Thanksgiving 2005

Here are some pictures we took in Fallon. We're clearly not the photographers of the family, but we thought you might like them anyway. :)

Proven Methods

We just wanted to say hello and give a quick update. There isn’t much going on in our lives and yet it always seems out of control. I don’t know why this is always the case but ‘stuff’ is consuming our time. I have been doing a lot pictures this fall for the Christmas season. That and my weekly trips to the dentist take up all spare moments. That’s right-6 cavities, 2 crowns and a root canal (with a pretty sure bet my jaw that is bothering me still means another in the coming weeks). It’s been really depressing for one who religiously brushes and flosses. The dental bills after my pregnancies are way more than the doctor and hospital bills we pay to have the baby. Oh well.

Josh was finally released as nursery leader. I got so many compliments from the ward on how good he was at it. I don’t think it’s necessarily nursery that he’s good at-but being in charge. He is always coming up with some way to make things better or run smoother. Anyway he’s the elders quorum secretary and I'm going to miss him having a ‘Sunday only’ calling. Oh well, at least now he might learn the names of some people in the ward instead of referring to them as “Bostons’ Dad” and “Carolines’ mom etc.

James is not making Christmas easy for us. He can’t think of what he wants. I’m sure he would be happy with anything but I want him to be SO happy when he opens his present. He is always asking me things that I don’t know how to answer. “Why is it sit up AND sit down?” A more recent conversation with Josh went, “Dad, is Santa Clause a real person?” Josh wasn’t ready for this. “What do you think?” Although James was deep in thought, he didn’t respond. I think they were both scared of getting their question answered.

Sam is just a crazy man looking for some attention between his demanding old brother and the all consuming baby. He is finding winter very hard. He doesn’t like to wear clothes you see “they bug me.” As soon as he get in off come the pants, off comes the shirt, and in his unders he lives. It’s really hard to tell him no he’s so dang cute.

Josh and I have been trying some new parenting techniques. We decided on trying to freeze him into clothes. We have had the thermostat a good 5 below normal for days and he still refuses. He just jumps around the house to stay warm. “I like cold.” He has also been very hard to put down for bedtime. The other night after the tenth time of him opening his door and tip-toeing out we tried to think of something to do without resorting to spanking. The inspiration came. Josh waited by the door until it slowly opened by a trying to be sneaky 2 years old. “Roarrrrrrrrrrrr!” Josh yelled as he jumped right into the unsuspecting face. “AAAHHHHHHHHH!” The two boys yelled in sincere fright. Sam ran back to his bed and didn’t make a sound the rest of the night. I don’t know if this is in any parenting books yet-but it’s a proven method.

"The Barn"

Well, Ashkii made the mistake of telling Trevor that the house looks like a barn turned sideways. So he is now telling everyone "Mom and Dad bought a house that looks like a barn, but I really like barns." Anyway, you really can't judge a book by it's cover, can you?

A HOUSE AT LAST!!!!

Wow! What a day. Savannah and I flew in last night. This morning we met our real estate agent, Jan, at her office. She is a great lady and really a blessing in all of this with her 35 years experience in the area. Anyway, she and Ashkii took us all over to the 4 houses he had narrowed it down to (he's only looked at like 50!), plus we looked at 4 others. Well, we were eating lunch and debating on what to do, since our 2 favorites were really more than we wanted to spend. Jan began to return some phone calls during lunch, and had 2 calls from a secretary at her office who knew the price range we were looking in and was entering a new listing in the computer so she wanted to let us know about it. It was in an area Ashkii hadn't really been excited about because of jet noise and the commute, but we all decided to go check this house out because it was more in our price range. We pulled up to the house and it was, well, interesting on the outside (forgot to take a picture - post later) , but GREAT on the inside. Jan and I both loved it. Ashkii loved it but was frustrated that he has worked so hard to find a house and we find this great house the day I come out!!! Anyway, we made an offer, they counteroffered, and we decided to go with it. The schools are great, it's a younger neighborhood, and it's only 5-10 min. from the beach, so visitors will enjoy (hint hint). We are exhausted but relieved and excited!

From the Frozen Tundra

It will definitely be a white Christmas here in Idaho. It's about time I post an update for us (at least that's the lecture I got from Ashkii), so here goes. Jonathan and I will be done with this semester on December 16th. We will then be moving to Idaho Falls to live with Jonathan's parents. We will spend Christmas here in Idaho and then we will drive down to Utah on the 26th and be there until sometime the first week of January.
School starts again for us on January 9th. I will be doing my student teaching at Skyline High School in Idaho Falls. I will be teaching World History and American Government. Jonathan will still be in school so he will commute to Rexburg. He will be doing an intership during the summer, so if you have any ideas for Chemistry internships let us know. (He has to work for a company that actually has chemsists on their payroll). That's about all the news from the Windy City of Rexburg.
Much love,
Daija