Working From Home

As many of you know I work from home. For those that don't know I am a Wellness Manager for a company called eHealthCompete. We run wellness challenges for companies. These challenges are usually based around competition and the employees usually compete for prizes or bonuses. I have been working for eHealthCompete for almost 3 years. I enjoy researching for the newsletters I write the most because I am constantly learning new things. The company is based in Utah and while my family was here (in Utah) this past week I had the opportunity to have dinner with my boss and his family. His wife being a mother of three asked how I found the time to work. It's a question that has been asked many times, I even wonder how it gets done sometimes when life gets hectic. So in response to her question I took this photo the other day to show everyone what Chaz is usually doing while I am working. It takes me about 3 hours to do an hours worth of work with all the interruptions and I am usually doing most of my work through the Internet so clients don't here the children in the back ground. Drew is pretty good about it. And to tell the truth I get most of the work I do done when Kjell is around to watch the kids like on Saturdays or in the evening.

Friends

Saturday night one of my best friends from high school got married. It was neat to see her so happy. Sarah looked beautiful. Another of my best friends Shana was in her line. Seeing them both and catching up with them has me thinking and reminiscing. One day in high school we were over at Sarah’s house. For some reason we decided to make predictions about our future. Who would get married first, what we would be doing in 10 years. The plan was to keep it some where (like a time capsule) and open it up in 10 years to see if any of the predictions came true. From what I can remember none of them have, we all strayed from our big high school plans.

In high school these girls were my life. We were together all day at school and then on the phone all night (if we weren’t at each other’s home). We all had other friends that we would spend time with and there were periods of times when we weren’t as close but in the end we always became close again. When I left for college I was so sad to say good bye. Making friends in college was different for me. It didn’t come as naturally, like I felt my other friendships had. I think part of this was because BYU is so big and it’s difficult to make friends in classes where there are hundreds of people in attendance. Also it felt like they didn’t really know me. It took time to make friends where as with Shana we had been friends since junior high and she knew everything about me. One day we didn’t know each other-the next we were best friends. Luckily I made some wonderful friends living in the dorms and through wards at BYU, some who to this day I would still call best friends, it was just different.

Even now as an adult I find it difficult to make new friends. Especially since I am a stay at home mom. Luckily I have the women in my mom's group who I have become close to. Some of these friendships came naturally (like high school) and some were more difficult to cultivate but all are worth it.

Sometimes I miss the friendships I had in high school but feel this wall between me and these girls. We all have very different lives and even though we live in the same town I see them maybe once a year. I think we saw each other more when I lived away and would call them when I was home visiting. I feel like even though we have all this history we don’t really know each other anymore and this is what makes me the most sad. Sarah has been with her husband know for about 5 years and I don’t know him at all. I think I have seen him maybe 3 times. I see Shana’s mom and aunt more than I see Shana (because we run into each other at the store). At least we have continued to support each other though. I try to call all my friends on their birthdays. Shana showed up at the hospital the day Chaz was born which meant so much to me. And Sarah brought Chaz a present for his first birthday even though she couldn’t make it to the party. Yes these are small gestures but they meant a lot because of the effort they were making to let me know they care.

Congratulations to Dallas and Sarah I hope they are very happy and I hope he takes care of my friend.

Train Trip

Wednesday I took my boys and went with some friends and their kids (7 mom's and 15 children in total) to Hanford. We rode the Amtrak Train there and back. We spent the day walking around the town playing at the park, we had lunch at McDonald's, and of course had ice cream at Superior Dairy. I was so tired when we got home but it was such a fun day. I enjoyed talking with the other mom's and watching my kids play.

It's Official

Well my mom finally did it, she retired. Yesterday was her last day of teaching Kindergarten. For years she has been saying that it would be her last year and for some reason this year she stuck with it. I think it's because her friend Marilyn Lambert is retiring as well. They have been teaching together for the last few years and she was one of the last of my mom's close friends who still taught with her at Forkner. Today she had a sale. She sold all of her things she has purchased over the last 20 years. My friends and I went in a took books and games and whatever else we could use for our co-op preschool next year. I keep asking her if she's sad but she says no. Everyone always asks her what she's going to do now and I hear how she's going to travel, spend time with her grand kids, and do whatever she wants. I bet I will see her less now that she's retired. Here is a pic of her and Marilyn at a retirement party we went to for them. I am excited for my mom and believe she deserves to enjoy this next phase of her life.

Chaz's First Haircut

Last Wednesday I took the boys to get them haircuts. As usual Chaz was better than Drew. He let the lady cut his hair while he sat there quietly. Drew complained the whole time and shook his head when she tried to come near him with the clippers. I am glad we did it though I think they look much better!

Memorial Day Weekend

We went to San Fransisco for the weekend to my brother's who lives in Half Moon Bay, about 30 min. south of the city. Two of my nephews had special birthdays in our religion so we went over to help celebrate and participate in their ordinations. The oldest Thomas turned 14 and the next Tucker turned 12. My mom, Kjell, my niece Madison, our kids, and I went to the city on Saturday. We started at Union Square but everyone but me got tired of shopping after an hour. So my mom and Kjell took the kids on the cable cars and headed to the Wharf. I was sad to miss out but enjoyed the time I had to go shopping by myself.

On Monday we all went to see Indiana Jones. At the theater they had some fun promotional displays. Drew had to have his picture taken fighting the Kung Fu Panda. He and his friend are so excited for this movie to come out, they have been talking about it for months. I think Drew looks a little uncomfortable in his "Kung Fu" move.

Ball Game

My friends had some extra tickets to a Fresno Grizzlies Baseball game. They are the triple A Affiliate for the San Fransisco Giants. We had a lot of fun, the kids loved the bounce house (not what I expected to be doing at a baseball game) and the food. I enjoyed kicking back with my family and watching the game. Thanks Smiths!