Hello!

Just wanted to write you all and let you know how we're doing and what we're doing here in Columbus, partially so I can use this for family history and partially because I still want to feel like you're a part of our lives even though we're so far away.

Monday Chris went to Orientation while Ellie and I (slowly) arranged stuff in the house, including our "ORTON" board that fits really well on the overhang between our living and dining rooms. There was an article in the paper about high foreclosure rates in Franklin county, Ohio and Chris and I decided we couldn't have been more blessed than we were to NOT get that house in Hilliard. That night for family night we rollerbladed on a path that starts north of campus and goes north along the Oletangy river. All along the path are a wetlands preserve and trees and parks. It's beautiful now and I can only imagine how pretty it will be once the fall colors come.

We took over President Christensen's paper route for over a week, and Tuesday was supposed to be our last day, so we spent most of the day rejoicing about that. However, they called from Iowa about 6 PM that night, so we offered to take over for Wednesday as well. Even though we both had delivered papers when we were younger (albeit Chris more than I), I don't think either of us was prepared for this route. It was 111 daily papers with about 25 more paper deliveries on the weekends. The daily papers were as big as a weekend Daily Herald or Tri-City Herald and the Sunday papers with their inserts reminded Chris and I of phone books. They were supposed to be delivered by 6:30 AM, and to make matters worse, you had to go downtown to pick up all the papers yourself. Most mornings, Eric Powell, Pres. C's son-in-law picked them up for us, but on Sunday Chris got up at 3:30 am to go stuff four parts of the paper together and deliver them with a boy from the ward. The other days, I carried Ellie in a backpack and Chris and I split the routes, but with those phone book papers, I don't think I could have carried enough to make my help worthwhile. Needless to say, I doubt we will be taking over President's paper route.

Wednesday Chis started school. His classes seem like they'll be pretty interesting, but a lot of review from his job and the Nuclear Engineering class he took while at BYU. He had class from 8:30-9:28 on MWF, then 2:30-3:18 MWF, and a seminar at 11:00 on Tuesdays with a night class from 5:30-6:18 on M and W. Since we're technically right off of west campus, there's a shuttle that takes him in to his buildings that runs every six minutes, and since he's so close we've had lunch together every day, which I've really enjoyed. Enrichment night Wednesday evening was about organization (talk about timely subjects).

Chris has no classes on Thursday and his advisor was at the temple, so we spent most of the day together until Chris went on campus to find which one of the four (4!!!) OSU bookstores actually carry his schoolbooks. Ellie and I went to storytime at the Upper Arlington library and sang all sorts of songs. She clapped along to "If you're happy and you know it" like a pro –thanks for teaching her that, Jackie and Nicole– as well as making an "itsy-bitsy spider" and screaming "again!" at the end of that song. We also learned that Ellie loves to eat apples while we have to drive long distances in the car (man that would have been nice to know two weeks ago . . .). We drove way down to the edge of our ward in southeastern Columbus to deliver dinner to a woman who'd had kidney stones. By the end of our hour long ride, Ellie had eaten off all of the apple's skin and most of it's flesh as well. She was a sticky mess, but it was a really pleasant car ride.

Friday Ellie and I went for a walk and discovered a nice little park with a tennis court just a few blocks away from our house. There were also three baby swings and a little slide for Ellie to play on. To make it even better, we were under the descent and take-off path for the Columbus airport, so Ellie kept looking up at the sky and saying 'airplane.' It's pretty cute.

Saturday Chris helped a family in the ward move and then came home and watched the OSU-Iowa game on TV with Ellie and I. Chris said he heard cheers from the stadium as he was coming home. We left the house with about 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter in order to go to the most enormous JoAnn's fabric store and buy plastic to protect our dining room table and some vinyl lace to hang in the window in our bathroom. I almost hit an opossum last night coming home from the (wonderful!) Relief Society General Meeting. I think that was the first time I'd ever seen one, and it was in the middle of a big city.

We had dinner with two couples in our ward last Sunday, and one of my old roommates who is going to OSU with her husband is coming over for dessert tonight. I really miss being with all of you for family dinner.

We've yet to see any fireflies, but maybe it's too late in the year for that. Our ward is wonderful, and it's only about a fifteen minute drive to church. The 11-2 schedule is going to be a struggle for Ellie, but it's only for a few more months and then NURSERY!!

We miss you all, and Ellie talks to you constantly on the telephone, although I don't let her actually call as often as she pretends to talk on the phone.

Love,

Rebekah