Operation Office

JD got some strict instructions from his boss last week that he needed to have an office to work in where he can really dedicate himself and get away from all the noise. So he did it, the last 3 days have been filled with lots of pounding, banging, mudding and taping, texturing, painting and installing a floor. He now has a wonderful space in the basement where he can go to work and not be disturbed. We are very grateful for the company he's working for and they paid for all the material to get the job done so it was just sweat labor for JD. Here's his progress.

1st day of Preschool

Ellie is going to preschool 3 afternoons a week and she loves it. She comes home singing all sort of songs and telling me what her teacher did and what they did. I'm so happy that she is having a good time getting to know new kids and socialize while learning.

Carnival

The Iron County Rodeo came through a few weeks ago so we took the kids up for an afternoon of fun. I will have to say that they sure are a money trap but the kids had fun so it was worth it.

Hong Kong

JD had the opportunity to travel to Hong Kong on business the end of August and was able to spend a few days shopping, and traveling all over the island and to a few other small islands near by. He had a wonderful time and was able to bring home some really wonderful things for us.  JD brought me a beautiful green jade bracelet, a gorgeous tea set and I have always loved the Chinese soup spoons so he got me a set of bowls, soup plates and spoons. I love them I promptly looked up recipes for Egg Drop Soup and Hot and Sour Soup and made them and enjoyed eating them with my new bowls and spoons. Mason got a fun light up bouncy ball that he loves to play with, Ellie got a beautiful set of hand carved yellow Jade elephants that are amazing and Dell got a really cool remote control helicopter that her loves to play with and fly with his Dad. JD also got all the kids a little Chinese outfit and they all love wearing them the boys outfits match and Ellie's is purple. I'm working on getting a good picture of all of them together in their outfits but my camera is still acting up.

1st Day of School

Dell started school today and I can't believe he's in the 1st grade. The time has just gone to fast. He is in a wonderful charter school and I don't think there are more than 10 kids in his class. You can tell this last month has caught up to me because we thought school started today so we hurried to get to my Mom's and back before school started. Well I miss read the schedule and instead of starting the 19th they started the 16th so he's a few days late but still just as excited. We are happy for him and think it's going to be a really good fit for him. Here's my handsome boy all ready to go this morning.

August

In one word has been "crazy". We got home from CA on Friday night and JD had to be in Salt Lake for and Expo for work so we got home did all the laundry and headed to Salt Lake for the week. Again we came home on a Friday evening I got all the laundry done and then the kids and I packed up the van and headed to CO to see my Mom before school started. We had a great time in CO playing with Grammy we went to the Folk Festival and listened to some great music and Dell and Ellie had a great time playing in the river, painting rocks and getting their face and arms painted. We drove back to Salt Lake on Tuesday to spend the night with JD as he was back in town with a corporate trainer for one of his rep companies and then yesterday we hit the road to come home so Dell would be ready for school today. JD will be home tonight and we have the weekend with him before he hits the road to Vegas to catch a plane that will take him to Hong Kong. He will be there for a week working an expo for a new company that he is working for. He is excited to go and this new company he's working with is going to open a lot of doors and opportunities for both him and our family. We are very grateful for this company and the job they have offered him. So we are enjoying these few days we have together before he's off again. I took a count yesterday I have slept in my bed 6 days in the last 30 and put about 4500 miles on our van in the last 30 days as well. I'm home and not going anywhere for a while.

July

July was a busy month for us. We headed out on a family vacation and spent a week camping on Pismo Beach in CA. We had a great time hanging out with all of the family. JD's parents and both of his sisters and families were there so in all we had 9 kids and 8 adults.  One day all the Dad's and their oldest boys went out on an 8 hour fishing trip. A good time was had by all and they ended up catching close to 50 fish. We had a nice fish fry at the camp site that night.
  When we were done at the beach we headed up to visit with his younger sister some more and help her and her family move into their first home. She was really excited to get some space and to decorate. The guys painted the rooms for her and then it was move in day.  We also got to go spend part of a day in San Francisco  which was really nice, but I only got to take a few pictures because my camera has been randomly shutting off I'm hoping it just needs a new battery.
All in all we had a great time seeing family and hanging out.