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things are starting to fall into place for this upcoming year. anna and alexa both moved in this past weekend and school starts today. luckily, i only go tuesday and thursdays, but it will still be time consuming. but at least it is progress. 

saturday was a fun filled day... it was, after all, the last saturday of the summer. dan and i had been wanting to go for a hike, so we rounded up a couple others and hit the trails. squaw peak trail, actually. it was a good hike. we had fun...but it has been determined that dan and i planning hikes is just bad news bears. last time was the jeep fiasco and this time it was two flat tires. luckily the manly men were able to collaborate efforts with les (les schwab mechanic, fondly now known as les) to get this fixed right up. 

we came down off the mountain dirty, itchy, tanned and sore. but guess what (or should i say who) was waiting when i got back?

joely.

i KNEW he was coming. he had not told me that he was coming, in fact, we had been talking the day before and he never mentioned it. he made it sound like we wouldn't be seeing each other for a while. oh that jokester. sadly, he did not bring:

newman. joely's new puppy. i was so sad that he got a dog without me, but then when i saw how cute he was, i totally understood. but it turned into a night flurry of activity when justin and ethan showed up too. it is official, the boys are back in town and i am so happy. i always miss joel but i am so glad that he came for a 24 hour visit and that the others are here to stay.

church was a bit...overwhelming?  i am used to having about 40 people there at the most. but there were about 120 this week. everyone was hopped up on that nervous energy of meeting and impressing new people. there was this constant buzz of hyperness around me. i came home exhausted from all of it. but i am sure it will be....great...

and now, i would like to introduce my friend, the doctor.

good looking man, right? yes i swoon just a little (i blame it on the cardigan). but really, he is one of my favorite people to talk to. sucky part is that he goes to med school in ohio... so our interaction is pretty limited to cyberspace and our 10 page emails. one reason i mention him, he has recently started a book collection. and by collection, i mean that he has amazoned everything that i have recommended to him. this is the picture that he sent to me last night.

this was in comparison to the picture i posted last week:

he is a minimalist. but well on his way. i find myself very excited over the literary achievements of others.
and um, he is cute. and nice. and smart. and funny. and stuff.