Nicholas' First Talk

Nicholas gave his very first talk at church today and I got to be his special helper. It was funny to see how he had absolutely no fear walking up to the podium to give his talk. They announced his name and he strode up there like it was nothing.
So before the talk I tried to explain the whole concept to him and we practiced a bit, but of course that didn't really help once it was "go time." We missed the first part of the talk, which was the funniest, because of memory issues. But basically we spent the first minute with me whispering in Nicholas' ear and then him making noises into the microphone like he was a pint sized Darth Vader. Once he finally got the hang of it is when the video starts. Our favorite parts are when he repeats himself and says his words in a very deep voice.

Judge for yourself how he did but when a member of the ward asked Nicholas "Hey buddy, how did your talk go?" He replied happily "It was Great!"

The Big Question

Lately I have had lots of people asking me the same question- "What are Jared's plans after graduation?"

Good question

As much as I love answering the same thing over and over I thought I would put it here in writing to clear the air.

We have no idea where we are going, all we know is we will be going somewhere! We are definitely here until July but after that is unclear. Most jobs in Jared's field (Hospital Admin.) have openings and fill them fairly soon after, so that means he really can't start doing too many interviews until he is closer to graduating.

As to the "where?" question, we are pretty open. Well, maybe I am pretty open. We have mental lists of approved states and cities we wouldn't mind living in, and I am a bit more willing to try something different. My thinking is, our boys are young enough and perhaps our years of picking up and moving (without much effort or opposition from kids) are winding down. We would love to live in AZ, FL, OH, TX among others, and we might make exceptions for certain fun cities like Portland, Seattle, Boise, Atlanta, or places near the beach.

In some ways I am very excited- I love change. As a result of moving so much I think I learned to enjoy trying new things and meeting new people. Its also fun to think we could be that much closer to settling somewhere and maybe someday getting a house. But also get stressed out thinking we will be moving and I have no idea where. Buying clothes for the boys I think, will I need more warm weather clothes or cold weather ones? The spontaenous side of me is loving it, the planning side is going nuts.

All I know for now is we are here for the next few months to really get to know this city. It wouldn't surprise me if we stuck around til August but then again, who knows!! We will keep you posted.

Growing Boys

The boys did a double doctor's appointment today, the first in a while for them.

Ryker weighs 26.5 lbs and is 33 in tall. This puts him at 75% percentile for both height and weight. Most of his friends are older so I didn't really notice his growth compared to his age group. I just know Nicholas had better get a growth spurt going so they don't have to wear the same size clothes. He hated the doctor, as usual, and screamed bloody murder getting his ears checked. By the time the shots came around he was actually mellowed a bit.

Nicholas, trying his best to grow, is 25% for height at 36.5 in and 31.5 lbs (50% percentile) for weight. He is so teeny tiny to me that sometimes I just can't help but give him a squeeze, but I guess he's not that small! With all his big-boy words and conversations we are constantly stopped by strangers asking if he's 5 yrs old. He is Mr. Independent in the best way possible, and he will play by himself for hours with the most random objects and toys, retelling his favorite scenes from Toy Story 2 or 3, Thomas the Train, or other shows. He is my best buddy, and becoming very polite too. I'll ask him if he'd like something for lunch and he'll reply cheerfully, "Sure do!"

Vegas Trip

Me and the two boys decided to leave town for a few days. Jared was super busy with school and we had some free days so I jumped on it. I was a little nervous about the drive, only 4.5 hrs, but after surviving a 5 hr flight with vomit I figured I could handle anything. I was so glad I went considering we had a great time and the boys slept 2+ hours both ways!

We left sunday afternoon and made it in around dinner time. We stayed at my aunt and uncle's house and the boys loved exploring the space many times larger than ours! They also have 3 boys mostly grown so lots of boy stuff laying around, in addition to 2 dogs, 2 birds, and a bunch of fish. The boys were in heaven. Ryker loved finding and chewing on Nerf darts, and Nicholas loved harrassing the animals and playing pretend with my aunt, Lorrie.Our first full day was monday, and we had tons of fun meeting up with Darci and her baby, Kensie. Nicholas and Ryker were enthralled with the baby right away, and Nicholas wanted to hold her hand all day.


We took the kiddos to the MGM lion habitat to see the sleeping lions, then to lunch at the Rainforest Cafe. Afterwards we hit up the M&M Factory.

The boys loved it! Even Rykie kept saying "Nem-an-Nem!" every time he looked up or down at the tiles on the floor. We were almost suckered into getting some souvenirs but opted for some mini M&M treats instead. We got back to the house, exhausted, and me and Ryker slept while Kiki played with more toys.
The next day we went to one of my all-time favorites, the Forum Shops. It was so fun to walk around and shop. The kids were great, but definitely had less stamina from the day before. Ryker and Kensie fell asleep in their strollers, so when we got back to Darci's that meant no naps and lots of crying!

Before we knew it, wednesday came and we got ready to go home. We spent the morning playing at Lorrie's again, and I tried to catch some sleep. The only downside to traveling and being somewhere new is the lack of sleep. I was woken up at 4:30 but the kids went back down and I was paranoid of making noise to wake them and naturally couldn't sleep. Lorrie was nice enough to watch the crazy Nicholas, aka Buzz Lightyear, and take a couple trips to the moon so I could have a nap. After Ryker and I napped we went to an awesome park near the house and by lunchtime we were all ready to go. We went to Cafe Rio for lunch then headed out.

We had such a great time, and I wish I took more pictures, but we were too busy having fun! It was so liberating to feel like I could just pack up some things and go without any stress. The boys were great all week and I'm hoping this means we can do more fun last-minute trips together in the future.