April Madness

April was a crazy month.  Kyra and I had lots of fun playing outside with the beautiful weather.  We met my Brother's girlfriend and Joe got 2 new fly outs for interviews for job he was actually interested in.

On his first he got stuck in Kansas City because he was flying American Airlines and they grounded all their flights because their data base got all messed up, so he ended up staying an extra night and getting an early flight out.  When he got home Wednesday he was exhausted and went to take a nap as I went for Story time at the library.  When I was at the library Joe got woken up from his nap with a phone call from the company he had just interviewed for with a job offer.  He immediately called me and told me they had made an offer and had met all of his requested as far as location and salary and said they were flexible with a start date.  We were super excited but wanted to wait a few days just to make sure it was the right.  We asked for a fly out to the actual site (he had only gone to the company's national headquarters) but decided to accept anyway.  So he cancelled his other interview and instead of flying out alone for a job interview in Oregon, we both went down to Port Arthur, TX the next week leaving Kyra with a babysitter, my sister and a few friends for when she already had plans.

Port Arthur
Joe and I flew into Houston on Thursday and drove the hour and a half to Port Arthur where we had just committed to move.  About a half hour after we got the the hotel, Joe's new boss and his wife took us out to dinner at this awesome Seafood restaurant in Beaumont.  The next day we woke up and headed over to the chemical plant that Joe would be working at.  We went to the office building at the plant and looked over in the direction of where Joe would actually be assigned to, saw a flow chart of the process, and said hello to a few other people who were there (the plant gives their engineers every other Friday off so there weren't many people there).  We were at the plant for maybe an hour and then took the rest of the day looking at different apartment complexes with a general idea of when we might want to move in.  On the last complex Joe and I both liked it, made the deposit and signed up with a general date (which was kind of crazy because we had never talked to Joe's company and relocation department).  The next day we flew out of Houston in the early evening, so we went up early and went to the aquarium, which was pretty cool.

Kyra and aunt Tara

  So I was worried about leaving Kyra for a few days because in the past she has gotten really clingy if I leave her for too many hours, but she did great!  We talked to her on the phone every night and she had a blast with my friends and her aunt Tara.  Tara had a little phone shoot with Kyra while we were gone, here are some of the pictures.

Easter

Easter
Kyra had her first interactive Easter this year.  She loved it, mostly the chocolate candy. On Saturday we went to the BYU Easter Egg hunt with our friends the Pluims with their daughter Sadie.  While we were waiting it was amusing to see the differences between Sadie and Kyra.  Sadie was ready to go off and explore and play where the other kids were playing, Kyra was mortified.  Joe was able to walk her around a little until she realized mom was too far away.  Eventually she walked over to the other kids with Sadie, Sarah and Cameron and Joe got her to jump a little on the pole vault pad that all the other kids were jumping on, but that didn't last long before she was done.  the actual Easter Egg hunt kinda sucked.  There were enough eggs for all the kids to get 5 so that was the limit.  Instead kids picked up 20 and others none.  Kyra doesn't like huge crowds and all the parents and Kids went racing in the designated field to pick up the eggs but Kyra wanted nothing to do with it and didn't end up picking up any eggs.  We did get a few from a mom whose kid picked up a ton though, so she got some.

Easter Sunday was a little more eventful for Kyra.  After church and nap time, uncle Colin came over and we had an Easter Egg hunt outside.  Kyra found her first one and found out there was candy inside and instead of finding more she wanted to eat all the candy inside first (and I put too many jelly beans in them).  So the second she was coaxed into finding one she ripped it open and stopped to eat the candy.  We finally got her to just take candy from the first egg from dad and put the new eggs in the basket, but it took some coaxing.  Uncle Colin did a great job directing Kyra, dad held the basket and dispensed candy, and I took pictures.  Afterwards we played on the playground.

That night we went and had a delicious Easter Dinner with the Pluim family followed by a little Easter egg hunt in their Yard with the 3 toddlers that were there (Kyra, Sadie, and Amaya Sadies cousin).

Waiting, hoping and experiences

So Joe graduated in December and the plan is to get a job, move, buy a house, a dog, and order a sibling for Kyra.  Well January came and went, then February came and went and now we are nearing the end of March with no job offers and only a handful of interviews with a lot of silence from most companies.  The good news is that Joe still has work at school because his professor hired him on temporarily to do research and because we don't have a real job with a real schedule, we have been able to do things we may not have had the chance.

January
We were able to celebrate the birthdays of our friends Jenny and Quinn Linford and Joe was able to practice his cake making and decorating skills (he got a new cake baking book and tools for his birthday/Christmas). He made a Chocolate cake with white Chocolate cream cheese frosting for Jennys birthday.  It was pretty tastey but really dense (apparently their is a typo in the recipe and didnt have enough leavening).  He also practiced and perfected a vanilla cake recipe in January and we played alot of Dominion with friends and forced them to eat cake.

February

We got to see Joe's parent the weekend before Valentines day and had lots of fun with them.  We finally made it to the Dinosaur Museum up at Thanksgiving Point with a groupon deal.  Kyra was mostly sleepy but perked up for the end of the Museum.

Later that night we got a babysitter for Kyra and headed off to a Valentines dance with Joe's parents.  It was fun, Joe and I attempted to learn how to dance foxtrot and waltz...mostly foxtrot and Joe's parents we a great help.

 On Sat we went skiing at the canyons.  It was fun but super icy.




The next weekend I hosted a baby shower for my friend Jenny and Joe made an awesome block cake for it.  (Joe accidentally took all the pictures of the full cake in Black and White)

March
At the end of February Joe got a call from the Organ building company that he worked for and they asked if he would be interested in flying to Jacksonville FL for a week to help install an Organ in a personal home.  Joe checked with his research to make sure he could go (and with me), and booked his flight.  With this news (of the possibility of leaving me for over a week) I called my parents and asked if they wanted to fly Kyra and I down to South West Florida for that same week.  My parents were ecstatic and we booked a flight.  So from March 12th-20th we left on separate flights to go to different parts of Florida.  Joe was able to learn a lot about installing an Organ in a personal home (he wants to build one for our home someday) and I took my mind off of Joe by spending lots of time with family.

My trip was laid back and I spent some time with my grandma and some time with my parents.  I tried to take Kyra swimming but there were other kids in the pool and she wanted none of that.  But we did go on a little dingy ride and spent a lot of time playing outside.  My parents moved to a different part of Florida that has more of an old school Florida feel.  Kyra enjoyed being pulled around in a red wagon, eating the Loquats, and just loved being outside all the time.  I went to a Red Sox training game against the Twins and to a Blues Festival with my dad.  After those 2 excursions without Kyra, she made sure I was near her most of the time, very cuddly.  I did get sick with a cold and stomach flu (stomach flu kinda sucked and took me out for 2 of the 8 days), but overall I had a great trip and enjoyed spending time with the family.

The day I left we made a trip up to Homasassa to visit my great aunt Doris and her daughter Bobby.  She has faded since the last time I saw her, but it was great to see her and have her meet Kyra.  It was cute when we tried to leave and Kyra said bye to me and reached out to sit in Aunt Doris's lap to cuddle.  It was a little out of the way and made my travel day longer, but was worth the visit.

Now that we have the Florida trip over and done, Joe has some interviews on location and hopefully it won't take too much longer to find a job in a situation that is good for our family.

Finishing up the year

November

November was a busy month.  In the beginning of November we hiked up to Stuart Falls with my sister and her friend Ashley.  It was nice to get out and a good little hike.








November was also the first time Kyra ever played in snow.  First she wasn't too sure what to think but with daddy's enthusiasm she loved it.

And the BIG NEWS for November was that Joe finished and defended his Thesis.  At his defense his committee mentioned that he did a good job and would do good going for a PHD....our response was NOOOOO!!!  Joe has not exactly enjoyed most of his Masters program and we are itching to get out of Provo and have a real job.

Before Joe defended his Thesis we took a little break from it and went to Montana for Thanksgiving with Joe's family.  Kyra had fun playing with all her cousins and we even took Kyra over to see Matt's Great Daines (Matt is Joe's older brother).  Kyra was soo excited to see them she started shaking and ooh oohing.   She just loved them even though they were huge!  She is a total dog girl!

December

JOE OFFICIALLY GRADUATED!!  He wasn't a big fan of the hoop jumping to fit all of the guidelines, which included contradictory information, but he finished!!!  After he was all done he spent a fair amount of time working on the Organ he has been building up in SLC in a Catholic Cathedral.

For our Christmas tree we took our little family and my sister down to Payson and got a tree permit to chop down our own tree, which is a family tradition for Joe but newer for me and my sister.  We hiked around a lot to find one and ended up choosing the one my sister saw out the window as we were going to a new location.

On 12/12/12 at 12 pm, we were excited to attend my friend Megan's wedding.  I grew up with Megan and it was great to see her marry in the temple to her best friend Skip.  Later that night was their reception, which we brought Kyra to and she flirted it up with Megan's Nephew Luke.  They walked around the church talking to each other, and ended up back in the reception and Luke was so intently following Kyra that he ran into a chair, which made us all smile.  Unfortunately I never took a picture of them, but here is one of the happy couple.



Christmas time was busy, starting with tickets to the Mormon Tabernacle Christmas Concert in SLC.  We went to the Sunday one where they did music and the spoken word first and then finished the program afterwards.  It was AMAZING and I wasn't feeling well but soo happy I went!

Later that week our friends Brandon and Rachel came to town from Florida.  Brandon and Rachel are our good friends so it was great to see them.  They helped us frost some of the Christmas cookies we gave out.

 

Then we got to hang out with Joe's cousin and his little family that lived below us for 2 years when we rented a house in Provo.  It was awesome to see them as well, and amusing to see that their little girl who is a year older than Kyra was the same exact size as Kyra (she even weighed less!)

My parents flew into Utah the Sunday before Christmas and we were able to spend lots of time with them.  We had Christmas at our house with my whole family and Kyra had fun opening her presents.  One of her favorite presents was a little robotic dog that looks like a stuffed animal but barks and jumps in a circle.  At first she just liked watching it and got a little scared when it moved, but quickly warmed up to holding.  Now she needs it with her always.

On Christmas day we packed up the car and drove up to a ski house my Uncle and Parents rented up in Eden.  We were there from 12/25-1/2 my family and my uncles family and the occasional friends.  My parents were more than happy to watch and spoil Kyra the whole time.  Kyra slept in a closet in my parents room so it was like a real vacation, I didn't even have to wake up in the morning with Kyra!  Unfortunately almost everyone in the house got the 24-48 hour stomach bug, but other than that it was great.  Kyra, Joe and I had already gotten it earlier in Dec so we didn't have to worry as much about getting sick and we all stayed healthy. Overall we went skiing 4 times.  Joe and I skiing together 3 of the 4 times, the other times one of us was home with Kyra.  We had a great Christmas and celebrated New Years with my family.

Update

SEPTEMBER

So it's been a while since I have updated my blog.  September was a whirl wind, My sister came home from China, I was sick a few times, had my birthday, Joe had a couple of job interviews (one seemed to go really well but the company is on a hiring "pause"), and Joe was scrambling to write his thesis and do his last experiment.   We did manage to go to MT for labor day where we went to a Griz game (University of Montana football) and go wake surfing (first time for me).

OCTOBER
October has been fun.  Joe was able to attend an Organ Builders conference in Michigan in the beginning of the month, and it was the first time we have been apart for more than a night.  So I was a little lonely but my sister came over and hung out with me most of the nights he was gone so it wasn't so bad.  A week after that we went up to Idaho Falls for a Bell Family reunion for his grandpa's 90th birthday on Oct. 12th.  It was fun and Joe and I made a family tree on a piece of Muslin (apparently I forgot to take a real picture of it), it turned out pretty awesome.

JOE TURNED IN HIS FINISHED THESIS to his professor in the later part of the month, and has gotten it back with only some very minor adjustments before being sent on to his second committee member (he has 3 that need to pass him off).  That has been a huge stress reliever because he has to defend by the end of November to graduate in Dec.

After turning in his thesis we celebrated and went camping with our friends Jenny and Quinn Linford at Nine Mile canyon 19-20th on the Oct.  It was a pretty cold night, but Kyra did better than expected and we had fun around the camp fire.  It was fun to watch Kyra with the fire because she was smart enough to not go to close but she is also in the stage where she will copy things we are doing so she started to pick up the wood and hand it to Joe to add to the fire, it was pretty dang cute.  After sleeping in and having a great breakfast, we went wandering around the canyon looking at petroglyphs (they were everywhere).  We also went on a short hike which was fun and pretty (we apparently missed the trail full of petroglyphs and instead walked down a dry river bed up a canyon).  We forgot to bring our camera so I will have to put pictures up when I get them from Jenny.

For Halloween we were having a hard time deciding on a quick and easy custom, so the Linfords told us they were going as sesame street characters because they had a collection of sesame street hats and offered us 2. So for our church Halloween party we had a sesame street group and brought sesame street cupcakes (again didn't take a picture).  We won one of the awards for best desert and the everyone loved the sesame street group with a best custom to Jenny and Quinn (who actually did more than wear the right color shirt).  The next night our friends the Alderk's had a Halloween party where Joe decided to have fun making a cake (he had time because it was on a Sat versus the ward party which was on a Friday), so he spent the majority of the day making an awesome small wedding cake, and then put bloody slashes through it.  The best part was that it tasted good too!  White cake with a strawberry cream cheese filling and butter cream frosting.

The Sesame Street Group

Wedding cake

Halloween cake

KYRA NEWS

Kyra now loves to wear sunglasses, waves to everyone, says yes and no when asked a question (at least some of the time), loves the playground and isn't too sure what to do when there are kids around so she just observes but loves adults.  She is also learning how to share and likes to feed people her snacks.  Teeth count is up to 10 which includes 3 molars!

Recent Books:

The Painted Kiss by Elizabeth Hickey- amusing fictional story surrounding an artist in Vienna 

Saving Cee Cee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman- Cute story about a little girl who had a crazy mom

The Inn at Lake Devine by Elinor Lipman- Story about a girl in a jewish family who were denied service at a hotel and her obsession with it

Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat- Story about a Haitian girl whose is the daugher from a raping

The Choice by Suzanne Woods Fisher-  LOVED LOVED LOVED!  Story in the amish community- RECOMMEND

The Waiting by Suzanne Woods Fisher- Sequel to previous book...same community different family.  Currently reading