Happy Birthday Jenna

Jenna and Ami

Happy Birthday to my lil' Sista Jenna who turned the big 14 today! 14 is a BIG birthday in the church....for those that don't know, Jenna now gets to go to church dances. Lucky you.

Matt and I are really into sports right now. The BYU football team is undefeated and is ranked #7 in the national polls. The Phillie's are 2-0 in the playoffs and the Angels are just 'in' the playoffs. The Angels are more of Matt's team and they were doing really well but for some reason they can't beat the Redsocks when it comes to the playoffs. It's only 0-1 so we'll see if they can pull it off.

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Oh so cute story. I called my sister Hailey (age 9) last night to see if they were watching the Phillie's game. (my sister Jenna is a huge fan). So they were but Hailey wasn't really talking so I told her to give the phone to Dad. This is how the convo went:

"Give the phone to Dad."

"Dad's not home, he's at the Phillie's game."

"How did he get a ticket?"

"Um...I think either President Olson or President Uchtdorf had an extra ticket."

"Really Hailey......President Uchtdorf? I didn't know they were such close friends!"

"Yeah, he had an extra ticket for Dad."

"Hailey....he lives in Salt Lake and he is in the First Presidency."

"Oh, well I guess it was President Olson."

She didn't really seemed phased that she had said President Uchtdorf! She was actually thinking of President Coltron (my dad is in the stake presidency with Pres. Olson and Pres. Coltron). I just thought that was kind of funny.

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Oh and a shout out for Twilight: The soundtrack for the movie comes out on Nov. 4th and one of the songs is available to listen to on Stepheniemeyer.com. And if you haven't done it yet, you have to read the rough draft of Midnight Sun, which is also posted on her website. It is Twilight told from Edwards point of view and it is really really good. Ok that is all from me.

A church in Greenwich, CT during autumn.

I just realized tomorrow is the first day of Fall! I am at the point where I'm excited for the cool crisp feel of Fall but I'm not quite ready to let go of the lazy days of Summer. I love Fall out East; the colors of the changing leaves, the pumpkins and hay rides, apple picking and Halloween!

Yesterday the weather was gorgeous. I think it was in the high 60's and not a cloud in the sky! We had planned on heading up to Boston for the weekend but that nasty cold going around found its way to Matt. Instead, we stayed in and watched movies and I spent a lot of money online shopping! It's my new thing. I bought the movie, "Lady In White", it's a 1988 ghost/mystery film about a kid that witnesses a young girl's murder and then befriends the ghost of the girl. Funny enough it's the same kid from "Witness". My Dad loves this movie and showed it to my sisters and me when we were younger. He kept promising us he would rent it again and we would watch it for Halloween. That was 7 years ago and Blockbuster no longer carries it. So I went online and found it on Amazon.com for a pretty good price. I'm going to surprise him with it when we go home in a few weeks. Hope he doesn't read this until after I give it to him. Dad-If you do read this....act surprised!

I found this website, Hulu.com, which features free movies and TV shows. Today I watched Xanadu, loved the music, but don't think I will ever watch it again. IMDB.com also features free movies and TV shows. Something to do when the weather turns for the worst.

Matt and I are going to try for the third time to get up to Boston in October. I think the scenery will be much better and we might just be able to head up to Salem and check out the witch museum!

Greenwich in the Fall.

Match-O-Matic II

The abc website has this fun 'game' that shows you which presidential candidates philosophy fits you best. It has 13 statements on differing issues and you click on the statements you most agree with. Then in the end it shows you which candidates ideas you support. It's fun and educational!
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/MatchoMatic/fullpage?id=5542139

And The Winner Is.......

For all of you who want a chance at Jason from The Bachelorette, you'd better get going. Jason is the new Bachelor and ABC is accepting applications right now! The show premieres in January and I cannot wait. I'm actually kind of surprised he would leave his kid again. I hope he finds what he is looking for.


Let's hope the winner is not another Cheyne........whatever happened to them anyways?

This is the sight I saw Monday night driving back to Connecticut from Queens. What a reminder of the tragedy our country faced seven years ago. But also a reminder of what we have overcome since then. Living so close to NYC has opened my eyes to a whole new 9/11. Every single person, who lived here 7 years ago, I have come in contact with knew someone who died in the twin towers. People don't just talk about 9/11 on the actual date. People talk about 9/11 all of the time. Everyone has their own story of what happened that day.
I remember I was in 2nd period at NPHS. My photography teacher turned on the TV and there on the screen was breaking news that two planes had just crashed into the WTC towers. I remember going into 4th period where my Botany teacher had us watch the news coverage for the entire period. By then the third plane had crashed into the Pentagon. I remember when the news anchor came on and stated that they had just received word that a plane had gone down in PA, just outside of Pittsburgh. And I remember how I felt knowing that my dad had been on a plane to Pittsburgh that very same day. I remember the relief that took over when my mom told me that my dad was ok. I gained a better appreciation for my Dad that day; knowing how I would feel if I lost him. I remember the following days, weeks, months, and now years. I guess what I have taken away from 9/11 is a better appreciation for what I have. I also have such an appreciation for all of the people who risked their lives that day. The firefighters, the police men, the men and women in the towers who stopped to help someone else, the passengers and crew members on the airplanes, and the people in the Pentagon. These Heroes give me hope. They taught me selflessness. They taught me what Christ like love really is. I hope I can always remember the lessons I learned from that day.

BYU vs. Hanna

We attempted to watch the BYU vs. Washington football game tonight. I say attempted because hurricane Hanna had other ideas. We listened to half of the game online and then headed over to our friends house to watch the rest. (we have basic city cable....I know we are the only ones left in the world!) We watched the game until the 4th quarter when the torrential downpour and gusts of wind decided to block the signal. A fellow fan figured out that he had FSN on his optimum cable and so we headed over to his house to finish out the game. So thank you Hanna for making us miss a BYU touchdown and a BYU fumble. btw we won 28-27 boo ya.

End Of Summer

Today is September 1st and it is officially(in my book) the end of Summer. School starts tomorrow (for my sisters) and even though I am just returning to work after a long weekend, it still feels like I am starting something new. We have tried to take advantage of the last few days of warm weather.

Went to Island Beach in Greenwich. You had to take a ferry over to the island.

Matt on the ferry with his awesome hat!

Here is an Eagle at the Elmwood Zoo in Norristown, PA. He was taking a bath and watching the vultures steal his turkey legs.

Hailey and I at the prairie dog exhibit.

The three cats at my mom and dad's home. Gar, Jack, and Toby.

Hailey and I both got our hair cut.

I wanted something new and so I decided to chop it off! Thanks to my BFF Dana who cut it for me!

Went to the park and walked around.

Jenna and I at a Labor Day party.

Dad with his side dish of bruschetta which he assembled!!

And to end with some song lyrics..............
"The summers die one by one how soon they fly on and on."- Les Mis

That is exactly how I feel right now. But summer will be back in about 9 months. So bring on the Winter........but please let those 9 months fly like the wind!

And an FYI: We still don't know what is going on with Matt's job location. Hopefully we will know soon.