Proud American

We spent the 4th of July in Albuquerque. We were planning on spending it up in Utah because our family was having a reunion up in Park City. So on the 2nd we left San Antonio and took the long drive to Albuquerque (which was Hallee's worse trip in the car to date). By the time we got to Albuquerque we realized a few things: We didn't want to drive anymore, my family was coming back on the 5th, and I had left my camera in San Antonio (I was supposed to be the photographer at the reunion).

After realizing all of this we wished we hadn't left San Antonio so that we could be with family on the 4th. But we still had a great 4th with just our family (and Taylor who also stayed).

Albuquerque had a firework show which headlined a Blues Brothers tribute band and then had one of the best firework displays I had ever seen--it just went on forever and had several "finales." Hallee was so much fun during the concert. She was dancing, screaming, and yelling the whole time (the fun type of screaming and yelling). Here is a short clip of her at the concert.

Kiss it Better

As my wife's last post said we have been in moving limbo for the past month. All of our stuff is in storage back in Utah and we have been spending time with both of our families while we figure out where we are moving to and then find a place. She talked about the stress, but it has also been a long vacation. Seeing our families has been fun and we have been able to have some fun times with our family as well. We have been doing so many things that I will break this up into more than one post.

Out in San Antonio we had a great time at Grandma and Grandpa's. While we were there we experienced record breaking heat, which for San Antonio can be pretty hot. That made the swimming pool in the back yard even that much more enjoyable for Hallee--she absolutely loved it. Here is a video of her doing her routine. She would swim and then slide and had a blast doing it.

Megan and I got to cool off at the biggest water park in the US, and possibly the world--Schlitterbahn. The park is so cool because it is right along the river and uses river water for its rides. It is also huge, like I said, so there was a lot to do.

If that wasn't enough fun we also went to Six Flags Fiesta Texas. Have you ever seen the Wiggles? If you have, I'm sorry. Anyways there is a Wiggles part of the park where the little kids' rides are which is where we took Hallee to have her fun. We had fun with Hallee but I really wish it was anybody but the Wiggles, they kind of creep me out. After a little while Grandma and Grandpa took the kids back home so Megan and I could have some fun just the two of us. I tried a three point shooting contest basketball game hoping to win a big screen TV. I was pretty confident going in because of my mad skills but it ended up being a semi-humbling experience. I only made one shot out of twelve! I say semi-humbling because by the time we left I had made up enough excuses about how it was rigged that I felt pretty good about myself and my pride stayed in tact.

The other highlight of the trip to San Antonio I wasn't there for so I don't have too much to say about it except that the girls had a great time shopping with the Grandparents and the Great Grandparents.

Slacking

Sorry, we have totally been slacking in the blogging department...life is a bit stressful right now, and living out of a suitcase is never easy. Here's the scoop; we have been staying with our families for the past few weeks when we moved from Utah. We would be making every effort to get out to Philadelphia ASAP but there is a catch. There is a school that has us on their waiting list that we would MUCH rather go to. It's William and Mary Univ. in Williamsburg Va. The only problem is that they are currently overcommitted, leaving the chances of us being accepted there pretty slim. AND, it's possible that they wont even let us know until the week before school starts....so, do we just go to Temple and forget about W&M? Or do we wait? There is always that chance....We have decided to at least wait until around Aug 1st to see if we get any good news. If not, then all efforts will go towards Temple Univ.

The issues at hand are that we would like to buy a house instead of rent....but we have no way of knowing where that would be, Philly or W&M. We also have no incoming funds, aside from a photo session here and there that Kyle does, which we all know that finances are a stress in their own category. So.....this last week I had 4 canker sores in my mouth at the same time. I am just a tad stressed. And those that know me well, I stress out easily.... oops. :) I know that God is there and he knows what is best for us, and I think part of that is being here in this transition state for a little while, which is hard for me. But I guess if it's what I need to do, then I am doing my best to keep a positive attitude about it. Let's just say the day we hear from William and Mary will be a HUGE relief! Anyway, aside from all this, we are doing well. The girls are great and we are having fun. Maddie is getting so big and is REALLY close to crawling! Hallee is constantly mistaken for a 3 year old. She just turned 2! She just speaks and acts and looks a lot older. But both of their little personalities are just so fun! Anyway, that's it. That's what's going on. So, the motivation to blog has been quite low, with all energy and strength going towards the near future. Comments and support would be greatly appreciated and comforting! :)

Fathers

So, I know it's way past father's day....but life is just a tad busy for us right now, so oh well. While we have been here in San Antonio, I have been thinking about a few of these things ever since Father's day....I just want to let Kyle know how proud I am of him and everything he does for me and our girls. I honestly could not ask for a better father for my children.

He is so calm, peaceful, and fun with our kids.

He never looses his temper with them.

He occasionally sheds a tear just watching them.

He adores them.

He changes their diapers when I just can't stand it.

He wakes up with them in the morning so I can sleep just a little longer.

He lets them(well, Hallee) jump all over him and scratch him.

He reads to them.

He teaches them.

He prays with them.

He loves them.

There is so much more that I am thankful for that he does for me and our kids.

This is the only one I have of all 3 of them....oh well

I am also grateful for my own father. When I think about my life growing up and who he was to me as a father I think of peace, love, humility, comfort, spiritual strength, knowledge, and support. Anytime I was going through something rough, or even when I was upset at him, he would always just give me a hug and love me. Thank you dad for being who you are. And thank you for being a fun grandpa too!

Anthony's Song

If you understand the title I like your style. We moved out of our home in Provo this past Monday. It seems so strange that we are actually moving on because Provo has been our home for so long and since all of our things are in storage and we are just visiting our families it kind of feels like we are just on vacation. The plan is to visit family, find place to live out in Philly, and then move all our things out east.

Since Monday we have been in Albuquerque and it has been relaxing. With so many helpers around we have been able to relax while others watch the girls. We also were able to get out and see Star Trek the other night on the fly. There is no way back at home that we could have decided on the spot to just go to a movie that started in ten minutes (one of the luxuries that you give up as a parent).

As we were getting ready to visit Albuquerque and San Antonio we have been setting up some photo shoots. I was excited because it would mean income and a great chance to take pictures in new locations. The only problem is that this turned out to be a busy week for some of the people here in Albuquerque. So I had a couple sessions fall through, or at least be postponed, and thought that I would take some pictures anyways. It's a good thing I have two beautiful daughters. I took these in front of my parents' home and also at the botanical gardens. We went to the botanical gardens and the aquarium which yesterday which was fun. The aquarium here is much better than the one up in Sandy. There was a blow fish that was the size of something that is probably four feet long and two feet wide, and it wasn't even blown up!

My sister Michelle.

Camy and Maddie.

Lizzie fishing for peoples' wishes.

Keoki.

Craigslist

Last week it felt a little like Utah was trying to tell us something . . . "Just leave!"  So we are getting packed up this week and taking off next Monday.  We are planning on spending time with both of our families down in Albuquerque and San Antonio while we try to find a place to live out in Philly.  As we have been getting ready for the move we have turned to craigslist to help us clean house.  This weekend we sold one of our TVs and had a guy come by and tell us he wanted the scooter (he just had to wait until pay day to take it officially).  Both of the buyers came at the exact same time so it was like working retail again and trying to attend to multiple customers.  I'm a little sad to lose the scooter, but there is absolutely no point in having it in Philadelphia because the only time I won't be with the family is when I go to school and I will be taking the train in.  Some of the other things we are selling are below:

21" Philips TV - $45

Epson Stylus C84 Printer - $10

Queen Size Split Box Spring - $100

Washer and Dryer - $250 (Or $150 for each)

If you or somebody you know is interested let us know!

This past Saturday we had a very fun day.  I took portraits of my friend Kyle and his family and afterwards we went swimming at his place.  Hallee loves swimming and Kyle has three boys so she had a blast hanging out with "fwends."  After that we had dinner at one of Megan's old roomate's place.  It was good to see her and her husband again and meet their little boy, it had been a long time.  Anyways we have been having a good time with daddy home all the time (hopefully nobody is getting sick of me).

After we took the pictures Kyle and I were joking around about having my signature on the pictures I take be my face in each picture.  It started out as a joke but it may have been the most ingenious idea ever as you can see:

If you would like to see more click here.

Work is overrated

At the beginning of this week I was working two jobs, 60+ hours a week.  Both jobs required me to be on my feet quite a bit and on the days that I worked both jobs I would be working from 7 a.m. until 11 p.m. or midnight with a 30 min lunch break and hour and a half break in between jobs.  Anyways this took a toll on my body and my back was killing me!  So on Monday night I let my boss at Rimports know that I wouldn't be able to keep this schedule up.  He had just had somebody come and ask for a job that day so he was fine with the short notice--so I was down to one job.  On Wednesday I got a call from one of the managers at Red Robin asking if I could come in to speak with him.  I knew it couldn't be good because I was scheduled to work at 5 p.m. and they wanted to speak with me at 2 p.m.--the only reason I could think of for not waiting until my shift was that they didn't want me to work my shift.  And I was right.  I'm suspended for a week because of something called a secret shopper (not a fan).  Anyways I figure these shoppers must fill out their reports after the experience and not during, so they are going off of memory, because this is the second time I have failed and they fail me on things I do at every single table.  Seriously, I do these things so repetitively that they have become habit.  For example, I don't just ask "Do you want dessert?" I ask "Did you save room for a Mud Pie or a hot Apple Crisp?" and it is such a habit that I offered everyone Mud Pies when we were out of them for about two months.  Well I will stop defending my case and get to my point--I went from working 60+ hours to having no job.  From having little time with my family to tons of time with my family.  That is the great thing about the events of this week, I love spending time with my family.  We have had a lot of fun together over the past few months and the only camera I ever have with me is my phone so here are some of the pictures from hanging out with the fam.

Maddie at the park.  She loves being on her tummy--I'm thinking she will learn to crawl quickly.

Maddie and I were hanging out on the porch while Hallee ran around outside.

One weekend we went to Jump on It, a place full of trampolines and the blow-up jumpers.  It was awesome because kids under 3 are free.  We just let Hallee run around and have a blast.

While Adam and Annjilla were visiting we went to a park near our home that had a duck pond.  There were baby ducks that we held and the girls loved.  As we were walking back home the ducklings ran up to us, following us like we were their mothers.  Ooops!  Maybe holding a duckling isn't such a good idea.

Megan and I went to see 17 Again during the week of finals.  We went after Hallee was in bed and had Taylor come and stay in the house and study there while we took Maddie with us to the movie.  She did great!  When we left she was sleeping and the light change seemed to make her mad.

Hallee loves the park, especially the swings.  It seems we are going almost daily.

Another fun free night out is going to the Life Science Museum up at BYU.  The first time we went Hallee was really little and was so excited she was running from one animal to the next screaming with joy.

I think Maddie looks like an Indie baby with this hoodie.

Hallee eating chocolate cake at Grandma June's and Grampa Del's.

The University Mall has this awesome treehouse/slide that Hallee loves.

Mmmmmm, Dairy Queen.  Always a great family night.

We have some friends that went out of town so we watched their chinchilla, Julio.  Hallee looked forward to feeding Julio everyday and would chant "Julio!  Julio!  Julio!" as we would drive over.

Shopping at Nordstroms.

Now that Hallee has hair Megan has fun styling it each day.