Me and My Kiddos

When Nate was growing up Mary made a point each year to take each kid shopping for the new school year. This was one on one time with her and something that he remembers fondly. This year I did the first annual shopping and ice cream date with my kids. It was so fun and the kids really looked forward to the date.


Ben and I had a good time. We shopped at Kohl's and then went to get ice cream at Cold Stone. The thing I remember especially about Ben and my date was that Ben asked me if we could go on a walk and eat our ice cream. So we drove to the Temple and walked around the block while we ate our ice cream. It was super fun to listen to Ben and just hear his brain working. Ben is a deep thinker. His brain is always running and trying to figure things out. It was really important to him that we had a special and memorable time together...which made it memorable to me. :)


Rachel and I had a great time. Rachel is getting older...soon to be 8. She is starting to be interested in bigger girl things. In fact, just recently her and I went to a movie. "The Big Miracle". I was afraid the movie was going to be too boring for her with no cartoon characters or talking animals. Instead, we had a fabulous time together and talked about the movie afterward.
Anyway, when we went shopping I tried to be pretty open to anything she wanted. We shopped at three stores and she picked out a cute little wardrobe the the start of school. Afterward we went to cold stone. We sat outside and enjoyed the warm evening breeze.



My night out with Emily was super fun. Emily is a bubbly, relaxed girl with no worries. She goes with the punches and just doesn't let much get her down. When she has a private audience she talks a bunch and it is so fun to find out what interests her. She didn't care a whole lot about the shopping. We went to
Old Navy and picked out a bunch of shirts. Then she was ready for the ice cream part of our date. We tested out Maggie Moos. I loved every minute.

I am so glad Nate suggested this tradition to me. It was super awesome last year and my kids are already asking when we are going to get to do it again.

BYU with #1

One of the super fun things we have gotten to do since moving to Utah County is attend some BYU games. Nate had a season ticket with his Dad and Ryan so they swapped seats for a few games and Nate was able to take Ben and Rachel to a football game. He actually had a ticket for Emily to go to a football game too...but with the new ESPN schedule and the late night cold games...Emily opted to wait and go to a basketball game instead. Who could blame her? :)

Anyway, we also caught a basketball game as a family on New Year's Eve because tickets were cheap, cheap, cheap. :) We had fun. The kids love the one on one time with Nathan. Each kid got to bring home a little souvenir from the game they went to with Dad...I insisted that I should get one too, so I brought home a cute BYU beanie. Hopefully we will get to enjoy this tradition for years to come. Dad is #1...at least that is what everyone else seems to think.


Emily got that giant cup which she insists on using as her night time drinking cup. :)

I got to go to the best game of the basketball season...BYU vs. Bailor. We lost...just barely and it was a really exciting game.

Working 9 to 5...or something like that.

So, I guess I have just decided to input whatever I feel like inputting in this here blog. We'll start with the new job. Nate has now been with Parker Hannifin for almost 2 months. He is super busy and they have his running in different directions all the time. He says he needs to improve his organization and prioritizing skills. They currently have him working on machine designs for some new areas of the plant that are supposed to be "examples" of what they want the rest of the plant to eventually become. They give him an idea of a machine they want and then all trouble shoot it together to refine the idea. Nate says "It's awesome." I made him say that though. :) He actually does really like his new job...though it is a bit stressful some days. The job is giving Nate a chance to expand his mind. ;) Parker is a super great company to work for so far.

I am still with Utah Virtual Academy. I am working on my third year with them. I love my job but it has gotten much more complicated since Sarah started crawling. :) She is into everything. This year I teach math and writing to 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders who have Special Education services. My students are so great and such a fun age. They are also hilarious and love to share little tidbits about their lives. I generally wake up early and work an hour or two before I get the kids get up. The hard part is the days when I can't work from home. Lately it seems like I have to be gone 3 or 4 days every month. I know, that's nothing. However, it always feels stressful on those days. This last week I had a particularly trying morning. I had to drive to Layton to help administer the DWA(Direct Writing Assessment) to about 70 students who would be meeting us at the Weber Davis Campus to complete their testing. Anyway, it was really important for me to be there and be on time. Rachel woke up crying and feeling anxious about me leaving. I couldn't get her to relax and I couldn't stay home so I just left. My mother in law was on her way to the house and I figured Rachel would stop crying before she got there. However, about 20 minutes later I noticed I had a couple of missed calls. When I called back Rachel was still upset. I had to bribe her with a Mom / Rachel movie night to help her calm down. After I got off the phone I was kind of depressed at first and then I realized how blessed I am to only have to do these things occasionally. I am so thankful I don't have to get up and leave the kids every morning. I am so thankful I get to be around to make them breakfast and send them off to school. I am so thankful that Emily, Sarah, and I are together almost every day...even though some of those days are tortuously boring for little Emily. Juggling mother and teacher is tricky and totally unsuccessful some days...but I am glad to keep doing it to keep being able to be there at a moments notice for my kids. :)

So, working 9 to 5, day after day. We'll keep doing it for years to come. :) We'll be doing it for years to come...so I guess it is not really front page news. HAHA. :)

Dear Blog...

Dear Blog,
I am really behind on all of my family history. So much is happening all of the time I don't even know where to start. I could start from today and just try to do better...but then I miss out on all the great things that have happened over the last year. I could start from where I left off and hope to catch up on everything...but I probably won't be successful and I will just continue to get more behind.

Blog...you are the expert. What should I do?

Sincerely,
Me

A New Job for the New Year

So, Nate is going to be starting a new job right after the new year. Why? There is a myriad of reasons...the most prominent is just that it was time. It was funny because he wasn't looking. The job found him. He interviewed once and initially felt like this may not be the job for him. He tossed it back and forth quite a bit. However, after his second interview he felt much better and more confident about this job. He was able to negotiate a nice package and so he decided to take the job. Starting Jan 1, Nate will be the newest employee at ...drum roll please....PARKER HANNIFIN. This is a very large company. A billion dollar international company. Not what we are used to but something I think will be beneficial to us. Big companies come with nice perks. Better benefits and better money. They have a manufacturing division in SLC that makes o-rings. They make really big o-rings...like the kind that go into street pipes and stuff. That is where Nate is going to be working. What is an O-ring....if you don't know I am probably not the one to explain it to you. :)
Anyway, Nate will be a do-it-all guy. He will turn a process currently being done by hand to a process done by a machine. He will design the machine, build the machine, install the machine, and make sure it works right, write the manual for it and essentially be the father of it. :) The huge requirements of this job are both the good part and the bad part. Nate has had a hard time being a desk man. He sits and designs all day, every day. Not really what he had in mind when he chose engineering as his career. So, with this job, he will get to do lots of different things. I hope he will enjoy it. I guess I will have to update again after he has been there for a few weeks.
We are thankful for the other jobs that have brought Nate here. He couldn't be here with out the experience he has gained from all those jobs. :) It will be an interesting new year. :)

Boogie Nights

At our house when things get boring the music comes on and we get crazy. I do have 3 girls now. :) Those girls really know how to shake it. I love that about them. For me, music has always been cathartic. I still like to turn it up when I am alone. My girls did, however, inform me that I dance wierd. WHATEVER! Apparently I won't be invited to dance with them in public. Sheesh! At least I can participate in the boogie nights at home. :)

That Didn't Last Long

Well, my daily thoughts lasted all of 2 seconds. :) At least they lasted that long. It is 4am which seems to be the only time I sit down and do this anymore. Christmas is coming. One more week and I get a two week break. So excited for that.



Our family is pretty excited for Christmas. I haven't done a stitch of shopping yet...but we have enjoyed putting up lights and listening to music and generally reveling in the season.



Sarah is no exception. She loves the Christmas tree and the Geo Trax train we put underneath. The kids are beside themselves and can't wait for the big day.


(By the way, Sarah is up crying right now. Will she go back to sleep on her own?)

Ben had a couple big moments last week. First, he finally received the patches for his Bobcat and Wolf. Ben has had a great time in scouts and was pretty proud of himself for the achievement. Ben also promoted to a purple belt in karate. Awesome...except for the sparring gear he has to have now which will cost us a pretty penny. I don't know how that don't have to disclose all these little side expenses at the beginning. Check out this video of Ben's awesomeness. As you go up to get your new belt you get to do a trick or kick or whatever.
Thank goodness he bounced right up from that. :) His hand stand was pretty awesome though. He told us the surprise at how long he held his hand stand was what actually brought him down.

Anyway, it is now quarter to five. I have got to at least attempt going back to sleep or I will be a bear tomorrow...I mean, later today. :) That is not acceptable. Tis the season to be Jolly, right. :)