walkers...

We don't have tons of hard surfaces in our apartment, so we are left with the parking lot to use this little walker a friend lent us. She mostly does the two footed shuffle in this thing because she wants to get somewhere quick. She has taken a few steps all on her own (without the walker), but she doesn't really know what she's doing. Makes me laugh to see that she knows she is supposed to come to me when i call out to her, but she doesn't want to give up the fun. It almost feels like, "I'm too fast for you, Mom. Wait until I'm actually walking and then you'll get a run for your money!"

Running with the Angels 5k

Shay and Me at the 5k.

Not the most glamorous picture, but the meaning is still there! (you can see Nick with Claire on his shoulders right behind me. So cute!) Last weekend I ran a 5k (it's my first one that I've ever paid for). I do have a funny story to go along with it:

So, the night before we were supposed to go down to Provo so we would be nearer to the race (in Lehi at Thanksgiving Point---BEAUTIFUL RUN!). Nick's family came up to see us on Friday, which was so great to see them all, even if we had to put up with Grampa Brad (ha ha ha...we did 'renew' our contract for at least another year. We'll see about next year).

Anyway, we didn't make it out in time that night for me to get enough rest for the following morning's run. So, we decided to head out that next morning at 5am. Ummmmm...NOT A CHANCE! There was no way I was getting up when that alarm went off that early the next morning. I turned off the alarm and spent the next hour sleeping. Then I woke up with a start at about 6am and decided I should do it anyway. The race was supposed to start at 8:00am, it takes about an hour and a half to get there from Logan. We were out the door at 6:45am and made it at about 8:20. THEY HAD NOT STARTED YET! So, I grab my number from Shay's car (thanks Shay) and try to get in line. I'm pinning the stupid thing to my shirt when the race starts. I look up, go OH NO! and start running while trying to still pin that stupid thing to my shirt. Needless to say, I wasn't looking up.................... when I run right into and over the top of a big, huge, neon orange barricade! I finished the race with rocks in my hands that Nick spent the afternoon digging out of my hands. sigh

I did not make the time I had dreamed of making. But I'll blame it on the blood gushing from my hands and knee! LOL

I run a relay here next month and I'm scared to death! Better not trip over anything! I go running with a good friend because she's doing the same race (thanks for putting up with me, Missy) and she expressed that most people say that this race is worse than a marathon and it's only half the distance (it will equal about a 1/2 marathon). AGH! She did it last year and her last leg of the race she spent crying and walking most of it and she had trained for six months prior to it. That truly scares the crap out of me!

the job...

ohmigoodness!!!

thank you everyone for praying for us to have Nick find a job. Not only did he GET one (sucky economy...bah!), but it's a great one with lots of potential! It's been an ongoing thing with his department at his current job at USU (it's supposed to be 15 hours a week or less for a STUDENT...but they have loved him so much that they gave him full time hours---without benefits---until he could find another job. He's been doing this for almost 2 years now).

About a month ago, his boss's boss's boss (the VP of something rather) told him that he was "working on getting you a position here full time." We didn't hear anything else for about a month. We thought it was going to be something he couldn't follow through with and continued our searching. I bet we put in 100-115 applications. The economy is just so terrible right now...sigh...(good luck to all of you still searching for a job---you're in our thoughts and prayers).

Anyway, Nick received a call from

NuSkin

to do an interview for a TL for the call center. We didn't imagine that he would get the job because there is no way he could know the amount of things that a person who has been working in the call center knows (policy and procedures, not to mention the million products). But we decided an interview is an interview. He went. He's had a few others, but this is the one that pulled the VP to Nick one day 2 weeks ago and told him, "kids raised in Utah County are weird...no way are you moving to Provo...etc..." (NO OFFENSE TO UTAH COUNTY RAISED INDIVIDUALS! I AM ONE PART OF YOU and a few parts Box Elder County with a pinch of Oregonian! DON'T BE IRRITABLE!) He said that he would get back to Nick a while later about it. He was still working on securing funds for the job.

Finally we heard back from him. Nick was called into his office and told about the position:

a part of the research team for the development department. In addition he would be the assistant to the VP.

He would travel instate with the VP to learn how to contact donors to help fund the school and would eventually move to a developer of the University. BIG, BIG time stuff. We are so grateful. Nick is such a hard worker and deserves this especially after all he does on a daily basis to be honest, patient and trustworthy. We are honored by this position. It also makes it super easy for him to get an MBA (half priced tuition, baby!). We are SO GRATEFUL! Thank you Father. thank you family and friends.

On another note: Pics of Cmonster

Claire and ravioli get alone swell. My fav is that she has it over her eye! How did she do that!?

Cleaning one day, I put a bunch of clothes in a pile next to C. She climb into this and proceeded to where it around the house for a while. Made my heart sing. She's so dang cute!

1st bubbles...and sNagGleTOoTh!!!

You know Claire...She's a mover and a shaker. Nick caught her staring at our neighbors playing with bubbles.
Claire has the funniest mouth right now. She looks like she has a snaggletooth. She hates it when I look in her mouth, so I had to do a video of teasing-ness to get her to open it for all to see. She's a keeper!

Gradu-ma-wation!

Nick is D-O-N-E! I'm so proud of him! He graduated in Interdisciplinary studies (translation: a combo of business and family finance) and is looking for jobs (if you know of any, let us know!) We're so excited to have him be a 'big boy' and make 'big boy money'. HA HA! Student loans stink, but we're grateful to have a way to finish school. The economy stinks, too. But we'll make the most of it. We can stay at our current employment for a while, so we will, if we have to.




The graduate.This is apparently, a tradition. Thanks Grampa Brad.

Do I look bigger from the side to you?

Can you find me?

Rosi the Second...

This is my niece, Galilee Rose Mathews. Ben (my brother) and Tamme (pronounced like Ta- me) named her Rose after my mother, Rosemary. And BOY does she look like her. Needless to say, that child is a beautiful one! So sweet too. We met up with Tamme and Gali in Salt Lake while they came to visit family and seal a sister to her adopted son. Super good to see them. They normally live in Texas and we have only met Gali once before this and they hadn't met claire until then, too. Gali is 12 months and Claire is 9 months in this shot. We were trying to get them both to eat dinner, Claire had fun eating only broccoli (girl after her mother's heart, ha ha) and putting the rest on the floor. Gali didn't eat much either.
Best friends already.
I love Claire's ear in this shot!
I couldn't get very good shots of either of them, especially when I tried to get them to look at me. I still like this little smirk Gali has. She's such a keeper.


Other random photos include this one. No, it's not an advertisement for fisher price, it's just that Claire won't put her feet down for anything! She always has them resting on whatever she can. So, this is supposed to be a typical day with her eating her food with her feet resting one whatever is available.
These are 'butt in the air' shots. Lately, she's even started to walk in this position! She's so funny.

This is the 'hurkie' I was trying to describe earlier. When she's holding still, she sits like this.

mouth full...

Yesterday I was looking to see if Claire had dropped her fourth tooth (one of her two front teeth) when I discovered that she has like SIX coming through! she has a whole

MOUTH FULL

of teeth and I didn't even know it! How fast do these things usually take because those came with AMAZING speed. She's barley been grumpy, too. I'm so lucky.