Someday we won't have to play catch up every time we edit this blog, but for now, we're going to have to recap the last four months.
SEPTEMBERSeptember was a social month for us. UCD started up at the end of the month, so all of our college-aged friends came back to town. We busied ourselves with prosecuting and teaching during the week, and filled our weekends with ice cream socials, pizza parties, nerts, and volleyball games.
Sam and Carie eating lots of ice cream at the Gladdings'. 
Shiloh and friends at a UCD volleyball game. 
Here is Sam with the Jarvi and Natalie, trying to look like they know how to make pizza.
OCTOBER In October, we realized that we couldn't have our cake and eat it, too. We needed to fit sleep into our schedule somehow, especially with a myriad of intramural sports crowding the precious hours between work and bedtime. Weekends remained cherished times; among them were a Mt. Hermon retreat, Apple Hill trip, Pumpkin Patch visit, AIA Girls' retreat, UCD football games, and of course, a Halloween celebration with FBC's Young Marrieds' Class.
Apple Hill - Mike, Shi, Sam, Nat, Justin.
Coed Flag Football.
Farmers. Happy Halloween.
Mt. Hermon FOG retreat.November was eventful - Sarah turned 30, and Bethany threw a humonstrous party for her , where everyone was decked out in red and bore gifts of Diet Coke and Pickles. Armstrong the Determined (now Luke Samuel Armstrong) was growing rapidly so Bethany had a few baby showers. Nana (Shi's mom's mom) moved from Sac to Davis, but passed away soon after, and we attended her funeral. The Nicholsons and some other friends shared Thanksgiving with the Sorbellos (including Pop-Pop, Shi's dad's dad) in Davis. The annual Kickball Pallooza occurred (Sam is now a 2-time defending champ). And, of course, IMs were in full throttle.
Three Sorbellos and an Armstrong - at her shower.
Shiloh and Jeremiah in an intense game of Chess...at Starbies.
Nana's funeral in Merced.
Team "One Flies Up" - we're bugs, if you can't tell.
December flew by. It was crunch time for Sam at school, giving finals before the students went on break on the 21st. We attended Dan & Justin's first annual Obnoxious Sweater Party and won the door prize for most obnoxious outfits - crafted last-minute by Sam and Jen. The days leading up to Christmas were spent with the Nicholsons in Atherton. We did a lot of hiking - Stanford Dish, Windy Hill, and Stanford campus. Christmas night we returned to Davis for some Sorbello family time and one day of "down time" before Shiloh had to return to work...though when he arrived on Wednesday, he found that he didn't have to be there after all - National Day of Mourning for Gerald Ford. On New Year's Eve we helped out with FBC's Youth Group, which hosted "The BASH" for Davis kids and had a lot of fun watching lip syncs and playing DDR ("Dance Dance Revolution" for folks that don't hang out with junior high students).
Ugliest sweaters in town.
Christmas Card
Shi and Dan Rowe at the BASH.
