To Ryan From Aaron

 Did not shave Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. This is Monday morning. Enjoy.

Thanksgiving Day 2010

Ivan, Adelia, Aaron, Krystal, Lincoln, Stephanie, Kirk, Jackson, Kyle, Kelsey, Tanner, Mom, Kerry is taking the picture 

We spent Thanksgiving week with my family up in Hooper. It was a lot of fun to be up there with all those who were there.

My boys are in love with Jackson's dog Wallace. Especially Ivan, he followed Wallace around every where he went, and threw toys for him and petted him. Wallace was really patient with it all weekend long. What a good dog. 

 Everyone had something to contribute this year for Thanksgiving dinner, even Juicy B. Jackson made jalapeno poppers for an appetizer. Kelsey made deviled eggs that looked like turkeys. Steph did a veggie tray. I made cranberry sauce from scratch, rice dressing from Kerry's first wife's recipe, and cream cheese pumpkin pecan pie. Mom made pretty much everything else. And she was nice enough to substitute coconut milk into her fabulous roll recipe so that Ivan could have some. Everything turned out excellent.

In between cooking things and hanging out, we played a few rounds of Perudo. A dice game where you have to guess how many of each dice will end up under everyone's cups. It's a really fun game, although I suck at it. Probably because I'm unwilling to attempt all the mathematical calculations that would help my guesses to be more accurate. What I like about Perudo is that the little kids can "play" too, if you give them an extra cup and some extra dice. Ivan thought he was so big sitting at the table and shaking his dice with everyone else, and it didn't hinder the game any by having him play along.

 Here's Ivan with his game face on.

 Mom and Kerry working hard in the kitchen.

I had to take two shots of Thanksgiving dinner to get everyone in, but here we all are (minus me taking the picture). We had a wonderful dinner. Special thanks to me, who insisted that we use Mom's nice china dishes. She wasn't going to get the out, but I talked her into it. We didn't get to use the crystal goblets though, oh no, those are for Christmas only. ;)

After dinner and before pie, our family put on a little mini presentation for everyone. Since Lincoln had been talking about Thanksgiving so much in preschool this month, I thought it would be fun for him to tell everyone the Thanksgiving story. So we made some more spoon Pilgrims and Indians, so he'd have props, and let him tell the story of the first Thanksgiving. He needed a little bit of help in some parts, but I thought he did a fantastic job. After that, we told everyone about our new tradition of the Grateful Gobbler, and asked if they wouldn't mind if our family shared what we were thankful for. So that was fun too. 

And then we had pie. And it was delicious. 

We did not go black Friday shopping this year. Most of us had colds, and there wasn't really anything out there that we wanted. And I didn't really want to brave it with three kids. Think what you will, but I'm not that adventurous. 

Friday night all the girls (minus Adelia, who is too young) went to the Nutcracker ballet. It was so fun. That's a tradition my mom and I have had forever. The boys got their deer hunting weekend, and we got to go see the ballet. But then life gets busy, and we haven't been since before Aaron and I were married. After the ballet, we went out to Farr's ice cream. It's one of those deals where you put whatever you want in a cup and pay by the weight. I was delighted to have mine all to myself. Usually Aaron and I have to share a cup, and I am not very good at sharing my dessert.  

The Grateful Gobbler

I wanted to share the finished results of our Grateful Gobbler that we did for FHE at the beginning of the month. I really liked this activity, and we'll probably do it next year. I loved remembering what we were grateful for every day. I liked watching my kids come up with things they were thankful for, even if some of them were silly. And I loved seeing what Aaron was grateful for every day. We don't express those things out loud often enough. I think next year I will make one change though...I'd like to designate who said what, like maybe assigning each person different colored feathers or something, so at the end we can tell who said what. I think it would be fun to watch how each of our lists change over the years. Anyways, here are the things the Swan family is grateful for 2010.

Silliness
The priesthood
Cell Phones
My wonderful husband
Raisin bread
Zac
Texting
Weekends
Learning
The ability to take our neighbors to the airport
Living in a good neighborhood
Education
Breast Pump
The park
Krystal
Shoes
Popcorn
Diapers
Aaron got to come home early for the "blizzard"
Nap Time
A car that works
Pictures
That Linc and Ivan share a room
Singing songs
Turkey (my wife)
Health
Patience
Lincoln
Aaron did dishes
When the boys play nicely
Riding my bike
Forks
Birthdays
Modern Medicine
Online shopping
Visiting teaching
Play group
Clear roads
3 bedroom apartment
Job interviews
Transportation to school (bike)
Bananas
Feet
Computer
Prayer
Eyes
Jesus
Corn
A clean house
The ability to help others
Little girls
Coats, hats, and gloves
Snow
Video chat
Leaf blowing ability
Swan family monthly calendar
Nice weather
Tricycle
Being employed
Scriptures
Ivan
No monsters
Underground parking at the library
Being home
Rice and coconut milk
Laughter in the midst of chaos
Costco
Blogging
Student loans
Being able to run outside
Rice
Good friends
Q-tips
Being held
Chocolate
Books
Adelia
Health
The Pre-amble
Quiet time
Extended family
Teeth
Being able to have family come and stay with us
Mop
Turkey
Fly swatters
Spiritual promptings
Hot showers
Kisses
Family home evening
Pilgrims
Burp clothes
Hot chocolate
Online bill pay
Preschool
All the kids napping at the same time so I could fold laundry and clean the kitchen
Sleep
Cows
Hair bows
Leaf blower
That Aaron was born
Internet
Light
Snugly babies
Our apartment job
Band aides
Healthy babies
Being married to my wonderful wife
Google search
Traditions
Story time at the library
Kleenex

Ivan Feeds the Baby

I love this kid. He's such a sweetheart. Here he is making sure his baby gets lunch. I love that he wants to do it like Mommy. I'll take it as a compliment any day of the week.

All Jammied Up

All my babies playing on the bed Wednesday morning while Aaron and I got dressed. I love my kids.

Happy Birthday Aaron!

On Monday night my mom and Kerry came down to Provo to take Aaron and I out to dinner for Aaron's birthday. They brought Tanner with them, so he could baby sit our boys while the rest of us went out to Los Hermanos, which is one of our favorite Mexican restaurants.

Before we went to dinner, we opened gifts, so the boys could be a part of the fun, before they had to go to bed. Secretly I think Gramma Tam just wanted some snuggle time. :) Mom and Kerry gave Aaron a dutch oven and a charcoal starter. Some day we will be able to go camping again so we can try them out.

We had a delicious meal, and a really odd waiter at Los Hermanos. Adelia sat happily in either my, Mom's, or Kerry's lap, and was really good the whole time, until the people came to sing Happy Birthday to Aaron. Then she got scared by the clapping and started wailing, so the waiters and waitresses finished their happy birthday song in a loud whisper. It was kind of funny.

And I'd say it was worth it for the free fried ice cream they gave Aaron for being the birthday boy. Besides, between Gramma and Papa, Adelia was quickly soothed.

We had a great night out. Thanks Mom and Kerry!

Tuesday on Aaron's actual birthday, he still had to go to school. Lame. But I guess that's what happens when you get older and responsible. I got up earlier than I usually would have so that I could make Aaron breakfast. I made homemade, whole grain, blueberry muffins, and they turned out fantastic! I was so excited.

Because of the huge blizzard warning (which turned out to be nothing more than some strong wind here in Provo), they closed BYU campus and Aaron got to come home early. We enjoyed every second of his company.

Aaron really wants Photoshop which we can't afford. So, for his birthday, I put all the money I would have spent on a present into a dedicated savings account so we can start making a conscious effort to purchase Photoshop someday. The boys took an empty peanut butter container and covered it with stickers. Then I mod podged the outside, and filled it with Reeses Peanut butter Cups (Aaron's favorite candy), and put the receipt for the savings account on top.

We had planned on ordering a pizza for birthday dinner, but thanks to the blizzard, and everything being closed because of it, that was out. So Aaron made haystacks while I made birthday cake. Aaron wanted chocolate cake, which meant I had to make it (and the icing) from scratch so that I could substitute all the milk out of it for Ivan's sake. What I learned, is that making a chocolate cake from scratch does not have any milk in it anyway. So I don't know why the boxed cake mixes feel the need to add powdered milk to make my life harder, but oh well. Chocolate icing on the other hand, does have milk in it, but I just substituted coconut milk and it came out fine. But icing (at least the chocolate fudge icing I made) takes FOREVER to make. At least an hour, because it had to cool for 45 minutes at one point before you can add the rest of the ingredients.

So we ate dinner in the middle of the cake making process. And then it was getting so late, so we put the boys to bed. Ironic that I spent 2 hours making a chocolate cake that Ivan could eat, and then put him to bed before he got to have any. Welcome to my life. He'll be able to eat the leftovers tomorrow though.

So Adelia and I were the only ones left awake to sing Happy Birthday and watch Aaron blow out his candles. We would have invited some neighbors over, but our house was a disaster area (It had been spotless at one point today, but that's what happens when there are two adults trying to cook in the kitchen, and two little boys trying to entertain themselves in the living room), so we decided just to keep to ourselves.

The cake turned out really good. I had one other surprise for Aaron. A neighbor friend needed a ride to the airport, so I told her I'd take her. She insisted that she pay me, and I insisted that she not pay me. We came to an agreement and instead we traded. I gave her a ride to the airport and she gave us 8 seasons of the Cosby Show they were just going to sell to F.Y.E. anyways. So I gave Aaron all 8 seasons of the Cosby Show for his birthday. We watched a couple episodes and laughed our heads off while we ate cake and ice cream and waited for Adelia to go to bed.

Happy Birthday Aaron! I can't believe I'm married to a 27 year old. I hope you had a great day. I'm glad for the blizzard so that we got to spend most of it with you. I love you!

1, 2, 3!

Aaron plays a game with the boys called 1, 2, 3! And tonight he talked me into trying it out. To play, I lay down flat on my back and raise my knees up. Then one of the boys comes and lays on my knees with his head poking over my knees just barely. I hold onto the tops of his shoulders, then he counts 1, 2, 3! And on three I flip him up and over me and he lands on his feet. The boys love this game, and will play it as long as someone will flip them. Sometimes Aaron shakes things up a bit for Lincoln and makes him count to some higher number like 7 or 10, or sometimes he'll have Linc say the alphabet, or count backwards. Anyway, it's fun, but it's an ab work out for sure. 10 minutes of this every night and I could have abs of steel. :)

Moments of Contentment

Adelia is not usually happy unless she is being held. But recently she's been giving me a few small moments of contentment while she sits in her chair. I consider every single second of it a blessing. Today she stayed happy long enough for me to straighten my hair. There are still miracles on Earth.

Old Pictures

When I was growing up my family hung out with the family of one of my dad's mission companions a lot. All of us kids were around the same ages. We took lots of summer vacations together and had a lot of fun. I still keep in touch with Ashley, and the other day she sent me some pictures she had of one of our vacations to Cove Fort. I wanted to share the pictures for fun. I had a killer fashion sense back in the day :)

 These are some pictures of the fort. It seemed like we always stopped at Cover Fort for lunch whenever we were anywhere near it. I've been there several times.

These are of Kyle and I goofing around in the parking lot. The hair-do I'm sporting was my typical vacation hair. My mom always braided it in a whole bunch of braids so that I wouldn't have to wash it or mess with it for the whole trip.

     

This is me and Ashley on a hike somewhere. Our families went on lots of hikes. Ashely and I always hiked together and we'd make up songs together and sing them as we went along.

Left: Jackson, me, Dad, Jeremy Carrol, and Mom at Cove Fort. Right: Kyle, me, and Jackson 

Typical Saturday

I feel like I haven't written very much about our apartment management job. We've been the managers of the apartment complex we live in since last October, so just over a year. It's been a blessing for us, because as managers we get half off of our rent for collecting rent checks, doing bookwork, and making phone calls, and showing the apartments, and signing new contracts. For all other maintenance and yard work we get paid $12 an hour. So lots of months we were able to work off all of our rent, which has been very helpful to us, since we're on a student budget.

Since Aaron will be taking on an internship in January, we are turning over the management job to someone else. And although it's been a blessing for our family, I will not be that sad not to be the managers anymore. I've loved being able to get to know everyone in the complex. I like having keys to the shed out back :) I don't mind collecting rent, or doing book work. And I don't mind dealing with justified problems, like leaky faucets or dishwashers, or posting vacancies, etc. But I will not miss dealing with the stupid problems that some how always seem to arise. Most of our tenants are great, but there are just a few that I could live without. I won't miss trying to be the mediator in ridiculous neighborly disputes. I won't miss so-and-so complaining (again) about whats-their-names being "too loud" at night. I won't miss dealing with some of the attitude problems, or late rent payers. But over all, I think we've had a pretty good experience being managers.

One of the most time consuming things about managing is the yard work. In the fall it's raking leaves, which never seem to fall all at the same time. Winter means shoveling snow and making sure to spread ice melt on the stairs and walk ways. Spring brings the billions and billions of stupid petal pods that fall off the trees and blow around everywhere. And in Summer it's mowing, watering the lawn, and weeding the flower beds. We don't mind the yard work, because it gives us an opportunity to spend time outside as a family. But it is time consuming. So a typical Saturday for the last year has involved our family being outside working on the yard.  

We raked leaves last Saturday, and then a big wind storm came and undid all our hard work. And this coming week it's threatening to snow, so we decided we'd better get out again and give the leaves a final effort for the season and clean up as many as we could before the snow freezes them to the ground. Aaron used the leaf blower to do the parking lot, and Adelia and I raked the lawns. We gave each of the boys a broom so they could "help" too. They had a blast and thought they were so big. Even while we worked the wind was blowing so hard and making more leaves fall from the trees. So when we finished, it didn't really look like we'd done much, but we scooped up at least 10 garbage cans full of leaves, so that's that many less that will freeze to the ground. And the parking lot still looks pretty clear of leaves. It was a good days effort.

Aaron Update (aka our future)

I've been putting off writing this post for awhile, and the longer I put it off, the more there is that needs to be included in it. At one point, I fantasized that Aaron would do it, but he's too busy as it is, so I think writing a blog post just isn't going to make it on his top-ten-things-to-do-with-his-free-time list.

As many of you know, at one point we thought Aaron might be able to graduate in December. Then Adelia came and all the challenges and time constraints that go along with having a new baby, and well, it's not going to happen. However, Aaron will be done with all of his course work in December. So this upcoming January-April semester he will finish his thesis and then graduate in April with his Masters degree.

At the beginning of October Aaron attended several career fairs put on by BYU. At these career fairs he met potential employers and started handing out his resume. Several recruiters invited Aaron to come and do behavioral interviews with them on campus.

Lockheed Martin- in California
Lincoln Laboratories- in Boston
Raytheon- in Tuscon, Indiana, and Texas

All three of those interviews went well, and the companies all said they'd pass on his resume. Cool. Of the three, Aaron liked the Raytheon job the best. He said it was a little bit of research and new stuff, but not an overwhelming amount. He liked Lincoln Labs second best, but was a little intimidated by the job because he wasn't sure if he was qualified or not. And the Lockheed Martin job he wasn't super interested in, because they were going to have him doing testing, which would be ok, but not exactly what he wants. So, then we just play the waiting game to see if anyone wants him to do a follow up interview.

During all this, Aaron had started talking to a guy in his office named Britton, who was back at BYU getting his doctorate degree and working for a company in Spanish Fork called imSAR. SAR stands for synthetic aperture radar. A synthetic aperture is a small antenna that uses radar to take lots of pictures and put them together to create an image that's just as good or better than if you'd used a large antenna. imSAR invented a SAR that is 10 times smaller and cheaper to make than the next smallest/cheapest SAR. An example of something you can do with a SAR... you could take a picture of New York at night in the middle of a snow storm.  imSAR does a lot of contracting with the government. Anyways, the conversation resulted in Britton telling Aaron that he should send in a resume to imSAR. So Aaron did.

A day or so later, someone from imSAR got in touch with Aaron and said they'd like to interview him for an internship position. He could do the internship this coming semester while he finished up his thesis. The internship would be an opportunity for the company and Aaron to try each other out and see if they mesh well together, and if so, there would be the possibility of an offer of a full time position once Aaron graduates.

Aaron went down to Spanish Fork and interviewed with the owner of the company and the vice president of the company. Aaron said he really liked what he saw, and said it seemed like a place he would really enjoy working. A few days after the interview, they offered him an internship position which Aaron accepted. He will be interning about 15-20 hours a week during this next semester and working on his thesis 35-40 hours a week. That means Aaron is going to be super busy. It also means that we will no longer be doing the apartment manager job.

A week or so ago, someone from Raytheon in Tuscon called Aaron and asked him to please go online and put in for a specific job, and then she would do her best to get him out for an on-site interview with them. Aaron did that, but we haven't heard anything from them so far.

A little after that, Lockheed Martin got in touch with Aaron to ask if they could do a phone interview with him. Aaron said sure, and found out during the phone interview that they were interviewing him for a different position than he thought, this one located in Phoenix. The position would be working with a group of people with masters and doctorate degrees, working on proof of concepts, which means a customer would come up with an idea and wonder if it was possible. Aaron's team would then take the idea, and do the research to decide if it was possible or not. Aaron liked that idea because he would be working with a lot of new ideas.

They liked Aaron on the phone interview enough to fly him out to Phoenix for an on-site interview. He flew out Monday night and interviewed Tuesday and then flew home Tuesday night. Aaron said he felt like they would offer him the full time job. At this point we have no idea if we will take the job if they offer it.

As things stand right now, the only for sure things we know are that Aaron will do an internship with imSAR while he finishes his thesis. We will not be moving anywhere until April. Other than that, our future is WIDE open. I really don't like the idea of moving to Arizona. It was not my most favorite place that we've ever lived (understatement of the century). But we would be close to Aaron's sister Stacey which would be fun. And while Spanish Fork doesn't sound exciting or exotic in any way, shape, or form, it's a small town (and I am a small town girl over a big city ANY day of the week), and it's close to family, and housing is way cheaper there, than say, Boston. We'd also still be close enough to BYU that I could attend night classes and maybe even finish my degree, without having to transfer any credits anywhere.

But we'll see what happens. April is a long way off, and at this point, pretty much anything is possible.

Mini Preschool: Thanksgiving: Recipe/Snack

Today we went to Annie's house for preschool. Once again it was awesome, and the kids loved it. Annie started out by teaching the kids the turkey dance. She had them flat their arms like a turkey and wiggle their fingers. Then they had to clap their hands together and wiggle their bodies around while still holding their hands together and sing, "Turkey, turkey, turkey." It was so funny, and the kids were so into it. She had them go outside and turkey dance down the driveway, across the sidewalk and back to the front door of the house.

Next we came inside and Annie had all the kids sit on the rug, while she brought out the magic bag. Inside the bag she had animals, and every time she pulled one out the kids had to make the noise of that particular animal.

Then she had the kids hold hands and form a circle and they went around and around in a circle while they sang "Old McDonald Had a Farm". Great idea to have them move and sing at the same time. I think it helped the kids stay focused, and also helped the little kids who don't talk much yet still be able to participate.

Next the kids sat back down on the rug, and Annie passed out big paper letter T's. Lincoln piped up, "that's a T" and Annie asked him how he knew it was a T, and Lincoln said, "Because it says tttttt." I was so proud. :) Thanks for letting me have that mother bragging moment. Annie had the kids think of words that started with T. They needed some help, but that's ok. Then she had them stand big and tall and hold their T's up in the air and pretend to be trees blowing in the wind.

All around the room, Annie had taped turkeys. For the next activity she had the kids each find a turkey and take it down to color.

After coloring, the kids got to play while Annie got the snack read. Then they ate carrots, apples, graham crackers, and bananas. When they were done with that part, they got a fruit snack and a candy corn treat. Another awesome day of preschool!