What a Life!

Alright, so I haven't been here for awhile, but I have very good reasons. The reasons are good, not necessarily good to me and my family. There will be no pictures! Work had gotten a little rough for Rob since July. The CEO of his company had passed away in January and the new management is awful at best. Rob was being harrassed by the woman in charge and no matter what he did, he couldn't seem to make her realize how important he was to the company. She fired him at the end of August under a restructuring explanation. She had told his supervisor a few weeks prior that she hated Rob because he was too good at his job and a threat to her own job. The supervisor was fired 5 minutes before Rob. Anyway, long story short, I am back at work full time (thank you, Dr. Carter!) and Rob is playing Mr. Mom while looking for a new job. He is a great mom, but the job search is not going so well. We are getting used to the idea that we may have to leave the state to find a job that Rob loves as much as he did the one he had for 21 years. There is nothing in the area we are in and moving within the state of California seems pointless with the way things are in California in this economy. We keep looking and praying. Something good will happen soon?!
Since the first week of July, I have not felt well at all. I had been told three years ago that I had diverticulitis and we thought that I was having problems because of that. After many doctor's appointments and rounds of antibiotics, I switched doctors and last week I had a hysterectomy. I had ovarian cysts as well as adenomyosis(a type of endometriosis) and 5 days later I feel better than I have in a very long time! For the last month there were times I could not stand without pain killers for more than 5 minutes at a time. The last time I went grocery shopping, I had to quit half way through and let Rob finish while I sat in the van with the kids. I am so excited to be feeling well and soon should be back at work, doing what I can to help out with the bills that continue to come in even when I ask them not to! The doctor said I should be off work for 6 weeks, but I have talked him down to two, though he is not budging on the no driving rule!
If there is anything good to come out of all of this, it is simply that Rob is home and able to do the running around after the kids that I can not. It is nice to keep things as normal as possible for them! Rob jokes that it took him 5 weeks of training to learn the routine! You're the best, Rob!

Back to school blues

I know a lot of parents are so excited to see school start again, but I am simply not one of those moms! We are on day 3 and I miss them already! Cole has started his sophomore year with a packed schedule. He also made the high school soccer team and begins seminary next week. We see very little of him! He will spend his Saturdays refereeing for rec soccer and earning money. I realize I have little time left with him before he is off on his own and it scares me to death! He is really turning into a neat young man! Cassidy has entered the 5th grade--her last year at the elementary school. She has a teacher who is new to us, but has been teaching for years. I hear great things about her and that she is challenging. Cassidy should have another fabulous year. Braden is in the 3rd grade and has my favorite teacher of Cassidy's. She is energetic and fun and simply loves what she does. Abigayle will start her preschool on Monday and go 3 days a week. She misses the cut off date for kindergarten and I am happy that I did not have to give her up this year. She is not so pleased. Her closest friend and cousin started this year. I hope she is happier once preschool starts. She knows most of her letters and sounds and is beginning to recognize beginning sounds as well. She is ready for kindergarten even if her mother is not!

Dance Recital

On Saturday, June 6, Cassidy had her annual dance recital at the performing arts center here in Paradise. This is her 6th year dancing and her first year with 3 separate dances. She had one ballet, a jazz and one dance with her pointe class. As usual, Cassidy did a wonderful job. She looked beautiful and graceful for the two ballet dances and sassy for the jazz. The recital had a carnival theme. She was a tightrope walker for pointe, a harlequin for ballet and part of the "cleanup crew" for jazz and danced to Britney Spears' Circus. Because her jazz routine was in the middle, I didn't get pictures of her in that costume on my camera, but here are a couple of her other costumes.

Cruisin'!

Rob and I just returned from an amazing vacation with our friends, John and Cris Dunlap. We left Monday and headed for Long Beach where we boarded Carnival's Paradise and we were off! Our first stop was at Catalina Island. Cris had spent a summer working there, so she was our tour guide. It is such a cute place! We shopped and walked and walked and ate! We had planned to go snorkeling, but the weather was apparently not informed of our plans and it ended up being chilly. I was freezing! We ditched the snorkeling and headed back to our ship. We had been told that we would not be making a stop at the planned port in Ensenada because of swine flu, but when we got back to our cabin, there was a letter from the captain saying we would be spending the day in Ensenada and allowed to go ashore. We booked an ATV tour in the afternoon and spent the morning shopping. I was a little hesitant about the ATV's. I have ridden on the back, but never driven one. I had no idea what I was missing out on. We had so much fun and got so dirty! I didn't want to get off! The next day was spent at sea. We ate, sat in the hot tub, played cards, watched shows and ate some more. We had a wonderful time. I don't think I have ever eaten so much food in one week, but it was all so good and we had to try everything! This was the best vacation ever. Next time we will take the kids along. I had no idea there were so many activities to keep kids entertained. It is definitely a family friendly ship! Mom and dad watched the kids for us--thank you so much! I really do appreciate it and realize how lucky I am to have you!

Catching up!

Wow! I did not realize how long it had been since I posted anything--boring or not. It seems like I have been running non stop, but now as I sit down, I can think of nothing--here goes!

Sunday I was put in as the Primary President of our ward. They asked me to take the calling on Mother's Day, which I didn't think was quite fair, but after about 13 years in primary, I kind of suspected it may be coming my way. My only concern is scouts--I have let Rob help our boys and have stayed out of it. Now I will need to dive in!

The boys are finishing another baseball season. Braden has played farm this year and Cole has played in the juniors. They are both so fun to watch play and I will miss the games, but I am looking forward to my schedule lightening up!

Cassidy is practicing hard for her one recital of the year. She has had little performances throughout the year, but this is the big one! She is in three dances this year--Jazz, advanced ballet and pre pointe. She is really very good and loves it. I enjoy watching her and am amazed at how graceful she becomes when she puts ballet shoes on! Over spring break we went to Sacramento and she was fitted for her demi pointe shoes. She is not old enough to test for the real pointe shoes until next spring. Her jazz dance is my favorite--they are dancing to Brittney Spears', Circus. It is a Circus theme and they are the clean up crew in hot pink coveralls. It is sassy and fun! It is June 6th for anyone who wants to come!

Braden has been working very hard at his reading. He was a little behind at his last report card, but tested out at third grade level last week! We are so proud of him!

Cole is busy studying for his Spanish final tomorrow morning. It is hard to believe that his freshman year is already ending--it has flown by. Next year will be a tough schedule for him!

Rob's work looks like it will be changing again. Aero Union may be sold to a new company possibly as soon as next month. The new company will sell the inventory(Rob's specialty) to another company to run. It looks like Rob will be sold with the inventory. He has submitted his resume. This could be a really good move--it is a world wide company. Keep your fingers crossed. We were in this same spot exactly 5 years ago--at least this time I won't turn up pregnant!

Abigayle has finished her first year of preschool--she loved it and is learning her letters and sounds. She asked me for homework one day so I picked up some flashcards and started teaching her. She loves it--we are about halfway through the alphabet. She has learned to write her name quite well. She has one more year of preschool and then she goes to kindergarten--how does it go so fast?

Rob and I are headed on a short cruise with John and Cris Dunlap June8-13th. We will be going to Catalina and were supposed to stop at Ensenada, but that port has been cancelled due to the swine flu. it will still be fun! Mom and dad are taking the kids--thank you!

That's about covers it. Thanks for plowing through!

A visit to the ER!

Thursday was an exciting night for Cole! What he thought would be practice for the church basketball team ended up being a trip to the emergency room! I wasn't there, but as I understand it he had been there for about 10 minutes when he and Colby Dunlap went for the ball. Colby got the ball and Cole got the trip to the ER! I got a call from the coach (Colby's dad, John) that I needed to come to the church. I was hoping all the way over it was an exaggeration, but one look and I knew stitches were not going to be optional! Rob came a few minutes later and confirmed the need and off they went! I took kids home to put to bed--I took him for his first set of stitches 13 years ago! They returned home a few hours later with 8 stitches and a tetanus shot. I teased him a little and said that at least all of his stitches were on the same side so that he still has a clean profile shot from the left! After cleaning it and putting on a new bandage before school Friday morning, I realized that most of the scar will probably be in his eyebrow and fairly unnoticable from a distance! I hope it is at least another 13 years before we have to do that again!

On Your Mark, Get Set, Go!

Tuesday night was Braden's first Pinewood Derby. He turned 8 just in time to join the Wolf Pack to join in on the fun! Braden, Rob and Cole worked together to cut it out, sand it, paint it and put it together. They had a great time working together. Braden's car took fourth place! He might have done better, but he raced it backwards once and that didn't go well! He was all smiles all night long. It was fantastic!

Tomorrow will be Braden's first sleepover in honor of his birthday and then it is on to Cassidy's 10th birthday next weekend. What was I thinking when I had 3 kids with birthdays so close together?