Catching up, again...

Ok, I started that last post back on November 8th, I guess, and never finished it. I sorta forgot about it. I went ahead and published it, but thought I should probably do a new one.

Still haven't found the camera. Grrr... So no pictures of the house yet. I will have to use David's camera and get some posted. There just won't be before and after pics. Oh well. We have been so busy! We have pulled out almost all the shrubs and plants in both the backyard and front. Ahhh... I have wanted to do that since before we moved in. It looks so different without them. I can't wait for David to work his magic with the landscaping here. We have 6 trees in the front yard. Yes, 6! Wait, maybe 7... Anyway, trying to decide which ones stay and which ones go. I have my opinion, but I don't think David and I agree. I'm sure the shade in the summer is nice, but it would also be nice to see the front of the house from the street, I think. Although, the privacy is nice too. Ugh... Like I said, trying to decide how many stay. Haven't made much progress with the painting. But, all the Christmas decor is up and the boxes are gone, for the most part. Not put away, just shoved into closets! But... we got some FURNITURE!!!! That is soooo exciting!! You have no idea. To be without furniture for 2 1/2 years, it's so nice to actually have a kitchen table to eat on. We also got 2 leather club chairs (love them!!!), a coffee table, bar stools and our couch is ready to be picked up! Yay! It's starting to look like we actually live here! Now, if only I had stuff to put up on the walls! Working on that...

Amanda turned 8 in November and was baptized. It was such a wonderful event. We had 11 people come and stay with us - in our new house. It was great! They all stayed here and we weren't on top of each other. We played games every night -haven't done that in YEARS! That was so much fun! It was so nice to have everyone come from far away to help celebrate with Amanda. We really had a great time!

David's parents stayed until Thanksgiving. It was really nice to have them here with us for that. I actually baked my first apple pie. It was so easy (thanks to my firend Markelle, for the easy recipe). And it was so yummy!!! It was a dutch apple pie, so it had the crumbly top. I also used fresh apples that my mom brought me from their trees. It was a very yummy dinner.

Michael made the High School Soccer team. Yay Michael! He plays keeper and does a great job. He really enjoys it. With practice everyday after school, he is a bit more tired every night. They have played 2 games and have another game this week. I don't think they have won one yet, but they will. He started the last game and no goals were scored on him. But then they switched out keepers and 2 goals were scored. He was a little bummed, but it's all good. I think they tied that game.

Amanda was in a 2nd grade Christmas Program last night. It was such a cute program. She was a reindeer, Cupid. She took her part very seriously and listened to every instruction given by Ms. Wilson. She memorized her lines (and everyone else's!!), she practiced the songs (nonstop for 2 weeks), she practiced her dance moves (the reindeer had a dance scene) and she did a great job. I think she may have enjoyed being on stage more than I ever thought any of my children would. She absolutely loved it! We may have started something with this. Time will tell...

I don't think I mentioned that Ryan had a birthday back in September. He is now 6! He loves kidergarten and is doing really well. He is so excited to go to school everyday. So excited that he is up and ready to go, usually by 6am!! He has made many new friends and is learning so much.

Tyler is enjoying pre-school. He will be 4 next week! Crazy! He has come a long way in his speech. I pretty much understand just about everything he says. He is talking nonstop!! David often tells him that if he keeps talking so much he will run out of words byt the time he is an adult. He tells him that we are only allowed so many words in a lifetime and he's going to run out. He and Ryan love playing with all the boys on the street. We pretty much don't see them from the minute we get home from school until it's dark. There are LOTS of boys on our new street.

Christina... Today is Christina's birthday!! See next post that is all about her!

I guess that pretty much does it. Looking forward to a Merry Christmas and a fun visit with family in the snow!

Hello World

I have been hearing, a lot lately, that I need to update my blog. I guess I do. It's been a little while. Why does my life seem so boring? I have thought about things I could blog, but then I get busy doing... who knows what, and then they just don't seem so important. But I guess a couple of changes need to be mentioned.

We have moved! It has been one crazy month! We moved a whole half mile from where we were before, but alas... it means a new ward, a new stake and a new elementary school. It seems so crazy, but we jumped to the other side of Recker and our entire world has changed. It has been a bit of mixed emotions. We are so excited to be in our own place again! It is much bigger than the rental we were in. I am not stepping on Lego's strewn throughout the house. We can paint, decorate and do whatever we want to the place! That, in itself, is thrilling. But I was very sad to leave our ward. We really felt we belonged there. We made some great friends and I know that they are still friends, we are still very close, but you know how it is... So close but yet, it sometimes feels like so far.

So, we moved over Fall Break. We grossly underestimated the painting that needed to be done. We thought we would be able to get it done in 2 days. HA!! 10 gallons of primer, 5 gallons of white, I think we are at 10 gallons of various colors, and we are not done yet! The downstairs is almost done -a bathroom and guest room is left. We still have Amanda's room, bathroom, bonus room (aka The Bunk House) and the Master bedroom and bathroom left to do. Amanda's room is next. It is so overwhelming. There are soooo many things we want to do with the house. I have to try to focus on just one thing at a time. Which I do not do very well. I tend to look at the whole big picture, get completely overwhelmed and just shut down. Ugh... Not to mention all the boxes that are still all over the place. I hate moving! Luckily, we don't plan to move until all the kids are done with High School. Unfortunately, with all the chaos going on, I have lost my camera. I took 'before' pictures, 'during' pics of the kids painting and have now lost my camera. It's highly annoying! So, when I find it, I will be able to post pictures.

The other big 'event' that has happened is David got promoted! Yay!! He has worked so hard and it has finally happened. I am so proud of him and excited for this new change. (I think...) His hours will change a little, they will be a bit better, I think. He has worked with the Store Manager of his new store before. They get along very well, so I think he will be happy in this new position, or at least with this store manager. He will be working longer shifts, especially with Thanksgiving and Christmas right around the corner, but I think it will be alright.

Almost June

Wow, time flies!! It's almost June! I can't possible re-cap everything from the past couple months, so here are just a few highlights. Let's see...
Christina fractured her finger -somehow- and ended up going to school with a splint on April Fool's Day. Everyone thought she was faking and it was a prank. I had to send a Doctor's note so her teachers would know it was for real! She couldn't play her clarinet, so she ended up playing percussion. She didn't like it much at first, but ended up embracing it and played both percussion and clarinet in her last band concert. She starts Jr. High next year! Can't believe it!!
Michael broke his finger a little over a week ago in PE at school. We will be seeing a hand specialist on Tuesday, he may need surgery to insert a pin. We are hoping that won't be necessary. Our Home Teacher came over and looked at the x-rays and he even said it's borderline. He may or may not need surgery. Crossing our fingers. He is suppose to be going to Scout Camp on Tuesday for the week. This is a different camp than they usually do. They only go every 4 years to this one. I am so sad that he may not be able to go. Michael starts High School next year! Ugh! Where did time go?!? A High Schooler??

Ryan will go to kindergarten in the fall. Tyler will stay in pre-school and Amanda starts 2nd grade. Hopefully all 3 of them will be at the same school. That would make life a bit easier.

We have been out on the lake a few times already. I love being on the water. It is so relaxing, there is no better place to be. It's my happy place! Unfortunately Michael won't be doing much wakeboarding this summer with his broken finger and all. But I am sure he will make up for lost time.

David is still at his same job. Still hoping for a promotion! I got a new job with the Town of Gilbert and I LOVE it!!! I was able to quit my other jobs and just do this one. I can't say how much I LOVE this job. It is so laid back and easy going. There is no drama, no politics, no stress. I am so happy there. I turned a year older this month! Still under 40, but just a tiny bit!

We are looking for a house. We have found two that we love and hope to be putting an offer on one of them next week. It's such a big decision. And as always, I am over analyzing it way too much. But hopefully we will be getting into our own home again soon. Then we can order all our furniture and feel like we are finally 'permanent' here. lol... It's exciting and a little stressful at times. But I know it will all work out in the end.

My parents were able to come and visit. That was really fun having them here with us. It always goes so fast! Wish they could've stayed longer, but alas, they had to go back home. Really hoping to get the chance to head north to see them -and all our family there- this summer. David's parents were also here in April. They came for Michael's birthday. They stayed at a resort in Scottsdale, so we took the kids up a few times so they could swim in the pools and hang out. Some of the kids spent the night with them a couple of times. We loved seeing them and spending time with them. They ended up being able to stay longer than originally planned, so that was really nice having that extra time with them. It's always fun to have family visit.

So, here's to summer. Bring it on!!! Hot days -and nights. Lake trips. Swimming in the pool. Summer movies. Hanging out with friends. And hopefully, a move into a new home!

Where did February go??

Just a quick re-cap of the last few weeks.

Michael - Spending much time on the phone each night with a couple of girls. Hmmm... Got his phone taken away, so said girls have been calling the house late at night looking for him, 11pm or later. Hmmmm.... Hanging with Kai. Wakeboarding on Presidents Day. Running track. Enjoying new membership at the Y, working out, taking an athletic training class and swimming in the pool.

Christina - Possibly spends too much time with her friends. Is that possible? Practicing very hard for the Honor Band Auditions coming up this weekend - Clarinet. Babysitting, babysitting and more babysitting. Also enjoying the new membership at the Y. Loves swimming, taking a class and walking on the treadmill. Science Camp is just around the corner and David and I are a little surprised that Christina is going. We weren't able to chaperone, so we thought she'd back out, but she is excited to go. Amanda writes her notes and has cried a few times about how much she is going to miss her while she is gone. This makes Christina cry too. But, she will be fine and we know she will have a great time.

Amanda - Loves reading her books. She likes to memorize some books and then 'read' them to me while she looks away from the book. Playing with friends. Coloring pictures. Loves going to the 'gym' and playing in the Kid Area with Dana (a former Fitness Works employee she loved seeing, now gets to hang out with her at the Y). Swims in the pool, both at the Y and in our own pool -crazy girl!! Loves painting fingernails and toenails any chance she can get -basically anytime I say yes.

Ryan - What a long way he has come this year in pre-school! This is his first year in pre-school and I am not a good 'teacher' here at home. I was concerned that he may not pick up the whole ABC thing, writing and drawing pictures. Well, he is doing great! I love seeing his classwork come home, especially the ones where he has written something with a picture to go along with it. Loves going to pre-school and also spending time with his friends -at our house or theirs. Went to the Zoo last week, in the rain! Miserable, but fun!

Tyler - What a difference Pre-School has made for him as well. His speech is getting so much better. We can actually understand most of what he says! He loves playing Lego's with Ryan and Michael. Riding his bike in the court with his 'buddy' Noah. His favorite song to sing right now is 'Mary had a little lamb'. He sings loud and proud! A little less enthusiastic about going to the gym. Loves to go and swim but not so fond of the kid area, unless Dana is there, of course. Ryan and Amanda help convince him to go in. Recent field trip to the Zoo -last Monday in the rain! It was so cold, but we had fun. Tyler fell asleep on the tram ride at the end. Loved it!

Brenda - Worked 2 jobs the month of February. Some days were harder than others, but it's all good. Ended up 'quitting' the tax thing, I think. I'm not really sure what actually happened there. It was so slow at that office, and a couple conversations led to me to just say "I think it best that I go, and you call me when and if you get busy and need me to come back to help out." So I guess I am on-call now? Wierd... I loved the challenge of learning something new, and I actually really enjoyed doing the tax returns, but it was so slow there!! Since I was only getting 10 hours a week, I figured I would save them some money and spend some time with my kids. If they call and need me I will be happy to go back and help out. In the meantime, I have an interview tomorrow morning for another job. Am I crazy???

David - Still working in the same job. A Manager position opened up, FINALLY!! So we are hopeful that something materializes. Since he has been there, 2 have opened but then were pulled. So we are hoping the same thing doesn't happen this time. He is the Asst. Manager, but basically doing the manager's job. He works really well with his manager -they get along really well, almost too well I tell him. But we are both hopefull something will happen with this opening. Cross your fingers for him! :)

David is actually the one who suggested we get a membership at the Y, because he wanted to start working out! I never thought I'd hear him say that! David has never worked out or exercised the entire time I have known him. He is lucky to have a great metabolism and has never needed to. I am happy he wants to do it, because it gets me to the gym. We have really enjoyed going. It is a great facility and there is plenty to keep us all busy. We go almost daily! We all love it.

South Mountain

Wednesday was a half day at school, which means all the kids were home by 12:15. We decided to have a fun 'family' day. We haven't explored much around here so I went online to search for a fun park to go to. Something more than just a park, wanted trails for walking or hiking, maybe a small lake to explore or anything else that is more adventurous. I found South Mountain. All the reviews were great. Lots of trails and the pictures looked great. We packed lunches and as soon as everyone was home, we headed out on our family adventure. It wasn't really what I was expecting, but it was still fun. I need to remember that we live in the desert and there are no trees here. I knew I wasn't going to get Tilden Park -oh how I wish it could've been- but I was expecting something a little more... pretty? It was mostly just rocks and cactus.

We drove to the top and were able to look out over the valley. That was amazing! We are still in awe at how BIG the valley is. We honestly had no clue, before we came here, how big it actually was. David was looking at jobs in Peoria thinking he would commute. HA! No way! Anyway, it was fun to sit and watch the planes land at the airport, try to identify streets, cities, we even looked for the Temple -which we couldn't see, of course. It was fun to see the entire valley and to explore the mountain. The kids loved it and we had a great time.

We drove by this really cool 'house' -or what use to be a house. It was falling apart and there was no roof, but it was so cool. I wish I had kids that were willing to pose for lots of pictures, because it would have made for some really awesome shots. A better camera would have been great, too. We'll have to go back another day for that. But it was fun to shoot a few. The rock walls and the giant cracks in the cement and walls were awesome. There was also a really cool fireplace that was still standing, but I didn't get a picture. Bummer. It made me want to know the story of the old house. Someday I may find out what it is, which would be cool, but for now, it's a mystery.




It was a great day!

Tired

Oh my goodness, I am so tired lately! Maybe it's because I am spending so much time figuring out this new job while trying to find time for my family and church calling. I know it will get easier as I go along, but WOW! So much to learn in such a short amount of time. I get discouraged at times, but then David reminds me that I have never done this before and everyone else there has. 'Look how far you've come! You know more than you think!' are some of the things he tells me. I did get a pretty big compliment today. There's a gal at the 'office' that -in my opinion- seems to know the most and be the most confident (we all go to her with questions), she said tonight that she thinks I know more than the 2 guys that are working there. This is a huge compliment because the guys she is referring to have been preparing taxes for others for a few years! WOW! That's huge! I still haven't done an actual 'live' return, as I am still plugging along on my practice ones. But I am on number 15 -out of 18. The only other person who has completed more than me is the one that paid me the compliment today. Everyone else has had an extra week or more to be doing them, and the one closest to me is one behind. So I guess I am learning a lot! It's just soooo much to learn in such a short amount of time. I am enjoying the challenge and can't wait to feel a lit more comfortable! I will be doing live returns next week! Wish me luck!

On another note... We found out today that we didn't get the house. But I kinda knew that already. Turns out the thing sold for almost $20,000 over asking and it was a cash deal! Count me out of that one! lol... I liked the house, but I don't have that much cash. We were short by oh... a couple thousand or so! lol... Oh well, we are bound to find the house that is meant for us. It will happen, someday...

Tyler stayed home all week from school. He ended up having a bad fever Mon-Wed. He was on the couch almost all day, all 3 days. Then a horrible cough set in with just a small fever at night. He seems to be doing much better, but I didn't want to rush him back to school today. He got to stay home and play with Ryan. They play really well together -most of the time! It's so fun to watch and listen to them play. So I was happy to have them both home today.

It has been raining so much here. Had tornado warnings yesterday, but nothing came of it. I am loving the rain, we really need it! Love curling up with a cup of hot cocoa and a big warm blanket to read my tax books... Wait, no... Watch TV with my hunny! That's better. (Unfortunately, I was reading my tax books.) :(

Prepared my sharing time tonight, now I need to get some sleep!

An amblulance, a job and a house-maybe

Last night was a long night! I kissed David goodbye as he left for work and finished watching a show online. Checked all the kids -like I always do. Everyone is fine. Go to my room and just as I am about to turn off the light Tyler wakes up. He is gasping for air. That's the only way I know how to describe it. He is trying to take a breath, but it just isn't happening. I try to calm him, thinking he is just having a bad dream. He starts to get a terrified look in his eyes and the breathing gets worse. I try not to freak out. Called David, who had only been at work for maybe 25 minutes. I just keep saying "Do you hear him?" I'm not sure if he swallowed something and it's stuck in his throat or what is going on. I just knew his airway was constricted somehow. David tells me to take him to Urgent Care. No way! I called 911. I didn't want to strap him into a car seat and not be able to hold him if he was not able to breathe. They responded very quickly and before I knew it we had 2 police cars, a fire engine and an ambulance at my house. Ryan had waken up and was very excited to see all the guys here at the house. I'm answering a million questions, while trying to get Tyler to take a breathing treatment. He wanted NO PART of any of this, by the way. He was screaming while trying to take breaths. He was hooked up to machines, and Ryan was just having great conversations with any of them that would listen to him. They gave him a steroid shot and that seemed to help. That and the breathing treatment. He finally settled down and started breathing better. They still wanted to take him in and make sure there wasn't anything stuck in his throat. David called and I told him we were going to the hospital. So he had to come home. I asked Ryan to go wake up Michael. He couldn't get him to wake up so one of the fire fighters had to go in and wake him up. Apparently Michael was not happy about being woken up as he informed me today that he yelled at the guy! Anyway, off we go to the hospital. We had to stay for at least 2 hours after the breathing treatment to make sure he didn't start breathing wierd again. The doctor finally came in after 2 1/2 hours and said he has croupe. What? But he hasn't shown any signs of sickness at all! He was just fine all day, playing outside, no coughing, no fever, no symptoms of him feeling the least bit under the weather. The Dr. said it is normal for this to happen and they get a lot of kids brought to the ER by ambulance for this. That made me feel a little better... But I am still amazed at how it just happened so quickly! 5 kids and none of them have ever had croupe! It was so scarey!! We finally got home and fell into bed at 5am. David went back to work. So, I guess I feel better knowing I wasn't crazy for calling 911. It was reassuring to know that they see it alot. I am the type of person that doesn't take my kids to the doctor unless it is bad!! Or I know they have an ear infection and they just need the meds. I almost felt bad for wasting the time of so many people, but knowing that it was normal and I wasn't the only mother out there that didn't know what was happening made me feel better. Tyler is doing much better. You wouldn't even think he was sick. They gave him an oral steroid that they said should last 2-3 days. Long enough to get him past it. It's working like a charm!

On another note. I got a job this past week. Kinda crazy... I walked into a Liberty Tax office and asked if they were hiring. I thought "How hard could it be to prepare someone's taxes? I had a business for almost 12 years, can't be that hard. Doesn't the software just show you how to do it?" Well, they basically hired me on the spot and told me I needed to pass 3 test before I could be a preparer. They already had their classes, so I missed that opportunity to learn about tax laws and other 'boring' stuff. (lol...) I called our friend (and accountant) Jason and asked if he thought I could do it. He said yes, and then followed it up with 'You may wonder how I do it every year after you see what it is I do.' Again, my overconfidence kicked in 'Can't be that hard!' I took the first test on the banking procedures and passed on my first attempt! Oh yeah, feeling really confident now! I didn't have any study materials, I just logged onto the IRS website and pulled up a publication on tax filing. That is all I had. I logged on to take the Level One Certification Test. I knew it was timed, but when I logged in I didn't hit the 'I agree' or 'I disagree' button, so I didn't think the time had started. I got busy talking to David, doing other stuff on the internet and when I clicked back on it, the time was ticking down. Oops! I only had about an hour left. I went ahead and opened it and when I read the first question... all that confidence flew out the window! I read a few questions and decided I should probably read a bit of the publication first before attempting the test. So I logged out. The publication is almost 300 pages long. Ugh! Anyway, I took the 2nd test and passed it. Then I went back to the Certification test. It was so long!!! It took me 3 1/2 hours to take the test! David had to calm me down a few times. I was so frustrated! I would start saying I couldn't do it and he would come over and have me read him the question and help me stay calm while I found the answer. I so appreciated him that night! And... I passed!!! Woo Hoo!!! So, the owner called me the next morning and congratulated me and asked me to start that day. So, I started last Friday. During Saturday's mtg the owner asked if I was comfortable being there alone yet. Ummm... NO!!!! I had only been there 4 hours and only done 3 of the 18 practice returns I'm suppose to do. I have to say, I am scared! My confidence does increase with each practice one I do, but I just don't want to freak out in front of a client! That would be BAD! So, wish me luck on my new job!

We also put an offer on a house yesterday. I'm pretty sure we won't get it. It just went on the market Thursday, we looked at it that evening. Our realtor went out of town and got back Saturday morning. We went and looked at it again and by the time we submitted our offer -that morning- there were already 3 offers on it! We knew it would go fast! But we went ahead and submitteed one anyway. You never know. Hopefully we get it, but I am not planning on it. Can't get my hopes up. But I REALLY REALLY want it!!!!!