This week we enjoyed having some of the Bishopric over for a visit and Kas and the kids had a few more playdates with folks in the ward. Everyone has been incredibly warm and welcoming and we feel really grateful. On Friday we went on our first date out of the house and the kids did great with the babysitter. For our date we went to The Zookeeper's Wife which was super intense (too much so?), about a family in Warsaw Poland during WW2. The movie theater nearby somehow stays in business . . . there was hardly a soul there and it was Friday night! We went to get a treat afterwards but everything other than a bar was closed! I guess we don't live in a college town anymore.
Yesterday we had a full day of going to a stake service activity, and later went on a nature hike at Sabino Canyon (right near Saguaro National Park) and enjoyed looking at all the different types of cacti and plants (including Mormon Tea). We got a double stroller and I took it for a run yesterday morning. It was below 60 so we all needed jackets :)
Double Joy Stroller
This week at work I had an intensive workshop all about Criterion Referenced Instruction. It was great to have so much to do and to learn the framework I will be using here at Intuit. We still loving everything here and we are having a good time.
May 7, 2017
We hit over 100 degrees this week but are happy that it is cooling off this weekend and next.
Hinckley and Addie are doing great, and I think everyone is feeling fully settled here at home now. Kas and the kids took a few visits into "town". They had a field trip with a group of preschool kids to Krispy Kreme to see donuts being made (and eat some too of course). They went to a library in Tucson and Hinckley got another book on caves. He was “delighted” that there was more about erosion. That guy is hilarious. They also tried out a splash pad in Tucson and had a great time.
Putting on gardening gloves
Addie loves vegetables and the other night she didn’t want to eat the unhealthy garlic bread I had brought from the store, nor the yummy pasta noodles, or her milk, only the small peas Kassie added to the noodles as an after thought. She points at what she wants and makes herself known! That reminds me of when we had a yummy rice dinner and all she wanted was the asparagus that we cut up for her. She had multiple helpings. She loves to do as Hinckley does, and is always saying “Hinkeee!” in the morning when she can’t see him (since he wakes up much later than her usually). I enjoy the time I usually have with her in the morning as I make breakfast and get things ready for the day. She usually cuddles her bunnies, explores things in the living room, or begs for “gulk” (milk).
Inside the bowels of Colossal Caverns
Yesterday afternoon was momentous as we went on Hinckley’s (and Addie’s) first ever cave visit. We went to Colossal Caverns and it was great! Hinckley chatted the whole time earning several smiles from the other cave visitors with us on the tour. He was begging from the start to see the stalactites which was really cute. Half way through the tour he turned to Kassie and said, “Mom, this is really amazing!” Our little 3 year old is quite amazing I’d say. Addie seemed to enjoy it too, and they both pointed at the dark shadows and the shapes with lots of energy. We also visited Mission Xavier which Hinckley and Addie seemed to think it was pretty neat.
Cave entrance excitement
Getting ready to hike the cave
San Xavier Mission
May 14, 2017 This week Kas and the kids came to visit me at work so Kassie could get her biometric screening which they were doing at work. It was fun to see those cheery faces in a different setting! Friday was schedule the Father's and Son's campout, and after lots of deliberating I decided to cut it back to just a camp out in our backyard. H and I walked to a nearby park to "stargaze" which was really fun, and then I read him some books and told some stories . . . and then spent the next hour naming every shadow, shape, and sound in the tent till I thought there was nothing left to describe. Hinckley was quite scared and we finally ended up going inside and he went right to sleep in his bed, and I quite happily got into mine. Maybe next year! ha ha.
Getting ready to not sleep in the backyard
Mommy and Hinckley Playing Trains
Yesterday I was trying to get Hinckley to begin getting ready to go to the pool, and in an effort to not be nagging and also fun (something I need to exert more energy to doing) I spoke as if I was his flip flops, trying to hide from him. Not only did that work to get him to find them and put them on, but he wanted to “talk” to his flip flops for the next 2 hours. As we drove to the pool he was “showing” them everything out the window, and when we returned from swimming he introduced them to Jack and “Mighty Mac” (the two diggers who currently work his mini construction site he has established out in the rocks and dirt of our backyard). As you can tell, he is in full blown imagination mode. He is also quite anti to eating anything other than milk - I got that book Lucy recommended and began reading last night and hoping there will be some insights we can work on.
Addie follows H around all over the house, giggling and messing with anything he touches. She has even started asking to "Pee! Pee!" and wants to just sit on the toilet. She loves dancing around and showing off during scripture study time and it is hard to get upset that she wont' listen . . . we'll keep working on that. I am proud of myself for learning how to make a pig tail in her hair in a regular basis, and am getting a little better every time I try. She is a patient model for me!
Hangin' with Grandpa Great
May 28, 2017 This was a different week as I was in Mountain View CA for most of the week for work while Kassie stayed home with the kids while getting over sickness. It was fun to see Ryan for a few minutes during my layover in San Diego! Intuit treated me very nice during my week there, and I got a more full orientation which helps be better understand how I can build a career here and so forth.
Life is good! Maybe our trials have changed our attitude or maybe things really have gotten better. Either way, 2014 is already looking happy, bright, and beautiful! Greg LOVES his new job. The environment is great and he likes all of his co-workers. Plus, he gets to make films for work! As a media arts major, it is pretty hard to land a job with a steady paycheck right out of college. This one just kind of fell into Greg's lap. The stark contrast between his previous job as a teacher and this one is like night and day. And believe me, the ripple effect of this has spilled over into our home; it's like a breath of fresh air! Hinckley has been very active lately and is already starting to assert his independence. He is 17 1/2 pounds and 28 inches tall. He just discovered how much he loves rolling over, so he does it all the time now. I think he would like to be running and on the move if he only knew how to do it! He also loves food. So far he has only eaten rice cereal
Tomorrow is our baby's due date! We don't think he will come tomorrow, but one never knows. Here are some pics from this week. School is going pretty well for me, though I transition to writing/reading from doing math for the past two weeks so I am a little nervous about that. The view from the bus just before I get off and start teaching for the day. Usually I am barely awake at this point. Awesome panorama of our classroom. It has taken a lot of work to get all this stuff up, but it could still use lots more! Here is a view of the front of the classroom, along with our space ship behavior chart and so forth. I decided to see what would happen if I didn't shave during the week This was the result. Kas is feeling quite big, and ready for the man child to come out! This week Kas learned how to make homemade yogurt - or at least how to extend the yogurt you already have. The latest creative masterpiece from Kassie is this little elep
The final product of "make me a match" that I labored over exceedingly. I was actually sort of unhappy with it all not because of the performances of anyone but mainly just the story. We had to write all so quickly and the re-write it time after time and then storyboard it and really break it down. In all this rush I didn't realize till I was actually shooting it that I really didn't care much for the story as a whole and thus my motivation suffered greatly. I don't think I need to tell epic dramatic tales to care about them but I do want to have a strong point and also a specific conflict or issue that is approached and resolved. I am starting a screen writing class tomorrow and possibly I will gain some insights as to how to develop good stories. Ones that I care about. I don't know why I feel so interested in telling stories - particularly in that I haven't felt very confident with the stories I have come up with. It is extremely hard for me to come up
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