Life goes on and on and onnnnn.... Like the stinkin' desert!

Yes this post is by Erin! I think it's been about a year since I actually posted anything, so it really is my turn. I'm having the most lenient semester I have ever had since returning to school almost a year and a half ago. It is definitely nice to have more time to myself but it's also been a little confusing. I find myself wandering around the house wondering what to do next. My classes are Intro to Statistics and Human Sexuality, both of which just don't have that much work. I think it will actually be a huge blessing though, because Mike is under a staggering load this semester trying to study for his big Chemical Engineering exam, the L3. If he doesn't pass, he will be recycled and have to start the program all over again. He'll pass though, I have faith! All of his studying for this test has to be on top of studying for his full-time class load, so everything and anything I can do to lighten his load around the house and with the kids will mean less stress for him all around. We have always been a couple who "shares the load", as stated by Superhero Samwise the Brave. We don't have assigned duties, we just each do what needs to be done. So if I don't feel like doing dishes, Mike usually does it later. Which means that I need to be a little more vigilant than usual so he won't have anything to do. :)

This week has been absolutely insane. My parents decided they needed to take a vacation, which I fully agree. They have been taking care of Grandma and trying to supervise two kids who are seriously struggling emotionally, on top of my dad working overtime at work and my mom watching my kids often so I can study. So obviously, they needed a break. The problem with them just leaving is that the two youngest (who are 22 and 17) have regular episodes of sneaking out and staying up all night on the internet. Yeah, I know it's really deviant behavior. :) But worrisome enough that my parents didn't want to leave them without supervision. So who did they decide to call on but Mike and me. We ended up agreeing to be in Midway every night, with both me and Mike driving separately to Provo each day. Mike so he can go to school and work and study group, and me so I can get to the gym, take Emma to her tumbling class, get Emma to preschool and back, and then trade with Mike so he can take the kids and I can go to school. After all this we drive back up to Midway and make dinner for the family and make sure they are toeing the line before tucking our kids in, listening to one of them scream for an hour before he finally drops off, and then we can do our homework, do some dishes and finally go to bed! There's the in depth version of our week of insanity. As of today we are halfway through it. Praise Allah!

Emma has been loving the fact that she is in preschool again. She has Miss Marie again, and can actually tell me everything she did each day when she gets home. That's a huge improvement from last year. It's nice to see her speech improving and her social skills getting so much better. She is a very sweet little girl. She wants to know everyone's name and what they like to do, if they are happy. She stopped an elderly woman in the grocery store this week and asked her her name. The woman said, "My name is Hilda. What's your name?" Emma goes, "My name is Emma. What do you like to do?" Hilda proceeded to talk with her a little bit, and when they said goodbye, Emma looked and me and said, "I like Hilda, she's so nice." I hope she keeps caring about people and reaching out to everyone around her! She has the potential to touch a lot of lives.

Matthew is really struggling with his sleep time. He doesn't want to go to bed ever. Both naps and nighttime have been very rough. I've thought of giving him a bath each night before bed, like we used to do when we were sleep training him. It might help soothe him before he goes to sleep. We helped him give up his binky about a month ago, and since then things just haven't been the same. He's really at a loss for how to soothe himself. Maybe I just need to change up the ritual. Poor little guy. Other than that, his speech is really starting to clear up. I've been impressed with how fast he's learned to put sentences together. Even so, I may have early intervention come test him just to be sure he's on track. Even if he's a little behind, speech therapy goes a long way. He's very thoughtful with Emma. If he thinks he's hurt her feelings or taken a toy she wants, he is quick to give her a hug and tell her "I love you". It really melts my heart. :)

All my hard work at the gym is finally starting to pay off! I've had to get my metabolism up by doing lots of strength training and cardio exercises, and also by decreasing my calorie intake a little at a time instead of all at once. After two months of work, the scale is starting to move in the right direction. I know it will take time, but that is the best way to lose weight and keep it off. I'm feeling so much more optimistic about my body! Mike has been so supportive, and even though he really hates working out, he comes with me regularly and keeps me company. I love my husband! He's a great man to have around :)

Timp Pictures

At it again!

School started this week for me. I have to say that Sunday night was really hard. After pushing for 5 years to get this degree, it is hard for me to want to push another one. Yes, I know that there is light at the end of the tunnel. I know that everyday brings me closer to graduation. It isn't the lack of desire that makes me hesitate. It is the lack of time with my family that I am dreading. The past two weeks have been so nice. I only had to work 4 hours a day and then spent the rest of the time with the family. No stress at all. No homework hanging over my head. Family has become more important to me these last couple weeks. School and work have had a negative impact for our little family. I have distanced myself from my wife and kids because I have always been thinking about what I needed to do and not about them. Erin and I noticed this a little while ago and while we are not heading for divorce or anything, we still decided that we needed some professional help to get the most joy out of our relationship and less of the bad.
Our counselor is great. She knows exactly what is going on and what to do. So first step is to work on our relationship with our father in heaven, Then with Christ. I have heard this before but we just get stuck into such a rut that we forget what is most important. My biggest problem, if you wanted to know, I do to much internal thinking and not enough talking things through and turning to Erin for emotional support. Guys are always supposed to be tough. We can work things out on our own. Well, that isn't always correct. It has actually been very difficult for me to allow Erin to support me emotionally. It's not something I think that I have ever let anyone do. It has been working too!
We hiked Timpanogos on Saturday. We went up the Timpanooke trail and down the Alpine Grove. It is about 13 miles. We tried this hike last year but the weather killed it all. This year we made it all the way to the top. Needless to say that I was not well prepared and killed my legs on the way down. I almost had to be dragged to the car. It was very pretty.
School started for Erin. It is a little different because she has to go to the school to take classes now. No more online work for her. She said that she likes her classes and she is looking for another great year.
Emma will start next week. She will have the same teacher that she did last year. This is great because Emma doesn't have the easiest time with new teachers. I hope that she will grow out of it. She is really funny though. She keeps asking her uncle Steve why he isn't married.
Matthew is almost through the terrible 2's! He is listening more and working more with us instead of just doing things that he knows will bother us.
I like all my classes. They seem to treat you better when your a senior. It's like "Oh your going to make it! Now we will help you through it." My favorite class is nuclear engineering. We had Dr. Jackson from the Nuclear Regulatory committee give a lecture today. He is an amazing man and I love hearing from him. It is funny that his most common phrase was "That is top secrete." I don't think that I have ever heard anyone honestly use that phrase.
Erin and I finished the first two books in the Hunger Games. Erin just got Mocking Jay last night from Amazon. They sure took their time on that one! I love the series though. It is really fun to read.
Work is calling now, so I must see to that. Two more semesters to go! We'll see how it goes.

The Semester is OVER!

YEAH! 2 week break!! I finished my last final yesterday and started into my ever growing "Honey Do" list. It was a good semester.....it will be better once I know if I passed or failed. We will see what happens.

Erin passed again with flying colors. She had two classes this semester, Oceanography and Ethics. She liked the Oceanography, but the ethics was put into the same category as dumpster grime and rotten milk. School has been her life for while now and she only has a couple semesters left before her associates degree. She convinced (aka talked to, aka threatened, aka dragged) me to the gym with her and I got a pass so we could work out together. I have to admit that it is fun. Gold's Gym has a day care for our kids so we can work out together in peace. It's really nice because we get some alone time together while we are on the machines. We are trying to get in shape for the Timpanogos in a couple weeks. I hope to have some pictures to follow.

Matthew has been through a really tough couple of weeks. We have decided that it is time to take the binkie away. The reason we thought this is because we lost the binkie and I refused to buy more. We tried the cold turkey approach and he cried for nights on end. On the 2nd day Erin mom and sister were visiting and didn't know about the no binkie rule. They found it and gave it to him for his nap. We needed another approach. Erin found this "bye bye binkie" thing on the web. It's a program where you deform the binkie over the space of a week to the point where he doesn't want it anymore. We started by poking a ton of holes in it. Matthew didn't mind that so much. After 3 days we nipped a little off of the tip. Matthew put it in his mouth and ripped it out. Needless to say that he was MAD. We put him to bed with it and closed the door. He cried and cried and cried. He opened his door and threw the binkie out and closed his door again. He has spent the last few nights crying for an hour before going to sleep. Last night it was like 30 min. YEAH!

Erin took the kids to the library and got Matthew some potty training movies. Matthew is so excited about it. When he watches the movies he wants to be sitting on his potty with his diaper off. It was really good yesterday because he actually went. It scared him to death! He looked in the potty and there was a little brown log. He was so scared that he pulled it out and handed it to Erin. It took her a couple minutes before she realized what it was and proceeded to sanitize the area and everyone in it. She didn't think it was very funny. I'm still laughing.

Emma is.....well.......bored. Summer for her has been long with not a lot going on. We try to do things together, but even going to the park is getting old. We want to do more with her, but things cost more then starving students can afford. It's good that she has grandma's that are willing to take her. She loves it. We are planning hikes and stuff. It is easier now that we are out of school for a couple weeks. She is making a lot of friends at our new apartment complex. We have a ton of mixed cultures and it is good for her to mingle with them all.

As for me, well, I work. I have been working on the Lego Harry Potter game. That has been fun. Um.....Erin found some good garlic spead at costco that I will use to perfect my rolls....hmm..I don't know what else to say about me. I change my valve cover gasket on my Volkswagen for the first time. That was fun. I guess. I have lost 8 pounds at the gym which puts me at 188. Erin bought me the 2nd and 3rd season of the muppets and I am watching that. Oh...Erin, her brother and I have just finished watching all the Harry Potters. We all agree that the 6th one was the best! Well, I need to go to Midway to fix another three computers. Have a good day!

A New post by request

It has been a while. Every time I think about writing on this blog I always get distracted by life! I really wish it wouldn't keep getting in the way. Since it has been a long time, there is a lot to report.

The biggest news is that we have completed our 7th move in 5 years. We intended on being in our current place for another 8 months at least, but an opportunity came and we couldn't help taking advantage of it. When we moved to Provo last year we applied with the Provo Housing Authority to see if we could get some assistance with rent. That way I wouldn't have to take out so much in student loans just to live somewhere. The drawback is that it takes about a year for them to even get to your application. We never really counted on it kicking in and just lived the best that we could. Three weeks ago we got a call from them saying it was our turn. They gave Erin a couple of addresses to look at. The first was in a nice complex by the cemetery. It was a basement apartment and she didn't like it much. The other place was a duplex that was kept up, but the area was terrible. None of the houses were kept up and there was litter every where. So, we accepted the basement.

The apartment is actually nicer then she originally thought. There are three bedrooms, new cabinets and counters, A/C, dishwasher and the rent for us is $230 per month. So it's not like we could have turned it down. Our only problem is that we hate people living above us. We just don't like hearing people walking around, or hearing their TV's. So, we prayed to know if this was the place for us to live. We later found out that the person moving in upstairs is my little brother. He applied for assistance before we did and they gave him that apartment to move into. It all ended up great.

Matthew was really upset when we started moving. He cried when we packed up his toys. The hardest part was seeing his bed go. Emma handled it better then our last move. She loves the new place and the fact that she gets her own room again. After a week it feels like home. I have to hand it to the Provo Housing Authority for having nice places that are kept up.

Matthew has started to talk more. He has moved away from screaming for what he wants and more asking (thank goodness). We are working on his colors and letters. It is a little different for us because Emma grabbed onto them so quick and Matthew is taking his time. He is learning them just fine, but the difference in children is interesting to see. It's fun to see just how different they are. He still asks to see princess shows which has me greatly flustered. We'll make a man out of him though.

Emma is having a very boring summer. She misses school a lot. Her imagination is really wild! She has parties with her stuffed animals. We have found some of the animated bible stories at the DI and she loves to watch them. Nothing makes me feel better then when she asks to see a movie about Jesus. She is a funny girl.

Erin is still a straight A student. The move has slowed her down a little, but she is pushing on. She is determined to hike a lot this summer and we will be doing Timpanogos again this year in a month if there is anyone that would like to join us. We do like to get started at 4:30 in the morning though. We will see how that goes.

I am still working through school. I am taking my last chemistry classes, Organic Chemistry II and the Lab. The class is interesting. It is more about making chemicals then it is about anything else. The lab is annoying. Yes, everyone knows that I can be a clutz sometimes. I spill a lot in that lab. I feel bad for those a round me. I work for 2 hours to boil, distill, separate, and lovingly handle a specific chemical just to spill it on the counter. I'm not a good lab person. I'll stick with my industrial chemistry thank you very much. So, that is our family. Pictures can be viewed on Erin's facebook page. Since I usually do these posts at work in my down time I don't have any pictures to use. Sorry.....Well, I'm actually not. I'll put some on soon. I hope. If you're lucky.

Life Goes on...and on...and on....

The semester has ended and the next one has just started. I am officially a senior! It's weird to look back at all the crap I've been through to get here. I feel bad for my family because I have not been a happy fella most days. They are very supportive and love me anyway. Emma loves me if I bring her an Ice cream cone though. Matthew is happy if he has his binky and his blanket. Erin is happy if she has new clothes, a nice dinner, flowers, chocolate, a love letter, and a night with me talking about my "feelings". Man, what a guy has to go though. Geez.

So now that the terror Jr year is over our minds are now focusing on the future. Well, I will be more to the point. We are focusing on my lack of future. There is light at the end of the tunnel, but what is out there once I exit it? My grades are not the best so I need my experience to pull me though. Now, I'm looking for the experience. We have been applying for internships for the past 3 months. I hope to find something interesting where I can get some good experience and maybe work at when I have graduated.

Matthew is officially in a toddler bed. We decided that two years old is just a little to late to be in a crib. We were worried about changing him to a bed because Emma and Matthew share a room. We thought that he would wake her up so they could play. We went to wal-mart and ended up getting the Cars themed bed. Matthew loves
Cars. When it was setup, he jumped into it and pretended to sleep. He has been using it for 2-3 weeks now and has only had one problem. He jumped up on Emma's bed and start shouting "EMMA! EMMA! EMMA!" while jumping up and down on her bed.

Emma's speech has really improved a lot these past few weeks. We had parent teacher conferences a little bit ago and they gave her a glowing report. She still has some needs that must be met on the social side. She likes to play alone and has a hard time playing by an other kid's rules. We hope to take her to Lagoon Saturday. If only it would STOP SNOWING!!! Every morning she wakes up and says "Roller coaster today?" I feel bad saying no every morning.

Erin has been running every morning. She is determined to loose some weight the right way. She started P-90X and did well. Her friend Laurie and her decided that they would run and supplement their running with P-90x. We will see how it works. She looks really good to me, but it's not my opinion that matters. She just tested out of math 1010. This is awesome because she never took math 1010. She will have her associates degree by Christmas. I'm very happy for her.

Well, until next break!

Does this still work?

Hello? Testing? *Scrapes off dust* Wow, It looks like there is life in this blog yet. Give me a moment to clean up the place a little bit. Where did I put that windex? Ah there it is *squrlp, Squrlp*. While I clean up a bit, maybe I should recount some of the things that have been going on since we abandoned the blog around Christmas time *annoying rag wiping sound probably EEERRRRRRRPppppp or something*. This semester is supposed to be the hardest one ever for me(Mike). I have thermodynamics, Chemical reaction Engineering, and Heat and mass transfer. Which all have a lot in common so it is hard to keep things straight. I would love to say that I am doing well, but I'm more just hanging on for the ride. We will see what happens after finals. I have been trying to find an internship for the summer, but with the economy they are harder to come by. I will keep trying though.

We bought another used car. I can't remember if we have archived that achievement yet. Our 93 Mazda decided to leave Erin and the kids neglected on the side of the road in December when the clutch plates finally died. As anyone can attest, leaving people neglected is not a sign of good team work. So our car is currently seeking other employment option. I believe the person that currently owns it tore it apart and used the engine in another car. Serves it right! The newer car is a 97 Honda Civic. It has been a good team player so far. The previous owner left a trail that helped us identify the kind of person that owned it. It originally had an aftermarket cold air intake, modified exhaust, expensive stereo, and tinted windows. The car was then stolen and the stereo and air intake were removed. Then it was sold to us. From this information we could tell that it was owned by a teenager with some money. This was confirmed when we found a belly button ring in one of the compartments. Since the modifications weren't done right, and the car was a little abused, we have been working to restore it. The exhaust is a complete mess.
Emma's speech has been improving. It's nice to hear. She can hold conversations with strangers now. It's fun to hear her playing with her dolls and the things she says to them. She is getting spring fever really bad. Every day she asks if it is a nice summer day or not. If it is, she knows that she can go outside to play. She also gave us a little lecture on how water is good for our bodies. The lecture came from our friend Laurie. We were surprised that she remembered it as well as she did. That is one thing we can say about Emma, she has an excellent memory. The weather has been playing havoc with her as it's sunny one day and snowing the next. The change in time is also confusing as she is now going to bed with it still light outside. I don't know what we're going to do when the sun is still up and she needs to go to bed.
Matthew is as cute as ever. He copies everything that Emma does now. He is even trying to say everything that she does. He has picked up "Come on!", "Wait for me!", and "Thank you". The thank you is really cute because he says it every time you give him something. It's cute. We are starting him on the potty soon. We think that he is ready. It helps that for a while he watched Emma use it and now he gets the chance. He is excited.
Erin always has a lot going on. She is secretary in the Relief Society, Part time student, Full time mom, and doing a part time internship. She loves her Relief Society and has enjoyed being active in this calling. The student thing is going well. She will take the final for Math 1010 this week. She is still hoping to keep up her perfect scores. The internship is for psychology. There is a program that a psychologist we know is doing. It is called Icology. He has an excellent program for helping families with unruly children to make them not unruly. It is all internet based so you can do the program from without even going into an office. The cool thing is that it really works! Erin gets the program for free and we have been using it with our children. It has helped us know how to discipline more effectively while having a happier feeling in our home. We love it. Erin has also started the P90X system for weight loss. Today is her 2nd day. So far, she really likes it. We will see how it works on her.
Now that we are all caught up and the blog is clean for use *sparkle*, We will now move to current things. The big news is that our neighbors are moving. So if anyone wants to rent a two bedroom townhouse in Provo with some awesome neighbors, we can recommend a place. We will see how things work out. So with these comments I put the covers back on the blog until another future date when we will remove the covers and dust it off again.