Date Night

Jayson & I had a rare opportunity for a date night tonight, although we probably should have stayed home and finished things around the house before Tony gets here.  Lisa was kind enough to watch Eaen.  We went to Lonestar for dinner, then went and parked by the Temple.  It was nice to sit and talk about everything going on in our life under the light of the temple without having to yell over Eaen or the TV!  We stopped by Ace Hardware and the grocery store on our way to pick up Eaen and just wandered through the aisles without worrying about what Eaen was grabbing or trying to get out of there in a hurry.  It was good quality time together and we're hoping to do it more often. 

FHE

We decided to try and start holding Family Home Evenings again.  In order to include all of our family, we're going to take Monday night family walks with both dogs.  Tonight was our first night.  Eaen loved it!  The dogs were so happy.  When we got home, we shared a quick scripture and then made dinner.  It was a pretty good evening!

 

Yee-Haw Cowboy!

Tonight after dinner Eaen climbed on Grandpa's back with his Jessie hat and started yelling, Yee-Haw Cowboy and Ride Like the Wind Bullseye!  It was pretty funny!  I was a bit worried that he was going to break grandpa's back!

 

Pajama Day

Other than my short workout this morning, Eaen & I spent the entire day in our pajamas!  Jayson had to go into work all day and we didn't have anywhere to go, so we stayed comfy and hung out in our pjs.  I got the laundry and some light cleaning done, but the bulk of my day was spent reading and doing homework for classes.  I'm trying to get ahead so I don't have to do anything while Tony is here next week.  Eaen didn't mind hanging out in his pjs, watching "Peter Pan", playing with toys, and hanging out with mommy.  We sure missed Jayson though!  It's never fun when he has to work on his day off.

Portrait Day

Today I took Eaen up to get his 3-yr-old portraits done.  I didn't get pictures taken last year and it makes me a little sad.  Even though I take so many pictures almost daily, I enjoy having that photo shoot and the pictures of our handsome guy!  Even though I know several talented photographers, I decided to give Kiddie Kandids a try in the mall.  I've heard really great things about their work.  When we got to the mall, Eaen saw the US space ship and immediately wanted to ride it.  I made the deal if he was good while we were taking his pictures, he could ride the "rocket" when we were done.  He was very good during the session and we got a lot of great shots.  The pictures will be back by February 8th, so we'll be able to give some to Grandpa before he goes back to Alaska.  And when all was said and done, he got to ride the "rocket"!

 

CPA Prep

One of the CPA review courses was running a special for the beginning of the year on their course.  Jayson and I decided to go ahead and order the stuff now to hopefully save some money in a few months when I'm going to need them.  I was surprised at how quickly my order arrived.  Man these books are big!  Here's what I have to look forward to this summer after graduation.....

Early Morning Temple Trips

As part of my New Year's Resolutions, I wanted to start attending the temple weekly.  We live so close, there really is not reason it isn't possible.  Today marks week 4 that I have been up at 5 am to go to the temple.  I usually get there between 5:30/5:45 am and do initiatory and I'm back home by about 6:30 am when Eaen is getting up.  It's never easy getting up at that hour, and if I try to get up early any other day of the week to workout or do homework, I cannot find the strength.  I know The Lord is helping me get out of bed each week.  Last week one of the temple workers recognized that I had been coming every Wednesday at that early hour and commended me for being there.  As tired as I may be when I get out of bed, I am so grateful every time I go!  I love being home before the sun comes up too!

I Love This Snow!

As I was driving to school this morning looking at all the beautiful snow from yesterday, it occurred to me I Love This SNOW!  I love snow when the roads are clear, but it is fresh and beautiful on the trees and mountains!  This is what I LOVE about winter!

 


Blue

Eaen's favorite color now is definitely blue!  He wants everything blue, no matter how much I try and persuade him to red!  Whenever we go to Smith's he has to have the blue car shopping cart.  As soon as we park he says, "Where's my blue car?"  If the blue car is gone, he will not ride in a red or green one.  I guess it's a good thing the power wheels truck we got for his birthday is blue too!

So Close...

This morning as we were getting ready for church, Eaen sat down because he wanted to put on his own socks and shoes.  He's getting close, but can't quite get his socks all the way up yet. 

 
















This evening was the NFC Championship game between the 49ers and the Giants.  We were excited as the winner would go to the Superbowl!  It was a close game.  It even went into overtime!  But a couple of mistakes on special teams lead to a loss in overtime for the 49ers.  It's sad because they have come so far this year and their special teams and defense were instrumental in getting them here.  It does bring hope for the future though!

Eaen napped during the AFC game.

Go NINERS!

Lazy Saturday

Today was a pretty laid back Saturday.  I spent a lot of time working on homework and preparing for the weeks to come as well as cleaning around the house.  When nap time came, Eaen found his crown from BK and had to wear it to bed.  When he got up, it was still on!

In the afternoon it started to snow and Jayson had to go plow the lot at work.  I took mercy on the dogs and brought them in the garage with the door to the house open to dry them off.  Titan was pretty wet, so I gave him some towels to curl up in!

My Official Offer!

I was pleasantly surprised when I checked the mail this morning and found my official offer from Wisan, Smtih, Racker & Prescott, LLP!  I called Crane Christensen Palmer & Ambrose to notify them of my decision to accept the offer and they asked if I was sure because they were going to offer me the position with their firm this morning.  Gratefully Jayson & I had addressed that in our decision so I already knew my answer.  While I thought they would be a great firm to work for, I felt Wisan Smith Racker & Prescott is going to be a better long-term fit for our family.  After all of the hard work and stressful recruiting process, I am glad to have an offer.  I find it interesting the direction this journey has taken me.  When I started in school, I was firm about doing audit and not tax.  I had no interest in tax what-so-ever!  But the more classes I took, the more it peaked my interest, which took me to the MTax instead of the MAcc.  I was still trying to work in auditing, but after interviewing and being rejected by 8 firms for audit positions and finishing 2/3 of my tax classes, I decided to be open to a career in tax.  I interviewed for 2 tax positions, and essentially recieved two offers.  After all of the advice I had been given by various professionals and educators about how hard it is to find a job in tax and that most tax students end up working in audit because that is where the majority of the jobs are, I couldn't get a job in audit and ended up in tax!  I know The Lord has had a hand in every step of the process and while I didn't always understand it, I know this is going to be best for our little family!  It has been a long hard road, but I can now see the light at the end of the tunnel and it is not a train!

Crane Christensen & Ambrose

Today I had an interview with a small accounting firm in Ogden called Crane Christensen Palmer & Ambrose.  The interview went really well.  They are small, so everyone does a bit of everything.  They only have 5 staff and just had a partner retire, so they are looking for another person. 

As I was pulling into school after my interview, I received a call from Wisan, Smith, Racker & Prescott offering me an internship for tax season followed by a full-time position starting no later than next January.  I told them I was still interested and they said they would put the official offer in the mail.  I immediately called Jayson & told him of the offer.  We were both very excited, but had to wait until after school to discuss all of the details.  When I got home, we talked about the pros and cons of accepting the job.  After shared thoughts, crunching numbers, and prayers, we decided this was the opportunity we had been praying for and I would accept the offer.  I am very excited to start.  Although I didn't initially want to do tax, here I am going to work in tax.  I have really enjoyed my tax classes and I liked the people I met at the firm a couple of weeks ago.  I'm looking forward to the opportunity of being thrown in the fire and really getting to see what tax life is all about!

Our BIG 3-YR-OLD!

Today Eaen had his 3-yr-old check up.  He is 45 lbs (100%) and 40 in (95%). 

He likes everything boy! 
His favorite color is blue.

He loves cars, trucks, dinosaurs, trains, books, puzzles, sports, blocks. 

He has a lot of balls and likes to throw and kick. 

He loves the Toy Story movies and Cars movies. 

His favority tv shows include Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Jake & the Neverland Pirates, Dinosaur Train, Curious George & Word World. 

He enjoys playing outside whether it's in the snow or on the playground. 

When the weather is nice, he loves to ride his bike and now drive his truck. 

He'll climb and jump off anything he can, he is quite the dare devil.  ( He gets that from Jayson!) 

Occassionally, he says he needs to go potty in the toilet, but usually it is after he has gone in his pull-up.

(He will only wear pull-ups, not diapers now.) 

He likes to play the piano and with the IPad. 

He can count to 10, but only when HE wants to. 

He is quite stubborn. (Also from Jayson. ; ) ) 

He is full of personality!  He likes to laugh and make everyone else laugh. 

He is repeating everything that comes out of our mouth, which isn't always the best. 

He is still interested in figuring out how everything works.

Light in the Sky

This morning when Eaen got up, he was insistent that I come to his room.  When I got there, he had lifted his blinds and said, "LOOK!  It's a light!" as he pointed to the moon.  I tried to explain it is the moon and it looks like a light, but to him it's the light in the sky!

Nap time

Recently Eaen has decided he likes to nap on the couch.  Usually I'll be downstairs studying for school while he plays in his room and he'll come down with his pillow and blanket, lay down on the couch, and go to sleep.  Sometimes I'll take him up to bed after he's asleep, but today I let him be.

Monster

Eaen got a new shark towel for his birthday, but he calls it his monster towel.  Today after his bath, he didn't want to take off his "monster" and get dressed, so I put on a pull-up and let him run around in the towel!

 

Go NINERS!

This morning Jayson took Eaen with him to the Autorama and gave me some quiet time to work on homework.  They went with my dad & Christie, Jake & Carson.  They had a good time and I was able to get all my homework done for the week!  They made sure they were home in time for the 49ers playoff game against the NO Saints.  We were all excited to watch football!  The Niners jumped out to an early 17-0 lead after 3 turnovers.  The Saints persisted and gained their first lead of the game with just over 4 minutes left in the game.  There were 4 touchdowns scored and the lead changed 4 times in the last 4 minutes of the game.  It was pretty intense, but the Niners came out with the WIN!  Now we await the winner of the  Giants/Packers game tomorrow.....

 

Low five to celebrate the win!

Discovery Gateway

Today I took Eaen and his best friends to the Discovery Gateway for his birthday.  Lisa was kind enough to come with me and help supervise!  Paula and Oli were pretty good at keeping everyone together too!  Eaen asked for Paula, Oli, Cooper, and Maurie to come to his birthday party.  Lucky for him, yesterday was the end of the term so Paula and Oli didn't have school.  Unlucky for us, Davis County School District was out of school, so Discovery Gateway was pretty packed!  The kids all had a ton of fun!  It was pretty neat with a lot of things to help the kids learn, grow and discover.  I will definitely take Eaen back! (Hopefully on a day that isn't quite so busy.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Eaen told me he couldn't stand up to get in the picture with
everyone because he was upset we were leaving.