It's about time

So it's been over a year--I figure it's definitely time for a post. We went on the Polar Express a couple weeks ago. Ben arranged it all and kept it a surprise. He even drove all around our neighborhood first and then took a back road--otherwise Nathan would have known in an instant. We drive past the tracks daily and he points them out each time. He wants to save his money to build a track around our house.

The kids really liked it. What a great activity! Here they are visiting Santa at the North Pole. Lydia: "I want a unicorn pillow pet."

Nathan: "I want a train." (he only has 3)

Karalee: "I want an Ariel doll."

Can you believe it? We actually have a new post! Here are our cuties on Halloween--Tinkerbell, Thomas and Thriller Zombie. We went to the ward trunk-or-treat and on a scary train ride (1/8 the size of a real train). There is a picture of one of the "scarers" on the train route. There were at least 20. We should not have taken our little ones on this at night. Very cool for older kids or adults, though.

Karalee got to go to a Halloween party at her friend Ashlyn's house. Before the party, she had a blast dressing up & getting her fingernails painted. During the party she got to decorate a big pumpkin cookie, go fishing (for a real gold fish), and play with friends. Thanks, Ali and Ashlyn!

Lydia was sooo scared on the train ride. All the kids were, but Lydia expressed it the most. Have you ever seen such of scared Zombie?

Birthdays and Fun Summer Stuff

Here's Nathan on his 5th birthday. We had a great time at the Lindon Pool. It was so fun to be there with friends. We had a little party that night with the Darrington's and Aundrea and Kaden Brown.

Lydia loves to pretend all the time--at the party she pretended to be a dog. When guests knocked on the door she barked and everyone thought we had gotten Nathan a dog for his birthday.

Here's me and Nathan floating toy boats in the irrigation canal at Ben's uncle's house in Springville. The kids loved the toy boats--they were entertained by this for almost an hour.

Ben and Nathan at the Fathers and Sons Campout.

This picture wasn't even staged...Karalee happened to be wearing this shirt when we were making brownies and eating the batter.

So far we have had an enjoyable summer. We have loved baking, selling lemonade, playing in sprinklers, going to friends' houses, having friends over, riding bikes and celebrating birthdays.

Unfortunately, we don't have a camera right now, except for Ben's parents' old one. When I find pics from the girls' birthday party, I will try to post them.

Cute little girl

This format is kind of messed up; I don't blog often enough to be very good at it. Anyway, here are some recent pictures.

Nathan in the fort he made...living in our basement with few toys has developed our kids' creativity.

Nathan and "Grandpa Big" at the father and sons campout. Ben was there, too. They didn't get much sleep but had a good time. Nathan got to reel in the biggest fish.

Here's Lydia in her fort.

Me and my girls on Mother's Day. Ben and the kids did all the cooking that day. It was a wonderful break.

Keep reading to hear the story behind this photo.

Karalee has done some really funny things lately, so I just had to share. A few days ago we got a music CD with a McDonald's happy meal and one of the songs on it is "We've got the Beat." Today Karalee was singing, "We got the beef."

About a month ago Ben moved some stuff upstairs so we could spread out a little since we had found no renters. We both didn't feel right about moving everything upstairs, yet. Our TV was on the third floor and Nathan and Lydia were watching it, while Karalee and I got ready to make cookies in the basement where we've been living. I went to check on Lydia and Nathan and when I got back I found Karalee and the counter covered in white powder. She said with a grin, "I make cookies." She had gotten into the cupboard and found corn starch and baking soda. Both boxes had been emptied into a bowl and everywhere else. Instead of getting mad, I took a picture. I had remembered someone in General Conference say, "If you'll laugh about it later, why not laugh about it now?"

So we did get renters upstairs and they are great. We had started advertizing and showing our basement to people to get someone renting whether it be upstairs or downstairs. We had a lot of people look at the downstairs. The right thing happened.

Ben's parents were inspired to ask me if I wanted to do a photo project for them while they are on their mission. So there's my part time job--scanning albums upon albums of photos, so they have digital copies. And since we're renting our upstairs and my grandpa advised me not to work out of the home, I'm not job searching anymore, at least for now. I thought my grandpa made a good point. He said that things might be tough financially right now, but that will change. The lessons I teach my children and time I spend with them will have a great impact on them down the road. I am thankful things have worked out the way they should for our family. Thanks for everyone's prayers and kindness.

Steady Income

We are happy to announce that Ben has landed a job with Acute Engineering. It's only part-time, but that allows Ben to keep working on Adventure Giving and filling the Amazon trip he has in September. They are giving us medical benefits in a couple months, too, so that's really helpful. It could go full time. We shall see. I am so happy to have some steady income.

Now I just have to find employment. I guess I'm a little more picky than I thought. I heard on the radio the other day that there are plenty of jobs...shoveling manure, cleaning bathrooms, (or in my case with a social work degree, taking children away from their abusive parents). It's just that most people are too easily disgusted (or too sensitive) to take jobs like these...including me.

Job Searching

Regretfully, Big Amazon Fish is suffering from the economy so both Ben and I are job-searching. We would like to get the word out there and hopefully one or both of us can land a job sooner than later.

Ben would like a business administration position or an engineering position with a company specializing in renewable energy.

I am looking for a part-time position in the area of social work, teaching, tutoring, or proof-reading. I am open to most anything, though.

We really like Lindon, but we are willing to go wherever the work is.

We are so grateful for all our family and friends. We would appreciate any ideas or suggestions you could give us.