Hellooooo 2014!

It's been about 6 months since you've heard from our little piece of the world, and I'm sure you're very uninterested curious to know what we've been doing.

   August brought a visit from Kirk's mom and one of his many brothers, Christopher. Thanks to their trip to California, we all got to take a trip to the water slides in Sacramento, which was a blast. While the two boys were running around going on all the insane slides, there was some serious mother/daughter(in-law) time happening on the lazy river. Like hours worth.
   We also went on a cruise of the Stockton Delta with some of Kirk's friends, and learned all about the Port of Stockon.


   In September my baby cousin Bailey went to live in Hawaii for college (ok, so she's really not a baby) and I got to spend 10 days with her younger siblings so my Aunt & Uncle could take her. They got to enjoy a week and a half in Hawaii with their oldest, while I got to practice being a mom caregiver with a 16, 12, and 5 year old. The first 3 days were great (can you say 3 day weekend?), and as much as I LOVE my family, things went slowly downhill every day. 10 days is a long time to have someone who isn't your parent(s) in charge of everything. 10 days is also a really long time to have 3 kids, when you're used to having 0 and sitting alone in a quiet house every day. We did make sure to have fun though! Memorial Day Swim Party/BBQ, I took each kid on a date (Icees, Ice Cream, and the Greek Festival, from youngest to oldest), and Kirk built and slept in a couch fort with the youngest two. We had our ups and downs, and we'll just say that EVERYONE was elated with Mom and Dad got home.
   One of the best things that happened last year is that we got to attend the wedding of a co-worker of Kirks, and the following day he was baptized. Kirk has worked with Danny for years, and was involved with blessing Danny and Marias baby. They got married in a beautiful Beauty and the Beast themed wedding, and we were so excited to celebrate with them. The following morning Danny was baptized, and Kirk and I were both able to give talks and welcome him into the church. And now Kirk isn't the only LDS person at his work, which is a nice plus.
   Have you ever camped in the rain? We did, and it's not fun. My brother-in-law David came down from Utah, and we went camping at Yosemite, which sounds like it would be wonderful. Kirk and I both checked the weather the day before we left, and it said 5% chance of rain so we thought "Oh it's not going to rain, we'll be just fine". Famous last words, right? Saturday morning we got up and drove a hour to the Redwood trees. Just over halfway into a hike it started sprinkling, and we figured "Oh, it's just light, let's keep hiking." Well it only stayed light for about 20 minutes, then started coming down a little harder. Then harder. And harder. By the time we finished our hike and were back to the car, we were pretty wet. There was a scenic overlook as we got close to our camp, and the boys, thinking it wasn't raining that hard got out to take pictures. In about 5 minutes they ran back because the rain had started POURING. At about that time it dawned on us that our dinner was to be made in a dutch oven, and depended on fire. Surely it couldn't rain for that long, right? Ohhhhh wrong.  It rained for 8 HOURS. Seriously. Walking around in our tent felt like walking on a water bed. So naturally I stayed warm and dry in the tent leaving the boys to figure out the foodstuffs. They hung a tarp and somehow managed to start a fire, successfully making dinner. In just a bit longer than it was supposed to take.... I was oh so happy to get in the truck and drive home the next morning!!!

One big thing that happened in September, is that Kirk and I were called in serve in the Spanish ward in our stake. This was a big surprise and a BIG change. You may not know this, but I speak absolutely fluent Spanish. BAH. That's a big lie. Actually, I speak NO Spanish. Except what I learned on Dora, and that doesn't really help me at all in this situation. Kirk however served his mission in Mexico, and while he'll say he doesn't speak Spanish well anymore, I disagree.  Thankfully, they have an English Sunday school class, and my calling as Young Women Secretary keeps me in an English class. Kirk is serving as Ward Mission Leader, and while I'm sure it's a lot of work for him, I'm having fun. Our ward has 4 companionships. 8 missionaries! We try to have one set over a week for dinner, and I love that we have a set of Sisters because that means I can have them over even when Kirk isn't home. And they're adorable. While it has been a big change, it's a great ward, and the girls are fantastic. I love being in Young Womens, so I'm happy.

Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas went down like every other year, full of family and good food!

I started working in November as a full time baby-sitter. (I say Nanny. It's 50 hours a week so I think it deserves a better title.) I have 2 adorable little girls who keep my day full, and allow me to get out of my house. They also have cable and internet, which lets me watch the shows I can't record, and do some pinning. Yes!

Well, if you stuck around through that too wordy post, you now know what happened the last 6 months of last year. And now that I have more internet access maybe I'll post more frequently?