Well, school has been keeping me very busy and I barely have time for anything besides work, school, and sleep. But as we know, all work and no play makes Randy a dull boy or something like that. So we did take a little time out for fun. On Thursday night we watched Amberlee's little brother Caleb while Amberlee's parents went out of town and celebrated mom's birthday and Valentine's Day, which happens to fall on the same day( lucky her). Caleb was fun to have over and enjoyed playing games with us and watching movies.

Friday after work Amberlee and I celebrated Valentine's Day. We got food from Chili's and watched a movie together. It was fun. Of course I also did the basics. I bought Amberlee flowers and a big teddy bear.

Saturday I got up early and did homework while Amberlee slept in. She deserved it. After I did about as much homework as I could handle, we got ready to go. We drove to Las Vegas and went shopping at Costco and Goodwill. Then we drove up to the Temple and met Ashley( my sister) and Jake. They drove down for the weekend to visit us. We all did a session at the Las Vegas Temple. Then we made the two-hour drive home to Kingman. We did make one pitstop at Taco Bell to fill up our bellies. We got to our house and gave Ashley and Jake the grand tour. By this time it was pretty late so we all went to bed.

Sunday we got up early and went to church. I of course made everybody breakfast. That is the least I can do since Ashley and Jake made the 8 Hour Drive to come visit. Church was good. Everyone went home and took a nap while I stayed at the church and counted tithing. When I got home I barbecued some Polish hot dogs and we ate lunch. Then we went on a little excursion. A couple hundred yards off of a well-traveled highway there are some well hidden old buildings. I'm not sure exactly what the buildings are, but I think maybe they were an old mining camp or something. One of the buildings for sure looks like an old service station. We walked around and checked out the buildings and tried to figure out what they used each building for. We then went home and watched a movie while we cooked the lasagna. We ate dinner and played games and then went to bed.

Monday I got up and did homework. When everyone else woke up I made pancakes for breakfast. We then played a couple games and had a good time together. Around noon, Ashley and Jake had to leave. They had a long drive ahead of them. We were so happy they came and we had a great time with them. We hope they had fun too.

Wow,

This week has been very busy. I have had a lot of school stuff and am just barely keeping up. Oh well, at least it keeps me out of trouble( most of the time). Let me just try to fill you in on a few of the highlights. We bought a new car. Actually it's not new, but it is new to us. It is a 2006 Hyundai Accent. It is dark blue. It is nothing fancy, but is exactly what Amberlee wanted. It gets good gas mileage and drives very nice. We went down to the dealership "just to look." Before we knew it we were walking out with the keys. Amberlee sure knows how to wheel and deal. She talked the salesperson down $3500 and made him install cruise control. I still am not a big fan of dealerships and hope to avoid them at least for a few years.

Amberlee started her new job and is really enjoying it. She is working with a little girl with Rett Syndrome. She actually gets paid by the state of Arizona. It is a program to help the mothers of children with disabilities.

Friday night we chaperoned a youth dance. Our main assignment was to guard the punch bowl to make sure nobody spiked it. I guess last year someone put cough syrup in the punch. We had a fun time hanging out with the kids. We were able to sneak away for a couple dances and of course had to sample the food. We helped clean up and as a reward we got to take home some leftovers.

Saturday was spent mostly doing homework. Saturday night we had Amberlee's family over for food and games. We had a very good time. It is always fun to have the kids over. It is amazing how quickly they grow up. The kids had the most fun I think playing on the love sac Dan and Janelle gave us. None of them had ever seen such a big bean bag chair. So big thanks to Dan and Janelle. We kicked everybody out between 12 and 1230. We then cleaned up and went to bed. It is amazing to me that with a little teamwork and about 30 minutes, we were able to erase all traces of our house full of guests.

Sunday we had church bright and early at nine o'clock. We got to bed late and were still tired when we woke up Sunday morning. Church went good. Our primary lost their Sunbeams teacher so they got added to our class. It was nearly impossible to keep them focused on the lesson. But we made it through and hopefully they learned something.

Anyway as it is now Sunday afternoon and probably time for an afternoon nap. We love you all and miss you.

I Love Comments!!!

Wow, I really didn't know if anyone would actually read this blog. I am so excited that I actually got a few comments. First, I didn't know if anyone would actually be able to find my blog. Second, I didn't know if anyone would actually take the time to read it. Getting the blog all set up and running was one of those things that I could have put off forever. But Amberlee put down as one of out New Year's resolutions, me starting this blog. So I figured this was one thing that I can actually accomplish this year and I might as well get it out of the way. Getting it up and running was one challenge, but I did it. The next challenge is finding time to update it. A few weeks ago I slacked off a little bit and hadn't written for a little while. I got a phone call from Sue Case and she reminded me that I hadn't written in awhile. This made me feel good that someone was actually reading it. So, I will try to do better at keeping it up-to-date. So if you read one of my posts and have an extra minute, please leave me a comment.

We were planning on going to the Temple last Saturday, but ended up having to do homework instead. We were supposed to do homework Friday night, but when I got home from work Friday afternoon I had a wonderful surprise waiting for me. Matt(Amberlee's brother), Robin(his girlfriend), and their three kids(Aden, Carly, and Travis) had stopped by for a visit. They also brought a whole bunch of food with them. So, instead of doing homework, we ate food, talked, played with the kids, and watched a movie. It was a lot of fun! It was so much fun in fact that this Friday on my drive home from work, I found myself hoping they would be there when I got home.

Talking about New Year's resolutions, we have one to go to the Temple at least once a month. Since we were unable to go last Saturday, we are planning on going today. We usually don't procrastinate it to the last Saturday of the month, but this month we did. So after I go to sleep(it is actually really late Friday night right now) and wake up we're going to go to Las Vegas. Amberlee and I always look forward to our Las Vegas Temple trips. We usually go to the Temple and then go shopping at our favorite store, goodwill. We also enjoy the 4 hour round trip to talk and have time together.

Wow, I think the weather here in Kingman is finally warming up. We spent a few hours outside on Saturday at the park celebrating Caleb's birthday. It was a beautiful day and it was a lot of fun playing with the kids, eating cake, and enjoying the weather. I always thought having a birthday on or around Christmas would be the pits. But Mr. Caleb has sure figured out how to work the situation for his benefit. He has had two or three parties and usually has another one in July. I think everyone feels bad for him that he has his birthday so close to Christmas, that they absolutely spoil him. Anyways, this entire week has been beautiful weather. Amberlee and I are excited for spring. We are watching our trees carefully in anticipation of the upcoming blooms.

With the new year, Amberlee and I got assigned a new primary class. We went from teaching the nine and 10 year olds to now teaching the 4, 5, and 6-year-olds. They are quite a handful. The most kids we've had so far is eight. We are learning quick that at this age they don't have a very long attention span. They require a completely different teaching style. Being around these young kids has allowed me to develop a new theory. I've always wondered how little kids have so much energy. My new theory is that they suck the energy from the old people around them. Yep, I am definitely one of those "old" people that are sucking the energy out of. After spending a couple hours with these little kids, I am ready to take a very long nap.

School and everything is going great. It is definitely keeping us very busy. We are hopefully going to go to the Temple on Saturday. Amberlee is finishing up the last of her paperwork for her new job as a respite care provider for disabled children. She is excited to start working. She has had to jump through a lot of hoops, but is finally almost done.

P.S. The picture is of Me and my nephew Aden.

I know cats are weird and sleep in all sorts of crazy positions, but I've never seen a cat sleep like this. She looks like she is dead, stiff as a board. But no, she is completely relaxed sleeping the day away.

Pulling Teeth: Good News????

This morning Amberlee had an orthodontist appointment. She called me after her appointment and told me she had great news. The orthodontist told her that if they pull one or two of her teeth, then it will shorten the amount of time she has to have braces by one to one-and-a-half years. I never expected to hear someone so excited about having to get teeth pulled. I told her that if I pulled out all of her teeth then she wouldn't have to wear braces at all. We could get her some of those fancy dentures. She wouldn't even have to brush them. Just put them in the dishwasher at night and they are sparkling clean in the morning. For some reason she didn't like my idea. She said she's going to stick with the braces and orthodontist.

Well, we are on day two of school and I am way too busy. I need to get organized so I know what is due and when. I do all of my school online, so all of my motivation comes from Amberlee and me. It takes a lot of self-discipline to do online classes. I have to figure out when assignments are due and make sure I don't procrastinate to the last minute. Wish me luck.

Back to School

Well, I can't believe it but I'm back to school tomorrow. The last few weeks have been fun. Amberlee has been keeping me busy with projects around the house. Over Christmas break we went to Utah and had fun visiting family and friends. We left the snow of Kingman, Arizona and traveled to the snowy country of South Jordan, Utah. We had a great time in Utah. We filled our days with ice-skating, sledding, family parties, and relaxing. We brought our kitty cats along for the ride and they had fun too. I think they prefer the desert of Arizona to the snow covered Utah. When we returned to Kingman we enjoyed a Christmas celebration with the Broderick family and a few days later celebrated the new year. It was good to be home. I went back to work and realized that I can't wait to retire. January 9 we celebrated Jacob and Carley's birthday. We did a surprise party for Jacob had fun hanging out and eating good food. I think we may have even surprised him. Thanks to all the family and friends that made our holidays so wonderful. We're excited for the new year and know that it will be great with all of you by our sides.