The Worst Blogger Ever

So I have decided that I'm the worst blogger ever. But since I'm here on my computer for a few minutes, I figured I'd give a rough update of our life lately...

Stuart started massage therapy school at the end of August. He absolutely loves it. And I can say that he has a natural gift for it. He loves the technical side of it, but is also very good at the actual massage part. I have to get a massage every night....rough, huh.

Anna is growing everyday. She is so smart and loves to play and be social. She makes friends with everyone she meets and is such a big helper. She loves church and is always willing to help there, especially when there are new kids. She puts her arm around them and talks to them. It's so cute.

We moved into a new house in July. It's next door to our old one, but at least twice the size. We are loving all the extra room. We moved into it so I could start a child care and preschool business. I love watching kids and my preschool is getting bigger everyday. It's the next best thing to teaching full time. Someday I'll get into the schools, but we'll see how things go after Anna starts kindergarten next year.

There is the shortest update ever on our lives....and here are some recent pics of Anna from the dance camp she did this summer.

An Exciting Day at Church

Anna was sooooo funny at church yesterday. It started during the sacrament when she was singing a little too loudly while the deacons were giving out the bread. Stuart shh'd her and she yelled, "No! It's not quiet time!" I'm not sure how many people heard, but it was funny. Needless to say, she wasn't really quiet during the sacrament. Then the water came around and she quickly grabbed a cup of water and proceeded to gargle it loudly, a skill she recently acquired under the tutolage of Elliot. It was funny, but we tried to be mad so she would stop....through stifled laughter of course.

Then came testimony time. A few of the primary kids went up and bore their testimonies, and when she saw them, Anna said "I want to do my testimony!" She insisted very loudly that I take her up, and then Elliot decided he needed to come too, so I took them up and helped them bear testimony. It was incredibly cute and they both did a good job. Of course then I had to bear mine as well, but I was very proud of Anna and her desire to bear her testimony, even though I think she really just wanted to be at the front talking in the microphone.

Stuart took her for a walk in the rain yesterday because she wanted to use her Dora umbrella. She had her snow boots on, mittens, a hat, and her warm coat. Stuart was a good sport and took her a few blocks until she announced that she was all done with the rain, so they came home. Both were absolutely soaked...despite the Dora umbrella....and we had to hang everything up to dry. But she had fun walking with her daddy.

Trick-or-Treat Customers

Halloween seemed to be a big success at our house. Anna had a lot of fun at the ward party where they had games and activities for the kids, trunk or treat, and a chili cookoff. There was a good turnout and we were able to be home by 7 to recieve trick-or-treaters from the neighborhood.

Anna was so funny. As soon as someone would knock, she would run to beat me to the door and talk to the kids, ask them about their costumes, tell them Happy Halloween and send them on their way. She said to me after one big group, "phew....we've had lots of trick or treat customers, but we need more customers cuz we have lots of candy left."

Another funny thing she said this week was when she and Elliot were having a bath together as they sometimes do. As they were getting out and the water was draining, Elliot cried "oh no, I'm going down the drain." Anna looked at him expressionless, then looked at me, shrugged her shoulders and said "oh well, guess we have to get a new kid..." and went into the living room. I laughed so hard.

She just gets bigger and smarter everyday. I love every minute of it.

Hi Ho Halloween's Here

This year has been more fun with Halloween as Anna understands more and I am home during the day to do more activities with her. The other day my friend Emily (who has a son the same age as Anna) and I attempted to do sugar cookies with them. They were soooo excited and then lasted through about one cookie. As you can see, Emily and I ended up doing the rest of the cookies by ourselves. Oh well, nothing wrong with reverting back to childhood, right?

Then on Saturday we made the trek to the Zoo Boo at the Pocatello zoo. They had a lot of fun, but tired quickly, so we didn't last long there. We still haven't figured out why we attempt to do such things because it either ends with screaming children or screaming mommies, but Saturday went suprisingly well if you can get over the broken stroller, the crying baby, and two tired three year olds who had absolutely no interest in the animals.

New Job...

For those who don't know, I got a new position in the College of Education. I got the position as a graduate assistant. I will be running a tutoring program called America Reads. They pay my tuition and a monthly stipend, so I will not be working at the Post Office anymore. I'm a little sad, but looking forward to this new experience in my program. I will now graduate in May as it's a 9 month position....but it's worth the delay!!!

The best part of it all is that I will home with Anna more. That's the absolute BEST part!!!!

Dancing Queen

If this isn't the funniest thing you have ever seen, I don't know what is....

Oh What Do You Do in the Summertime....

These are just some random pictures of Anna, Riley, and Sam out at my sister Alison's new house. They had a blast!