Working hard...

We have been doing good the past few weeks.  Lots of work opportunities in the summer and we are grateful for that.  This last week, Dallen and Ashton have been helping a couple of sisters clean out their mom's house, who passed away a year ago.  The mom was sort of a hoarder and so there is a TON of stuff.  This is good and bad for my boys because I have taught them to find treasure in trash (so to speak) and so while the sisters are throwing things away, my kids are wanting to dumpster dive!  It hasn't been that bad, but close.  They sisters made a deal with the boys.  There is a car there that was their mom's.  It isn't anything fancy and right now it doesn't even work.  They think it is just a dead battery from sitting so long and the mom was a shut-in and never really went anywhere.  It was filled with junk, though!  Anyway, they offered the boys the car for working this last week.  Ashton's eyes were BIG with excitement.  One of the days, the boys were taking a break in the car and the sisters came back from lunch and they asked Dallen and Ashton what they were doing and Ashton with his arm hanging on the steering wheel said "chillin'".  They thought that was funny and said, "well, you haven't earned it yet, so let's get back to work".  It was a good experience for the boys and the sisters have called Scott several times telling him that they really enjoyed the boys over there and that they are good kids and have a pleasant demeanor about them.  So, they finished the job and should be able to try and jump the car this week and at least get it over to our house.  One of the sisters is going to call the DMV and see what needs to be done to transfer it into Ashton's name!  I'm excited for them and it has really been a great experience.  If anything, they can you-tube how to fix it!

While working, though, Ashton had a couple little accidents.  He did this to his lip (well, actually Dallen threw something at him that was metal and it hit Ashton in the lip and went through!).  We had to go to insta-care because I was afraid of what would happen if food got in it and stuff.  It was big enough to stitch, but the doctor said it would abscess and so he left it open and gave us an anti-biotic to rinse with.  It is starting to heal.  Then a couple days later, he had stepped on a nail and it went into his foot.  Good thing we already got him a tetnis shot from the lip accident and so we are good!  I am not sure I could afford much more of this job!.

Speaking of jobs, Ashton is now officially working at Celebrations as a dish washer.  He is doing what Calvin did.  He works every day this week except Thursday.  That's a lot of dishes to wash!  Anyway, he seems to like it and it will be good for me to not be around him and the other ladies will have to teach him how to do things.  He actually is pretty good and knows what needs to be done.  Dallen will probably help out next week because all the dishwashers will be gone and then he can earn some money.   I am grateful for the opportunities they have been given.

Calvin is going down to Phoenix for a couple of job interviews.  Keep your fingers crossed!!!  One is for Target and I am not sure about the others.  He will be down there while Charity (his cousin) gets ready to leave for her mission this Wednesday!  She will be missed.

at the rodeo!  

We got to go to the Rodeo for the 4th of July.  It was actually held on the 5th.  I worked on the 4th and because nothing was going on in town for the 4th (because it was all being held on the 5th), working wasn't that big of a deal.  The rodeo is always fun.  Except...it's monsoon season and sure enough...the clouds rolled in.  It poured on us.  We usually stay, but it started lightening and I get nervous sitting on the metal bleachers while it is lightening.  I kinda wished we stayed because 10 minutes later, it let up and the rodeo was back on.  We saw most of it.  Just didn't get to see the barrel racing and the bull riding.  Those are my two favorites.  I just have to post this picture of Dallen.  He was so excited to wear his hat and boots.  He is the cutest cowboy :).  I'm glad I got one!  Now I just need one that wants to play sports and then I can die happy!  I might have him convinced about that, too...we'll see.

 Here is another thing that happened a couple of weeks ago.  Ashton managed to get in his first accident.  Luckily it wasn't a bad one, but my car seemed to get the brunt of it!  He was pulling out onto Main and it was dusk.  The other car looked like it was in the far lane and so Ashton turned right into the close lane.  Well, the car wasn't in the far lane and Ashton clipped the guy's back tire (hence the black marks on the bumper).  The guy was really nice about it and Ashton was given a ticket for not yielding.  He has to go to court on Wednesday to see what his ticket will be because that's how they do it here.  I keep wondering if taking them to court helps the kids to be more conscious of what they do.  It seems to be working for my boys!  I have been there with every one except Dallen (Derrek doesn't count because he's never lived here).  Anyway, good thing Ashton has a job and also that it wasn't worse than it could have been!

One last picture. So, Scott had all week off, literally.  It wasn't planned, but he had a lot of extra comp hours that needed to be used and they weren't busy at the mortuary, so Jason said for him to take the week off.  So, Scott took the boys camping in Show low area at Scott's reservoir (fitting, I know!).  They took canoes up there and had a good time.  Calvin even went and we love it when Calvin still wants to do things with the family.  Anyway, I couldn't go because it was in the middle of the week and I needed to go to work.  Scott actually came back one of the mornings so that they could take the cats to get fixed (yay!), but that's beside the point.  Anyway, one of the nights they were gone, I decided to do something from Pinterest.  I love that site and I pin stuff all the time, so every now and then I decide to try stuff that I see.  I was feeling festive and sometimes for work we make cakes and I thought this would be fun since I was head cook on the 3rd and working on the 4th.  But, I needed to see how it looked before I served it to people!  It turned out ok. The cake was from scratch, and I think I would find a different, better tasting recipe.  This one was okay, but tons of butter and I'm not a huge fan of tons of butter.  The boys said it was good.  Anyway, I didn't get to do it for the restaurant because someone had already made another cake, but that's okay...it wasn't perfected at home yet :).  Maybe next year!

Well, that should catch us up for now.  July is already in full gear.  The calendar has the 1st day of school on it already and so it won't be long until we are doing that again!  So excited to have both boys in high school this year.  They have Friday's off and so we can probably do more...well, if I'm not working so much!

Summertime...

We are in full swing as far as summer is concerned.  We've already had some fun activities happen.  First of all, Calvin graduated!!!!  YAY!!!  We weren't sure he was going to make it because he had to finish an on-line math class (not his strongest subject), and having the discipline to do it on-line sometimes is really hard (from experience!).  Anyway, he buckled down and passed the class.  He did really well.  Here are some pictures of us and a couple of his friends on Graduation Day (May 23rd)

Dallen, Calvin, Ashton (they are catching up in height!)

Calvin and parents (I'm pretty sure we have shrunk!)

Calvin with friend, Justin (soon to be roommates)

Calvin's other good friend, J. J.

It was a good evening and then Calvin was off to grad night, which he said was horrible, but he won a "Chrome" plug-in and it's been pretty cool for him.  He was hoping to score big like Alec did last year.  They really need to change things with grad night.  It's really horrible and the reason they do it is so that the kids won't go and drink, but it is so horrible that it makes the kids WANT to drink (not really, but it is that bad!).  Calvin has decided to move down to the Valley.  He wants to get settled and then start school in January.  He doesn't know what he wants to do, so he is taking his time.  He is very money conscious and so he is taking things slow.  He quit his job here at Sonic and so it is official that he is going to move.  They just have to find a place to live.  We'll see what happens in the next week or so.  He will be living with Justin (above) who is already down there working.  It will be a good experience for them.

Ashton just completed his sophomore year.  He will be a Junior now.  He pretty much has a job at Sonic, now that Calvin has left, and so they said they would finalize things with that this week.  Hope it goes well.  It isn't sure until it's for sure!  He was able to go to EFY in Flagstaff.  Here are some pictures of him and his group.  

This is his group and counselor.  His cousin, Zac is in the back (right)

Girls and Guys....Ashton can never be serious!

Jessica caught Ashton's eye :)

This last weekend they had an EFY "reunion" (it's only been a week since they last saw everyone!).  Most of the kids are from Phoenix/Gilbert and surrounding areas.  They went to the temple, breakfast and hung out all day.  I am not sure if they went to the dance that night, but Ashton said it was a possibility.  He came home a different person.  Last year was good, but something changed him this year.  Anyway, it was an awesome experience and one that will definitely stay with him forever!

Dallen has been gone for 2 weeks at Philmont Scout Ranch.  Scott went for one of the two weeks.  He said it was super hard, but the boys had some really fun experiences.  Dallen said he really like rappelling and he also really liked having church out in the middle of no-where.  They had a really spiritual sacrament/testimony meeting and Scott said all the boys were bawling because they were all touched.  It's good to have them home. 

We also have 11 kittens now.  Here are a couple of pictures.  They hopefully will be leaving our home soon.  They are 4 and 5 weeks old (we can't tell them apart, so we have to go by the younger group as to not wean them too early).  They have been fun to play with.  The mama's are getting fixed next week.  No more of this!  

We have 7 black stripe and 4 orange stripe.  They are just starting to get curious and it makes me nervous from childhood experiences of them resting on the wheels or engine of the car...and not surviving!  Anyway, it's fun.  

This week we are going to Phoenix for Charity's (Heidi's oldest daughter) mission farewell.  She leaves for the Tacoma Washington mission in a week or so and we are so excited for her.  We just got Derrek's release date...September 19th, he'll be flying into Phoenix!  Alec is hitting his 1 year mark soon.  Time seems to have flown by this last year.  

Time management...or lack of it!

I have realized in the last couple months that my time management is WAY out of whack.  Since the last post, there have been changes!  First, ALL the kittens that were born, died.  How sad is that?  The longest one of them lived was 2 weeks.  The mama cats had a cold and the babies caught it and then they died.  It was really sad.  But, never fear...we missed the window of opportunity to have them spayed, and they are both about to give birth again.  Being the first time cat owner, I didn't know when I could have them fixed because on all the websites I looked at, they said wait until the mother has nursed 6 weeks, but I guess I could have done it after all the kittens had died!  Anyway, lessons learned and we are a little excited to try it again.  My friend that has raised cats for 40 years gave me tips and so we'll see if it goes better this time.

I went horse-back riding for the first time in 12 years!

I was able to get two new jobs.  I have been working at one for about 5-6 weeks and the other for about 3 weeks.  I REALLY love my new jobs.  One is for the local restaurant, Celebrations, that Calvin did the dishes for this past year.  I really feels like I am just at a Relief Society function, working in the kitchen and prepping food and serving for an activity or something.  I work Fridays and Saturdays there, either in the morning shift or the evening shift.  I really love to cook and I have already learned some great recipes!  Of course, I can't give them away, but they are GOOD!  The other job came because the mother of the owner of Celebrations needed someone that had done books before, and my first day at Celebrations, she kept bugging Julie (the owner) for my number so that she could steal me.  She didn't even know me!  She called a couple weeks later and Julie is awesome because I didn't want to let her down and I really like working there, so I am able to do the bookkeeping job Monday through Thursdays and then on Friday and Saturday I am working at Celebrations.  I am learning a new program called Infinite Visions and I appreciate that it is a very thorough program and can understand why government agencies and especially schools use it.  It is not as pretty or user friendly as Quickbooks, but I am growing to appreciate it.  We work with all the Grant and Charter schools on the reservations here in the State of AZ.  It brings me back to the days of working at the Multi-cultural Financial Aid office at BYU where I processed and helped collect funds for all the American Indian students there and I feel I am right back there.  That was probably my best job ever and this one is becoming one of my favorites, also.  I am doing payroll and accounts payable and Jim, who has been doing payroll, is really a good teacher.  I really have appreciated his patience and his ability to let go of it and allow me to learn.  He probably has more trust in me than I do in myself, but it helps me to think, "well, if he thinks I can do it, then I probably can!".  Anyway, it is a family business.  Rita is the owner, and her two daughters and son-in-law (Jim) and one other guy work for her.  Anyway, they are all really nice and supportive and it is nice to feel competent again.  I appreciate my old job teaching me about payroll and Arizona taxes, as I didn't know much about that before.  I wasn't going to take the job at Celebrations because I knew the ladies that worked there and I didn't want to ruin anything with that, but felt strongly that I should.  Then I was glad because I liked it and then I got another job because of that job!  I can see that by taking this job and learning this program it is setting me up for the ability to work for schools and is a great asset for me.  I am really grateful for the opportunity and can't believe it is real.

But, this all leads me to time management!  I have not been able to get done the things that I feel are more important than these jobs and that is visiting teaching and temple attendance and focusing more on my calling and helping others.  These things are the things that truly make me happy.  So, this next week, that is my new focus.  I am going to figure out my time and make sure those things are at the top of the list and not the bottom.

Ashton getting his driver's license!

School gets out this week and the kids are ready.  I can't believe Dallen will be a Freshman and Ashton a Junior!  Calvin is graduating and wants to move out.  He pretty much doesn't live here anyway.  He is planning on moving to an apartment here in town with his friends and going to Northern Pioneer College here until he figures out what he would like to do.  He's been toying with the Army idea, but it doesn't seem to stick, so who knows.  He is really an amazing artist and I hope he is able to find somewhere he can use that talent.  He is truly gifted.  Ashton is looking for a job and gets to go to EFY this year.  Every week he has made plans to go "bug" someone about a job.  It's not necessarily every day, but the fact that he sets weekly goals and follows through is such a great life skill!  Ashton recently got his driver's license and loves running errands for me.  It's nice to be able to have someone take Dallen where he needs to go or run into town to get groceries for me.  I will miss the days when they are all gone :)  Dallen has a summer job with a guy in our ward and goes and helps lay sprinklers and does yard work.  Dallen has always like doing that kind of stuff.  He worked for him last summer and that's how he was able to buy his horse this last year.  He was pro-active, also, and called the guy and asked if he needed help this summer.

Scott finishes his internship in June.  I can't believe we are done and he will be able to do this anywhere.  Jason really wants to make sure we stick around and so he and Scott have been talking about Scott running a second funeral home for him and then he would get experience being a manager and then he would be able to have that on his resume, also.  I told Scott we aren't moving for at least 4 years (until Dallen is gone), but the fact that Jason wants to make sure he does stay, he is making it very difficult for us to want to ever leave!

Autumn

Charity

Other things that have happened in the last few months...Scott's sister, Jennie, had her baby and named her Autumn.  She is really cute and sweet.  A few days after that, we were able to be there with Wes as he was confirmed into the Catholic church.  It was very important to him and we are glad we were able to support him in his decision and be there.  It was important for us to be there.  We got to spend Easter with Scott's family and that was fun.  Charity, Heidi's daughter, is leaving for her mission to Tacoma Washington in July.  We are so excited for her.  We will miss her tons, but it will fly by.  We can't believe that Derrek is coming home (also my Parents!) and Alec has been out for almost a year!

Grant

My sister, Jenette had her baby, Grant, and she is going well.  I am sad I wasn't able to go help her, but I kept feeling like I needed to tell her I couldn't and didn't know why.  Then I got the new job and it started the week she had him.  I then knew why I needed to stay.  I didn't even go to Women's Conference this year which was a big deal, but the whole time I felt at peace and knew this year was not a year I could or needed to go.  We can't wait to meet him!

Henry

 Another nephew we haven't met is Henry.  Kent and Amy had their baby in March and we are so happy for them.  Chris (their oldest son) is getting ready to have his baby (well, wife Christina is) in June.  Can't wait to see their baby.  Anyway, here is a picture of Henry...love all these babies!

 So, as you can see, things are going good for now here in Taylor.  We are healthy and feel very blessed and can't believe we are where we are after the last three years of struggling.  We are grateful to all the family and friends that have helped and for the lessons we have learned.  We have become better people because of it and although I never want to go through that again, I am grateful that it happened.