Messes, Mischief. and Missions

Well, this is me giving up. Max thinks he is now "too big, too old, too independent" to be fed by mom. I just had to walk away and count to ten which left him to attempt feeding himself. Hmmm. Wish I would have taken his clothes off.

Max loves dog food and now when I say no he jumps up and runs away laughing and screaming. I swear he is thinking, "If I run away fast enough she will think I was never there"! This is the current trend for anything he is not supposed to get into. As for buttons he is not supposed to push... He has perfected the "hurt" face. He doesn't even attach a cry to it which makes it more hilarious. Max had his first birthday this month! He was so confused when we turned off the lights and started singing. He ate the frosting off his cake one pinch at a time so it took about 40 minutes to make a dent in his cake.

We have just entered the temper tantrum phase and soooo, I just had to let Max cry himself to sleep so I could shower and this is what I found when I checked on him later.

Guess he was really working hard to resist sleep.

As for Kent and I, I have another calling in addition to my usual. I just got called as the Stake Music Chairman (chairwoman) and am now on a mission to round up a Stake choir. May not seem like a hard task, but considering our stake is made up of several small towns some distance apart it seems to be like pulling teeth to get them all to participate. Too bad. Kent "mission" now teaching the 12 and 13 year old Sunday school class. One Sunday I was in the hall with Max and could hear Kent in his class playing Gospel Jeopardy I think. His "ding!, ding!, ding!" and "We have a winner!" noises were very audible for all who walked by and he seemed to be enjoying himself, so I guess he likes teaching - I wonder if his class feels the same about him or if they just think he is a little out there. Just kidding Kent, I am sure they love you.

I just had the opportunity of directing a community choir and the local symphony for an open house performance of the new stake center and family history center that was just finished here in town. It was so fun and I was so pleased at how it turned out. We had a great turn out and a really powerful spirit there. It was a great missionary opportunity and there were a lot of non-members who turned out to tour the buildings and seee what we are all about.

The Christmas concert we did went really well. I don't know who edits our local paper, but there were two articles about it in the same edition.

We are Having a Baby Boy!

Here he is, this is our little Max. We just had the ultra sound yesterday and couldn't be more thrilled. Kent was speechless. He just walked around with a big grin on his face, that is until we were making my next appointment and the receptionist was distracted on her computer - then Kent blurts out to anyone who will listen, "It's a Boy!" The receptionist looked up surprised, but politely said congratulations with a smile.

They had a hard time getting a good picture and accurate measurements because Max was moving around so much. He just wouldn't hold still. He also likes to stretch his legs out until they are perfectly straight and he is folded completely in half. He also likes to wiggle his thumbs.

Here is my four month pic. I am about five months now and will get the next picture up soon.

We are in Kanab now and just waiting for our apartment to be vacated by the former tenants. We will hopefully be able to move in by September 1st. I can't wait. It is miserable being displaced. I am having to go to the church, the neighbors and the school everyday to practice piano for my upcoming solo recital which will be on september 24th, at 2 pm, at the West Jordan Library. Yes, it was the 10th, but I had to move it back, because we couldn't get the recital hall. In all honesty I am greatful for the extra practice time. I feel like I need it.

Kanab is fun. I have already been to a slot canyon and spent one day at Lake Powell. It is only 1 1/2 hours away from home so it was easy to make it a day trip. We are going to the Grand Canyon this weekend. Fun stuff.

Change, Change, Change

Kent just got a new job as deputy county attorney in Kanab, UT. Where you say? Well if you can see little red dot at the very bottom of this Utah map, that's it. The great thing about Kanab is it is very close to The Grand Canyon, Zions National Park, Lake Powell, Coral Pink Sand Dunes, Jacob Lake, and a bunch of other really cool places. We could be somewere different every weekend and still go home to sleep in our own bed. We will be officially moving down there the first week of August. Kent is already down there working, but I don't finish Summer semester until August 3rd. Boo. We are really excited for this move. I will of course have to commute to Dixie for school. That won't be fun, but oh well.

When we were driving down for his interview a couple of weeks ago, I saw this sign on the side of the road for Ho-made pies. I couldn't believe it and had to pull over to take a picture. I thought is was so funny. Kent really wanted to stop and buy a pie to go with the picture of the sign. Some people.

People keep asking me to post pictures so here is my three month shot. It is funny that everyone tells me I am so small and not even showing yet, but I look at this picture and think, "really?" Hmmm.

Exciting News!

I know I haven't been very good at blogging lately, but I have a pretty good excuse. I finally finished Oklahoma and my busy Spring semester when the terrible nausea, headaches, UTI's and fatigue kicked in. I really should not complain as we have been trying to get pregnant for quite some time and this is a huge blessing! We had a miscarriage earlier this year and it was devastating. So this was a wonderful surprise. We are so grateful. I just need to make it through another month (assuming I will start feeling better after my first trimester). The baby is tentatively due January 3rd. I have my first official doc apt. this Wednesday so we will find out for sure. Considering our track record, we are sure hope everything will be okay and are praying for a strong heartbeat. So far I am 10 weeks along and unable to wear some of my pants already. Hmmmm.

I am taking six classes this summer and afterward will jump right into Fall semester with nine more classes. Yikes! I hope I can manage it all. My students' recital is coming up in July. I am really looking forward to seeing my students' first official performances. It should be very fun. Kent and Betty are doing well. We don't have much else new going on, but I will try to post more often to keep you all updated.

Here are a bunch of fun pics from our show.

Kent's official now in two states

Kent just got sworn in to the Utah state bar and is now officially licenced to practice in California and Utah. Here we are after the ceremony.

Other recent things:

I just applied for school, took the placement test, and went to register for class and found out that I am not considered a resident of Utah even though I have lived here 23 out of the 26 years of my life. I have to wait another semester to qualify for residency. I would love to just go to at least one class this semester, but the tuition is three times more for non-residents!!!! Arg! So I guess i get the summer off.

Kent has gotten various legal work for individuals here and there, but is still looking for full time work - as am I. I started teaching piano lessons again, I am also taking piano and violin lessons once again, and just got a gig playing piano at a christening party the end of this month.

I am also helping a friend plan the 3rd Annual Gala for the Empress Theatre. What do you know, all the event planning and sponsor finding at Pepperdine is still paying off.

Pepperdine has hired me once more for a temporary position which I can do remotely. It is interesting I can still get jobs in California, but not here in Utah - where I live. CRAZY!

Well, that is about all that has happened. Pretty boring for now. Maybe something fun or unexpected will happen this week for me to blog about - maybe an airplane will fall out of the sky right outside our apartment window and create a huge fire which everyone will miraculously survive. Or, maybe everything at MACEY's will be discounted to .50 and I will be able to purchase my one year supply of food storage all in one swoop. Of course if that happened, I would have to store it in the bath tub, the dryer, the washer and the oven since this one bedroom apartment isn't getting any bigger. ;)

Graduation Weekend

The Pepperdine School of Law graduation was last Friday. It was so exciting. Kent's parents came out to stay with us and to come to the graduation. The Graduation was out on Alumni Park and although the weather couldn't have been better, it did get pretty hot - especially for Kent with all robe, hood and cap. He was "melting". He thought he better take advantage of his one legitimate opportunity to wear a "cape" like Superman and strike a pose. We all thought we would humor him. It was a great day.> The commencement speakers gave some really great speeches. Much better than I expected. The main messages that stood out were, no matter how successful you are in your profession and how much you accomplish, you are replaceable - there will always be someone else waiting to full your shoes, BUT to your family you are irreplaceable. The other speaker said that the most important thing he thought he could share with new attorneys entering the law profession was to "Enjoy your life", that if you don't make time for your family and serve in an area of law that speaks to you or has purpose - you may be successful, but you won't be happy and enjoying your life and your family is more important than earning the highest salary. We went out to eat at Paradise Cove afterward then enjoyed an evening in the pool at home. Saturday we went to The Getty Museum. I've been wanting to go since we moved here, and was grateful to have Kent's parents to give me a good excuse. It was really amazing. Aside from all the painting, furniture, sculpture, photography, and drawings, there were breath taking gardens. They also had a kid zone that we all played in of course. They had this cool room with all these mirrors and a back drop for interesting photo opps. It was pretty cool. We spent some time at the beach, and walked the Hollywood walk of fame. It was a good time and tomorrow I go back to work. I still need to add some pictures from our Utah trip. I got some great food shots of Sammy and Jello and Nathan with a whole fortune cookie in his mouth. Plus a special bonus picture of Kent, my dad and I doing "Scary face" which is a family joke after I started the tradition as a three year old. So, since I don't seem to have much time to write, I will at least upload the Utah pictures soon and let this post be the official description for them. I am now going to enjoy the rest of my Memorial Day watching Mr. and Mrs. Smith with Kent. I hope every one else had as good of a holiday as I did. Too bad it can't last longer. It's been such a nice weekend with family in town. See ya later!

Exciting News!

Sorry, I'm not pregnant, but KENT PASSED THE BAR! We just found out last Friday and have been celebrating ever since. We were even more relieved when we found out that only 33% of those who took the test actually passed. So it is finally offical. Kent is a licenced attorney and will get sworn in on June 2. I have a lot to blog, but so little time so I promise to post soon about our recent trip to Utah and Kent’s graduation.