Play, Play, Play

Sunday

We gave about 4 minute talks in church because there were four speakers before us. Then we attended our other meetings and had our friends Shawn and Sarah over to dinner.

Monday

The wife of the 2L who lives nearby (Stacy) invited us to go with her and her son to Colonial Williamsburg so that her almost-two-year-old could run around there. It was fun to get to know her and to learn more about what law school will be like since they have a year's worth of experience already.

Tuesday

First, I rode with two expecting mothers (Nancy and Kathleen) to Jamestown to meet three other moms (Stacy, Hailey, and Amber) and wander around the fort. It's older than Williamsburg and, to be honest, there isn't as much to see. There was a sign that said, "This was the home of so-and-so . . ." in front of a lot. Houses are rebuilt in Williamsburg, but some things are just marked in Jamestown. Of course, there was the church and the fort and there was a statue of Pocahontas which would have been a great photo-op if I'd brought my camera. They also think they may have found the very first well built in the settlement (does that mean in the colonies as well?). Also, we went by the museum. Nancy and Kathleen had already been there so I kind of browsed it quickly, but I would go back. The most interesting room was one in which they attempted to recreate faces using skulls they had found. A plaque shared what you suppose about the people from what they knew about the faces. For instance, there was a European woman who was in the fort, and she had been missing most of her teeth for quite a while before she died. They explained that we see this as a sign of poverty (can't afford a dentist), but in their day it was a sign of wealth (could afford sugar). Interesting, huh?

Second, in the evening we attended a birthday party thrown by the woman (Timi) who collected names at the 1L Partner Program last Monday. It was her husband's birthday. The couples in our year are awesome. One of our friends (Liesel) proposed a party game called "celebrity." It was a great ice-breaker. I am looking forward to more socializing with this group in the future. (After we got home, Patrick went to play basketball at the church. They play every Tuesday night at 8:30. He has always wanted a group that was so consistent and at a time that he could attend, and finally it has happened. He comes home sweaty and happy at night. And since it starts around Caleb's bedtime. I end up with a couple hours of "me" time. So everyone wins.)

Wednesday

We stayed home and rested. After all the playing the day before, Caleb hadn't gotten a decent afternoon nap and he fell asleep at the party, so we had just worn him out. I thought a little stability and familiarity for a day would do him some good. We did have our friends Shawn and Sarah over for dinner in the evening. It was good to see them. They are our neighbors. Shawn is just starting school too, so we've all been busy this week.

Thursday

We stayed home most of the day. The morning was amazingly productive: I did laundry, vacuumed, wrote a really important letter, found the mailing address for that letter, got Caleb down for two naps (a short one in the morning and an unexpectedly long one in the afternoon), read my scriptures, exercised, and played with Caleb inside and out. In the afternoon, my friend Melissa came over with her little girl and we had a "play-date" of sorts. Rachel is eight months old, so she and Caleb are sort of at different stages, but they are fun to watch together because I think their temperments are similar-- both explorers, both pretty happy kids. It was good to get to know Melissa better too. It turned out that both of us had started studying American history on our own, so we decided we should do "school" together or something. I'm not entirely sure how that will work out, but it will just be fun to share what we're learning if nothing else.

In the evening, we went to a tour on campus. Three of our couple friends were there, so it was fun to have some friends in the group. One of them had a little girl, so she and Caleb were friendly with each other. She's a lot more chill than Caleb and was content in her stroller much longer, whereas Caleb wanted out of the stroller every time we stopped. It was okay though. Patrick's sweet and isn't all that interested in the history stuff here (not compared to me anyway), so he watched Caleb crawl around in the dust and dirt and I got to listen to the tour guide(s). There was free food at the end, which we were excited about, until we reached the room and it was very nice and not kid-friendly (in the sense that it would have been difficult to get through the line and eat while having a baby among us without making a disaster). So Patrick grabbed me two cookies and said good-bye to our only set of friends who made it to the end, and we headed off to trek back to the law school. All in all, it was a fun event, even if we didn't get the benefit of the free food that we had anticipated. It focused especially on George Wythe, the first lawyer in America. I need to read more him; there seems to be a lot to know. He taught both Thomas Jefferson and John Marshall, so that should show just how much influence he's had on our country without most people even knowing it.

Friday

Well, we'll see. The day has just begun. Sadly, the dog upstairs appears to have been left by his owners and he is howling over us and will probably continue to do so all day. At 10:30 last night, I believe the five-year-old threw a temper tantrum that involved lots of banging and lots of screaming. And to think, she looks so cute when we see her during the daytime. Anyway, we may go swimming, and we will certainly play.

Saturday

There is a LDS grad student get-together organized by Stacy. We will meet the other students in their various years of study at W&M, and in their various programs. It will be good to get to know people a little better, and to meet those that are in the other ward since there are two in the area.

Then in the evening, Patrick's friend Joe is coming over for homemade pizza and videogames. We just learned last Sunday that he was in the area. Patrick hasn't really spent much time with Joe since before his mission, but they were good friends back in Wisconsin. So Patrick is pretty excited.

Summary

We are so busy, and we seem to have the ptential for more friends than we can handle, but, hey, we'll try our best. :) There are just so many good people here. We are looking forward to knowing them better.

And So It Begins

Last week, William & Mary had orientation week for the first year law students, so Patrick officially got acquainted with the law program, the law building, the law professors, his "law firm," and other law students. On Monday night there was a "partner program" for significant others to go to, so I went and we got to meet the other couples. There were about 10 couples who showed up I would say; four were LDS; three of the LDS couples had kids (none of the non-LDS couples had kids). Most of the other couples have been married quite recently. One was as recent as two weeks ago, one was two months ago, and one was a year; I'm not sure about the others. So we are in the funny situation of no longer being "the norm," as we were in Provo. The other couples all seem wonderfully nice. One woman took the initiative to get names and contact information and is planning a get-together soon.

As for me, I began my stay-at-homedness . . . or began it again since I have done it all along but haven't done it alone for quite awhile. Last week was a little difficult. And the reason why is sort of funny -- I read a parenting book and it made me feel like I was not a very good parent and Caleb was naturally a very good baby but had gone awry because of my bad training. This made for one particularly bad day. However, since I decided that was not useful for either of us, I have put the book aside. I think it has some good points, but if I measure myself against her (the author's) ideal parent, I will not feel good about myself. I may read it, but only in small doses so I don't get overwhelmed or down on myself and Caleb (who really is a wonderful kid). My thought is that I am too permisive sometimes and am not consistent enough. However, my mom gave me some wonderful counsel (which the author actually encouraged too) and that was to talk talk talk to my kid. At least if I explain what's going on in my mind all along he'll have good language skills and know that I'm trying, right?

So instead of reading parenting books, I am reading books on Williamsburg. Did you know that before it was established as a city, it was a settlement called "Middle Plantation"? And have you heard about the Bacon Rebelion where Nathaniel Bacon raised the people against a negligent governor (negligent because he wasn't protecting the people against the Native Americans)? And during the course of that rebellion, Jamestown was burned down and then later the new state house in Jamestown burned down again so Williamsburg was established as a more hopeful settlement (named for the king)? And just before that city was agreed upon, the king and queen granted a charter for the founding of a college to be named in their honor? And did you know that William & Mary is the second college in the English colonies (Harvard College being the first), and the first with royal support? And did you know that it was funded both by the crown and by pirates in prison hoping to get out (though the book didn't explain how contributing to the college would help them get out of prison in Britain)? And, furthermore, did you know that the plans for the college were made by Sir Christopher Wren who also drew the plans for St. Paul's Cathedral in London? I guess the real question probably is, do you even care? I do!

Besides playing with Caleb, and reading, I am also making plans with other wives and moms. We have a "play-date" planned with one other mom and her daughter on Thursday. Then I hope to invite an expecting mother over to hang out on Tuesday. There's another mom who I would like to spend more time with as well (her daughter being just about a month older than Caleb). It turns out that there is another little family in our complex who are LDS, the husband being an L2. Then besides all this socialization, I've made a commitment to write more, which is a wonderful commitment to make, and should be easier to do because I have a table that's all mine in the bedroom and I don't plan to hook up to the Internet there. Finally, there is also housework . . . of course. There are dishes (did I mention that I am actually not that fond of dishwashers in general though I am using this one?), and there are floors to clean, clothes to wash and put away, meals to make, groceries to buy, and all sorts of other wonderful things like that. Oh, and two other things on my list of things to do are 1.) make a precise budget and 2.) exercise more. Yes, I am thinking that in the course of all this trippin' and travelin' I have gotten out of shape. Besides which, with my baby approaching a year and complete weaning, I can no longer rely on nursing to keep my weight down (which it did beautifully). So, there is plenty to do and I should never be bored.

"You Have Arrived!"

That is what our GPS said to us on Saturday: "You have arrived." Here we are in beautiful Williamsburg, and already we love it. We have been delighted by how friendly people are and how many families there are in the area. Also, we have already checked out the law building at William & Mary and the professors were friendly and introduced themselves to us and the building is very nice. Our LDS bishop also came by and spent an hour visiting with us and just being generally great by answering our questions and giving us some counsel. As far as the history, well, we went to the shops at Colonial Williamsburg and plan to tour the historic area more this week. The weather is familiar to us because it's hot and humid and that's what we grew up with. I've realized in my vast experience (i.e. living in dry and living in humid) that I really prefer moisture in the air; I like humidity. In my experience talking to other people, this view is unusual, but it is true for me anyway even if it isn't popular.

As far as moving in, we have been fortunate to get in and get set up in about a week. We could only do this so quickly because my in-laws came down (bringing a few more things with them that my parents had been storing) and they helped watch Caleb and run errands so that we could get all set up. Also, they brought their van, so when we found a couch for $60 at the thrift store DAV (Disables American Veterans), we could use their van to bring it home. This is the first actual couch (rather than a futon) that we have owned in our marriage-- and it only cost us $60, pretty sweet! We loved having Patrick's parents here and I think they had a good time being here and seeing the sights, but we are also looking forward to settling into our bedrooms and into our own routine. We miss those we love back in Utah, but in general, life is sweet and we are happy.

Goodbye, Daniel and Michelle and your family

Goodbye, Libby and your family

Goodbye, Brother Brigham and all things offered by your university.

Hello, Mr. Jefferson and your beautiful capital

Hello, Grandpa, and thanks for coming to help us

Hello, Grandma, and thanks for carrying couches, assembling bookshelves, making meals, and everything else you've done.