He Did It!

After two months of studying, Bill finished the Idaho Bar exam today!

Sam and I picked him up this afternoon and we went home to relax...

...and do some much needed wrestling.

While he was gone, I busily made this cake. It is the Versatile Vanilla Cake by Martha Stewart using the chocolate variation. I didn't dare attempt the Whipped Frosting, so I used store bought and grated a dark chocolate candy bar on top. I must say, it tasted pretty good.

After dinner, my sisters Ann and Becky and their families came over to surprise Bill and celebrate his great accomplishment.

On another note, this is Sam eating a peach. He sure knows how to make a mess!

Ellison Family Reunion and Other Visits

We spent 10 fun days in Utah visiting lots of family and friends. The first night we stayed with Bill's parents in Logan. Then we drove down to Syracuse to visit Bill's sister, Jacque and her family before going to West Jordan to stay with Bill's other sister, Carrie and her family. We were able to see several friends including my old crew at Smith Barney, my friend Vicki from my Seattle days and Ted, Sarah & Drew Gardiner before my family's reunion began. By Wednesday, all of my siblings and their children had arrived at my parents' house. We had 10 adults, 6 kids and 3 babies under the same roof. It was pretty crazy most of the time, but we had a ball!

Sam handled everything pretty well and got used to his older cousins toting him around and the younger ones mauling him. He even slept through the night and took really great naps almost every day. Here are some of the highlights...

Sam & Drew

Dinner up at Storm Mountain in Big Cottonwood Canyon

Toadally Frogs exhibit at the Utah Museum of Natural History

Sam, Whit & Cael

Sam, Luke & Noah

Sam on the 4th of July up at Brighton Resort

Ann & Cael, Bill & Sam, Whit & Travis

Me, Noah & Rachel walking around Silver Lake

Swimming at the neighbors

Cool Dude

Highlights of the Week

Sam tries a banana for the first time and loves it

He's also mastered the fine art of spitting and usually does it while I'm trying to feed him

On a walk through the pathways in the neighborhood we're renting in

In the middle of the neighborhood is our own mini Central Park

And finally, Sam enjoying his jumper

!

Say Cheese!

We finally got Samuel's pictures taken professionally today. He did a great job, as you can see...

And his most famous expression...

Bring on the solids!

We decided that it was time to start this little guy on solids now that we have a place to sit him up to eat. He took to the rice cereal pretty well.

The peas, however, were not as well received...

My nephew, Noah, is my little shadow when Sam is around and loves to watch him eat...

Sam is loving getting to know his cousins, Noah and Sloane. It's been so fun being back around our families!

Good Bye, New York

I never thought this day would come. Yesterday, after Bill's graduation, we spent most of the day packing up. It's amazing how much we accumulated in such a small apartment. I guess having a baby will do that. Bill picked up the rental car and packed in as much as he could for the drive the today. This morning we woke up early, finished the packing and cleaning and sent Bill off.

Before Sam and I had to leave for the airport this afternoon, we went on one more walk over to Washington Square Park. This whole year, one half of the park, including the famous arch and fountain have been gated off for renovations. This is a picture through the fence. Wouldn't you know that it's scheduled to reopen this Monday. Just my luck!

Our friends, Stephanie and Joshua, were on the same flight as us so we tagged along with them to the airport. That is NOT a quick trip. First, the subway to Penn Station. Second, the LIRR to Jamaica Station. And third, the AirTrain to JFK. An hour and a half later, we boarded the plane only to sit on the runway for 2 hours due to traffic and bad weather. Finally we were off. Sam did pretty well. He had a few little outbursts, including when I had to change his diaper on the top of the toilet because there was no changing table. It was disgusting and I can't even think about it.

We landed an hour late, got picked up by my mom and brother, Dan and headed to my parents house. It's nice to be back in Utah, and I love seeing the mountains, but I still get a little teary when I think of our home for the last nine months. We really had a ball!

Onward and Upward!

He did it! Bill is an official graduate of NYU Law School. He has worked so hard this year and Sam and I are so proud! We love you!

From here, we hope to be heading up to Boise, ID for a job, but won't know for a couple of weeks. Whatever happens, we're ready for another adventure!