New Job!!

The working thing has been a tough adjustment, however since I got my secretary aide job at the middle school things have been awesome! I LOVE the people I work with and the amount of time I work (17.5 hours a week) was perfect. However, with a missionary in the field and teenagers at home the budget for our family has been thin. It also was even more difficult given that I don't work at all over the summer and that I would get every holiday break off that the kids have. Now, I LOVE having the time off, but I need the money more!! So, I started to pray for a job opportunity and I would search job listings often and even applied to a couple that I never heard response to. During Christmas break I saw a job posting for our school district that sounded really great, however the hours and pay were not included in the posting. I almost just assumed it was full time, but instead of doing that I texted a neighbor who just happens to be the Human resource director for our district. He responded and told me it was a 20 hour a week job and that it would be $4 more an hour than I make now! I was STOKED!!! I immediately called Chan to tell him about it and get his opinion. Needless to say I applied for the job THAT SAME DAY! It is exactly what I was looking for! The posting was up on their site until January 5th and after that they reviewed all the applicants before asking a few for interviews and I was one of them. I found out later that they had narrowed it down to myself and ONE other person. My neighbor told me it was mine to lose! He really wanted me to get it! And 2 hours after my interview I was offered the job! YAY! I will be working the front desk as an Assistant to Human Resources. I greet ALL who enter the building and I work with one other person and our shift is half day Wednesdays and all day Thursday and Friday. And the best part is it's year round! I start next week! Yikes!! I am very excited and nervous for my new work adventure! I FIRMLY believe that I was led to this job! Like I said before, it is EXACTLY what I was looking for. And here's an interesting bit of info... my neighbor ran the numbers on my pay and I will be making almost exactly $400 a month more than I do now. That is the exact amount I pay monthly for my missionary. I know it's no coincidence! It's the blessings of having him out there serving! I just know it! I am so grateful for the opportunity and just hope that I can do the job well! Wish me luck! :)

Finishing touches in Carter's room

 Once Will's room was done it got me wanting to finish up Carter's room. Back when we did Brianne's room and moved their stuff around I kinda lost my steam and never hung Carter's pictures etc. So I figured I might as well get it all done!

 I went to Hobby Lobby and purchased some frames for his favorite posters so I could make it look really nice! And I have to say I was rather impressed with myself that I figured a way to balance out the pictures by using his hats! It turned out pretty cool! :) The poster of Lamichael James he made himself in a class in high school!

 Then I had Chan hang another shelf in Carter's room for some of his books, hats etc (and I still need to hang that Eagles sign up above the shelf) and I framed a picture of the Orlando temple we got shortly before he left and hung it next to his favorite picture of Christ he has had for a while. I did  put it in a new frame as well.

 It's funny how painting can make everything look clean again! And this is the exact same color he had in his room in the basement. he loved that color so I didn't want to change it.

This is that plaque on the wall- I made it at a relief society activity last fall.  I felt it was the PERFECT thing to make and hang in his room! That way if people come and stay they will see who's room they are staying in! Haha! Actually I just thought it was a precious reminder of what he is doing! How blessed we are to have a missionary! I hope he likes his new room when he gets back! :)

Will's room re-do!

 Since Brianne and Carter were essentially getting "all new" rooms I told Will that I would do some changes in his room as well. Which truthfully was WELL over due! His room was the one that had NO changes really since moving in! It was time!

 After going through every drawer, closet and shelf and getting rid of A TON of stuff we got to work moving things around to paint. I had almost the entire room painted in one day. I only had one wall left to finish the next day.

 Then I had to get Chan's help to hang the new shelf, put together the new nightstand and hang the TV with a mount kit. Can I just say how much I love IKEA! I LOVE their shelves! :)

I also got these great hooks there for his hats :) We still have a couple pictures to hang, but we managed to get the entire room done in two days! Woot woot! It's brighter and has much more space with the way we placed his furniture. And the best part is he LOVES it! I am so glad!

Hair changes... again...

I was ready for a change again with my hair! I guess I get bored quickly? Anyway, I went back to a dark color with blond highlights and cut a few more layers in! I LOVE it! We'll see how long it lasts! I may go black to blonde again in a year! Haha! :)

Painting Class

Will took a painting class this past quarter and did pretty well! This was his final project for his class! He chose to paint a picture of a photo I had taken of him and his brother at a game before he left on his mission. How sweet! Probably not the best painting out there, but I love that he chose THIS picture to paint! I love it! :)

Gifts from our Missionary!

 We got a box from Carter with a few small gifts for the family! Mine was a T Shirt from Wild Florida and a very precious necklace/earring set that he picked out for me. He said in the letter that he knew it was "cheap" but he likes the figure 8 in it because it reminded him of eternal families. How sweet is THAT! :)

 He gave Chan this tie. It was his tie and he wore it during his first baptism on his mission. He said every time he wore it a miracle happened and he hoped it would do the same for him! LOVE!!!

 This was Will's- an alligator head, because everyone should have one of THOSE! Hahaha! As well as a hat and a couple treats.

 Brianne got these treats- which are some of her FAVORITES as well as.....

This beanie hat! He said he got it for her because it was just FUNNY! And I have to say that I think it's pretty awesome! And she does too!

He also sent this green laser pointer for Will and Brianne to share. I have NO idea where he got it, but it's pretty neat! They have enjoyed playing around with it!

It was so thoughtful of him to send us things! It made our week!! We all loved it! Thanks Carter!! :)

Sweet message!

I woke up one morning and discovered this on the door to the garage! How SWEET is this! He left it there for me before heading out for school. I couldn't be more happy to have such thoughtful kids! :)
(And yes, I went immediately to Starbucks and got myself a yummy frappacino!)

Downtown Fun!

 The week of the new year we decided that we wanted to head downtown to have dinner with Dad and see the lights before they weren't on anymore. So the kids and I hopped on Traxx and met Chan downtown at the new City Creek Center. And since the kids were still in "shopping mode" they brought their money along to see what they could purchase! It's a gorgeous mall and they decorated so lovely for the holiday! It was SOOOO cold out! These pictures don't make it seem that way but it WAS!

We decided that walking across the street to Temple Square wasn't an option because we were just too cold! So we ate dinner at the Blue Lemon in City Creek and did a little more shopping before heading home. One stop on the way at one of our new favorite stores, Trader Joe's, for some groceries and then we were home again! And WARM! But it was such a fun night with my cute family!

Shopping fun

 Part of the fun of having older kids is that they ask for money for Christmas which means I get to go out and take them shopping! FUN! Will and I hit Scheel's to look at shoes etc and found this awesome pillow pet of Puddles the Oregon mascot! We HAD to get him for Carter! Shhhhh... don't tell him! We'll be sending Puddles for his Birthday in April! :)

 We also hit Target, the mall and a few other stores and (of course) went to Swig for a drink! Will got a job there last October and is LOVING it! It's a fun soda drink spot that also happens to have AMAZING cookies! Hahaha!

The only thing that would have made this day better is if Chan could have joined us! We had a blast! I could spend all day everyday with my family and be the happiest person on the planet! I LOVE my family! :)

New Years Eve

 New Years Eve was spent up at Chan's parents home ringing in the new year with yummy food, family and friends.

 And as usual they pulled out the karaoke machine as well to sing well into the night!

 This year Brianne performed a couple of songs to the family that were in her ipod and they were blown away. Her Uncle Gerardo was especially surprised by her talent! Brianne's friend Bergan came along with us again this year! :)

 There was also movies playing and lots of pool playing going on! Will has gotten quite good at pool! Papa showed him some tricks while he was staying there and he even beat him in a game! Crazy!

 A few people decided that more than one party hat would be fun! hahahaha! The kiddos were doing this too! Myles had some all down his back at one point and he looked like a dinosaur! Haha I wish I had gotten a picture of it!

It was a fun evening! We rang in the New Year, Brianne and Bergan went out and did some very good banging on some pots and pans and we went home to bed! Bring it on 2015! Can't wait to see what this year has to bring!

The Nutcracker

 The day Chan and I returned from Vegas Brianne was headed to see the Nutcracker with Chan's family. She was SOOOOO excited! She has only seen parts of it at school assemblies.

 It was at the Capitol Theater downtown and put on by Ballet West a premier performing group! They put this show on every year!

 She has been to this theater before with me, but it is still shocking every time how beautiful it is!!

The Crismon ladies! She went with Gamma Kathy, Grandma Gilbert, Brooke and her daughter Sophie! A pretty great group of women! She had an amazing time and loved the show!

Anniversary 2014

 On the 26th of December we got up early packed our bags and hit the road for Las Vegas. It seems to be our "go to" place when we need time away as a couple, but we've gone there for so many years we know our way around and can usually find a reasonable rate to stay!

 The drive down was interesting! It was the first time in a LONG time that we hit weather on the way down. We had snow in several spots and it slowed us down a bit, but we stopped in St George to say hello to Tammy before heading down to The Palms to check into our room.

 The view was awesome! The lights at night were cool, but honestly the sunrise was even more amazing! The entire sky looked orange! It was stunning! I wish I had gotten a picture of it, but I only had my phone camera and I am sure it wouldn't have done it justice anyway!

 We stayed in this room for one night before switching to another the next day. We hadn't planned on doing that but when we discovered this room didn't have a bath tub we HAD to move! A tub was one thing I HAD to have! Since I don't have a big tub in my own home it's something I REALLY look forward to when I stay in a nice hotel!

 Once we got there we got comfortable, ordered in food and watched a movie! It was heavenly! We actually spent a lot of time in our hotel room. It was wonderful to just spend time together alone and have chats and laugh. It's exactly what we need once a year to remind us why we got together in the first place! :) And a nap here and there was great too.. with NO interruptions! Yay!

 One of the days we took some Christmas money and hit the mall on the strip! This one is AMAZING! We've been here many times. It is HUGE and has pretty much every store imaginable! I was proud of myself for making a big purchase... a Michael Kors purse! I LOVE it!

 We also went to a few spots we hadn't been a quite a while- like Paris hotel and casino...

 we had thought about eating there, but it was INSANELY busy so we left and walked a bit until we found the perfect spot.

 This is where we ended up eating at and it was perfect! It was outside (with heaters) in front of Planet Hollywood Casino which is right across from the Bellagio fountains! It was fantastic food and the perfect spot to people watch which is a favorite thing to do there!

 I am sure we ordered WAY too much food, but when your out on your own and at a great food place you want to try a lot of things! This guacamole was FANTASTIC!

 I snapped this picture of Chan while we were eating there wearing his new shirt he had purchased! Doesn't he look great! I am one lucky gal! :)

 After we ate we walked around for a while. We had filled our tummies so full we needed to walk it off a bit! The walkways over the strip make for good picture opportunities! :)

 The next day we decided we wanted to go to a movie. Our hotel had a movie theater in it so we went to see the Night at the Museum 3! Our kids had gone to see it with their Gamma and Papa and gave it rave reviews so we knew it would be good! And it WAS!

 After the movie we went out again and hit a few spots we hadn't been to yet. The first one was the gardens at Bellagio. Every year they do amazing displays for Christmas. This years was BY FAR the most remarkable I have ever seen. There was a snow tunnel, polar bears made out of flowers and penguins popping up out of igloos! It was really neat!

 The only drawback was that is was insanely crowded! You'd never guess that by the pictures I took, but I could barely walk through to get them! And I didn't post them all... don't want to bore you!

 You can see the crowd in the background of this picture! It's the huge black blob in the center there! Haha! But seriously if your in Las Vegas around this time it is totally worth going to see and it doesn't cost anything!

 This was our last night in Vegas so we wanted to have a special Anniversary dinner. We didn't think we'd have a hard time choosing a place, but oh boy, we were wrong! It was a Sunday evening and everywhere we went was SLAMMED! It was relatively early (for Vegas time) and most places there wasn't openings until 9pm! Yikes! So we just kept walking around until we found this place in Ceasers Palace. We have walked by this place a million times and never thought to check it out, but we were glad we did this time! It was very yummy! And it was pretty busy too, so it was a slow service, but we liked that. It gave us time to really enjoy it!

 All of the casinos had lovely Christmas decor! I can't imagine how long it must take for them to put that up and take it down! Wow! Once we got our dinner we went back to the hotel because we planned to leave early Monday to get home to our kiddos!

When we arrived home there was a gift from my friend Jennie to help us celebrate our big day! It was such a sweet thing to do!

It's hard for me to believe I have been married for 20 years! Over that weekend we talked about our time in college, having our babies, moving homes and all else we've been through and there's not anything we would change. In fact, we love each other more now than ever! We are looking forward to more memories with our kids and many more anniversary trips to fun places! We are truly blessed!
I love you Chan! Here's to 20 more!