New Job!

For a while now Jonathan has been trying to move into a "official" technical role at eBay. He has been doing one for the last 2 years on his team without the title while he was in school, and it was increasingly frustrating not to get recognized for his capabilities. He realized sadly that he was going to have to leave the company that he loved and worked for for the last 8 years to get the opportunities he rightfully deserved. So for the last few months he began a very stressful and selective job hunt.

He knew to leave eBay, and the wonderful culture and amazing benefits, he wouldnt be willing to jump ship for just any opportunity. Likewise we were in a tough economic situation and it might take a while to find something. However he was finishing his undergrad and he was running out of time, and internal opportunities were not presenting themsevles so he had to make a move eventually. Luckily for us the PERFECT thing came along.......

Today marks Jonathans last day at eBay. He, with lots of excitement, is moving on to a wonderful company ( L3) that offers him everything he could hope for. Great pay, job within his field, and benefits that rival eBay. He is also considering Grad school now because of the company (L3) willingness to pay a huge chunk of it, and it will make it affordable for us --for him to go(YEA!). So while Jonathan is sad to be leaving eBay-he is also very excited about the journey ahead. So with that...Monday starts a brand new adventure. Im so proud of you Jonathan. You will do awesome!

Phoenix

What a road trip! We have decided to cancel our Canada trip for the summer due to a child that screams literally non-stop during the car and while that initially seems like perhaps a "tall tale" after 12 hours of such craziness let me tell you- its not. Once we arrived in Phoenix we were so happy to see everybody and catch up. It had been almost a full year since we had seen eachother that it was quite a reunion. I cant believe how big the girls were and of course how much my Noellie has grown! We had a lot of fun hanging out and chit chatting the days away and the picts below were of our day at the park! Cant wait till July when Noel will come out for a week!

Jonathan, Noel, Chloe, Me- Lots of posed pictures!

Bugs had a great ol time!
Noel was such a good sport with her brothers

Such a sweet moment- I had to capture it on film.
Tristan and Elijiah playing in the water!
Noel and Elijiah - its so hard to get Elijiah to smile....
The Mortensens...Noels parents( Brook-one of my best friends and her hubby John and older sis- Chloe)
We decided that Jonathan could easily stand in as Noels B-father!
TOO CUTE!
My kidlets!
My darling darling Noel. Too beautiful for her own good.

Kindergarten Graduation!

It was no small feat getting through this last year. From deciding which school to attend, dealing with the tears of the first few weeks of school and dealing with second thoughts on the school itself. However I realized several months into Kindergarten how lucky I was that Elijiah was at Lady of the Lourdes. He was surrounded by people who loved him to a fault. Where he could be safe before school and after school( which is a huge blessing to working parents), a community of parents and teachers who look after eachother and eachothers kids, and a place where God is ever present. Im happy with the quality of education and the amount that Elijiah has learned in such a short time. Im so thrilled he is growing into such a remarkable young kid and cant believe the year has gone by so fast! I couldnt capture all the happenings - but here are a few shots of the 20 minute "graduation ceremony" LOL.

Happy Birthday Dad!

(a day late!)

Due to a road trip on this memorial day - after a long 12 hour journey home with screaming child( no joke) I wanted to hop on this here computer and send a shout out to my father. His birthday was yesterday and I hope he had a wonderful weekend. I understand that he and Nancy spent a few fun nights up in Park City, and had a nice relaxing time.

So dad----

Happy Birthday!!!! We love you!!

We have a bird in the house!

Something has taken over our Bugs...we now have a bird on our hands yes we do!

It started a week or so ago when he found something oh sooo delicious to eat- I thought I would literally die laughing and didnt know his facial expressions were to stay...

We made up a fruit smoothie to drink and this child thought hed gone to heaven and back just to get a taste yes he did......just look at him begging for some....

His mouth drops open and not just a little- his whole face opens wide- the eyes droop, the nose falls down, the upper lip disappears over the teeth.....

His jaw would unhinge if it were possible if he could just open just a little more to get some of this goodness in.....

More mommy more!!!!!

" Im not done" he cries until every last drop is finished...and yes in between every swallow this same expression resurfaces on his face.....

Yes that is my hand holding our little birdie back....
Yummy!!!!

Im in a work funk

I know what it is...its the crazy outside work activities that are calling out to me all week...kindergarten stuff, end of the year stuff, the warm weather stuff, and most of all our weekend plans stuff.

We are getting in our new( but old ) mini van and heading down to the great state of AZ to see my darling little( but not so little) girl. She and her sister had big events this week...and while we couldnt take the week off to be there....we could most definitely take the long weekend and do some post celebrating with them. Chloe is graduating from high school, and my first born is graduating the 8th grade. Im beyond excited to see them both....I wish I was there right now dang it!! But just a few more days.....


Its hard to imagine that this was them a long time ago....



And this is them now....they are as tight as two sisters can be, and I am so proud of them both.
Noel will be coming out in July to hang with us, chill with her younger brothers and spend some quality time with her family in Utah. As usual I will be thrilled with the time that Ill have with her. But this weekend it will be about them, her family and their milestones! Congratulations girls!

Chain Link?

Who would have thought that Chain Link would have been such a great back drop? I was looking at a few photos in my mothers office and saw this one of me. I got a good chuckle. About a year older than Tristan in the photo. Gotta love 70's clothes eh?

Tristan 2009( 13 Mo)

Me 1978 ( 2 years )