Hope everyone had a great Christmas! We sure did. Here's a very brief overview of our Christmas holiday. Last weekend we went back to Utah for a few days to celebrate Christmas with Ashton's siblings and Dad. Steve and Gail let us stay with them and we had fun hanging out. It was great to see everyone again. It was a bit sad to leave again, especially when we're not sure when we'll get to visit again, but staying in Utah and only having 5 sets of clothes to wear for a while wasn't really a good option.
Christmas Eve, we went over to Aunt Marcia's to visit with them and everyone else that was over there (Becky and Bryce, Mandy and Andrew, and Jeff and Stephanie). It was a blast. There was never a dull moment, especially watching the kids play with the nativity set and when the games came out. Never a dull moment. While we were there, we watched a short movie about an exhibit called the "Reflections of Christ." This exhibit is by a man named Mark Magby and the whole exhibit is photographs that he took portraying different moments of Christ's life. We first watched how the photographs were taken and then we watched a 5 minute thing that showed some of the pictures set to music. It was rather impressive and the photos were well done and powerful.
On Christmas Day, we just stayed home. It was nice to just hang around the house all day and spend time together. We opened presents from each other, called some family to wish them a Merry Christmas, and played games. It was a relaxing day and it was great to not worry about applying for jobs, interviews, and so on for a day. We also watched "The Nativity Story" and we really enjoyed it. I was a bit skeptical about how it would portray the birth of the Savior since it wasn't done by the Church, but I thought the story was well done. I would recommend you watch it if you haven't already.
Well, it's a day late, but merry Christmas to all of you! We hope that you all had a great Christmas holiday and we wish you a happy New Year's!
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
We are here, we are here, we are here!
Things have been a little crazy here since I last wrote and a lot has changed.
We successfully made the move from Utah to Colorado and it only took about 8 hours. Believe me, it felt a lot longer. Maybe that was because I was following Ashton who was driving the truck with the majority of our stuff. Wyoming apparently isn't as flat as I thought it was because on any sort of incline, it struggled to go past 50 mph. I was kind of embarrassed as I saw semis pass me in my car. Following someone is also kind of lulling in the sense that after a few hours of staring at the back of the truck, my eyes grew heavy. Usually I have Ashton to talk to during the whole trip, and we did have walkie talkies to use which was a good thing, but it's not the same as having someone in the same car to talk to. It was pretty boring to say the least. When I couldn't take it anymore, I told Ashton that I was going to lead for a while, passed him, and tried not to lose him. Unfortunately, we were going up a big hill at the time. We lost connection for a little while, but he caught up eventually as he tried to speed up and I tried to slow down. In any case, we made it!
Not all of our plans have worked out however. We didn't get the apartment or the job that we were hoping to, but thankfully, Paula (Ashton's mom) was willing to let us stay with her on fairly short notice. It's been nice to not have to live in a box.
So, right now, we're focusing our attention on getting a job, then working on finding a place to live. Ashton has an interview today that we're really hoping works out. No pressure or anything. It would make a very nice early Christmas present though.
So, when we were up here for the other job interview before we officially moved, we timed it right to be here when Nate and the girls arrived in Colorado for Thanksgiving. We had fun playing with the girls and here are some pictures.
Katelyn chasing a bubble.
Paula helping Sadie get some bubbles with her toes
Sadie
Katelyn took to getting the bubbles in different ways. First she just swatted them, then poked them, and then picked up a leaf (as in this picture) and catch them that way.
(By the way, by this time, I had come out to help Ashton take pictures.)
After she saw Ashton blowing a bubble to keep it up, Katelyn took to blowing on the bubbles.
After going inside and getting warm, I turned my camera to Katelyn and this is the face I got.
We successfully made the move from Utah to Colorado and it only took about 8 hours. Believe me, it felt a lot longer. Maybe that was because I was following Ashton who was driving the truck with the majority of our stuff. Wyoming apparently isn't as flat as I thought it was because on any sort of incline, it struggled to go past 50 mph. I was kind of embarrassed as I saw semis pass me in my car. Following someone is also kind of lulling in the sense that after a few hours of staring at the back of the truck, my eyes grew heavy. Usually I have Ashton to talk to during the whole trip, and we did have walkie talkies to use which was a good thing, but it's not the same as having someone in the same car to talk to. It was pretty boring to say the least. When I couldn't take it anymore, I told Ashton that I was going to lead for a while, passed him, and tried not to lose him. Unfortunately, we were going up a big hill at the time. We lost connection for a little while, but he caught up eventually as he tried to speed up and I tried to slow down. In any case, we made it!
Not all of our plans have worked out however. We didn't get the apartment or the job that we were hoping to, but thankfully, Paula (Ashton's mom) was willing to let us stay with her on fairly short notice. It's been nice to not have to live in a box.
So, right now, we're focusing our attention on getting a job, then working on finding a place to live. Ashton has an interview today that we're really hoping works out. No pressure or anything. It would make a very nice early Christmas present though.
So, when we were up here for the other job interview before we officially moved, we timed it right to be here when Nate and the girls arrived in Colorado for Thanksgiving. We had fun playing with the girls and here are some pictures.
A holiday treat for all: blowing bubbles in the snow (they used a bubble gun). Katelyn enjoyed blowing bubbles and then chasing them. After a while though, she wanted to just chase them. It then went to Ashton who was taking pictures, to blow bubbles in one hand and take pictures with the other. It was funny to watch.
Frozen bubbles on the snow
Katelyn chasing a bubble.
Paula helping Sadie get some bubbles with her toes
Sadie
Katelyn took to getting the bubbles in different ways. First she just swatted them, then poked them, and then picked up a leaf (as in this picture) and catch them that way.
(By the way, by this time, I had come out to help Ashton take pictures.)
After she saw Ashton blowing a bubble to keep it up, Katelyn took to blowing on the bubbles.
After going inside and getting warm, I turned my camera to Katelyn and this is the face I got.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
I Am Slowly Going Crazy
I keep trying to think of things to write about because I enjoy writing posts, but unfortunately, I don't feel like I have anything interesting to say. My time has been spent packing, trying to figure out we need to do to move, finding places to live, as well as other moving related things. It's been a crazy past couple of months.
I feel a bit ashamed that I haven't even taken any pictures of the few trees that have changed colors. Seeing trees change colors makes me miss Maine and the beautiful colors that never fail to appear there. There are more trees here in Pleasant Grove than in other places in Utah, like Provo, which is nice.
We do have some interesting things coming up. Ashton has an interview in Colorado next week, which we're happy about. We're both hoping that this opportunity will work out. We're not exactly sure yet what day his interview will be, but we should know soon. We're crossing our fingers that everything will work out.
On Saturday, I'll be teaching an organ workshop. I'm the ward organist and there aren't too many people in the ward who know how to play the organ. By not too many, I mean there is one other guy and he already has a calling. So, our Bishop was a bit sad when I told him that we'd be moving. I did think it was funny that I told him 15 minutes before Sacrament meeting, and while I was playing prelude, the entire Bishopric was talking about it, and the ward music coordinator knew sometime before Relief Society. However, when I first took the calling I said that I'd be willing to show others how to play the organ so that there would be more people should they need a substitute or anything. I'm a bit nervous about teaching this class because the only class I've taught is Sunbeams. Pretty different than teaching adults about how to play the organ. It'll probably be fine, I'm just a bit nervous about it although kind of excited, too.
I feel a bit ashamed that I haven't even taken any pictures of the few trees that have changed colors. Seeing trees change colors makes me miss Maine and the beautiful colors that never fail to appear there. There are more trees here in Pleasant Grove than in other places in Utah, like Provo, which is nice.
We do have some interesting things coming up. Ashton has an interview in Colorado next week, which we're happy about. We're both hoping that this opportunity will work out. We're not exactly sure yet what day his interview will be, but we should know soon. We're crossing our fingers that everything will work out.
On Saturday, I'll be teaching an organ workshop. I'm the ward organist and there aren't too many people in the ward who know how to play the organ. By not too many, I mean there is one other guy and he already has a calling. So, our Bishop was a bit sad when I told him that we'd be moving. I did think it was funny that I told him 15 minutes before Sacrament meeting, and while I was playing prelude, the entire Bishopric was talking about it, and the ward music coordinator knew sometime before Relief Society. However, when I first took the calling I said that I'd be willing to show others how to play the organ so that there would be more people should they need a substitute or anything. I'm a bit nervous about teaching this class because the only class I've taught is Sunbeams. Pretty different than teaching adults about how to play the organ. It'll probably be fine, I'm just a bit nervous about it although kind of excited, too.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Update
It's been a while since I wrote saying that we were looking for a new job and moving and I thought that maybe people would be wondering how that was going. Well, it's still going. We haven't found a job yet although we're still optimistic and still applying for more jobs. Sooner or later, though we'd obviously prefer sooner, something is bound to show up.
As far as moving is concerned, we're still moving even though we don't have a job. We'll be moving on the 28th of this month. Paula has been nice to enough to allow us to move in with her for a little while after we move. We also appreciate everyone else that offered to let us stay with them. We're so lucky to have you guys in our lives. So, we're moving to Colorado!
It's been kinda funny making plans to move. I've always been the planner in this relationship, wanting to nail down details in advance so I would know generally what to expect, especially if it required coordinating schedules. (I'm always up for spur of the moment things, like ice cream runs, but if something needs to happen or is going to happen, I need a plan and details.) In the past, my need to plan has driven Ashton a bit nuts. He must be getting used to it because we were able to plan not only what day we were moving, but when his last day of work was going to be, what day we were going to be all packed by, days we were going to clean, and so on. Not only that, but he wanted to make a packing order list, as in which rooms we can/should pack before other rooms. (We obviously wouldn't want to pack up the kitchen stuff until the end.) I must be rubbing off on him.
As far as moving is concerned, we're still moving even though we don't have a job. We'll be moving on the 28th of this month. Paula has been nice to enough to allow us to move in with her for a little while after we move. We also appreciate everyone else that offered to let us stay with them. We're so lucky to have you guys in our lives. So, we're moving to Colorado!
It's been kinda funny making plans to move. I've always been the planner in this relationship, wanting to nail down details in advance so I would know generally what to expect, especially if it required coordinating schedules. (I'm always up for spur of the moment things, like ice cream runs, but if something needs to happen or is going to happen, I need a plan and details.) In the past, my need to plan has driven Ashton a bit nuts. He must be getting used to it because we were able to plan not only what day we were moving, but when his last day of work was going to be, what day we were going to be all packed by, days we were going to clean, and so on. Not only that, but he wanted to make a packing order list, as in which rooms we can/should pack before other rooms. (We obviously wouldn't want to pack up the kitchen stuff until the end.) I must be rubbing off on him.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Really?
I found this article/video this morning about the swine flu and the latest updates. Now, I've never believed that the swine flu was a big deal. The symptoms and health concerns not being unlike your traditional flu. I still don't plan on getting the vaccine, even if they were to tell me I had swine flu, I wouldn't do it. I do realize, however, that some of you might be considering it. I think the government has blow this way out of proportion (let's not forget what happened with the whole bird flu thing).
I think it's shady that the government is pushing this so hard when there have only been 1,000 deaths that they have linked to swine flu, although the CDC is no longer testing people to confirm the H1N1 strain of the flu nor tracking down the cases. They haven't been doing this since August 30th. So really, there's no way to tell if these people actually died from swine flu. 1,000 deaths are still a lot, but there are 36,000 deaths a year from the seasonal flu to put this in prospective. These numbers are sure to sore since the CDC is now counting people with only flu-like symptoms. Doesn't mean you have to have the flu of any type, just the symptoms.
It's sad when the government tries to scare people into doing something. If they had the facts to back their story up, I'd listen, but I've heard nothing but scare tactics. I'd encourage you to check out this article/video. Both are really good and worth the time. The article also has other links to the CDC's website and other useful information.
http://articles.mercola.com/swine-flu-article/20091027.htm
I think it's shady that the government is pushing this so hard when there have only been 1,000 deaths that they have linked to swine flu, although the CDC is no longer testing people to confirm the H1N1 strain of the flu nor tracking down the cases. They haven't been doing this since August 30th. So really, there's no way to tell if these people actually died from swine flu. 1,000 deaths are still a lot, but there are 36,000 deaths a year from the seasonal flu to put this in prospective. These numbers are sure to sore since the CDC is now counting people with only flu-like symptoms. Doesn't mean you have to have the flu of any type, just the symptoms.
It's sad when the government tries to scare people into doing something. If they had the facts to back their story up, I'd listen, but I've heard nothing but scare tactics. I'd encourage you to check out this article/video. Both are really good and worth the time. The article also has other links to the CDC's website and other useful information.
http://articles.mercola.com/swine-flu-article/20091027.htm
Monday, October 19, 2009
Something Good Can Come Out of Getting Up Early
It's been cold here in Utah for the past few weeks, although the past few days have been actually fairly nice. This morning when I walked outside to go running, I was surprised that it was actually warm enough to not need a sweatshirt. Found out while I was running that there's a storm coming. I don't mind thunder and lightning for the most part, but I don't particularly like being out running in it. Thankfully there were only a couple flashes, two big drops of rain on my arm, and apparently that was it. Weird right?
In any case, as a result of some storm that's somewhere, there are cool clouds hovering over the mountains. It was too dark to really enjoy on my way home, but since Ashton's car needed to go into the shop this morning, I got to go back out and drive him to work. As we headed back down to Provo, I found myself wishing I had brought my camera because the sky looked amazing.
The drive back to Provo was much the same and I pleaded with the sky to just hold that pose until I could get my camera. Well, it changed a little bit, but stayed pretty much the same while I ran inside, grabbed my camera, and headed back out to get a better angle (there are fences that surround the entire apartment complex that are just a little too high for me to get a good shot). I headed out to a nearby business and took pictures in their parking lot. Since I took them at about 8:30 in the morning, it was still a little dark, but I'm still happy with how they turned out.
In any case, as a result of some storm that's somewhere, there are cool clouds hovering over the mountains. It was too dark to really enjoy on my way home, but since Ashton's car needed to go into the shop this morning, I got to go back out and drive him to work. As we headed back down to Provo, I found myself wishing I had brought my camera because the sky looked amazing.
The drive back to Provo was much the same and I pleaded with the sky to just hold that pose until I could get my camera. Well, it changed a little bit, but stayed pretty much the same while I ran inside, grabbed my camera, and headed back out to get a better angle (there are fences that surround the entire apartment complex that are just a little too high for me to get a good shot). I headed out to a nearby business and took pictures in their parking lot. Since I took them at about 8:30 in the morning, it was still a little dark, but I'm still happy with how they turned out.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
So Many Projects, So Little Time
As most of you know, I like crafts. I'm not always the most creative, but I like trying lots of new things and I like to be busy. It's little wonder then that I have a lot of projects going on.
These projects include: scrapbooking, crocheting, a few plaque projects that are almost done (just haven't bought the hooks to hang them), and somewhere there's a cross stitching project that I started several months ago. I like all of these things and want to finish them, but I think there's just something exciting about starting a new project.
I realized today that I'm starting to get that itch for a new project. This time, however, I'm determined not to actually start a new project until I've finished up some other ones. I did temporarily satisfy the itch by looking at some cool ideas for projects online. I think I've found what I'm making people for Christmas this year!
(By the way, we haven't heard back about any jobs yet, but I'll let you know when we do!)
These projects include: scrapbooking, crocheting, a few plaque projects that are almost done (just haven't bought the hooks to hang them), and somewhere there's a cross stitching project that I started several months ago. I like all of these things and want to finish them, but I think there's just something exciting about starting a new project.
I realized today that I'm starting to get that itch for a new project. This time, however, I'm determined not to actually start a new project until I've finished up some other ones. I did temporarily satisfy the itch by looking at some cool ideas for projects online. I think I've found what I'm making people for Christmas this year!
(By the way, we haven't heard back about any jobs yet, but I'll let you know when we do!)
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