Kyle's new place of employment.

As many of you know, the main reason why we went to Texas when we did was that we were trying to secure employment. We feel extremely watched over and blessed when we tell you the story of getting a job (especially considering the current economic situation). We really felt the hand of God watching over us (in especially the little details) while interviewing and driving around the different areas of Houston. I can tell you that I was the most surprised at how things happened. Just ask Christy... I had a huge list of "to do's" as far as getting a job was concerned, and my getting a job on the first day in a district that I didn't plan on having much interest in me came as a total surprise. I really feel that Heavenly Father had a hand in the things that happened that week.

Without going into too much detail retelling the story that Christy already told in an earlier post, I wanted to describe a little more some of the "spiritual promptings" that Christy talked about:

Going down to Texas, I had done a TON of research of school districts (we've been looking forward to this move for almost a year). I had narrowed my list of districts that I liked (based on location, pay, benefits, possibility for openings, etc.) down to 8. A lot of my research and narrowing had been done with fasting and prayer. I knew that these were hugely critical life-changing decisions Christy and I were going to be making, and I wanted to make sure that I included (more accurately I wanted to make sure I was directed and counseled by) the Lord in what happened.

What initially made me decide (a final decision type of decide) that I wanted to go to Houston in the first place (and I haven't really even mentioned this to Christy until now (as it hadn't really occurred to me until now)) was a meeting that I had with a recruiter from the Cypress-Fairbanks school district last year at the BYU teacher fair. I was simply very impressed by what he told me about the district. For the first three or four months (the months that were still very far away) I remember praying (in my personal prayers) very fervently for Heavenly Father to open up an opportunity for me to teach there.

Months went by. I did more research. I got more caught up in school and other things. I fell more in love with what I was finding on-line about the Houston area in general and I forgot those initial feelings a little bit. Somewhere along the line, I decided that it would be okay if I just got a job somewhere in Houston I didn't care so much if it was in the Cy-Fair district.

As I started to go through the research process, I realized that, in the case of the Cy-Fair district there wasn't much I could do from Utah. They were one of the only districts that didn't post any job openings online. I went ahead and did what I could (fulfilled the application process, etc.) but I didn't put much stock in getting anything there (especially since I realized that Cy-Fair wasn't coming back to the BYU teacher fair again this year). I started getting really interested in other places (mainly because they were showing interest in me and I was worried that getting a job in this economy would be terribly difficult).

Abo0ut 3 weeks before we were supposed to leave for Texas, BYU had their teacher fair. A new district (Galena Park) was introduced to us. They were one of the only districts that actually came from the Houston area, and they treated Christy and I a little bit like kings. They really courted us to come to their district. When they found out that we had planned on coming down to Texas, the courting came on even stronger. We really felt like we were going to get a job there.
Then, we left on our trip. A few weeks before the BYU teacher fair, I had set up an interview with the personel office of the Cy-Fair district. I really didn't think anything would come of it, but I needed a job, so I went there anyway. I was hoping that it would be quick so that we could get over to Galena Park. I wanted to do well, however.

When I've been in previous job interviews in the past (especially the ones that have been for jobs that have been important ones to me) I've felt promptings directing me as to what to say/do. Going into this interview, I said a little prayer asking for the same kind of guidance. For the first 5-6 minutes of the interview I kept looking for that guidance... it wasn't there. Inside I kept praying, constantly saying ... where are you... aren't you supposed to guide me. All of a sudden I got this feeling... "you needed to be guided in those interviews.. you don't need that kind of guidance now... I'm here for you, but you have the capability to do it on your own trust yourself and have faith."

It was pretty incredible what happened after that. I just said what I knew, what I had been trained in in my schooling. The interviewer was a former English teacher and he was both thorough and intense and expected a lot out of me in my answers. I nailed it. I knew what to say, and I think I impressed him at my depth of knowledge (thanks to my incredible teachers and mentors in my teaching program at BYU). At the end of the interview, I had this overwhelming feeling of "wow" (I can't think of a better word). There was a spiritual feeling of.. "see I knew you could do it... all I did was get you here."

I've never seen anyone more eager than that recruiter to recommend me to the other people in his office. I think he wanted to get me a job on the spot.

Well, we left from there, and went to Galena Park. It was fascinating what happened as we drove. It was almost as if, as we were driving, the farther away from Cy-Fair we got, and the closer we got to Galena Park, the mood became very... scary (again, I don't know a better word). I kept getting this feeling like... "you shouldn't be here, you're going the wrong way."

I dismissed the feelings. As I found out later, Christy dismissed some of the same feelings.
I got ahold of the recruiter and we set up some meetings with some principals. I still had a feeling that maybe I could get a job in this district. Since there was about an hour between when we got there and when the principal was ready to meet us, the recruiter took us for a tour through the town. If the feelings that we should not be there were ever strong for Christy, it was on this trip.

I was still dead to the spirit.

While on the drive, my phone rang. It was a Texas number, but I felt (in the presence of the recruiter) it was not appropriate to answer the call. From that point on, I couldn't stop thinking about that phone call.

I went to the interview with the principal. Instead of it being an interview, it was a tour. I kept getting these feelings... promptings: "you're wasting your time... you need to check that message. You don't want to be here... trust me.. have faith." All I wanted to do was get out of there. I felt unsafe.

My phone rang again.

It was almost the same number... I couldn't miss this one. I excused myself and took the call. I think I might have offended the principal, but I didn't care. It was Principal Snokhous' secretary from Arnold Middle School. Principal Snokhous had heard great things about me from a district recruiter and really realy wanted to meet with me today. Was there any way that I could meet with them at 5:00.

Without hesitation I said yes. The feeling that had come over me when that phone call came was unparallelled. In fact, it was almost perpendicular to the feelings that I had been feeling while in that Galena Park School. It was a great feeling. It was a feeling of "this is it... the one you've been waiting for."

When I got back with the principal I asked him if he would please call the recruiter and ask him to come pick me up. I needed to leave. Surprised a little, I think, he called the recruiter. (The recruiter had taken me to the school from the district office)

Up to that point in the trip, Christy and Gabbie had come with me everywhere I went (navigating for me and taking walks while I was in my interviews). She had worked that morning, however, and Gabbie had not had a nap, so she asked me if it would be okay if I went on my own to the school. I said I would be okay (the truth was, I felt like I needed a little time on my own before this interview. Some time to get my thoughts together and ask for thanks and some guidance from the spirit while in my interview). It wasn't too far from the hotel anyway.

Showing my great navigating skills, I got lost on my way there. What was interesting, though, was that I got lost in the neighborhoods of my school's boundaries. I really can't describe the feelings that I got while driving through those neighborhoods. All I will say is that I was brought to tears. (I'm welling up as I'm writing this.)

For those of you not familiar with our church or beliefs, there is a part of the doctrine of Jesus Christ that says that we have a responsibility to look out for our neighbors. This "looking out" is more eternal than what you might think at the face value of the term. We believe that there is what is called a priesthood "stewardship" over our neighbors. I personally believe that in teaching (secularly) there is a similar stewardship to that stewardship of the priesthood. I believe that some similar privileges and blessings that are promised to worthy priesthood leaders (and in the case of families: parents), in directing them how to preside over and "look out" for their "flock," are given to teachers within their stewarship. As education is such an important thing to our Father in Heaven, I believe that he gives his teachers great direction and promptings within this stewardship.

The feeling that I got while driving that day, lost, was one that said... "You're here. This is your stewardship. Go do what you know you need to do."

Almost needless to say, the interview at Arnold went flawless. Within minutes of my leaving I got a call telling me that I got the job. I can honestly say I've never felt so lead and so blessed as I did in those moments.

All that being said, and again not trying to take away from what Christy already said, but just wanting to add to it, here are some pictures: (sorry there aren't too many of them.)

This picture is actually from the webpage. I put it on here because it shows you our mascot (Arnold the Buccaneer) and it shows the front entryway.

Here is a picture of the name. Sorry... that's all we got.

Hotel and Car

This is the beginning of a great series of posts (and I might add a much anticipated series based on the hoard of requests we've gotten to put these pictures on here). These posts will be in connection with the previous posts Christy put on here about our Interviewing/Housing trip to Texas.

As a starting point, I thought it would be appropriate to talk a little about where we spent a good majority of our time: the rental car and hotel room.

Here is a picture of our beautiful rental car. We didn't give him a name while we were there, but while writing this post, I wish we would have. He was a trooper. He took us over 800 miles total driving (going back and forth to different areas of Houston) and he got us through a flood. If I were going to give him a name it would be blu (even though he is green).

This is a view out of our window. We were so excited to see palm trees and all of the green of the Houston area (which you'll see more of in later posts). I have to say that this was one of the best (cheap) hotels that I have ever stayed in. Being in a hotel for a full week is never an easy thing for a family, but they did just about everything they could to accommodate our needs and make the stay good for us. (just a little example of this: I called the day before we went down there to see if they would have a crib available while we'd be there. At the time, they told us that they only had one crib and that it was already in use and would be until part way through our stay. I asked if there was anything that could be done and the receptionist said that he'd see what they could do. When we got there the next day, they had gone out and bought a new crib just for Gabs.)

One thing that Gabs missed on the trip was her little pink chair. In lieu of her favorite spot, she had to come up with a comfy place to take a break. Throughout a lot of the week, Gabbie could be found lounging (well theoretically lounging; she would also be bouncing around playing) on the pillows of our bed.

Another thing that we liked about our room was that it was very conducive to our work needs. With the exeption of a fast enough internet connection for video (we had to do most of our classes using just voice calls) the room was very acommodating for a little "office." Toward the end of the week, it became a little taxing that we had to teach in the same room that we slept and did other things (especially because we teach in the late evenings and early morning), but I don't know of a hotel that you can go to (in our price range) where you have a separate room to use for business.

We also liked that there was a little cabinet (pictured on the left) that had a fridge and microwave. We were able to save a lot of money by being able to get food at the grocery store rather than eating out all the time.

This (above) is one of my favorite pictures from the trip. Can you tell that Christy wasn't too disappointed that her video didn't work when she was teaching?

This (again above) is another on of my favorite pictures from the trip. To understand why it is my favorite I have to tell you the story behind it:

When you stay in a hotel for a week, you start to get to know some of the hotel staff. The front desk receptionists were always happy to see us in the morning, and all of the staff came to love Gabbie. They all told us that they thought Gabbie came straight out of a story book. One day, Friday I think, we came home to find that not only had they cleaned up our room and made our beds, but they also took the time to make Gabbie's bed. They fluffed her pillow, folded her blankie, and put her little pooh bear (one of Gabs' favorites at the moment) on her pillow.

Christy and I thought it was so sweet of the ladies. I could just see the little lady getting so much joy out of doing it for Gabs. It was so thoughtful.

I feel a little like I'm part of a Brian Reagan comedy sketch right now (grape is favorite, but cherry is other favorite, grape is most favorite though, unless they have cherry). This really is another favorite picture though. Without much explanation, we didn't have a table or high chair in our room. This is how gabs ate a lot of her food this week. (Are we terrible parents?)

Partway through the week, Gabbie decided that she wanted to wear her Easter dress. She was so proud of herself that she got it over her arms all by herself. Our little girl is getting very independent lately.

Another favorite. How, as a parent, can you not love the look of your sleeping child. I think she is so beautiful in this picture. A lot of driving is very taxing on little girls.



And last but not least: Gabs made sure that noone forgot to brush their teeth this week. (As you can guess, Gabs likes to be in charge as much as possible.)

Before we get to the Trip stuff...

Before we get to the trip stuff, we needed to post this picture of Gabbie in her Easter dress. She loved the dress and thought (as did we) that she was the most beautiful little lady around.

Finally an Answer....

After waiting around all day Monday and Tuesday, we finally found out about the house. We got our number one choice. We will post pictures on here at some point so everyone can see. Thanks for all the prayers and moral support you have all given. We really felt it.

Quick Update

It has been a very long weekend. We dropped all the information for the lease application off at the office and spent an anxious weekend waiting to find out something.

Saturday we got a very needed break. Because I work from 3-7 am every day I was ready to do nothing on Saturday and just take a nap. We all napped then after waking up we decided to go find the church building so we could go straight there on Sunday without worrying about the directions. This probably wasn't the best choice we made the whole trip. It was pouring rain. We thought it was just a regular little thunderstorm and everything would be okay. Not true. If you have ever seen those pictures or videos on tv of people who are stuck in their cars with water up to the window then you would know what we experienced. It was terrifying being from out of town, not knowing anyone, not knowing how to react to the situation, and just being uncomfortable. Luckily we were able to park the car in an area that was higher than the rest and then we waded through knee high water (we avoided the deepest areas) over to the church building where we felt the most comfortable. After getting there I of course had to use the bathroom so we waded across the street to a nearby restaurant and decided to have lunch while we waited for the water to drain off the streets. For comfort, we kept to our plans and drove up to the temple.

Sunday we went to church and felt so welcome. We are going to love our new ward. Everyone is so nice and welcoming. I felt really comfortable because it reminded me a lot of my old home ward when I still lived in Virginia. We came home for a nap then drove back up to the temple and spent a little while there on the grounds just enjoying the peace that can be found just being at the temple.

Monday we drove to find the hospital that I am going to deliver at. It is huge but has its own little wing for maternity. It's called the Birthing Center. I can't remember the name of the hospital right now but when we get home I'll post a picture. The whole day was spent in nervous anticipation. We just wanted to know that we had gotten a house. Basically, we still don't know for sure. Our number two choice is off the list because it has not been on the market for very long. Our number one and three have been on the market for 2 years so we should be able to get one of them. We are just waiting on the building company to give the okay for the houses to be leased. We might know by 12 today before we leave but maybe not. Kind of frustrating waiting the whole day for nothing but maybe we are supposed to be learning something from this experience. We'll let you know when we know.

Housing Search

We spent all day Friday looking for housing to live in when we move out here to Texas in June. While doing our research at home, we found a building company called Legend Homes that does lease-to-own options on some of their houses. The builder had paid cash for all the land he bought so he is still making a profit in the tough housing market. Instead of loosing the money as the house sits on the market, he decided to start renting them out so he could have some cash coming in.

There are 3 of the little communities in the Katy area where we want to live. We were visiting Kyle's school yesterday morning and a few of the administration ladies suggested to us that we did not want to live over in the Katy area because of demographics. It surprised us and made us question our decision to live over there, not because of demographics but because they seemed afraid when they told us about it. After driving around for a little bit and looking at the areas the people at Kyle's school had recommended, we decided that we were going to take what they said with a grain of salt and go look in the area we had been thinking and praying about for the last 3 months. (When we did get over to the area, we felt nothing of what the people were talking about...it felt like an area for us, low key and down to earth. The areas that they had recommended were gated communities and we all know that would not be the place for us).

These building communities were really cute. They are close together and there is not much yard space to think of but they are great for starter homes for our little family. We ended up finding 5 houses/layouts that we really liked. Our favorite is a 4 bedroom, 2 bath, 2 car garage one story home. It is not huge by any means but it feels like it to us after living the last year in our small apartment. One of the criteria for housing has been that there has to be a place for an office. With both Kyle and I working from home when we move here, we have to have a place that we can go and close ourselves off from Gabbie and do our work where no one will disturb us or vice versa.

The second house is a little bit smaller than our number one but it still has all the needed space. Number three is just a different version of our number one without some of the nicer things. Numbers four and five are the same model. These are our last choices because they have a lot of dead space that we would have to figure out how to use, no yard at all, and you can touch the next door neighbors house by extending your arms.

We filled out all the application paperwork and turned it in to the office last night. The leasing agent said we can know by Monday or Tuesday whether we will qualify or not. Then at that point we will pay a hold deposit of a months rent. This will take the house off the market and we will be able to move in when we get here in June. This money also goes straight towards a down payment when our 12 month lease is over.

Hopefully we get our number one choice but any of the houses would be great. We just want to have something secured and locked up before we leave the state on Tuesday afternoon. Keep us in your prayers please as we wait and pray ourselves that things will work out, and hopefully in a timely manner.

Trip Day 2

Day 2 started out pretty early for us. For financial reasons, we had decided to work while we are down here. So when that alarm went off at 3:30, after a very long day of flying and traveling, I was not entirely excited. Luckily Gabbie slept through me talking to all my students.

Once I finished my sessions, we started out for the day. Kyle had a screening interview scheduled for 9 with the Cypress Fairbanks Independent School District. Gabbie and I went with him because we wanted to see the area and he needed someone to navigate. Kyle went inside for his interview while Gabbie and I walked around the HUGE district offices. This district is freaking ginormous. It took us almost 30 minutes just to walk around the buildings.

Kyle interviewed for almost an hour and a half. His interviewer used to be an English teacher himself so he grilled him. I'm not sure of all the details, but Kyle said it felt really right to be in the interview and he knew it had gone well. The recruiter sent out emails to all the principals in his district and told them to contact Kyle so they could get him in an interview before we left on Tuesday.

After that we had an interview scheduled for Galina Park, the district that we thought was our number one, at 1:00. We drove down to the district office, which is about 45 minutes from where we are looking to live without any traffic. The human resource officer took all of us on a drive around town to show us all the schools. I couldn't tell Kyle this while we were driving but I definitely got the feeling that he was not supposed to work there. During the drive, Kyle got a call from a Texas number that he let go to message. It was the principal from Arnold Middle and they wanted to meet with him that day. Then they dropped Gabbie and I back off at the district office and Kyle went to 'interview' at one of the schools. It took forever and this time neither Gabbie or I were very happy because we were both super tired. Kyle ended up not liking the school. He got this overwhelming prompting from the spirit that this was not the place for him.

So while he was waiting for a ride back to the district office to pick up Gabbie and I, he got another call from the same school that had left him a message and they wanted to meet with him that day at 5. We of course were thrilled because Kyle felt like he was being led to the Cypress Fairbanks school district. He ended up getting lost on the drive up there and drove through the neighborhoods trying to find the school. He told me that it was actually a great experience for him because during that time he felt the spirit testifying to him that this was the place he was supposed to work in.

He interviewed with the principal, vice principal, and the english department head. Almost as soon as he walked into the hotel room from his return trip, he got a phone call. It was the principal calling him to offer him the position!!!! He of course accepted it right away because it felt so right. He will be teaching 8th grade English at the middle school. It is not official but he could also be doing yearbook and intermurals.

We are hoping to sign the contract today to make it officially official. We are also going to look for housing so wish us luck!!!

Our Trip to Texas...Day 1

For all those who were not aware, we are in Houston Texas for the week trying to find housing and do some job interviewing.

I got sick the night before we left, the kind where I did not make it to the bathroom in time and threw up all over our carpet. Not fun at all. It made things a little bit difficult for the plane ride because I was still not feeling all that well. Gabbie was super excited to see all the new things at the airport that she missed her morning nap. From all the advice we were given, we decided to give her some medicine to help on the plane ride. (must not have used enough because it backfired)

Our flight was delayed about 20 minutes because of the snow at the airport. Gabbie kept walking over to the window and looking out at the tarmac and planes. When we finally boarded, we had to sit on the runway for a while so they could de-ice the wings. This is the point
where I started to get numb all over and felt the comings on of a black-out. My hands and face were tingling and I was feeling really light headed. Then my oh so wise husband suggested that I stretch my legs out and move my hands around. This seemed to take care of things and I was okay for awhile.

Gabbie was fine but really tired so she was a little whiny. It took a vast majority of the flight just to get her to fall asleep. She was one of those kids on the airplane that is crying really loud because we were making her take a nap. I don't remember this very much but while she was asleep I started to get really dizzy again so I stood up in the middle of our tiny, super cramped plane to get my circulation flowing. When I sat back down I leaned back to go to sleep. I thought
I was falling asleep, but Kyle told me that I passed out and almost crushed Gabs with the bar in the middle of the seats when I fell on it. Needless to say, it was a very interesting experience that I hope never to have again.

We arrived at the airport and were a little overwhelmed. It was so stinking huge! It took us about 10-15 minutes just to get out of it. Houston is huge. We knew that coming into it but actually seeing it is a different story.

Today we have tons of things to do. Kyle interviews at a district this morning then hopefully at a school in another district that is his number one choice. After that we are going house hunting and then if there is any time left, swimming. Oh did I forget to say that when we arrived last night at 7 it was 70 degrees!?!

Sorry for the super long post but this way just seems easier than saying all this over and over. We'll keep you updated.

25 weeks pregnant

Ask and you shall receive. Many of you are wanting to see what my belly looks like now that I am further along. So even though I am not completely comfortable in my own body right now, I am posting pictures of me. I am now in my 25th week and we are starting to stress about finding a doctor to deliver and see me when we move. I will be 34 weeks by then so I'm not sure how that situation will work.

Anyways, here they are....

Gabbie had to be part of the picture as well...

When I am pregnant, it is a rare day that I actually get myself all ready. I like the no maintenance approach, hence no make-up or doing anything to my hair.

Gabbie likes to push my belly button in over and over. If you notice, her hand is up my shirt trying to do the same thing here too.

Only 16 more weeks (counting this one) until Noah joins us.

Weekend of Firsts!

This last weekend Gabbie got to experience a ton of new things. Her cousins from Idaho were down for their Spring Break and we spent Thursday night and Friday with them. On Thursday, we went bowling at the alley in the basement of the Wilk on BYU campus. There were two lanes so Gabbie, her cousins Annie, Connor, Parker, and I played on the one with the bumpers. Gabs was so excited to be able to play like the big kids. We used the little bowling 'thing' (no idea what it is called) (Kyle is sitting over my head telling me its a ramp so for his sake, bowling ramp thing) then I would sit the ball down on it for her and she would push it off. At first she didn't quite know how to do it so I helped her push. Then as she had more turns she would do it herself. Sometimes she would push with her whole hand and other times she would push with only her pointer finger of both hands.

Here are her cousins Annie and Abbie and her Uncle Jake helping her on one of her turns...

Oh my goodness...What just happened?

Here I am helping her get the hang of things...

As soon as she pushed the ball off the ramp, she would step back a few steps and clap her hands together. As she was clapping, she would turn her head to make sure someone was paying attention and telling her she did a good job.

Gabs with Uncle Jake...Can you tell by ther face that she was a little overwhelmed with all the noise and things going on around her?

On Friday, Grandma Christensen took all the girls out for a day of pampering. We went to MATC where Kyle's sister Marta is a cosmetology student. Abbie and Annie got a make-up and hair makeover while the mommies got pedicures. Aunt Marta tried to paint Gabbie's fingernails but she was not having it. We tried over and over to get her to do it but the only person she would let touch her with nail polish was me. So as Grandma Christensen held her, I painted her fingernails (not very well I might add) bright pink to match Grandma's toes.

Aunt Meshelle, Me, and Gabbie

All three of the Mommies...

Another new thing from the weekend was a kite. Gabbie absolutely loves Elmo. She gets so excited every time Elmo's World comes on when we are watching Sesame Street. Even though it drives me nuts, I think Elmo is super annoying, she watches it almost every day. When Kyle was out on a boy's outing with his brother and dad, he picked up a kite for Gabbie at Walmart. It was Elmo and she totally freaked out. We were trying to take a nap when he showed it to her and she stayed awake for 30 minutes after because she just wanted Elmo. Although there was not enough wind, ask Kyle who told him that exact thing, we ventured outside to play.

Putting the kite away after the attempt to fly it was a bust...

Gabbie had to come over and touch Elmo.

What a fun weekend we had. Hope everyone got to some things with their loved ones that were memorable.

Playing at the Dinosaur Museum

We took another trip to the Dinosaur Museum on one of those really cold nights when we had nothing planned and just wanted to get out. Gabbie really liked going this time because she was able to get out and walk around. She loved trying to touch all the exhibits but luckily most of them were out of her reach. Instead, she just contented herself with holding on to the signs and looking at the pictures of the animals the bones represent.

I think this was a Sabre tooth Tiger. When we walked into this room and she saw it, she started freaking out and saying 'oooooh'. If you enlarge the picture, you can see her pointing out the animal in the picture.

walking through the dinosaur bones with Daddy...

There was a dinosaur statue on the floor that we were trying to get Gabs to sit on and take a picture. She wanted nothing to do with it though. I even got down on the floor to try and entice her to come over but that didn't work.

Here she is running away from it...

'Um, Dad I don't think so..."

This time we stopped in the sand room and let Gabs play at the erosion table. She didn't really know what to make of it.

I think Kyle had more fun than her. He was adding on to this dinosaur island another kid made at some point. Then he would make the dinosaurs climb up the mountain and go towards Gabbie.

Maybe next time she will be more interested in this. She did like sticking her little hands in the water though. She's just not too sure about sand, maybe that has something to do with her eating it last summer when we were camping at Bear Lake with the Christensens or at Smith Mountain Lake with the Campbells.

Before we let her out of the stroller to walk she kept looking at us like she was super bored.

I love how Kyle is always trying to teach our daughter something. He is forever talking to her and she just sits there staring at him and listening to him. They have such a wonderful relationship. He is an amazing father.

We love our Thanksgiving Point membership. The Gardens open on Saturday and we will be there all the time. It's a good place to walk around and ponder on the beauty of the Earth that Heavenly Father created for us. It really makes me appreciate the opportunity I have to live here in Utah at this time.

Post For Aydan!

So this post has been a long time coming. I have not really been motivated to create any new blogs in awhile so today I finally sat down and made myself do one. This post is special for my sisters son Aydan. He loves monster trucks. In fact, the first time Kyle ever met him was at Christmas time 3 years ago and he was playing with his miniature monster truck. He was driving it off the table and his mom, my sister Jackie, asked him to stop because he would break the floor and he responded: "No ie not." Nothing was going to tear him away from his truck. That is one of our fondest memories of him.

Aydan, here are some of the monster trucks that were in the show we went to. We were actually at the show on the same night you and your family went to one in Virginia. That's pretty cool, huh?

Here is your Cousin Gabbie, Uncle Kyle, and Uncle Kyle's Mom.

Cousin Gabbie and Aunt Christy waiting for the show to start...Gabbie has her earplugs in ready for the show.

Here is Cousin Gabbie with her Uncle Jake, your Uncle Kyle's brother.

Uncle Kyle, Aunt Christy, Cousin Gabbie playing with the camera.

Now to the part of the post that you are probably most intersted in. Uncle Kyle's Cousin drives one of the monster trucks. This is his truck called Maximum Destruction. He won one of the events that night so it was really fun to see that.

Another of the trucks doing a sweet trick over the big hill.

This is Kyle's cousin jumping over the cars. He actually one this event, where he jumped the highest/farthest or something like that (I didn't really know much of what was going on. I'm sure you could have explained it to me though).

And finally trying to put those earplugs back in Gabbie's ears because they would not stay. She really liked it but the noise scared her a little bit. How about you? Were you scared?

Aydan we sure miss you. Watching all the monster trucks really reminded us of you and made us miss you. We can't wait to see you again. Be a good boy and help your mom as she is getting ready for a new baby in the family.