Roller Coaster Weekend

As I mentioned last week, Stephen had to go to Ogden to take the ATI RN test and pass with a 72% or better to graduate from nursing school. He had to be there at 8:30 am. Rather than drive up in the morning, we decided to make a trip out of it & also celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary. My friend Lisa Koller took our kids for the night. THANK YOU LISA!

Steve had a very stressful week last week. On top of studying for the ATI, which was a comprehensive review of everything he learned in nursing school, he also had to take an unit test, do two assignments, and write a term paper. On Tuesday, he came down with the stomach flu. By Friday, he was wiped out & needed a break.

So, we decided we would just relax & enjoy Friday. After dropping the girls off at Lisa's, we went to Red Lobster in Orem and for dinner. We decided that since it was our 15th anniversary & we survived 2 years of nursing school, it was okay to treat ourselves. We ordered shrimp, salmon & lobster. It was delicious!

After dinner, Stephen took me to a bookstore & told me to buy any book I wanted. I love books, but rarely indulge in buying one for myself. I chose Emma by Anita Stansfield. I went to a Relief Society dinner a few weeks ago & heard Anita speak anout the book.

Once I picked out the book, we headed to Ogden. We made reservations to stay at the Alaskan Inn, which is in Ogden Canyon. It was a beautiful drive!



I loved how our cabin was decorated. We stayed in the Hook, Line, & Sinker Suite. Steve loves to fish, so we thought it would be fun to stay in cabin with a fisherman theme.



I LOVED this lamp:





Unfortunately, the bed looked nicer than it felt. It was very hard & the pillows were small & thin. I was disappointed, & had a hard time sleeping.



But the breakfast was great!





After we ate, I took Stephen to Weber State University to take his test.



Then I drove back to the Inn to hang out while I waited. I was surprised to find a maid in our cabin, cleaning up. She seemed upset to see me there. I told her we hadn't checked out yet, I just ran my husband somewhere. She left the room & looked around to see that she had thrown away the remainder of my breakfast, which I had planned to eat as soon as I returned. I was a bit miffed, but decided not to worry about it I settled in to read my book. At 9:30 am, I heard her vacumming the hall. Hello, check out is at 11.If I wanted noise, I would have stayed home with 4 kids, 2 cats & the dog. I felt really annoyed, & decided we would never stay there again.

I checked out & took more pictures of the canyon before going to pick up Stephen.



As I waited for him, several other nursing students came out. Some had huge smiles on their faces, others had tears in their eyes. As the time ticked on, my nervousness for him soared. Finally, he came out.... with an unreadable expression on his face. He was either teasing me or he failed. I stood with him while we waited for his printoff. As soon as Aiko gave it to him, he handed it to me......

HE PASSED WITH AN 80%!!!! Based on his score on the ATI, he has a 98% chance of passing boards. It is all down hill from here! He has a few assignments to finish & a few tests to take. Then nursing school will be a memory!

Science Fair

Here is a picture of Emily at the science fair:



And Hannah after Parent Teacher Conference

The Last Hurdle

It's hard to believe we are only one month away from Stephen completing nursing school! It went by fast, yet it was so hard. On Saturday, we will go up to Weber State so he can take his exit exam. He is nervous, but I think he will do fine! But it wouldn't hurt if everyone will keep in their prayers this week.
Jonathan interviewed with the Camp Director for the scout camp he wants to work at this summer. He said the interview went really well & he felt like he did great. He found out if he is selected, he will be able to choose 2 of the 4 weeks he will work. He is really excited. We are waiting to find out if he was hired. We will know by the end of the week. I will keep you posted!

Eureka

On Friday, Stephen & I decided to take the kids to play in the sand at Little Sahara to celebrate the first day of spring. We took the back way & came upon an old mining town. It was very run down & shabby, but a really fun place to explore & take pictures.
What made us stop instead of driving through is Porter Rockwell's cabin.

After taking pictures of the cabin, I looked up & down the street & realized how much character the town had.

We decided to explore:









There were plenty of places for photo opps:
The Idaho Farmer & his wife

Riding the Rails


Doin' chores

Hangin Out

After touring main street, we piled back into the van & drove to Little Sahara. Originally, we were planning on taking Steve's motorcycle, but it needed too much maitence work & we didn't want to waste most of the day tinkering with it. So we just played in the sand:

The kids had a blast digging in the sand, chasing lizards, & doing "Jedi Jumps" off the dunes.





We took Daisy with us. She did really well, we had her off the leash most of the day. She stayed right by us & climbed Sand hills, jumped down them & dug in the sand.

At the end of the day, we dug a deep pit & then buried the girls in it. Jonathan made a mermaid fin for Hannah:

This week has been amazing! I finished everything on my to list today & I am waiting for Jonathan to call me to pick him up from school and then run him to practice. I thought I would take a minute to blog.
On Sunday night, Steve & I watched a education week class on KBYU about recieving personal revelations. Since we are going to have to make a few major decisions this summer, we thought it couldn't hurt to brush up on our knowledge concerning the subject. Anyway, the speaker gave an awesome talk & told us to specifically pray for those within our stewardships that we could serve them better. Steve immediately thought of the Young Men. I thought of our kids & I prayed earnestly to know how I could best serve my kids.
The Lord did not wait long to answer that prayer. On Monday, Kaitlyn came home from school upset. As I had mentioned before in passing, we have had some difficult issues at school. On Monday, I realized, through the Spirit, that Kaitlyn needed a change. After a meeting at the school that very afternoon, we decided to put her in a different class. The result has been amazing already, I hope it continues. It was nice to see her big bright smile and get a big hug & kiss from her before she hopped out of the van this morning. I haven't seen her that happy to go to school since September!
Today is parent teacher conference & 'I am looking forward to it! The girls have worked so hard this term & everyone has good grades. I also get to go to the science fair. Emily did her science project in class & I am so excited to see it. I will take pictures & post soon.
I am also happy it is almost spring! Life is good today!

Read The Bulletin

Ok, I am going to admit something! I am usually so frazzled by the time I get to Sacrament Meeting from getting kids ready & there on time, I just want to sit & listen. I have never taken the time to read the quote on the front of the bulletin until last Sunday. The quote was from Elder Eyring, telling us 2 things I needed to hear:
1. That our children may not understand what is being read from the Book of Mormon, but they will come to know Christ.
2. That in family prayer, we can strengthen our family members by praying for them specifically. Last night, Steve asked me to say the prayer after scripture study. I asked everyone if they had needs that I could pray. I totally thought Kaitlyn & Jonathan would do the eye roll thing. But it was those 2 who specifically asked that I pray for specific issues they are facing at school.
So needless to say, I will be reading the quote on the bulletin more often. The gospel doesn't make life easy, but it sure does give us power to handle the hard things! For that, I am grateful!

He did it!

I try not to brag about my kids on this blog. I know I'm probably a complete failure in that respect. But I am going to brag shamelessly right now. So you were warned!
Jonathan is 14 and in the ninth grade. When he was 5, we lived in Orem in an area that didn't have a very good school, so I decided to homeschool him. We were also in the middle of searching for our first home to buy. Rather than uproot him in the middle of the year, homeschooling seemed the best option. I homeschooled him until we were all moved in & settled, then enrolled him in school. The school tested him, and at the age of 5, he was tested & his scores indicated that he was on a 2nd grade level in all subject areas. We decided to put him in 1st grade. School has been a breeze for him... up until last term.
Jonathan is in ninth grade, and his schedule looks like mine when I was in 11th grade: Biology, Spanish 2, & Geometry among other classes. Geometry has been the first class he has really ever had to study in. After a lot of work, he "bombed" a test by getting a C on it. He has worked very hard to pull that C up, doing loads of extra credit & studying every night. Today, I checked his grades & he has a B in Geometry. I am proud of all of his A's, but I am so pleased with this B because I know he worked really hard for it!
WAY TO GO JONATHAN!

Life Back To Normal

Stephen finished his 4 week clinical on Friday. It also is his very last clinical for this phase of nursing school. One day he plans to get a Masters Degree, but that has is a year or two away. We are both excited & happy that this part of the journey is coming to a close.

Yesterday, a speaker at church talked about how important it is to keep a history. He was referring to a ward & stake history, but I also thought it had relevance to keeping a family & personal history as well. I thought of my friend Rachel, who was the one who inspired me to blog. I am glad I blog, I've written down more in the past year than I ever have. And then I realized, I haven't done a lot of blogging lately, so I made a goal to blog this week. The last month has been so busy it has been a blur, but here are the highlights.

Jonathan- is such a good kid! Yes, he has his moody teenage moments, but for the most part, he is really fun to hang with! When he is home anyway. He started playing tennis after school & really loves it. He has made friends with a group of guys through tennis that are really good kids. On their way home from playing tennis one day, they stopped by Peteetneet Museum to take a tour for a merit badge they were all working on. As far as Merit Badges go, he completed 4 more last month. He only needs two more, & he'll have all the merit badges he needs for his Eagle. We are very pleased.

Kaitlyn- has been spending a lot of time with her friends. On Friday night, Megan slept over & they had a great time. Kaitlyn has had a really hard time with her teacher this year & has learned some very grown up lessons. She has learned that just because her teacher is always stressed, she doesn't have to ride the roller coaster of emotion with her. She has also learned to be respectful of authority. It has been a hard year for her, but I have seen her grow. She continues to love Young Womens and is excited that her group of friends are turning 12 and joining her. We have been working on one of her Young Womens goals: to plan and prepare 14 meals. We have discovered she has a talent for cooking. She loves it!

Emily- is working hard is school & it is paying off! After much discussion with her teacher, we discovered Em has testing anxiety. Her teacher suggested that she bring tests home & take them at her own pace. She has done so much better! She is loving gymnastics more & more. A few weeks ago, they had a skill pass off day. Emily was hoping to pass off her skills & move up a level. She was so close, but not quite there. At first, she was disappointed. But then at practice last week, her teacher pointed her out as an example on correct technique several times & that made her really happy.

Hannah & I are reading several books together. We are reading Willie Wonka & The Chocolate Factory & the Samantha (American Girls) series. Her reading is improving and she loves school. She came home & told me the funniest thing last week. It is so cute, I have to share:
Hannah: Mom, something happened at school today......
Me: Oh??? (I thought great. We've been having issues with Kait's teacher, this is all we need)
Hannah: Yeah, but it is kind of embarrasing......
Me: What it is it?
Hannah: A boy kissed me (This is not the first time a boy has kissed her.)
Me: Was it Tyler (he kissed her last year & she wouldn't talk to him until 1st grade. The girl can hold a grudge!)
Hannah: No! It was Justin!
Me: Where did he kiss you?
Hannah: On the cheek.
Me: What did you do?
Hannah looks down & then up at me with a guilty look on her face.
Me: Hannah, tell me, please
Hannah: I punched him!!!

I talked to her about how hitting wasn't the best option. Then she went to tell Steve....
Hannah: (retells story).... then I punched him!
Steve: How hard?
Hannah: (guilty look returns) pretty hard Dad!
Steve: That's my girl! High five!

I laughed so hard! Never a dull moment here!

My First Product

I wasn't going to say anything until it was official, but I am so excited over my first product... I am in the process of starting a service for online digital designers, selling them products to help with their designing. I will be offering several different products, but I am working on my template line right now. The template line will be marketed toward Scrapbook Artists who make scrapbook pages for others, but the scrapper who wants to use the template for their own personal scrapping can buy it as well. I've set up a blog, I've worked up a business plan, & I am creating product now. I have contracted with a designer to use her kits to create LO's to showcase layouts I made with my templates. I hope to have a grand opening in May.

This is the first product I have packaged:

Impressed

It has been a week at our house.... here is the low down
1. Stephen had midterms on Monday, which he started studying for 2 hours before he took them, he did awesome on both.
2.Tuesday- I took Emily to th Dr. for a check-up, during the exam, he found a curve in her spine & ordered xrays. She also failed the eye exam & he referred her to an opthamalogist. Other "fun" stuff that happened on Tuesday: I parked th van on the curb & came out to find a broken back window. I am hoping it was caused by the high wind. Also, Hannah developed a fever. Kaitlyn had New Beginnings, and it was a very nice program, but all I wanted to do was cry. It was a hard day.
3. Wednesday- I stayed home with a sick Hannah while Steve took Emily for xrays. Both of our cell phones were dead, so Steve didn't take a phone. 5 minutes before he pulled back in the driveway, the xray tech called & told me the machine had malfunctioned, & Emily needed to go back. So Steve drove her up again. It took 6 hours to get 2 xrays.
4 Thursday- I had a muscle spasm in my neck & shoulder & pulled those muscles really good. I can barely move & it hurts to brush my hair. I can't drive. Jonathan wakes up sick. But the Dr. called & Emily's Xrays showed a straight spine. I know it's a miracle, the Dr. pointed out the curve to me. I know Heavenly Father answers prayers.
5. Friday- Jonathan is still sick. Hannah coughed all night. Neck & shoulder are still very stiff.
6. Saturday- Jonathan is still sick. Neck & shoulder are still very stiff. I am very grumpy. Steve is doing homework. Girl's won't help. Steve does weekly homework, buys me a neck brace that has a built in massager. I look hideous, but finally some relief. Emily complains of a stomach ache. I sleep better than I have in months. Hannah coughs only half the night, cough medicine working.
7. Sunday- I can turn my head, but still sore. Steve has his last Sunday clinical. 3 kids are sick. I decide to stay home from church with the 3 sick kids. I tell Kaitlyn she can too. But she completely impressed me by finding a ride, getting ready for church, & going. She came home & said her testimony of the gospel was strengthend and she was glad she went.

It's been a tough few weeks, and this week has been the worse, but there have been great blessings too. I know we have to have hard times to appreciate the good. I am grateful to the Lord for the comfort & strength He has given us. And I am looking forward to a great week next week.... I hope!

Toothless

Well, the day that Hannah has been waiting for "all her life" finally came yesterday!


She lost her first tooth! It has been loose for about a week.

Kaitlyn was at school yesterday & was sitting in class when she ran her tongue across the top of her mouth & felt a loose tooth. She touched it with her finger and "it went flying out of her mouth"



We are happy it came out on it's own, we didn't have to pay the dentist. Kaitlyn thinks the the tooth fairy should pay her the amount we would have paid the dentist. Uh, no.


But both girls look pretty cute!