to BUSY SEASON (i.e. 90+ hour work weeks)

Annee is excused too (can't remember her reason right now)

Ana is excused due to HAVING A BABY
(hope it's ok to post this picture of beautiful William Todd Zackrison & mama)