And an update on Rachael and Richard

So last night I cut Richard's hair again, and except for going a bit heavy handed on the bangs, I think I did a "bang-up job" with the rest of it. Richard looks pretty handsome, and part of that is his natural good looks of course, but I like to think I just helped to enhance it.

Richard is doing a lot of studying right now. Sometimes he studies for real stuff (he just took the exams and became a "certified fraud examiner") and sometimes he does stuff just for fun (he took a practice LSAT once and got a better score than me). I think he really misses school. He watches Jeopardy almost every night. He thinks it should be called "Easy-pardy" because he gets almost all the questions right (except for the sports questions). So studying helps keep him sharp.

I am running my half marathon this Saturday. Rock on! I am aiming for just over two hours, but we will see how it goes. My 12 miler went pretty well a week ago, so I am hoping for the best. It feels good to race again.

We are continuing to rock "Friday night buffalo chicken pizza and movie night"-- our date night tradition!

It has been the same weather/temperature here in Seattle since January. mid 50 degrees is fine for winter weather, but WHERE IS MY SUMMER? We are both so turned around-- we don't know what time of year it is. I just know that when my sister Carly told me that she had recently gone swimming in St. George, I asked her if it was warm enough for he to be going swimming so early in the year. Its JUNE for goodness sake!

Wicked Wednesday, Thankful Thursday, and other alliterative updates

Beyond pictures, I thought I would tell everyone about some of the non-Anna happenings in the Rose household (amazing, I know, that anything could possibly be as interesting as Anna, but there are a few things)

1. Rachael tried out for the Stake Broadway musical review yesterday by singing an acapella version of "The Wizard and I" from the musical "Wicked." (I was so spastic prior to and after the audition, and maybe a little in the audition itself. I couldn't stop myself from jumping up and down and repeating the phrase "I'm so excited." I found myself becoming best friends with a thirteen year old girl, also waiting for her turn, and she told me all about her life plan including her future wedding and what her bridesmaids would wear. For the last two weeks I have been anticipating this audition and I have sung my audition piece for neighbors, friends, the woman I visit teach, and of course Anna and Richard)

2. Rachael is going to sign up for the Seattle Rock-n-Roll marathon on June 26. (They have bands playing at every mile marker. This will mark my re-entry into the world of competitive races. I found another woman in my ward up here, also a stay at home mom who loves to exercise, who happens to have the same race pace that I do-- the infamous 9 minute mile)

3. Richard is rocking the Audit department at Moss Adams and people are noticing! (Despite the poor rap that "busy season" gets, Richard is doing great at maintaining some balance. we still have dinner together at nights, and he still plays a little with Anna in the morning before he goes to work. Most nights now, he just brings some work home with him, but I appreciate just having him near me)

4. Rachael has found friends by using the tried and true classic line "will you be my friend?" (When you are a grown up, asking someone to be your friend is like asking them out on a date. No joke, I felt like I was having a dtr when I told my new friend Amanda that I enjoyed spending time with her and that I felt we should be good friends and hang out regularly. Tonight we are having girls night ala indoor s'mores with some of the other young moms in our ward. Cool women are everywhere)

5. Rachael is contemplating taking on some legal work part-time. (I would love to just do 5-10 hours a week to keep up my skills, and now that Anna is starting to have more of a routine, I feel that a little work on the side is actually plausible).

6. Yes, my dad did indeed get remarried just before Christmas break. (After being a bachelor for more than 20 years, my father's reign was ended when he married Jeannie Braun. So now I have a new stepmom and three new step siblings. My dad only told us after the fact. I guess you are never too old to elope)

Here is the Thankful Thursday part. I realized yesterday that God has answered all my prayers when it came to my anxiety in moving to Seattle: we are having great weather (honestly, 50 degree days and sunshine half the time), I have made some great new friends, and I am getting involved in activities that make me supremely happy. In addition to that, I have completely fallen in love with my daughter and I really enjoy motherhood. I still have days where a shower doesn't happen and where I still feel discouraged, but those days are coming much farther apart now.