She's ALIVE!!!!

Ok...... So, it's been awhile.....almost 2 years since I have posted.  SO, here is catch up blog!  Read closely, there is a test at the end. ;-)

We are all healthy, happy, and well, HOT!  Let me explain.

In January of 2011, Jeff got a job in ARIZONA as a flight instructor. We were really excited for him because this means that he will be building flight time quickly AND getting PAID for it!  You can imagine our  excitement since we have paid through the nose for his training.  SO, we packed up and shipped out to the Land of the Sun.

We live in a small town called Anthem.  We really like it here.  Although the Summer temperatures reach up near 110 degrees, we are still cooler than they are further south, so we don't mind.  Most of the time, it stays around 105.  I know that SOUNDS hot, but it really isn't too bad. (Says the girl sitting in the air conditioned house...) Anthem has a ton of little parks with splash pads and a HUGE community park that has a TRAIN! We also have a community center with a pool, water park, rock wall, gym and classes.  The community is really close and that makes it a great place to live.  Of course, it does have it's downside.  We have to deal with scorpions, roaches (huge ones,)  bunnies, coyote, lizards, javalina, bobcats, and snakes (although I haven't seen any snakes yet.....knock on wood.)  All in all, we don't have to deal with those things too often.

Jeff really likes his job, but he struggles a little with the decision to further his career.  He would eventually like to fly for a charter company or a corporation (he thinks.)  But HOW to get there is what he struggles with.  I will save you the details, but know that there are about a hundred different pathways to get him there, and they all suck in some way or another!  LOL!  But, the rest of us just sort of sit here and go along with the flow. He is also the 2nd counselor in the Young Men's Presidency and the Scout Master.  Although this requires a lot of organization (not his forte,)  he is enjoying it and has Scout Camp THIS WEEK!

I am teaching voice lessons and have filled my studio.  HOORAY!  I still enjoy it, and love seeing the change in my students.  I used to work online for a company called Butler Hill, but I decided that it was too much to do both that AND voice lessons, so I quit the online job.  This came at an opportune time since they were starting to let ADULT websites through in the judging. *slap the forehead!* I have also started selling a product called Protandim.  I sort of became a distributor on accident.  Long story short, I started taking it to see if it would give me more energy and perhaps help out my hormones, anxiety, and other areas of insecurity and strain that I have.  After a couple of months without an anxiety attack, I was telling EVERYONE about it!  Annoyingly so!  I decided to help out some friends and put in a big order that turned out to be enough to purchase the distributor starter package.  Bing, bang, boom, I was a distributor!  That has been awesome because, although I don't make a ton of money, I get e-mails or phone calls weekly with people telling me how much better their life is after taking this.  So, that makes it worth it for me.

I am the 1st counselor in the Relief Society Presidency.  It keeps me busy, and I am learning a lot about myself that I never knew.  (Funny how callings do that to us.)  I keep telling myself that it won't be as busy in a few weeks, but I'm not sure that is true.  Either way, I enjoy the ladies that I serve with and I really like getting to know everyone in the ward.

Ethan will be in the 2nd Grade this next year.  After having some issues with the public school here, we decided to try online school for him this next year.  It will take some extra effort from me to make sure that he is getting his work done and to make sure that he gets "play days" with friends, but hopefully, he won't be so bored at school.  This is different than home school as I don't have to teach him.  He still has a teacher and a class and such, but everything is done online through a webcam, email, and interactive games and lessons. It seems pretty cool, so I will update everyone on how that is going.

Ethan will also be turning 8 in a few months.  We are teaching him about what it means to be baptized so that he can make a decision based upon knowledge and responsibility.  We are not pressuring him into baptism, but more teaching him of the principle itself.  I want him to realize the responsibility that comes with it.  So far, he hasn't decided if he wants to be baptized yet, and that is ok.  Although, he IS pretty excited about getting a set of his own scriptures if he DOES get baptized.  Ha Ha! I am confident that he will choose to be baptized AND accept the responsibility that comes with becoming a member of the church.  (Which to an 8 year old, it means that you can't color during Sacrament Meeting, you have to help fold chairs after church, you have to help mom and dad with service projects that we have, you have to help clean the church when we sign up for it, and you have to be an example ALL THE TIME, and always CHOOSE THE RIGHT!)  To be honest, it's the coloring during Sacrament Meeting that he is having issues with.

Isaac is just as energetic as ever!  He will be 5 in September and acts like he is 10!  He is pretty sure that he is the toughest kid alive. Although he misses the Kindergarten deadline by two weeks, we will be doing pre-school with him while Ethan is doing his school in the morning.  He wants to be like Ethan SO BAD, so we try to take every chance that we get to let him feel like he is on "equal" ground.  He talks with a Brooklyn accent, but we aren't too worried about it yet.  We do try to practice his "R" sounds every so often though.  Isaac and Jasper (the dog) are best frienemies! Isaac LOVES animals and is always trying to MAKE them do the things that he wants them to do.  Jasper is no exception to the rule.  Although we use our best efforts to help him be gentle, Isaac sees that as a waste since he jumps into everything head first!

We really don't live exciting lives.  Not much to tell.  I'm still trying to figure out pictures on this thing.

Cindy