First day of school!

What an ordeal! So I had the Alyssa and Christian registered for a charter school we were all really happy about, but then we found out they wanted almost $200 in fees. Needless to say, I wasn't too excited about that. So 2 weeks before school was to start I tried to register them for a local public school that is supposed to be really good. Time was ticking and it was 3 days before school began. I gave up and went in to the charter school. The fees were less than I thought and the kids were excited so we got their lists, went shopping for school supplies, went back to school to meet their teachers and did last minute clothes shopping for uniforms. I hated to buy uniforms after I had just bought enough clothes a few months before on sale, but they look so stinking cute it was fun.

I was so nervous their first day. I kept thinking about what they were doing. But they did great and made friends and in the 3 weeks since have really enjoyed it. Alyssa is taking hip hop and gymnastics, which she loves, and Christian has made friends with a group of boys who are "really tough" at soccer and they play at every recess. With the 40 minute round-trip drive every day, they better love it.

Amber is attending a different school with my mom as her teacher. She started a week and a half after the kids but has eased into the whole school routine. I miss her during the day, but I'm glad she's in such capable hands. She has her 2 cousins in the class and they have a lot of fun together.

Blessings

It's been several months since Scott decided to switch careers. It's been a LOOONG several months. We have been struggling finding a job and adjusting to so many changes. But things are finally starting to fall into place. He decided he wants to do accounting, more particularly get a job as a CFO or Controller (only the big bucks for him). He was able to find an internship with an accountant last week and will start this coming week. He also found a part-time job at Best Buy to pay the bills. It's nice to see the things we were trying for actually fall into place.
We really miss our old home and our friends a lot, but we are trying to put on happy faces and accomplish whatever it is we're here for. We are grateful to be together as a family and with a roof over our heads and money coming in. Alyssa wrote one of her friends this week, "it's not looking good for us. Money is slow coming in." It was so funny. But we have tried not to let the kids feel the effects of everything. I think they're adjusting well. School starts next week and things will get busy. But I needed to write about how blessed we are and remember all the good we have received.

Christian b-day

Okay, so Christian never asks for much (except when it's Wii-related), but he is still so spoiled! Good thing he's such a good boy. He wanted to go to Chuck E. Cheese for his birthday, and Grandpa made it happen. But he wanted a Wii birthday cake, and the only thing I felt talented enough to try had to be round, so we copied Hunter's cake and did King Boo. It turned out okay, but not as cute.

We had 15 cousins and friends show up and they blew through probably 600 tokens. But a fun time was had by all. And Christian has found a new hobby--Legos. He got a few sets and he has been playing with them since. So has Scott. In fact, the day after Christian's birthday he was late for church because he was playing with all the toys. I love you, Christian. Happy birthday my big 7 year old.

Soran

I just had to put up some pics of my cute and growing baby. She has found her thumb and our life is changed! She puts herself to sleep and sleeps for longer periods of time. It's so nice. About the only time I can get Scott to hold still long enough to hold her is when he's on the computer so I think she's getting a liking for it. She is still a sweet baby and puts up with all of us very well. More pics to come soon! We just got her in her blessing dress this week.

Reece reunion

Life has been crazy since we moved. We've had 2 weddings, a few birthdays, lots of dinners with family and more fun than is good for us--really, I am so exhausted. But a couple weeks ago we had the Reece reunion, which was a lot of fun and a great learning experience. We started off with dinner at my brother's (I decided we shouldn't start there anymore--no one can compete with Cami's food) and then went to the school and played with a parachute and games. Boy am I out of shape.

The next day we went to the Oquirrh Mountain temple and walked through. It was so beautiful and it was wonderful to be able to go with the kids, although Scott kept telling Christian the Wii room was just around the corner and what did he think we did when we went to the temple anyway? Then we went to This is the Place park and had our eyes opened to life as a pioneer. We had fun seeing actual cabins and houses that were lived in, trying out chores and games they had back then and of course riding horses. It was really interesting seeing how many wives and children could be crammed into one house.

The next day the guys went golfing and then the girls made earrings. Sunday we had an informative discussion about family history and acted out skits from our ancestry.

It was a great time. Thanks to Karen and Rich for all their hard work and planning.

4th of July!

I love the 4th of July in Provo. It is almost as good as Christmas. It starts out with the childrens parade which the kids love. Then they set up booths in the center of town with lots of free activities for the kids. This year Amber got to be part of the reptile show. The kids got to dig in the sand in this big truck and collect colored rocks to trade for prizes. Scott got to ride a segway. Scott's the best And of course all the bounce houses and art booths. My family always spends the night saving a spot for the big parade but with so many kids we just come and take advantage. It was a fun parade. Lots of bagpipes. Sara is super sexy!!! Scott wrote red text.
Usually in the evening we go to a field and watch the fireworks, but this year Alyssa, Brittany and I were given tickets to the Stadium of Fire. We got to see the Jonas Brothers! Jonas bros rule Too bad we'd never heard any of their songs. It was a lot of fun, though.
Happy birthday, America!

Livi and other tragedies

I love Alivia, I really do, but she is my most precocious (to put it nicely) child. A couple days after arriving in Provo, my mom gave us some childrens vitamins. As they were past the expiration date by two years, I threw them away. Later that night we were watching a movie when Christian noticed she was eating some of them. After checking the internet and properly freaking myself out about iron poisoning I decided we needed to get them out of her. Scott acted like he knew what he was doing and told me to give her some milk and then he gave her a raw egg to drink. She drank it happily down. So we tried some really hot hot sauce. She didn't even make a face. He was out of ideas so he told me to stick my finger down her throat. Scott, who cannot handle vomit without losing it himself, ran out the door. She barely even bit me. I don't know whether it was the fact mom and dad were both paying attention to her or what, but she was rather unscathed by the situation. She didn't even cry. I, on the other hand, will never buy vitamins again.

Our favorite place to visit anywhere we've lived is the library, so we made our way over there a few days after moving in. They asked for our names and then the librarian informed me we had a $35 fee from last time (over 7 years ago!!!) and we needed to buy replacement cards at $2 each. Unbelievable! Even foreclosures are wiped clean after 7 years, but not the library!

The last tragedy is the job market. Doesn't seem to be a whole lot better here. There are more jobs but also more people. But something will work out soon, I can feel it.

On the whole, we're doing well. Life has settled down into crazy routine. We just try not to think of AZ too much.