One very long post, this would be a lot of nutshells! I will post pictures later.
A lot happened in July. The best thing was that we (Finally!!) went to the temple and were sealed as husband and wife, and then to the kids. We went to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple, which is absolutely beautiful, on July 16. We did make a big mistake and forget the camera! But we will go back and get family pictures taken at that temple.
My sister Colby and her husband Derek were able to go with us, because they were here visiting from Illinois. That is the other great thing about July, Colby, Derek and their 5 kids were here in Utah the whole month. Luckily Derek works on the computer, and most of the time he is able to work wherever he is, as long as he has a computer. So he brought his computer with him, and they drove all the way here, and were here for 7 weeks! Derek's family lives in Utah too, so they spent a lot of time with them also, but it was nice to be able to see them so much over the summer. They left August 5 and took Ariana with them. She stayed with them for 2 weeks! That is the longest I have ever been away from her, and the furthest she has ever been from me. We all missed her, and Anela kept asking where her sister was, but I knew that it would be really fun for her, and a good experience, so I really wanted her to go. On August 18 I took an early flight to Chicago and met Colby and Ariana at the airport. 4 hours after I landed in Chicago, Ariana and I took off on a flight back to SLC. It was a very long day for me! I am thankful for my flight benefits so that I could do that.
Back in January My mom's husband Bill got a job at the Kennecott Copper Mine. That meant that they had to move closer to me! Well, Bill got an apartment close to the mine so that he could start work right away, and they started looking for a place to move to, while my mom kept working in St. George. It took a looong time, but they finally found the perfect place for them. The sale was final and they moved in at the end of July. It is quite a commute for Bill, but it is worth it. It is out in Rush Valley, which I had never heard of before they found the house. The city is so small, they don't have any stores, or even a gas station. They are South of Tooele, so they have to drive 20 minutes into Tooele to do their grocery shopping ext. It is such a beautiful and peaceful area.
In July we spend a lot of time out there at my mom's new place. She has a two bedroom house, and a small one bedroom guest house, that also has an upstairs loft that fits two double beds with plenty of room to spare. Colby and her family stayed there for a few days, and the kids and I went out there at the same time, and stayed in the main house.
At the end of July, beginning of August, we went to St. George for about a week. We stayed in my mom's old house with my brothers who are renting it out. We went down there while Colby's family was down there staying in her in-laws condo. So we had more time just hanging out with them. When we left, Ariana stayed and left a day later with them all the way out to Illinois.
Not a lot was going on here while she was gone. After I went and brought her home, we got the kids ready for school, which started on August 22. They started at a brand new school (there is still no grass or playground, they are still working on finishing the outside. That's how new it is!!) Ariana is in second grade this year. She is absolutely loving her teacher and her class. Gerry is in first grade and he also loves his teacher and class. They are going to have SEP meetings and an open house next week. I am looking forward to taking a tour of the school, and hearing about what to expect this year.
I love that the school is right across the street! I get up in the morning and get the kids ready and they walk to school together, and they walk home when it's over. After having to drive to school three times a day last year, this is wonderful.
Anela stays home with me. Since she is the youngest, and this is the first year that the other kids are in all day school, this is the first time that we have a lot of time together, just the two of us. Sometimes it's hard to keep her entertained, when I would like to have some time to myself, but I know that I am going to miss this time when she goes to school and I am left alone.
I am still working at SkyWest, which is lucky for me, since a lot of my coworkers are losing their jobs. We had a huge furlough two years ago, of over 300 employees. Now it's happening again. In a couple weeks over 100 employees will be furloughed. I have 9 years seniority, so I am keeping my job (for now). Right now I am working one day a week, which I have been doing for the last three bids. But on the new bid which starts on September 23, I will be working 3 days. It will be nice, because I am only going to be working from 9am to 1:30pm, Thursday Friday and Saturday. That means that on Thursday and Friday, I will be able to get the kids ready for school before I leave, and on Thursday I will be home before them. Friday is their early out day, so I will be home about an hour after them. It kinda stinks that I will have to work on Saturdays, but at least it is only the morning, and Afa will be home to take care of the kids. My best friend Kirah will still be watching them (mostly just Anela) on Thursdays and Fridays. I am so glad that she has been helping out with them! They love her. The only other person they like to babysit is my mom, who now lives 50 minutes away, so she has been able to do it a few times.
OK. Looks like this post is long enough. I will do a post with a ton of pictures soon.
