"Like Jordan's!"

When I brush Tanner's hair I brush it to the side. Lately, Tanner has been pulling it up saying "Like Jordan's!" So then I have to do a fohawk. It is really cute, but he has really coarse hair that likes to lay flat and go forward, so the fohawk only lasts about 5 minutes. Even with product!

Nate comes home tomorrow! I'm so excited! It hasn't been a horrible week because I have done everything I can think of to keep busy, but we've definitely missed him.

He had a pretty good experience in L.A. No sales but came close a couple times. It was a lack of knowledge that costed him the sales. He was kicking himself later. But now he knows and can correct it later. They say it usually takes 40 hours of knocking doors to get a sale and he maybe did 15 hours. He'll go to Idaho Falls to get some more practice. Anyone know anyone there who might want a free security system???

So lonely

Nate is in Los Angeles this week doing pre-summer sales to get some training and practice. We're hoping he does good so he can feel confident selling this summer and get a running start. I've been really impressed with his dedication to learning about APX and how to sell. We're praying he does well enough that we can get through graduate school at least debt free. Luckily ISU is relatively inexpensive, so that shouldn't be too hard.

Anyway, I hate being alone with the kids. The saying, "Absense makes the heart grow fonder" is so true! I know I sure appreciate Nate more after he has been gone, especially when the kids don't sleep good due to sickness, and when Tanner is especially unruly. Guess moments of separation like these are good for a marriage occasionally (very occasionally) since I gain a greater appreciation.

Poor Dallin

Dallin has been sick with an ear infection and bronchitis for a few days and you can just tell he is miserable and exhausted. In this video he is trying to sleep sitting up.


We spent the day in Pocatello yesterday to look at housing options and see the city and it really is not so bad. Actually I am pretty excited to live there. There is definitely more shopping options than Rexburg. No Target or Old Navy though. :( We ate at Craigo's; we are so happy they are there. That is our favorite pizza place in Rexburg. I have yet to scope out the parks, but I saw a few.

The news we've been waiting for for WAY TOO LONG

Nate heard from Eastern Washington yesterday and he was put on the alternate list, so we are planning to go to ISU. If he comes up on the alternate list we'd consider it still, but for now we are tired of waiting. We are making plans now for a life in Pocatello. We are totally fine with this. We weighed it out and they were both really good for us in different ways. Now we look forward to being close to our siblings that are in ID and UT and cheaper housing, cost of living and tuition. Now we will just have to find the good in Pocatello. At first glance it doesn't look like a very nice place to live, but neither did Rexburg and we've grown to like it here.

Look what I have been doing

Packing. Already. We don't leave for 6 weeks, but I want to do it very gradually so I don't exhaust myself or neglect the kids for long periods of time. We will store everything for the summer except the bare essentials. We should know tomorrow if Nate gets in to Eastern Washington University. We'll keep you all posted.

Dallin trying to help.













Can you guess what Tanner is doing behind our chair? This is his official pooping spot. I should just stick his toilet back there, and maybe he'd go.

Not so BRAVE or CRAZY (whichever you were thinking) after all

So, I bought plane tickets today. LOL. I am flying to New Jersey with Tanner and Dallin. I totally chickened out, thanks to many of you. :) So I will make the 4 hour drive to SLC (visit Matt and Mickie while there) and a quick 4 hour flight as apposed to a week long trip. I feel much less anxiety now, even though there still is some since I will be taking 2 kids on a flight by myself. Michaela, you can still come. Wait, no you can't, I got the last 2 tickets. Darn it!

Hopefully, my kids will be smiling like this on our flight.

I must be CRAZY

So we decided that me and the kids will drive to New Jersey in April. It is a 3 day drive if you drive strait through. I told Nate I would only drive if we could make lots of stops along the way. So, I think I found stops every 8 hours or so. Some church history sites (Nauvoo and Kirtland), family and friends. If you happen to live some where along the way let us know and we will stop in and see you. :) I am actually excited to see the sites. We are expecting it to take an entire week. I hope that the kids don't go crazy. Anyone made a trip like this with kids? How was it for you? Any suggestions? Besides, DON'T DO IT! :)

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Good deals

Kmart is doubling coupons this week, so I got some really good deals. If you click on my picture you can see the prices a little better. If you have coupons, go check it out. Here in Rexburg they double them through about Sunday.

I know how it feels. . .

. . . to be a single mom. Nate was gone for the weekend with his brother Jordan. They went to Spokane, Washington for an interview at Eastern Washington University. Thank goodness for Michaela; she kept me company. I would have been really lonely without her. We hit up the Alberston's sale and watched Mama Mia and The Secret Life of Bees. Both really good movies.

Nate said his interview went well, and the school/program are pretty impressive. He'll know this week or next whether he gets accepted. We still don't know which one we'd chose. We made pros and cons lists and they are so equal for different reasons. So it will be a matter of prayer for sure. Thanks to the Pingles for letting Nate and Jordan stay with them. They were so nice to invite Nate and Jordan to stay with them when they found out they'd be in the area.

Dad Playground

Whenever Nate gets on the floor Tanner is right there to jump on him and play on him. Nate is a fun dad. He tries to make the most of the time he is home with us. Hopefully grad school won't take him away from us too much. Dallin plays with his tongue a lot; rolling it around and sticking it out. So that is what these pictures are.

Dad has the fun, and mom gets to comfort them when they are grumpy.

What is that?

Dallin makes this strange noise when he is cold.

Valentine's day

We spend Valentine's day afternoon with Jordan and Michaela and a couple other friends. Jordan was pretty creative and put together a carnival. We decorated cookies.


Raced to eat a doughnut off a string. Nate won one round.

Tanner was doing a bean bag toss with a mouthful of cookies while Dallin cheered him on. It was a lot of fun. Then we went home and had a steak dinner.

Happy Valentine's Day

Nate really out did himself this year. He got me a gift card for Sage Day Spa. I am not sure what I will do yet. A massage, pedicure, facial, so many choices. I am so excited. Thanks Nate! Love ya!

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Laundry day

This is how we do laundry. We have a friend who is a landscaper and he let us borrow this wagon. It was after his wife saw me walking to the laundry room in the snow with Dallin on my hip, pushing my laundry basket on a stroller, and Tanner crying while he walked about 20 feet behind me. They were so awesome to lend it to us. We've never had a washer and drier in our apartment, so I haven't known any different. But after we move from this place I will never be without. Fun stories to tell the kids later huh?

New Jersey it is!

Looks like we will be going to New Jersey for the summer. In case you didn't read my last post, we are going with APX this summer, and this is where Nate's office is going. We are pretty excited. It is a great location; close to lots of fun places. These are the apartments we will probably by staying in. Yep, that is the beach right next to us. This pic was from the 4th of July. I don't think it is always this hoppin'. We'll see though. Poor Nate is going to drive solo cross country while me and the boys fly.

Sundance

This weekend we went to Sundance Resort in Utah. We went with APX. Yes, Nate is going with APX this summer to sell security systems. I didn't mention it earlier because a lot of people have bad things to say about summer sales, and I didn't want to hear people's skeptisms, still don't. But we are going, and they had a retreat that was fun. Wish I got more pictures.

Here is happy Tanner. He was great for the trip until we hit the windy mountain roads, then he puked all over himself. Our car still reeks of vomit.

The cabin we stayed in was amazing! 9 bedrooms and I probably 6 bathrooms. Maybe 60 people from a few different offices came. We met other people from the office Nate is going with and they are really cool. Lots of married couples and several with kids. We're anticipating a great summer. He's going with one of the top offices, like in the top 5. We hope he does well so we can pay for grad school. We find out for sure where we are going tomorrow. It is looking like New Jersey.

It's been a while

I haven't posted pictures of the boys in a little while. I can just feel the grandparents getting anxious for more. So here's to you grandma and grandpas.

Low tech to high tech

Nate and I have been technologically slow, perhaps even impaired until recently. We got a laptop for graduate school a few months ago. Our first. And we just got Blackberries. They are like a phone, mp3, organizer, and computer all in one. We needed to renew our T-Mobile contract so we upgraded; they were practically free. Nate did days of research on phones and liked these the best. They are pretty cool, that is after all the frustration of trying to figure everything out. We just added text messaging to our plan for the first time. Hope they last. Sometimes high tech means high maintenance.

Luckily our old phones (Nokia 6103) still work if we need them. These have lasted 2 1/2 years so far. So if you are looking for a trusty phone, I recommend them. Mine has been dropped from two stories twice. Been through Tanner, which is saying a lot. He threw mine in the bath tub, with water in it, and it still works.