Tuesday, March 22, 2011

What's going on

Let's start oldest to youngest. Save the best (all three of them) for last.

Mark started his new job yesterday.  Things are looking good, and he thinks it will be a good experience.  Not so good: it took him an hour to drive home yesterday in the rain.  But, he should be working more reasonable hours than his last job, so we're thinking he'll be home about the same amount and still in time for dinner most of the time.  We have been awed at how the Lord has guided us in our lives and how we can look back over the years and see His hand and how he's led us to where we are.  When Mark told me he was getting laid off I told him I was looking forward to seeing what happens.  Those big life changes are when we've seen the Lord's hand in a big way and it's awesome to get those experiences from time to time.

Mark had three days off work last week between jobs.  It was also spring break and he got paid for all the vacation days he never took from his last job.  I was really wanting to use that money to go to Disneyland.  Something materialistic in me has been yearning to go.  But, long ago we already had mapped out our plan for what to do with our money including savings and paying off debt and after those things are done, then Disneyland is on the list.  Instead we were practical and only used $200 to "vacation" for those three days.  We went camping at Lost Dutchman State Park one night and took a road trip to Tucson to go to Old Tucson Studios for another day.  We had a good time, though the kids were pretty whiny, especially at Old Tucson, but I still kinda wish we'd done Disneyland.  Sometimes I get tired of being patient.  I've been patient long enough. :)

Here are a few pictures of Old Tucson.  My newer camera got dropped by a kid with the lens out.  A 1-foot drop to the counter right on the lens can ruin a camera for good.  So now I am glad I never got rid of my old camera, but I don't tend to pull it out very often because I'm not happy with the pictures.  Any suggestions for a good point-and-shoot?  Anyway...

Dallin and mom

Adam riding the pony

Photobucket

Photobucket

Photobucket

Photobucket

I am trying to get us more organized around here, both in creating some schedules and in physically organizing our space.  I've had some successes but most my efforts are still at the beginning stages.  One thing that has been a success is getting the boys on a morning and evening routine.  They have this chart that shows them the things they need to do in the morning and the things they need to do at bedtime.  They can do these in whatever order they want so that gives them a little freedom to do it their way.  At bedtime we usually read scriptures and pray as a family first, then we decide with the kids how much time they need to get their bedtime routines done.  We set a timer (10-15 minutes) and when it beeps it's storytime.  Mark reads or tells a story to whoever is ready for bed, or he just reads a book to himself some nights when neither Dallin nor Adam are ready.  After storytime is over, whether the kids are ready for bed or not, they go into their rooms.  If they are ready for bed they get a song and a backscratch from Mom and then good night.  If they're not ready for bed, no song from mom.  This has worked out great for us because we don't nag at bedtime anymore.  We still have some nights where kids don't cooperated and they cry and cry because they miss stories or songs.  I want to sing to my kids every night and have that time with them, but I know overall we'll have more quality time if I stick to my guns and don't nag and yell at them to get dressed, brush their teeth, etc. 

Dallin is loving kindergarten.  He has some great friends and loves to play board games.  His favorite games are Stratego and Chess.  I don't play chess with him, I don't know if I've ever played a full game, but he'll try to get the older neighbor boys to play or he'll play with Mark, and when we're at Grandma's house for Sunday dinner he'll play with Uncle Ryan or maybe Grandpa.  He loves to read and is always telling us about the things he's learned about bugs or animals or outer space from his books and magazines. 

We're kind of goofy around here.  Last night at dinner Adam wasn't wearing a shirt.  Mark asked Adam why he wasn't wearing a shirt.  Then Mark and I must have been looking in the other direction because the next thing we knew Dallin's shirt was gone too.  One of the things Dallin likes to do is put a blanket over your head and breath into your face.  It's really weird and a little gross, so he thinks it's hilarious.

Adam has the best smile ever.  He is very interested in writing these days and will ask how to spell things so he can write words.  I've learned a trick I've used on him--when he gets tired and grumpy I get him involved in singing songs and he cheers up.  I've used this lately when we've gone hiking and after so long he's gotten tired, so we sing songs and he forgets he's tired.  He is a great helper and is always eager to bring the groceries in the house or help me cook.  He also loves juicing citrus.  I love to hear Adam talk because he has the cutest voice.  He'll explain things that happened, "a long time ago,"  or "a really, really, really, really long time ago" which means last month, or earlier today, or yesterday.  The boys love wrestling with Mark, and even Owen gets in on it, though he's learned to be cautious.

Owen is 20 months. I'm kinda not liking the fact that 20 months makes me think of 24 months which is 2 years old. He is the sunshine in our home. He is hilarious, and makes everyone laugh and smile all day. When he is mad at me he growls like an angry dog, when he is happy he does a little happy trot, when he is sad his sad face is so darn cute it even makes me smile.  He is not super talkative, but he is saying more all the time.  He says, "baboop" for book, "ada" for Adam, "Dada" for Dallin, "shzzz" for shoes.  His curly hair is awesome.  When he sees a dog or a picture of a dog he sticks his tongue out and pants.  Dallin trained him this way:  You ask, "Who tempted Adam and Eve?" and Owen raises his hand and yells, "ME!"

That is all for now.  Now I feel a little better getting some blogging done. 

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Update

It's hard to get back into blogging when I haven't written in a while. There's too much to say, and I don't have time to say it all, so where to start?

Mark took yesterday and today off from work. He has too many vacation days, since his current job (which ends Tuesday) he had a hard time taking a break from. So, for my birthday yesterday he told me he'd be my personal slave. I tried to come up with something good, but all I wanted him to do was clean. I didn't have to do any dishes at all yesterday--and they all still got cleaned. It was wonderful. I had a really nice day with calls and visits from family and friends.

Today Mark accepted a job offer! We have been very, very fortunate. We know a lot of people that are looking for work and have been looking for a long time and somehow we got lucky enough that what Mark does is in demand and so the job search went well even in this economy. He is an accountant and for the last 6 years has been managing an accounting team for a company that owns physician groups. Since health care is growing, he was able to find another job in the health care industry doing about what he's been doing. The job is farther away and the commute will be longer than he hoped for, so it took us a few days to figure out if this was the right thing for us. The more we learned about the company the more we liked it. And it looks like he'll be working more regular (read: fewer) hours and will get lots of vacation days so we think we'll have as much and likely more family time than before. We are really excited. The Lord has really blessed us and it is easy to see that now looking back over the last several years how different decisions have led us to where we are now. Thank you to all of our family and friends who have helped with the job search in whatever way, especially in prayer and love for our family!

Today's been a great day. This morning we went for a hike to the wind caves in Usery Park, had lunch in the car on the way back, and got home in time to get Dallin to afternoon kindergarten. Thanks Danny and Lachelle for letting us borrow the backpack for Owen. He slept in it most of the way up and enjoyed his elevated view on the way back.

I'll have to post some updates on the boys and what they have been up to, but that will be another time.