Wacky Day

Wacky Day at School!

Alissa Roller Skating

Alissa was soo excited! After only her first week of school she got invited to a birthday party at Skateland! One of the little girls in her class invited the whole class and she was very excited! She comes home with her invitation and says," Mom, Mom, not in Utah, not in Hawaii but here in Arizona I got invited to go to a skating party!!" I also had to explain that it was not ice skating like in Texas, but roller skating. Ryan decided to go with her to help teach her how to skate! They had such a good time together and even stayed an hour after the party had left. I am very glad that they got to go on a Daddy Daughter Date sort of too. Alissa sure loves her Daddy and they had a great time. Here are the pictures Ryan took. He also made a video that is on Facebook if you want to check it out! Alissa is adjusting amazingly here too! She loves going to school and we never get a battle like we did in Hawaii. She has mellowed out again and is truly loving all the friends around. Although there are many days we sit and think about all our wonderful friends and experiences in Hawaii, I feel truly blessed she has adjusted soo well!

Brio Italian Restaurant

Yay!! Ryan got a job at Brio Italian Restaurant! With this economy we have been very nervous trying to find a job. We have been applying for weeks now to just about everything that could suit Ryan. This last Saturday Ryan went and applied at a local restaurant that had just posted on Craigslist they were hiring servers. It was the first job who wanted to meet you in person at the same time you applied. This was a good sign considering most jobs now days will not even see you until you have filled out a resume online. He went in and they called him back with in a few minutes of getting home. So Saturday interview, Monday he started. They were only going to hire two servers but the manager felt impressed by his resume and wanted to make him part of their team. He had his first day of orientation yesterday and will be training all week. It seems to be a great place to work and we feel blessed that we will have an income again!

Back in the Swing of Things

Well, we made it here safe and sound. We have a wonderful greeting at the airport by Tim and Sonia! We were so surprised to see them there. Also, my Aunt Hope and Uncle Jim came and helped us get all our stuff to our house. It was absolutely amazing to see how much we had grown. When we got to our new house we felt like we were in a huge mansion. We went from 650 square feet to 1800 and it feels so spacious. We are very blessed to have so much room now. We already have the house mostly put together and livable, now to just finish unpacking.

Christmas was so wonderful! We had a fantastic time being around so much family too! We spent Christmas Eve with my Dad and his side of the family and the kids had a blast! Christmas morning we had the pleasure of going over to Tim and Sonia's for breakfast. They were so sweet to cook for us and we had a blast playing with them. Christmas Dinner was spent and My Uncle Jim and Aunt Hope's house, with lots of food and fun! By the end of the day we were completely exhausted. The kid came home and went to bed and we enjoyed many hours of fun with Tim and Sonia.

The next day we woke up to a sick Kenzie and a long road trip to Utah ahead of us. I have to say this trip didn't start out so hot, but we needed to get it done before Ryan gets a job. We managed to go up to Utah for a few days and get stuff out of storage. It was great to see Ryan's' sisters, their families, his parents and his Uncle and kids. I have to admit I think it would have been better if everyone had not been sick the whole time, including them. We all were sort of enduring a long weekend of sick and tiredness but I am glad we got to go. Ryan even got in a run with his dad and we were so blessed to have him there to help us load up the truck! I was relieved to get back home though and rest. We have now been battling this for about a week, but our family is finally getting better.

It feels so great to be back in Arizona, we all feel home. The kids are loving it here too! We spent five hours at Freestone Park last week and have really been enjoying the scenery here. We are still in the process of looking for a job but hopefully something will come up soon. The good thing is we are in a better situation here and things are looking up. I am now 25 weeks pregnant and feel good most of the time. This is my best pregnancy so far and I am thankful to Heavenly Father for helping me get through it.

Alissa started her first day at Val Vista Lakes Elementary School today and her teacher is Miss Walker. She was so excited to get her own individual desk and although a bit shy, I am sure she will warm up quickly to the class. I had the opportunity to go with Alissa yesterday and get a few things for school supplies just the two of us. I am amazed at how quickly she is growing up and how delightful she is. I enjoyed getting her all to myself. She is such a good helper and I am thankful to have her sweet spirit in our family.