"So, do you want to teach with that?"

My dear brainiac of a husband is a physics major. An acoustical physics major, to be exact. The most common question we get after stating his field of study is something along the lines of, "So, do you want to teach then?" I think the assumption is that his field of research seems very particular, and so the only thing you could really do with it career-wise is pass on the information to the next batch of college students, who will then do the same.

This assumption is very incorrect.

I understand though, because I barely even knew what physics was when we started dating, and practically failed that section of science in college.

So, let me enlighten you on the topic of Acoustical Physics, or in other words, the study of sound.

In a nutshell, Brent studies sound waves. Here are just some professions that depend on the study of sound waves--some recognizable, others more obscure but still needed:

Hey Caleb! (Thanks sound waves!)

Ultrasound research. You can thank sound waves for the ability to look at your unborn baby.
Lithotripsies. Kidney stones, BE GONE!
Designers of jets, planes, etc. They need to conform to local noise laws, among other things. So yeah, it really is rocket science.
Consultants for building structures. Did you know an acoustical consultant was needed in order to build the LDS Conference Center? Otherwise, the people in the back row would hear the speaker at a much different time than the people in the front row, if at all.
Government lab workers. If I told you what they did, I would have to kill you.
Laptop designers. Mac hires acoustical physicists to make sure your laptop's fan isn't too loud.
Oceanography peeps. Unda' da sea sound waves are much more effective in locating stuff down on de ocean floor than anything else.
Hearing Aid researcher. For obvious reasons. What did you say? What? Come again?

Of course being a professor would be included in this list, but it is far from the only job option. Brent would one day like to teach, but he would rather be in a field that applied the research first. Some things that Brent has done with his research is studying if it is possible to cancel out sound waves from snoring (sorry, he found out we can't) as well as using sound waves to find cracks in metal containers and concrete (useful because the containers contained nuclear waste and you don't want to mess with that). He also took measurements on an F-35 so they could understand what to do to abide by noise laws in the area that the plane would end up in. He will be spending most of his degree focusing on that last one.

Other fun facts learned from acoustical physics:
1. when you hear a babbling brook, you are really hearing bubbles. Pour yourself a glass of water--when you can hear the water, it's because of bubbles. No sound? No bubbles. Try it!
2. You can levitate small objects with sound
3. Also, this video that gives a good visual of sound waves (Art meets science!!):

We could really end up anywhere, from California studying the ocean, to Denver working for Lockheed Martin, or Ohio working for Air Force, to Alaska studying volcanic noise, to one of the several government labs located throughout the country. The nice thing is though, Brent will have a job secured by the time he graduates in four years. We're crossing our fingers for somewhere in either Southern California or the Denver area so we can be close to family. But who knows!

In the meantime, I actually will be teaching. Art, not science. And from my house, not at a school. I'm excited!

The latest happenings in the Reich-family, including a failed camping attempt, Cascade Springs, and a Confession

My baby turns 7 months old tomorrow. I can hardly believe it. I absolutely love being a mom. It can have its moments, for sure, but like my mom says, "You're trading pennies for dollars," and I have found that to be absolutely true. We feel so lucky that we got this sweet little spirit for our first. The rest of our children will probably seem really challenging haha.

So, our life hasn't exactly been exciting these last several weeks, but we did do a couple of fun things. Like attempting to camp in the backyard. We tried to make s'mores indoors, which proved to be a messy yet delicious experience. We had hot dogs for dinner, naturally, and then watched a movie, Bedazzled, in our tent. Unfortunately, we did not have sleeping bags or pads, and despite our best efforts, we were cold and uncomfortable, and Caleb was not happy about the different sleeping arrangements. At about three in the morning we were like, "Forget this" and went inside where we joyfully snuggled into our deliciously warm bed. I would like to give Mattress Firm a special shout out for selling us the world's most comfortable bed.

Brent says that he never knows what to do in pictures, so he just holds things,

IBC....mmmmm

We also made a trip to Cascade Springs, which to me is one the prettiest places in this part of Utah. If you live in Utah and have never been, GO. The drive is long, but beautiful. Drive past Sundance, pay at the tollbooth, then drive another half hour following the signs. Don't forget to look for deer! We went to Cascade springs right when we had started dating. We actually knew already that we were going to get married, but didn't post any of the pictures then because they sort of looked like engagement pictures haha. But now I will shamelessly post a few pictures from this year's trip. Unfortunately, I couldn't get a great picture of the cool little snake I found. 

How can you not love that face? 

This spring just comes right out of the mountain--no direct waterfalls make it!

A rare photo of me that I like enough to post

My darling boys

Pictures really don't do this justice. Seriously, go to this place.

A couple weeks ago I substituted for a private art class for one of my friends who I roomed with when I did my study abroad in Italy. Only one student showed up, and she came twenty minutes late (which was making me really worried!) but it was still so much fun. I have been trying to work up the courage to start my own private classes once or twice a week. We are blessed with enough space in our apartment to have a studio for me, and I've cleared it out so I can add some more easels for students.

Last Sunday our ward did a "Neighborhood Gallery Stroll" at which artistic people in the ward set out their artsy things in their yard (or let people wander through their house) and everyone else walked by and admired your pieces and said the nicest things. I included an etch-a-sketch piece with along with my paintings, along with a teeny etch-a-sketch for kids to play with, which was a big hit. This event also made me want to start classes, as a couple of parents expressed interest on behalf of their children. I just need to make the jump! Encouraging words will be very welcome...

Other summer doings: we go on lots of walks, have spent some time swimming with friends, and today we made it to Seven Peaks, which, astonishingly, I had never been to in all of my years of living here. I can't speak for Caleb, but Brent and I had a blast. Although I did find that going on the scary steep slides make me feel super old, and weren't worth the super wedgies and enemas. (But thanks for cleaning out my intestines anyway.) Caleb's crab hat that we found at Kohl's was a big hit. As for Caleb, he wasn't complaining, but he definitely wasn't smiling in the water, which was just a little too cold for him to enjoy. We are really determined to have our children enjoy the water though, so we are working with him lots in this area. :)

Is this not the most adorable thing you have ever seen? Let the "Crabby Caleb" jokes begin.

Now it's time for a confession. I am getting really ansty from living in Provo for so long. I have spent about 8 years in Provo now (also spent 6 years in Salt Lake), and mentally, I am so done. I love the people here. I love my ward. I love my friends that are here. I love that I have been around so much family. But I hate the "bubble." I hate the winter, which I have come to dread every year (yes, I know, that most states have lots of snow in the winter). I hate the drivers. I hate being surrounded by college students who think they know everything but know nothing, especially now that I am in the next stage of my life. I am tired of Provo hipsters. And I am just ready for something new. Thank heavens we spent last summer in New Mexico, because that was really wonderful, and helped recharge my batteries. But we have FOUR more years left. I know I will miss it when we do leave. But four years sounds so very long right now. And my closest friends are moving away, which makes me so very sad...and ever so slightly envious. So I am begging you, if you have any suggestions of fun things to do in Utah that are baby-friendly, please comment for my sanity. Especially you Utah residents who really know this place. This is my SOS call.

Hope you are all having lovely summers wherever you are! 

7 months and pictures from our photoshoot!

Caleb! Closer to one than birth now. You are getting so big! At least, that's what everyone says--I forget how big you've gotten until I see pictures of your newborn self or see newborns now. You have developed so much! Pureed fruit is a favorite now, but putting vegetables in your mouth is medieval torture, or so it seems.

You are so super strong! You sit up great, do pull-ups on your bouncer (probably better at pull-ups than your mom!), and you roll around like crazy. You have all the skills for crawling--you just haven't figured out that you want to crawl yet. Once you do though, you'll be keeping mama a whole lot busier!

You love going outside, and have since you were born. If it's a hard day, going outside seems to be the cure. When we go outside I give you a tour of the yard... "Here is the apple tree, see all those apples?" Usually you try to eat the leaves, but your cruel mom always stops you. Thankfully you don't get mad when I do.

You love playing peek-a-boo with your daddy, which just melts my heart. You have become so interactive! When in the right mood you are very ticklish and in my opinion, you have THE cutest giggle on the face of the planet. You also still love sitting at the keyboard on a parent's lap to bang on the piano. We have discovered that our keyboard can do a lot of things we didn't know about because of this haha.

Our bedtime routine has become a favorite part of my day. Dinner of solids and a bottle, bath time (which you still love, and has become much easier now that you can sit up), a story, lights out, some songs (usually Primary songs, You are My Sunshine, Baby Mine, and Hush Little Baby), then a kiss and into the crib. You sleep from about 8:15 at night to sometime between 7 and 8 in the morning. HALLELUJAH. You are not a great napper, but you're not that cranky so we don't worry too much about it--we just make sure that you do get your naps, even if they are short.

You are also the world's loudest belching and tooting baby. But really. When I was getting set apart for my calling on Sunday, you belched so loudly and grossly that I almost lost it. The Bishop probably thought I was crying because I was shaking so much!

You are at such a fun age--so interactive, sitting up, able to hold your own bottle, but not mobile yet! Haha. But we really do look forward to each milestone...even the ones that will keep your parents busier!

We had a super fun photo shoot last week, and this time you didn't pee on the sheets, so thank you.

The Three Bares

Rubber duckies are just bath time pacifiers, right?

Social Media Decisions

So, I recently made a decision to remove Facebook and Pinterest from my phone. And seriously, my levels of happiness have increased. But now I think I've decided to make some more social media rules. Like you, I get the occasional friend request from someone I only sort of know. Sometimes I feel guilty because I wonder if they remember me better than I remember them so I add them. But why?? Also, I get lots of requests from latinos, who have a whole different Facebook culture in which they love adding people that they don't know but would like to. But in a cyber world where I feel like I don't have as much privacy as I wish I did, I've decided to make some decisions, or rules.

Facebook "friends" to delete:

1. If I wouldn't say hi to you when passing you in a hall
2. You post things constantly that make me mad. Call me intolerant, but if I wouldn't be your friend in real life, then why in the world would I be your friend online?
3. You seem dishonest. Oh but what about giving people second chances? Sorry, but I don't want to trust you with the part of my life I put online, because I don't know what you'll do with that information. Maybe I'm paranoid, but whatever.
4. If I realize I am not interested in constantly keeping up with your life. I will leave that to High School and mission reunions.
5. You will not desist in inviting me to play games, and especially so if that is our only interaction online.

Should I add anything else?

I would like my Facebook life to be limited to people I actually sort of like. I actually do like most people, but sometimes things people do online make me really not like them as much. I also don't know whose news feeds I show up on, and as nice as it is to have my status and pictures "liked" by lots of people, I don't need or want it showing up for EVERYONE I know to see my life. If you are reading my blog, you are obviously not a person I would de-friend on Facebook, because we are probably actually friends in real life.

Sorry if that sounded rant-y. Time to purge my Facebook.

Half Birthday!

Caleb! You are 6 months old! Okay actually that was a few weeks ago already. This post is super late because 1) I'm not on top of things and 2) the internet gave out for almost 2 weeks. You know, I thought I would be that kind of mom that would take a cute picture of my baby each month with a cute colorful sticker with the number of the coordinating month... and then I quickly realized that there is no way I could remember to do that for all of my children, and then the left out children would be sad. So, yeah. Anyway... I don't have a great picture of Caleb from his exact half birthday, but these pictures are all around that time.

Caleb you can now sit up without any support which is SO awesome. You are so interactive, and although you've been a teensy bit grumpier than usual, you are usually calm and happy about life. Eating solids has been a bit of a battle, but it's getting better! Your teething toy is your favorite object in the whole world. At your 6 month check-up you were in the 91st percentile for height but only around the 41st for weight. You are our little string bean! You do great with strangers, but church has become much more difficult. It is standard to make your mom sit out of at least one meeting at risk of yelling loudly for all to hear. You love to grab things (especially Mommy's hair!) and your favorite activities are sitting at the keyboard and going on walks. Least favorite seems to be sitting in the grocery cart. We will work on that one so Mom doesn't have to carry you in one arm and push the cart with the other again.

Matching bow ties. I die.

 You are also sleeping solidly through the night most nights! Woooo! But you also decided that you are DONE with the whole nursing thing, which makes me a little bit sad, but we feel like we at least gave you a great start. I will say, though, your diapers are 1000000x stinkier though as a result.

Caleb you are an absolute delight and your parents think you are just about the cutest thing in the whole wide world.

Those eyes. Be still my heart.

Just found these Bridal Veil pictures that were actually taken on his 6-month birthday. Happy half birthday Caleb!

Arizona trip (mostly pictures)

I wanted to post this sooner, but halfway through writing it, my internet decided it hated me for about a week and a half. Why does bad internet make us so grouchy??

Anyway, sorry for that whiny last post. This one won't be as whiny.

We have already been having quite the summer. Brent had an Acoustical Society of America (ASA) meeting in Rhode Island the first week of May, and I hadn't seen my sister Kathryn since August so I went to go see her. That meant flying with Caleb by myself for the first time. Oh man. I was so anxious about it that I only got about three hours of sleep the night before. Luckily it all went really well. My other sister Laura was a sweetie and helped get us to the airport. Unfortunately our flight was delayed indefinitely (ended up being a couple hours) and that was frustrating. Also, Caleb peed through all of his clothes during the flight. Luckily, I was smart enough to get an aisle seat close to the bathroom should a diaper change need to happen. Unfortunately, the seatbelt sign was on because of turbulence, and had no signs of turning off. I did not want to hold a wet baby for an hour, so I asked the flight attendant if I could use the bathroom to change a diaper. She said, "If you ask, I have to tell you no. But the door's unlocked and I don't tackle." She was awesome. While in the bathroom I heard the pilot announce that we were flying over Zion's Park, and I was so disappointed that I would miss it. But when I got out, we were over the Grand Canyon! Let me tell you, a bird's eye view of the Grand Canyon is stunning. The guy in the window seat even moved so I could sit there and enjoy the view. Super kudos to him because he also helped me make a bottle for Caleb (it's really hard to make a bottle for a baby when you are holding said baby and there are no flat surfaces available). 

My sweet little traveler (outfit #2)

Once we got there, everything was great! Kathryn hosted a fun Cinco de Mayo party with Cafe Rio pork that she made herself! We went on a hike, talked tons, and even took Caleb to a pool for his first time!

He wasn't a huge fan of the cold water.

But once he was warm he cheered up to his usual happy self

Love that little goober. But I cannot believe that I forgot to actually get a picture with Kathryn. So dumb of me. Ugh. Caleb also got to meet his second cousin! My cousin also lives in Arizona and we hadn't even met each others' babies, who were only born a week apart. So cousin Kelsey came over with baby Henry and we got to gush over our babies and we all ate ebilskievers (which I have no idea to actually spell). Fortunately the babies weren't very mobile. They seemed more interested in grabbing each other's faces. Caleb in particular really wanted to grab a chunk of Henry. Naughty boy.

The trip went by way to quickly.  Fortunately, the flight back wasn't delayed. But there was a man dressed as a woman in our aisle, which made things interesting. The stewardess was super nice and told me to let her know if I needed anything, and that if Caleb got fussy and people got mad, then she would deal with them. She added that adults were worse than the babies, which I totally believe. There was also a very kind lady who asked if she could help me on and off the plane. Yay for nice people!