Wow! What a crazy couple of weeks! Last week, we made a quick trip out to AZ to find a house/apartment for our upcoming move and for me to INTERVIEW for my DREAM JOB! The interview went well. The company is wonderful- great benefits, wonderful co-workers, awesome responsibilities, and major advancement potential. I'm hoping to hear something soon. If not, I'll carry on with my original "move to AZ" plan and substitute teach/ go to nursing school. Either way, it's a win-win situation.

The house/apartment hunt was a bust, however. We found one 3 bedroom apartment in a complex we like, but the landlord seems like a jerk, so I'm assuming that one's a no go. I keep thinking we could just squeeze into a 2 bedroom apartment for 6 months or so, then get into a house, but the idea of moving twice in less than a year makes me crazy... I guess we'll just see how it all goes.

Happy Mother's Day!

Today John and the kids spoiled me rotten. John cooked breakfast and served me breakfast in bed, then took the three oldest kids to church while I slept. It was great! My allergies have been bothering me lately (seriously, who develops seasonal allergies at 30??), so I took some medicine and it totally knocked me out. The kids made me sweet cards at school and did a flower craft at church. They really made me feel special and loved.

After church John's sister, brother, and Dad came over and we BBQ'ed to celebrate mother's day and my father-in-law's birthday.

I got to talk to my mom and my step-mom, so that was a highlight of the day as well :)

I hope everyone else had a great day!

Well, we're still alive and well. Let's see...what's gone on this past month???

We celebrated Easter by having an Easter egg hunt with John's side of the family. It was really fun! Caitlyn had a little accident on the trampoline right before we left, so she and I ended up in the ER for a "just in case" type visit. She had been teasing everyone all day, and had just been forced to sit and hug Cameron for 5 minutes after a particularly loud and frustrating fight. As soon as I let them get up, she and Cameron were jumping, and she took a bad bounce and ended up falling mouth-first into the metal ring of the trampoline. It was a VERY bloody injury. I ripped off her shirt and held it to her mouth, but it was soon soaked, so I sent Cameron in for a towel, and instructed Collin to watch Caleigh. Soon the bleeding was controlled, and I got a good look at her poor little mouth. Her front teeth were knocked loose, and the gums were swollen. She bit through the area right above her lip, and just missed the lipline border (lucky!). Her lip was hideously swollen. I didn't take any pictures at the hospital, but it looked like someone had some bad botox/ fillers ;-)

Caleigh is being evaluated for speech services sometime this week. We are so excited! I was worried because she does not talk much, so I finally called ECI, and scheduled a consultation. We had our initial visit last week, and should have her evaluation with the speech therapist this week. I'm so excited to be able to talk to my baby!

The boys are reading, reading, reading, and reading some more. Collin took his TAKS test, and we are excited to get his results back.

We are moving back to AZ in 30 days! I reserved our u-haul a couple of days ago, so it's officially official! Hopefully, some other news will be officially official soon, too, so it can be announced on the blog.

So tell me...did you miss me?

Camping...Texas Style :)

This past weekend, we went camping....Texas Style! We went to our favorite lake and rented a shelter for two nights. These things are amazing- electric, A/C, heat, bunk beds, refrigerator, microwave, and a water spigot right outside the door. The only thing it's missing is indoor plumbing, but even that's only a short walk away. Along with the hot showers! Now that's my kind of camping! We were right on the lake, so that was awesome! The boys could fish whenever they wanted, and the girls enjoyed going down by the shore to pick flowers and shells.

John's Dad joined us Saturday afternoon, and we picnicked and visited for quite a while. John's sister and her husband also camped out, and some friends of theirs camped, too. We really had a lot of fun. Their friends have a little girl who is about Caitlyn's age, and they had a lot of fun together.

The school year is winding down. Again, I don't know where it went. It feels like every year just goes faster and faster. We're definitely ready for summer, but the heat can take its time getting here :)

Ten Years

Today, the mister and I celebrated our ten year wedding anniversary. Honestly, it often feels like we have been together FOR-EEEEEEE-VER. We didn't do anything fancy at all this year. For our five year, we went to Sea World and toured some of the sites in San Antonio. Usually, we go to Dallas, get a room, and enjoy a night of uninterrupted SLEEP. It's heavenly. This year, however, we are saving our dinero for our upcoming move to Arizona, so we just stuck around the casa con los ninos. Truthfully, I think it has been our most enjoyable anniversary to date.

This afternoon, we headed out to the lake and John cooked up some hot dogs, and we all enjoyed them. Then we came home, put John to bed, and I took the kids to the park for the evening. After we came home, I put the kids in bed by 9. John headed to work by 10, and I've enjoyed a quiet evening to myself. If there are any shelters left, we are going to rent one this weekend and camp. It will be fun to spend more time together as a family. Spring Break is going by too fast, but that's ok because the faster this semester goes, the sooner we can move.

I was looking at my wedding album earlier, and it brought back so many wonderful memories from our wedding day. My dress was absolutely beautiful- white, floor length beaded satin, off the shoulder. We had all sets of parents, along with most of our grandparents in attendance. The ceremony was wonderful- a simple, poolside recitation of our self-written vows, a short pep talk from John's Bishop, and the "I do's". It was short, sweet, and to the point. Perfection.

Although I often find myself frustrated because of certain circumstances, I have to admit that I have a really good life. My house isn't the biggest or the tidiest. We rarely have extra money in the bank. And, we've both put on some weight over the years (gasp! Horror!!!). But overall, life is good. We have everything we need. Our children are healthy and smart. We both earned degrees in areas that interest us. Overall, we get along well. I admit, it is so easy to get frustrated by the irritations associated with daily living (seriously, will he EVER learn to use the darn hamper?!?) but when it comes right down to it, he's the one for me. Even if he is a Republican ;)

One of my goals for this "season" of my life is to nurture my faith. I was raised LDS, have relatives who crossed the plains, and share a polygamous several greats-grandfather with every white person from my hometown, so many of my beliefs are grounded in and shaped by that religion. So much of it makes sense and resonates with me, but I am also open to other ideas. There are so many good people and so many good religious ideas out there. Try as I might, I can't bring myself to actually believe in my heart that my religion is the ONLY true and correct religion out there, that my way of life is the ONLY one that brings happiness. I just can't do it. But I am comfortable with my religion, so I stay. I like the rules. I like the structure. I like knowing that whether I am in Commerce, TX, Reading, PA, Laie, HI, or Zihuatenejo, Morelos, Mexico my church-going experience will be the same. Same prayers, same rituals, same hymns, same poofy-haired-skin-tight-modest-layered-shirt-wearing women, same got-this-suit-on-my-mission-so-I'll-wear-it-'til-I'm-40 men. I like the Word of Wisdom (basically a health code- no alcohol, coffee, tea, etc). I like the fact that we have a lay ministry. I love the emphasis on families. But as much as I love and enjoy it, I also know that the sum on my spiritual existence is not defined by the religion I choose. I also must nurture my personal relationship with Jesus Christ and with God.

This is where my latest and greatest and most original new idea ever (Read: Lots of people do this and I think it's cool) comes into play. We are officially a memory verse learning family. We chose our first verse on Monday, and practiced it and practiced it, and practiced it some more. I think we all have it down pat. My idea is to learn a new verse every week. Over the years, I've noticed that I remember and recall songs and memory verses when the going gets tough, so I'm hoping to help my children have a jump start on their memorization. Perhaps all this memorization will help them in their schooling as well. That would be a great bonus, but if it just helps them become better people, that's ok, too :)

Since we're LDS and raising our children in that religion, we have 4 books of scripture to choose from (Bible, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and Pearl of Great Price). I hope to utilize verses from each book. Here's to diving back into the scriptures!