Very Sad!

At church on Sunday a member of our bishopric stood up and warned us all of some things that had been going on in the church parking lot during church. Apparently several people's cars have been broken into so they want us to not leave any valuables in our cars and make sure to lock our doors. Members of the Elders Quorum are going to take turns patrolling the parking lot during church to try to make sure this doesn't happen any more. It's pretty scary though because they said that the thieves are also taking people's garage door openers and car registration. Since they know we'll be in church for 3 hours they get the addresses off of the registration, go to people's homes and just open up the garage door and get right in the house to steal or damage whatever they want. Our counselor said it's a good idea to start keeping your garage door opener on you and hiding your car registration (since the typical place to look is in the glove compartment) no matter where you go because this has been happening more and more all over the place. This makes me so sad, and furious. I just wanted to give everyone a head's up so we can be more careful.

Red Rock

It seems like I'm always a week late getting to my blog, but we went to Red Rock last Saturday and I wanted to post some cute pictures I got. Addison LOVES going to "the mountains" to climb around. Every time we see mountains, hills, big rocks or pretty much anything that looks climbable (is that a word?) she always says "hey, let's go climb those mountains". It has been quite a while since we've been climbing, so she was ecstatic to go to Red Rock. We were there for a couple of hours and just followed along some of the easier paths. The weather was beautiful, except for the wind. The winds kept getting stronger, so eventually we decided to leave. We got a year pass though, so we plan on going back quite a bit since we all enjoyed it so much. Urban was SO GOOD. On the way into the rock I had him facing out in his front pack, and he just enjoyed looking around at everything. On the way back we were heading straight into the wind so I faced him in towards me and he just fell asleep, it was so sweet. Addison kept pretending like she was baby Jaguar (from Diego). She would start climbing on something then turn around to show us her claws and explain to us that her claws help her to climb like baby Jaguar. We really had a lot of fun. People kept passing us (real rock climber type people) and telling us we were brave for doing this with such young kids. Until people said something to us I never thought twice about it. We always bring our kids everywhere with us. I'm glad we did, they had a blast!

(Top) Addison taking a rest after some hard climbing. (Right) Addison showing us her baby Jaguar claws.

Urban was tuckered out after a long day of being lugged around by his mom.

Okay, in case you were wondering, I didn't really climb in my heels. I thought it would be funny to take a picture of me climbing up a rock in them as a joke because everyone always teases Heather about wearing heels all the time. Jared thought I was a big dork for going to all the trouble to bring heels in my back pack just to get a silly picture. I suppose he's right! It was funny though because people who were walking by as I was up on the rock with my heels on were giving me the strangest looks. =)

Decisions, decisions.

I HATE making decisions. I have always been an extremely indecisive person and have always admired people who are able to quickly assess situations and make decisions quickly. I suppose that if it came right down to it and I HAD to make a quick decision in an emergency situation I probably could. But if I'm not faced with a deadline it takes me WAY TOO LONG! I totally over analyze everything. I'm so afraid of making the wrong decision that sometimes it's just easier not to decide anything at all. Part of my problem is that I'm TERRIFIED of failure. If I think I might fail at something, or even if I just think I won't excel at it, I won't even try it. This is something I really don't like about myself, but I don't really know how to change. I know that it has really inhibited many areas of my life and prevented me from experiencing some great things in life. I mean who cares if I'm not the best at everything or even if I do fail at something. I'll never know unless I try and I could end up having a lot of fun. I always complain because I don't have any talents, but maybe if I actually tried some new things I'd find something that I'm good at.

Why do I bring all of this up? Well I've been doing A LOT of thinking lately and I'm trying to figure out what to do with my life. We've been jobless now for almost 2 months and it's getting pretty scary. We're just not sure what to do. We're trying to be positive and figure out the reason for this trial. There's got to be a reason or a lesson right? One of the things I'm thinking is that it's because it's forcing me to look into a different path for my future. Here are some of the things I've come up with. Like I said though, I'm having an awful time deciding what to do. This will effect my entire family, not just me. I want to do what's best for my kids and huband.

Most of you know I have a bachelor's degree in kinesiology, and I've always wanted to go back to physical therapy school. I've really been looking into this lately and was sure that's what I wanted to do, but it is such a difficult schedule. The more information I got the more I realized that this is probably something that's going to have to wait until I'm done having kids and they're all in school. It's a three year, year round program that would take me out of the house a lot for class. Not to mention all of the studying I'd have to do just to keep up. First of all, the whole reason I don't work in the first place is so I can be the one home, raising my kids and spending time with them. Who would watch them while I was at school (hopefully Jared would be working by then)? Second, when would I have another baby? There's no way I could have one while going to school and I don't want to wait four years until I graduate.

So then I started thinking about massage therapy school. This somewhat relates to my degree. This sounds a little better as far as the schedule goes. They have a night school that is Monday through Thursday from 7 to 10:30. So Jared could be home with the kids and I'd really only be missing about an hour of their day because they'd be in bed after that. You also have to spend one day out of every weekend doing training. The problem is that this program is a year. Which isn't bad when you think of how long most things take, but for an entire year I wouldn' get to see my husband because he'd be at work all day then I'd be at school all night and on weekends. Also, it's pretty pricey and it would possibly delay Jared in his schooling a little bit. One of the main perks for me is that you get to dissect a cadaver. I know I probably sound sick in the head, but this is something I've always wanted to do. I'm so fascinated by the human body and how it works, I would love to be able to see inside of one.

Next I figured I would look into personal training. Again it's something that coincides with my degree (although I'd have to get in a lot better shape myself before anyone came to me for fitness advice). With most of these programs you pretty much just work at your own pace, then when you're ready you go take your certification exam. It's quite a bit less money than some of the alternatives.

Now I'm completely confused and have no idea what I want to do. I'm not sure which one I would enjoy most. I also need to take into consideration which would have the most flexible schedule both during school/training and also as an occupation. Then there's always the money factor. Although this isn't the most important factor, it's definitely necessary to weigh the cost of the program with the eventual salary I'd be earning back.

I know nobody can make this decision for me. It's something me and my family need to pray and think about. I just had to get some of these thoughts out of my head. If anyone does have some insight into any of these fields I'd like the info. Thanks for listening.

Back to Maricopa

I'm a little late posting this. Not this last Thursday, but the Thursday before, we left to go back to Maricopa for Jenna's baptism and we came back the following Monday. It was fun to go back to our old home for a couple of days and see everyone. I'm not really sad that I don't live there any more, I really like Las Vegas, but there are certain things that I do really miss. First of all it's where both of my amazing kids were born, so there's a lot of memories and sentimental attachment. Also, some of Jared's family lives there so of course we miss not being able to see them more often. I miss my house! I didn't really realize it until we went back and I saw it again, but it really is just a nice house. It was decorated and painted exactly how I wanted it and it had some nice upgrades that you just kind of take for granted. I loved it and it was perfect for our family, but I'm glad to know that someone is there who will take good care of it. I especially miss our neighborhood. We were so blessed to be surrounded by 5 amazing neighbors. We were all friends and looked out for one another. It was just a very safe feeling to know that all around you were people who cared about you and your family.

On Friday Jared and his nephew Michael went golfing while the rest of us hung out at grandma & grandpa's house and let the kids play. That night we went out to a Greek restaurant. That was a lot of fun, I had never been to one before. The food was good and the atmosphere was very lively. There was music and belly dancers who danced around the tables. I keep joking that Urban got his first lap dance because one of the dancer's (who was scantily clad) was right up in his face for a couple of minutes clanking her finger cymbals (I don't know what they're really called) at him. At first he looked terrified, but then he was fascinated by the noise and shiny jewelry. And I got to break a plate! They do this certain dance and at the end of it somebody gets to break a plate. Well one of the hosts asked me if I wanted to get up and break the plate. I was kind of shocked, I didn't really know what to say. It sounded like fun, but it's so against everything you're ever taught. You're not supposed to just throw plates down on the floor! So anyway, I got up and he gave me a plate and at the end of the song I sent it crashing to the floor and it shattered everywhere. It was quite entertaining, I felt a little naughty.

Jenna's baptism was absolutely beautiful. It was such a sweet, emotional experience. She is such a sweet girl and we are so proud of her. A friend of the family altered Dianna's wedding dress for Jenna to wear as her baptism dress. It was really something special for her to be able to wear her grandma's wedding dress and she looked so pretty. Jenna, her mom Trecia, grandma, aunt Julie and I all sang a song at her baptism. Jenna did a solo piece in the middle that was just so precious. I don't think there was a dry eye in the room, it was very hard to get through the rest of the song. Jenna had also asked Jared if he would give a talk on the Holy Ghost. He HATES speaking in public, and had somehow never given a talk in church before. But for his little Jenna he agreed, and he did a great job. I think Jenna started something though, because we've been asked to give talks in sacrament this next Sunday and he is not too happy about this! =) Trecia did a wonderful job putting the program together for Jenna's baptism. The spirit was felt so strong, it was really a fantastic day.

That same day was Jenna's actual birthday, so after her baptism we had a girls day out. She had gotten a lot of money for her birthday so we took her to Target to spend it. She got A LOT of stuff! Afterwards we went to the mall, then grabbed a bite to eat and headed home. We all had a lot of fun talking, shopping and trying on clothes.

The weather was so nice we decided to take the kids swimming one day. Addison loves the pool and it was Urban's first time. Julie and her three boys Brady, Garett and Evan came with us. We had a lot of fun. Addison has no fear of the water, which is good but also a little scary. Urban wasn't all that amused. He enjoys being outside, but the water was cold so we didn't really go in, I just got his toes wet. He slept in Aunt Julie's arms most of the time. Jared played football with the older boys when Addison would let him out of her sight (she was really attached to him that day) and I chased Evan around. That little guy has so much energy, he cracks me up.

The pool was the only place I brought my camera to, so these are the only pictures I have to post. I am so upset that I didn't get one of Jenna in her dress. I'm trying to get one e-mailed to me, so if that happens I'll post one later. I don't know why I'm so bad about taking pictures. Oh well! Sorry about the long post, just wanted to jot down our eventful weekend.

Your face is a MESS!

We gave Urban his first (and very possibly his last) biter biscuit about a week or so ago and he LOVED IT! I on the other hand hate these things, they are so disgusting. I'm pretty sure that Addison only got one when she was a baby because after cleaning up the mess I realized that I never wanted to do that again. If it's possible, Urban made an even bigger mess. There was grossness everywhere. All over his face and body, in between the creases of all three of his chins, in his hair, in his ears, up his nose and covering the entire high chair. Despite the fact that I was completely grossed out, he still managed to look adorable somehow. It's probably only a face a mother could love, but I thought it was too cute. Here are pictures before and after bath time. You can decide which one you like best.

Dear Blaise & Caiden,

(and any of our other nephews, I just happen to know that Blaise & Caiden are the only ones who look at our blog)

I realized after the last time you guys were here that I don't have a whole lot for boys to do at my house. I either have girly princess toys for Addison or baby toys for Urban. We absolutely loved having you guys around and want you to visit as often as possible. So here is a little bribe!

1.) We always have guitar hero ready for you guys to ROCK OUT on! (you know you loved it)

2.) We got a big above ground pool so you guys can swim & have fun and not melt while you're here.

3.) Our neighbors down the street moved away and left two bikes out on the curb with their trash. We thought they'd be perfect for you guys so Jared followed your dad's example and did some dumpster diving. =)

4.) I show pictures of you to my cat every day and tell her good things about you so next time she'll warm up faster and be more cuddly with you.

If there's anything else we can do to make your visits more enjoyable please let us know. We love having you guys around (we love having Avery around too, but we already have fun stuff for her to do) and you're welcome any time.

Beauty school dropout?

Addison is a total girly-girl (when she's not picking her nose or talking about toots!) and thanks to some helpful influence from Grandma Estes she already has a huge love of makeup and hair. The other morning she asked if she could do my hair & makeup and let's just say I'm not sure she'll be accepted to beauty school any time soon. Judge for yourself!

Aren't I pretty?!

It was so cute because she was so serious while she was doing everything, she was really into it.

She decided she needed a touch of the blue too. Who doesn't?

I'm not sure I should have let her do this because she has asked me every day since to let her do my hair and makeup.