Updates

There have been so many posts I planned to make, but life has kept me so busy I haven't taken the time. So here is an overall update post. :)
I finished spring semester the end of April with all A's....except for one class...which I failed. *hangs head in shame* So now I have to retake it sometime next year. I'm starting to become very discouraged with school. I have very little interest in it anymore....I feel like life is pulling me in a different direction. Matt keeps telling me I should just finish since I'm so close, but I still have at least 2 semesters to go....probably 3 now....and I just don't know if I want to stick with it that long. *shrug* I guess we'll see.
The kids finished school the end of May with huge improvements for both since January. Hannah finished the year only two months behind (in January, she was estimated to be a year and a half behind). We were so proud of her hard work and the gains she made. Ben received an award for one of South Davis School District's Most Improved Readers. He has gone from barely reading beginner books at the beginning of the school year, to reading - and understanding - chapter books. He claims he hates to read, but he often has a book in hand.
Chandelle graduated from high school at the end of May also. Matt and I drove to Dayton to attend. She plans to move to Boulder to live with Matt's mom and attend college. Perhaps we'll get to see her more that way. We are hoping she can come and visit us sometime this summer!
Ben and Hannah started swimming lessons at the beginning of June. Hannah loves it. She spends almost the entire half hour lesson jumping up and down with excitement. She really takes to the water too. I think she is half fish. Ben, on the other hand, spends the entire half hour clinging to the side for dear life....at least until I pointed out that they were in an area where he could touch the bottom. Then he didn't cling quite so tightly. He has been absolutely terrified of the water. We explained to him that this was the main reason for insisting he learn to swim. We wanted him to feel comfortable in the water so that if he fell in, he wouldn't panic and would know what to do to be safe. He is starting to relax a bit. His teacher recommended he take level 1 again so that he can get more comfortable in the water. So they are both going to redo level 1 (having Hannah close gives Ben more confidence) starting next week. They do two weeks of lessons every day, then have a two week break.
Ben has also started playing baseball. He is on a team called the Red Raptors. Matt and I were pleasantly surprised at how well he is doing. He has turned out to be quite athletic. Ben is loving playing. He has games every Tuesday and Thursday. He spends the whole day anxiously anticipating the game...asking if it's time to go just about every 15 minutes. He was doing so well, we got him some batting gloves. Matt is also eating it up. He practices with Ben regularly and has jumped in to help the coach every game. He was giddy last week when the coach, Nate, called him the assistant coach.
It's been wonderful to get the kids involved in so much. It's been just as wonderful to see how excited Matt is to share it with them. He is such an amazing, attentive father. I must have done something right along the way to have been blessed with such a man as he is.

Pay It Forward

Pay it Forward is your mission, if you choose to accept... another fellow blogger is doing this on her site and I thought it sounded fun. This is how it works... The first 3 people to leave a comment on this blog will receive a handmade gift from ME during this year. When and what it will be is a BIG surprise. There's a small catch... You knew there would be didn't you? Post this on your blog then come back and leave a comment telling me you're in.

Okay, for those of you who don't have your own blog, I'll still send you a gift if you leave a comment. Click on the "comments" at the bottom of the post, type your comment in the box, then you should be able to choose to be anonymous if you don't have a blog account. Pretty simple, right?

In the Job Market

Matt's company announced today that they are transferring his position to Denver. Unfortunately, a transfer is not an option for us, since his kids are here. So we are being forced into the job market. He has a position until the end of June, at least. But he has to start looking for a new job. At the worst time to be looking for a job. Luckily, he is brilliant. Hopefully he will be able to find something comparable soon. If anyone has any contacts in the internet/networking field...we'd sure appreciate the info.
Now that the weather is nice, we've been spending lots of time outdoors. We ate lunch on the back lawn yesterday. Matt has some wooden swords - he used to be in a medieval sword fighting club. He's been teaching me swordfighting. I'm terrible...but we have fun. Hannah and Ben like to get into the action also. They basically love to do anything their dad likes to do. I took some pictures of them last weekend.



















Oh wait...pause....there's a cat.

Matt's Birthday

Matt turned 36 this week! His official birthday was on Wednesday - which also happened to be tax day. Of course he had put off doing his taxes until that day. Of course he was grouchy all day because he found out we have to pay. Of course he denied he was moody even though he was slumped on the couch watching tv ALL day and not even trying to get me to give him his presents. And so, we celebrated a few days late. I had taken the kids shopping last week to get him something. Ben picked out an Air Hogs car that drives on the walls and ceiling. That has freaked the cats out, let me tell you. Hannah picked out a small squishy shark - which she has played with constantly. We went out for dinner Friday night, where the kids gave him their presents. We went to a new sushi place down the street he's been wanting to try. Fortunately, there were options for the kids and I, as well. I gave him a new home for our sea monkeys. We started a tank of sea monkeys last year, shortly after we first met. They live at his office now. I got them a beach home to move into. Matt also got - from me - some Dungeons and Dragons stuff and some World of Warcraft stuff. And some parts for his model helicopter. He's been grounded since he broke his last tail roter the beginning of March.
I made my first German Chocolate cake on Saturday. I've never tried the topping before. It didn't turn out quite right, but Matt said it was good anyway. I insisted on putting the full number of candles on the cake. Matt was sure it would set off the smoke detectors, or that I'd burn myself trying to get them all lit (just because I burn myself every time I cook), or that the top would be covered with wax by the time I got them all lit....but I proved him wrong on every count!

My Hannah

Aaaaarrrrggghhh! It's been snowing for days now! I was so happy about the spring weather...was just about to get my sandals out. I remember when I moved to Utah from San Diegiso I didn't have any winter shoes. When it started to snow that fall, I had to go buy some shoes and pants because all I had was sandals, flip flops, and capris. How quickly they fall..... *sigh*
My sister, Inger, brought a bunch of clothes her girls had outgrown to us for Hannah. Lots of dresses and summery, girly things. Hannah was thrilled. She insists on wearing the dresses despite the snow. She just puts on some tights and her boots and she's good to go. She picked out the cutest outfit the other day. I wanted to take a picture to post it but I couldn't find my camera and then she had fallen asleep by the time I did. She had some brightly colored, striped knit tights; a bright green and brown horse printed skort; a brown and pink shirt that said 'My Friends Rock'; a brightly colored, striped knit sweater (different colors than the tights, but still lots of pink); her brown boots and her hair in a ponytail. It was great. Matt said she looked like Punky Brewster. It made me smile every time I looked at her.
Last night, we went to Ben's pack meeting. The boys were working on something in the front of the room. Hannah slowly started to inch her way up to the front. Before we knew it she was right in with the lot of them. She's such a character.
Hannah is such a fun, loving girl. She made me a bookmark the other day. She colored it very nicely and then wrote 'Hi mom. To mom. From Hannah.' I remember all those years ago when I dreamt of a little girl named Hannah. In my dream, she wasn't mine...I found her, but I loved her so much. I had searched for her for so long. I'd finally found her and I couldn't stop hugging her. She became mine. That was the dream that brought me peace about having children. And now...seven years later, I've found my Hannah. She puts a smile on my face every day. She makes my heart happy.

Yay! I finally figured out how to get our wedding pictures on here. I spent hours on it last night and just couldn't get it to work. Then today - a miracle! I wanted to put some music to it, but don't have the song I wanted in MP3 format, so it wouldn't work. So just imagine you are hearing Far Away by Nickelback while you watch. That was the song Matt and I danced to.

Deadly Hunters

When Matt and I started dating last January, I was glad to find out he liked cats. Even more importantly, my cats liked him. Even McKenna (who has never warmed up to anyone)! McKenna still makes me let her smell my hand when I come home before I can pet her. I've never seen her jump on anyone's lap other than mine. But the first time she ever saw Matt, the first thing she did was jump up on his lap, smell him, and make herself at home.
Of course, then I realized that he had two cats of his own. Which meant that if things worked out with us....we would have four cats. Needless to say, things did work out and we now have 4 cats....in a 2 bedroom apartment.
Fortunately, they all get along pretty well - for the most part.
Unfortunately, we live in a two bedroom apartment. With the warmer weather, we have been letting them go outside. We live in the back corner of the complex with an elementary school playground/field on the other side of the fence. So there is lots of room for them to run around and do cat-type things without worrying about the road. And it helps expand their possible territories.
Well...today Matt and I were watching tv on the couch. Matt got up to put his shoes on so that we could go to lunch with my sister. He walked around the couch and started to laugh. Then he picked up a small dead bird by the wing....which had been lain carefully behind our couch next to the scratching post. Despite the grossness of the situation, we all started to laugh. We then turned to the cats and asked whose mighty kill this had been. Matt put the bird outside, where McKenna promptly went to check on it.
I should have known it was hers. The last two summers she developed a fondness for bringing grasshoppers in the house to play with. She would trot into the house with a grasshopper held firmly in her mouth, carefully put it down, back up and wait for it to jump so that she could pounce. There were grasshopper carcasses all over the house all summer. It was disgusting!
I guess this summer she's moved up to bigger prey....