October a beautiful month here in Virginia! The colors here are so vibrant! Back home, the hues are more light orange and soft reds. Here in Virginia, they are like neon yellow, orange and deep maroon, mixed with all shades of yellows and greens. It lasts FOREVER! Like months... If it wasn't for me being close to delivery, I may have tried taking some better pictures of it! I will regret that someday as the memory fades. Martin flew all across the country for interviews. Before he left we took a family bike ride ( I waddled behind) on our favorite Huckleberry trail just behind out house. It was a beautiful crisp conference weekend. We enjoyed listening as a family before Martin took off for California. He interviewed at two schools, but had invitations to over five so far.
We were sad to see him off, not only because he was going to be gone, but partly because I was hoping I didn't go into labor while he was 2,000 miles away! 
By the time he got home he had two acceptance letters in the mail. he is hard working and very committed to this! We have a lot of big decisions to make in the near future. It is comforting to know that we are happy with every option on the table as of yet.
Softball
Audrie enjoyed her first season of softball...(kind-of, I think she enjoy learning that she doesn't quite enjoy it) But that girls is such a good sport. Even though she didn't find it the most entertaining, she still got out there every practice and every game and did her best! There was one game where the 9 year old girl could have easily competed well in high school, she was a beast at the pitchers mound, grunt and all. With my experience I was even a bit intimidated! I told Audrie to swing at every single pitch, no matter what... and that girl was the only one on her team to get a piece of the ball! We were all smiling. It was fun watching, and she always had the biggest cheering section out of everyone! Her favorite was stealing the bases, she was the first to steal home on her team, and had the entire crowd and her team cheering so loud! She did love that aspect of it!
Because Martin was at school so often, It was up to me to lug everyone around to the games, Carlee got the most creative in keeping herself entertained!
Joe's Pumpkin Patch
I was able to take the kids to a really fun and beautiful pumpkin patch with my last burst of energy, All the scenery here is seriously out of a movie. It is all so beautiful, with dots of white farm houses and livestock everywhere. The people are as equally nice and genuine. Joe's is about a 35 minuet drive from our house. They offered a hay ride up and over the hill to where they planted the pumpkins. We ended up running into a few families in our ward and had a really fun time. The weather is always so perfect it seems. The kids loved playing on the hay bails and panning for gems!
Hokie Bug Fest
Andrue and Martin had been collecting bugs since we arrived here in Blacksburg. Andrue will tell you that the best part of moving here are all the bugs. I could argue that one, but it has been his saving grace as it has distracted him from the hardness of new things. He worked hard with his Dad and decided to enter the Hokie Bug Fest, put on by the Virginia Tech Entomology department. He was the youngest to enter the competition. They were judged on their variety, their proper use of the latin names as well as the official names, their varieties and their display. Martin did help quite a bit, but Andrue won first place! He felt very proud. (I need a picture of Martin and Andrue with their impressive bug collection!) All the time, leading up to D-Day!I just had to laugh at my self many times as I waddled from event to event with all my little ducks in a row.
Date Night
Martin and I do NOT get out much... AT ALL. But we have made some kind friends in our ward who offered to watch our kids for us so we could have our first and last date before Baby B came! We were pretty spontaneous and just drove until we found The Social House Right on campus. It as DELICIOUS. We had a fun time just chatting and talking, mostly about school and what our options are and what things we want out of his education, but it was still a great time away.
Drum Roll Please....
She's Here!!
Baby B arrived on Back to the Future Day! We considered naming her Marty after Marty McFly, and her dad, but somehow that got vetoed! The entire process was quite strange to me. Never before had I been so far from family and close friends whom I knew well. For the first time I really felt like We were "on our own". As scary as that sounds, it really is semi liberating because you then discover how much you can actually do! Not that you want to, but that it is possible. I woke up to the sound of my pandora alarm clock at 5 am. Got up and out of bed, hopped in the shower, got ready, (YES! I got ready, makeup, hair...I was a rock star, with no pictures to prove it!) I woke up Martin, we talked, He gave me a blessing, and I grabbed the keys and drove myself the mile to the hospital, checked in and get settled in my new "prison" to be for the next 3 days! I am sure it is not healthy to be in one room for so long. Nurses were in and out all morning. I finally was given pitocin and I called martin to come join me. Our wonderful Landlords came to the house to be with the kids, they played with them and even did their school routine with them! Martin came, and did homework on the couch and took breaks to hold my hand during the epidural and for the delivery.
I have awful luck with epidurals, and should give up entirely. I never lost feeling of my legs, and deductive logic can enlighten you as to the rest of the afternoon. Before too long I was, for the first time during a labor, "verbal". Again, you can use your logic here. Feel free to be creative. You might not be too far off. I remember the doctor coming in and saying how fast this was moving along, that the quickness might be way it was so painful...humph, maybe? I also remember her at one point saying, "wanna take a break? It's ok, take a breath, and take a break!" Are you kidding me? How can you take a break? NEVER! Get this baby out! And then there she was, laying on my chest, as I felt like I might pass out, in all seriousness. The room was spinning and I felt like I have never felt before. But there she was crying, helping bring me back to reality. Baby B was skin to skin for the first five hours of her life, and nursed well within the first 5 minuets of life. It was miraculous. Martin took off shortly after to get the kids, and I was left in the room all alone with her until Martin came back with the rest of the rascals. They were in love.
I spent the next 2 days cooped up in that room, dying to get out, but thankful that I had so much time with her...in the quiet! But the quiet soon became way too loud for me.
We struggled coming up with a name, And finally ended naming her Emmeline Bonnie.
One Week
Just because.
I want to remember one day that her foot was nearly the size of my finger.
I already can't believe it.
Thank goodness for Family. Always looking out for ya. need a doll for comfort? I've got that for ya!
That doll was a long as she was!
HALLOWEEN!
At this point I have 10 day old baby. My kids (ahem...I) had been working on their costumes for two weeks now and couldn't wait to get out and enjoy all their candy! Martin is stuck at school with finals and projects to work on. Needless to say my kids were bouncing off the walls to celebrate with some new friends. Martin couldn't pull away, so I bravely left the babe by his side to let them make some fun memories for a few hours. I am glad I did, cause we all had a blast!
Maybe 3/4ths of the group...we couldn't get everyone to sit down! The Kachers hosted the party with pumpkin shaped pizza, and lots of "creepy" side dishes! The Hornes and Killpacks joined the party.
Audrie the Avatar stayed in character almost all week, carlee loved being Disgust from Inside Out...although for the next activity, she insisted on being a princess... I was kinda sad about that...I loved her costume! And Andrue was a rough and tough cowboy...wearing my cowboy outfit I wore when I was just older than him. I believe it was the first time I saved to buy something! My neighborhood friend had one, and We just had to match, although his was black. Oh the memories running around the streets of bountiful!
Grandma Jill
Just before the clock struck midnight, Grandma Jill flies in and saves the day!!
(I think being a new mom, even if for the 5th time, catches you off guard on so many levels... These were the best and only pictures I have. I am not even going to take the time to edit them to make them look better. The kids are cute enough to make up for the bad quality. Right?)
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