SO HAPPY!

Three things.

One: We were given a very nice dinnerware set (from bed bath & beyond) from a couple moving out of our ward (not even used)! It included 8 large plates, 8 small plates, 7 mugs, and 3 bowls. Today I went to Bed/Bath to buy 3 more bowls to have an almost complete set!! The bowls are actually rather large to my liking so I'm happy with 6. Brian says we should go back eventually to get 2 more bowls and a mug. Mugs aren't my favorite thing either because they take up so much space, but a FULL set would be cool. They are SO nice! Now we are no longer using 2 hand-me-down sets (though they met our needs well). Ah! feels good!

Two: For the longest time (at least 7 years) I've wanted a Tempur-pedic pillow. Tried my sister's one night and thought it was AMAZING on my neck. Problem is they're ridiculously expensive! I've done the cheaper memory foam ones, but they were a joke compared to this. Not to be rude. So, since I happened to be at Bed/Bath, and happened to have a 20% off coupon, and happened to have recently gotten paid for some work I did months ago... I DID IT!!! I am looking forward to some excellent nights and some released tension on my neck.

Three: We'll soon be leaving Mormon-town (that's not #3) and I've always wanted a substantially large picture of Christ to be the center of our living room. I've not yet found one large enough that could fit our budget. So I did some browsing at Seagull book for fun. It's our last chance for a while. Turns out they had a LARGE 26x30 picture of the Gentle Healer (Brian and I both love) for $100!! That's really amazing. The frame is beautiful too. I AM SO HAPPY!!

Taking a Dip

We went to Jen Burton's this morning to swim! Take a look.

Avery, Gavin & Logan. Avery was content on the edge most of the time (water was cold), but she had fun!

Avery & Gavin

Helping to feed the dogs.

Or stuffing it in their face! (Avery's got her mouth open to help Bear know what to do!)

It's the same story

So last night, for the third time since becoming pregnant, I cried to Brian about how miserable it is to FEED MYSELF!! There, I got it out. It's the same story everyday... I try to find snacks to eat, but nothing interests me, so I wait too long before eating something and by that point I feel sick already and don't have enough energy to make something. Then I attempt to conjure up something, if anything, and just take a nap because I still don't feel good. Then dinner rolls around and I'm still miserable and it's amazing if I get anything on the table for us. PHEW!

I was determined today to buy EASY snacks that sound appetizing and EASY dinners so we stop going out to eat (we've been out at least 5 times recently, which is big spending for us). I've decided no more attempting to be super cook making everything from scratch (like french bread, alfredo sauce, etc). I bought the pre-made stuff, baby! And I feel GOOD about it! :)

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Let's hear about Avery now. She is super cute!! It's funny when she tries to repeat words we say; she's doing that more often. She's picking up on more animal sounds though they all sound the same. hehe. She can point to nose, ears, eyes, and head. She responds to yes and no questions very well. Yesterday I asked, "Avery, should I sit up straighter?" She responded casually with a "yeah." "Avery, are you trouble?" "yeah." "Avery, are you ready to get out of the tub?" "no." Her scowls and furrowed eye brows are funny too when she disapproves of something. She's been going to bed later, often around 9pm. We love to play with her!

You may have seen this one already, but it's way cute.

2-foot pizza at Pirate Island! She's not sure if she can eat it all.

We went with our friends, the Lees!

Avery in the morning! haha.

She got her first sucker today. Loved it. By the way, she's 17 months!

Really, Avery?

Last night she went to bed at midnight. Sure she took a nice afternoon nap, but really? Midnight? When we put her down at 9pm, she screamed bloody murder like something was seriously wrong. I couldn't take it. Apparently, she just wasn't tired. Crazy child. Thankfully Brian stayed up with her and I got the best night's sleep I've had since becoming pregnant. Sleeping can be a big bugger sometimes.

Side note, I'm allowed to go on a $30 shopping spree at Kid-to-Kid since we're going to return all our borrowed clothes from Shelly (Thank you Shelly!!!). I'm so excited that I want to bike there today with avery (Brian has the car). It's close, but it's going to be 100 degrees today. :-/ we'll see.

Here's a funny pic. Jenni taught Avery how to stuff things in her shirt (haha), and here she found two balls during her nap... Oh gee, Avery, you're a bit young!

Updates, Updates

Brian officially begins work at LANL (Los Alamos National Lab) on August 23, 2010. Sooner than expected- so life's another upheaval! In a good way.

We're getting booted out of Wymount August 20 (thankfully, they're not making us leave while Brian is in Canada the 15th-18th).

LANL covers all moving costs (and that means getting movers to do all the labor); they even reimburse us for cleaning fees taken out of our deposit, so that means I don't have to do the nitty gritty!! Lovin' it.

We already have found and secured our new apartment in Los Alamos for when we get there. It's a nice place!

My ultrasound is on the 19th of August; Avery's 18 month appointment is on the 20th! We could not get either of them moved earlier... talk about a busy couple of days!

Pictures

Here are some cute pictures from Mother's Day of Avery and her cousins!

Unfortunately, this was the best group shot because the girls were being quite the clingers!

Finally Avery smiled when we let her play in the flower bed.

Briley

Carson

The Moment We've been Waiting For

Hooray!

We have a REAL job!! You know- the kind you start your career with! We are so pleased and thrilled and out-of-our-minds-don't-know-what-to-do-with-ourselves-crazy-excited to tell you that we were offered and have accepted the job at Los Alamos National Lab in New Mexico! Brian will be working in Weapon Systems Engineering as a Research & Design Engineer. They said he'd be getting his hands into a little bit of everything and, of course, working on designing. Exactly what he wants to do! We are SOOOOO blessed and feel extremely humbled at the receipt of this offer. Thank you everyone who prayed for us or simply wished our success.

We will begin work there when Brian's complete security clearance has been passed. We're not sure how long it will take, but it's in depth. In the mean time, we will stay in Utah through September for Brian to finish his current job... as long as Los Alamos doesn't need us before then.

I've got to tell you that this new job will have great benefits, be super stable, and the pay is considerably more than we expected at the entry level for a master in engineering. We were shocked, and quite a bit giddy I have to admit. Nonetheless, we will be wise with our new income.

We are sure going to miss our FAMILy and FRIENDS here in Provo... gosh, we've had it good here. It is sad to leave all this goodness. We better not pay any matter to that yet though, because there is still time to be lived up before we leave.

Life is a Rollercoaster!

Wow, we've had lots of recent updates to let you in on...

Second Job

Brian is a pretty busy guy! This summer he's already been working 20-30 hours a week on an exercise machine project/job for the school and writing a Compliant Mechanism compendium as requested by his professors. He's also received a provisional patent on a bicycle brake he designed and will be in Canada in August for a conference and design contest where he could potentially get a prize for his design. SO... about that second job! Yesterday, he began working for VMT Technologies (a start-up company here in Provo) in a contracted position until September. He'll be working there an extra 30 hours a week- that means long days! They could potentially hire him on permanently after that, but we've got our eyes on higher sights. This isn't a bad back-up though.

Medicaid/WIC

As a result of this secondary job, it looks like we'll be off of Medicaid and WIC soon. Sad day. At least we have some real income now, which is comforting.

Homeless!

Wymount is kicking us out on August 16th (since that's Brian's official graduation) and they won't acknowledge our petition to stay longer. WE ONLY NEED ONE MORE MONTH for Brian to finish up this contract position in Provo. Then we'll be out of Utah most likely. Thankfully, we can stay with G&G in Ogden during this time, but that'll be a long commute for Brian each day. If any of you in Provo could hub Brian for a few days or a week at a time (he really only needs bed/couch and shower- he can manage his own food), we would be eternally grateful! He would visit us in Ogden on the weekends.

Softball

Brian and I are on a ward co-ed intramural softball team. Last night we had our first game and it was way fun! Lot's of people in the ward are on the team- especially many girls who have done softball before. Awesome!

Avery

Lately she loves to say "apple" (very well), "yum/yummy/num-num/mmm," "shoes," and she picks up on new words quicker. She can point to her ears/nose/head. I love to watch her develop EVERY DAY!