Halloween

This year, we had a Run-Away bride, a Pink Lady, and Obi Wan Kanobi. The kids had a great time dressing up and getting their loot, and we all had a ton of fun at Aunt To-To's big Halloween party, even though Aaron was out of town. :-(

One question, though: Without touching the subject of having to celebrate a holiday on a Saturday when it falls on a Sunday (so stupid!), why does it seem like kids are all done trick or treating by the time Halloween rolls around? Their candy buckets were all full from school, dance, daycare, office, family and friends, and we had to make room for more. I was so glad that the weather was bad this year, because honestly, staying out longer would have been pointless...there is a point when you have to say when!!

School Blues...

Ok, so this week I had a huge decision to make: Do I keep going on my current school schedule and graduate in April, or do I switch to a new program and add 4 months of work on my plate? I enrolled in a program to get my BA in Business Management, but I have been realizing that what I love and am passionate about is event planning & coordinating, facilitation, and maybe even starting my own business. Are management courses really going to move me toward that goal, or should I move to a focus on marketing? Do I get a BA quickly just to say I have one, or do I take more time and get the most out of it? Four months is a big deal when you are finally starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel...

Well, I finally made the decision and papers are signed. AUGUST 2011, here we come!! :-)

Catch up!

Wow!! Almost a year since my last post. Things have been crazy busy, so I will catch up with some of the family highlights and then try to start fresh:

Conner turned 14 in May and started high school (9th grade) this week. He still lives in Elko with his dad and started guitar lessons. His big goal is that when he graduates high school, he would like to move back to Salt Lake and go to school to become a graphic design artist - he spends most of his time on the computer designing animation...I have to admit, I am not 100% sure of what it all is, but he enjoys it. And since it is inspiring a career path and college, I think it is great! He gets his braces off is a few months and he is very much looking forward to that.

Baylee turned 13 in June and started 8th grade this week. She goes to Butler Middle, her best friend is a girl named Chile (very sweet girl) and we are hoping her grades pick up this year. Very smart but has issues with focusing and keeping on track, so she started medication for ADD and it seems to be helping, so our fingers are crossed. She is not really boy crazy yet, which I LOVE!She started theater and is very excited because she loves acting and being in front of big groups of people. She has grown up a lot, but gets very emotional at times (teenagers!) and hates doing any kind of chores. Her room is a pig-sty most of the times and a huge challenge is just making sure everything is sanitary with no food, wet towels, etc all over the floor. She is also very clumsey, which makes it twice as great that she has found theater. :-)

Mikel is 6 and just started first grade at Bella Vista. She still goes to La Petite before and after school but her full-days at elementary. She takes cold lunch on most days, but loves picking a hot lunch day off the menu. She has a crush on Aiden Dixon still (boy in her class), which has been going on for about 2 1/2 years now (she gets mad at him once in a while for being a "dumb boy", but it never lasts long). She is a little snobby and whiney sometimes, but also very intelligent, compationate and sincere. She is trying desperately not to suck her thumb anymore, but it has been hard for her to stop. She got accepted into a competition dance team (YEAH!) but because of scheduling problems, she is still in the regular classes (sorry!). However, they did move her up with the big kids, which she loves. She is very talented and very motivated but she HAS to be the best at whatever she tries or she gets frustrated. She loves fashion, purses, shoes etc., but still cannot tie her shoes because she gets mad that she has to work at it (see what I mean!); we are working on that. Her best friends are Sagel and Riley from La Petite - she had her first "Big Girl" sleepover just before school started.

Nik is 4 and is in the Pre-K class at La Petite. He is smart as a whip and remembers everything he hears and sees. Very stubborn boy, but also very loving and snuggly. He loves toys, movies, riding his bike, and imaginative play. Star Wars has been his long time favorite (old and new) - sometimes a new fad comes in for a little bit (Transformers, Iron Man, etc.), but he always goes back to Star Wars. He loves pretending that Tyson is a Syth Lord and that he is a Jedi comign to destroy him...you can see where that goes! :-) He makes friends instantly, loves sports and wants to play football, soccer and basketball. He just finished a training program for soccer and can't wait to get on a field. Nik is very competative, like Mikel, but he is not as crushed as she is if he is not the best - hoping that he will just try harder instead. He is the picky eater in the family - he loves spicy food (salsa!) and most fruit, but he does not like most meat or veggies. Pizza, chocolate milk, and PB&Js are the all time favorites and will do about anything for a piece of candy!
Ok, now on to me and Aaron...where to start! We remodeled our great room this year which was a nightmare! So many things that you don't expect pop up at the most inopportune times. But it is now almost done and the house is feeling more like a home. We still have a lot to do, especially with the backyard, but it will all come along in time. We try to have date nights as often as we can, and it helps that Bay is old enough to watch the little ones. Football season is starting again which means going to Ute games - GO UTES - and watching the Steelers.

Aaron is traveling a TON for work, which is very hard, but also very satisfying. He is doing a great job and is becoming very successful at his company. My current challenge is trying to balance work, school (will get my BA in April!), and kids, and now doing it alone half the time. But it won't be forever - even finishing school in a few months will be a huge help for scheduling everything. The bigger challenge, I have realized, is that he is my best friend and we have been lucky enough to be able to spend so much time together over the lst 7 years that sharing him now with something he is so passionate about (his career) makes me a little jealous...

Ok, I think that is enough for now...hopefully I will have more to post before next year! :-)

A NEW ADDITION

After months of pestering, Aaron finally gave in!! We have been searching for just the right puppy for our family, and it was no easy task. We thought a medium-sized dog would be great, but when we played with them, it just wasn't right. We have always loved labs, even though they are more work, and they are great family dogs. We found a liter in Lindon near Aaron's work and went to take a look. It was love at first sight, with ALL of them!! It took forever to pick out just the right one, but when we found him, we knew it was meant to be.

The kids were very excited when we picked them up from school. Mikel was not even scared like we thought she would be. After discussing many names, it was narrowed to Oscar, Lucky and Tyson. After a vote, our new member of the family was named Tyson Bear Hooley!! Birthday: November 2, 2009.

CHRISTMAS LISTS

We decided to write Christmas lists a little early this year because we have SO MUCH going on between now and then, and because shopping started in October and we wanted to make sure Santa was bringing the right gifts! :-) Baylee had mostly clothes on her list, with some DS games and a few odd things that neither of us had heard of (might have to look them up). Mikel had a big list, as usual, that included new clothes for her doll, more Barbies, Littlest Pet Shops, and a DS. Nik wants a Batman Cave, a race track for his cars, Transformers (especially Optimus Prime), GI Joe toys, and a new big boy bike.

It was a little strange making our lists without Conner this year. When he comes to visit, we will have to get his list as well...

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

This year, Halloween was exhausting! Before the big day even hit, the kids had multiple parties at school and daycare, a carnival, and an office trick-or-treating at my work. When Halloween actually came around, the excitement had worn off...which was great for mom and dad! :-) Nik wore the same fireman costume as last year and Mikel wanted to be a queen. Baylee went to Elko to spend time with her other family, but dressed as a zombie prom-queen.

Mikel and I went trick-or-treating to a few houses that night, but mostly stayed in and handed out candy. We made hot chocolate and watched Twitches while waiting for kids to arrive. She liked everyone telling her how beautiful she was, but got seriously offended if they said she was a princess rather than a queen...you would think she was really a part of the royal family!

Since so much had already been done, Aaron took Nik to his first Utes game that night and he LOVED it! He talked for days about how much he liked seeing the football guys tacking each other and the players running onto the field through the smoke. But his favorite was getting to yell with the crowd as loud as he wanted. He made it though the first half and then they came home - not bad for 3 years old.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

Through our 7 years together, I have never been able to successfully surprise Aaron with anything!! This month, I finally pulled it off. Aaron turned 40 this month, so what better to mark the occasion than a surprise party. I was able to gather friends and family together, with the help of sneaky family members (thanks dad!) and the party was a huge success! Aaron's brother Troy was even able to fly in from San Fran, despite being a new daddy (thanks Tracey!) to bring the surprise to an even greater level.

Everyone had a great time and it was wonderful to have so many friends together. Hopefully we can all get together again soon...it was amazing to reconnect with everyone and to realize the love that we have for each and every person who was able to attend.