The Hazard Chronicles

This week seems to have been a very busy week filled with exciting news and good fortune. That, at least, is how it seems. Reality is that this week hasn't been that much different from the normal routine. This can mean either one of two things: Either we are just imagining that our lives are great in a last-ditch psychological effort to cope with our tired lives, or our lives really are wonderful and every week is full of unforgetable experiences with each upcoming week bringing forth untold amounts of happiness.

The second of these options seems to discribe us perfectly! We love living out here with the changing Fall colors and the nice people, the fun experiences we each have at school or work, and the countless hours we spend just "hanging out" together wondering how things could get any better.

The highlight of the week was the Psi-Omega campout on Friday and Saturday. Psi-Omega (or Psi-O) is a dental school fraternity that I am in and it consists almost entirely of young families (over half of them are LDS) who enjoy having good, clean fun together. We all went to West Branch state park after school on Friday and it was a good way to meet people outside of their "dental student" roles. Rachel had fun holding all the babies that were there and daydreaming of the day that Wiggle Bean will be cooing in her arms. We had cornhole tournaments, which is a strangly popular and competitive version of the bean-bag toss. We took walks by the lake and enjoyed the fresh Autumn air. Overall, it was a very enjoyable weekend.

Also, we finished reading another book. This one, "A Thousand Splendid Suns" was by the same author of "The Kite Runner." We really liked both books, but we both agree that this one was better. Both are heartwrenching stories of Afghanis who go through unimaginable circumstances and somehow find happiness in the end.

Besides that, we have both been busy with school and Rachel has been working. This week she received several complements from her boss and her various teams regarding her mad interpreting skills. She also got a raise-Hooray!

We hope everyone is doing well and we enjoy staying in touch with each of you. Have a great week!

Hey everyone! I (Rachel) thought I would add a few comments about the changes that are happening with Wiggle Bean. On the way to the Psi-O campground I felt Wiggle bean actually kick for the first time (maybe second, but I am not quite sure :). It felt like a tiny finger softly poking me from the inside. Later that night as I was falling asleep, I felt Wiggle Bean actually become active for the first time. I felt little movements all over and this lasted for about three minutes. Since that time I have felt our baby become very active at times when I am very relaxed. I am absolutely loving it! My belly is beginning to expand more rapidly, but is still not noticeable to other people. From the last few days I am beginning to wonder if Wiggle Bean is trying to grow toward my back because I have been having awful backaches. Whatever the case, I am still happy and excited to be pregnant!

I hope everyone has a wonderful week!

Here are some pictures of the state park where we went camping. We forgot to bring the camera, so we aren't in any of them. Sorry.