We are back!

After a very long hiatus, since you were all patiently awaiting a new post, I've got a few minutes and will get you up to date.

It all started about a month and a half ago.....

Steve is still in school.  He passed his Winter semester classes and I'd just finished a busy semester accompanying.  People still ask, to this day, why I do it. Why not just stay home with your kids? Honestly, I can't. I go crazy. I need other people to interact with. Is this a bad thing? No. It's not.  A good friend of mine that had been in our ward watched Taylor and Bia. They loved going over there.  It was a good little balance. 

Then the job offer came...

The Theater and Music departments are putting on a show each.  They're not performed simultaneously but their rehearsals would be.  The Theater department had been keeping tabs on me to be their rehearsal pianist for a couple of semesters.  I had only worked with them when the music department was doing a production.  So technically I would really be on my own.  I agreed to do their musical rehearsals for three weeks before I went to Stanford to compete on my Ballroom dance team. Oh, yeah. I may have forgot to mention that, too. I joined an adult aged (18+) team in November and then we'd compete in Utah and California in April (which was a total blast and I really missed dancing). So dance rehearsals and music rehearsals were going on at the same time one night a week.  I felt I could miss two dance rehearsals to go earn money instead of spending it.  It worked out pretty well until the director of the theater production asked me to continue to come to all the rehearsals and possibly play in the performances. 

Now this was a big decision but it was a good option.  I could only play for a few people in the Spring semester and then work at night and keep a lot of that money.  So we decided to do it. Well, it's causing a lot of problems and let's just say that we're really going to be glad when it's over.  The performance dates at May 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 31, and June 1, 2.  It is a good show and the cast is doing a great job. Being a classically trained musician I tend to be a bit biased when I know I could be doing something that fits my tastes better.  The show is called Quilters.

Steve has recently been called to serve under Kris Munk in a Stake Presidency.  It's the newest stake on campus and they also meet in the Snow Building.  So I can see Steve a little bit if I have a break. Steve loves being an executive secretary.  It keeps him busy and he's very good at it. This is his second time working with Kris Munk.  He's an oral surgeon from Idaho Falls and he happened to grow up with my mom and dad.  So we hear a few fun stories now and then.  Steve only have three more semesters, if you count the current one.  He is excited but he's still trying to find an internship.  So hopefully we will be out of Rexburg by July 2013.  Hallelujah.

Taylor is doing so well. And I mean really well.  I met with his pre-school teacher and the school's speech pathologist. They were so thrilled that Taylor was progressing so well.  He's the top student in the class both socially and academically.  I really cannot believe it. If we hadn't said, "Sure we'll try speech therapy" as a whim when he was two, I know he would be having a more difficult time.  He is such a sweetie and really enjoys school.  We got him some glasses and he loves to wear them. He also is awesome at the Wii. We splurged a bit of our tax return on a Wii.  He enjoys it so much. Be careful he was kick your trash at Super Mario Brothers and Mario Kart.

Olivia is almost three.  I am having a hard time grasping this.  When i graduated college she was born and now she's heading into pre-school.  She's got a bit of a cold right now, but she is the biggest sweetheart.  She will just come and hug you and say 'i love you'.  She loves her blanket still, but never had issues with thumb sucking.  Thank goodness.  She loves to watch Curious George and Elmo and Mickey Mouse.  She keeps saying she wants to go back to Disneyland and see Rapunzel, too.  She loved attending the Toddler Lab the HFED Department on campus offers. She was one of the oldest kids.  Since she's three in June, she has to wait until the Fall Semester to attend any more schooling.  She is sad when we drop Taylor off at his school because she wants to go as well. Olivia has quite the dancing skills as well.  We're looking at getting her into some ballet/movement classes in the area. 

I think that's pretty much all for now.  And, no, we're not expecting.  I've had some people prompt me or ask when we'll be having more.  We know we'd like to.  Right now isn't the time. Hopefully soon, but if Steve doesn't finish school now, he won't later and that means the world to him right now.  He loves his family so much that his schooling needs to be completed so he can provide for us like he wants to.  He'll also be the first college graduate of his four siblings. I'm super proud.