Hawaii

Hi all. Well we just got back from Hawaii and it was a blast. We went with the whole Vance clan and Seth and I stayed at my brother in-law and sister in-law's house. I got to meet my nephew for the first time and that was fun. He was blessed while we were there. Claire was a trooper. The flight was a nightmare (both ways) but she adapted pretty well once there. It was fun to be there with some natives because they really knew some fun things to do. I went snorkeling, boogie boarding, jumping of cliffs in pouring rain, to Pearl Harbor, to the Polynesian Cultural Center and much more! I am really happy to be home though. Here are some pictures (some of Claire with her cousin)

Meet Colt!

Colt K Lancaster was born Monday, May 14th at 11:16 a.m. He was 7 lbs 13.3 oz and 20.5 inches long. We are obsessed with this new member of our family!!

The brief version of my story is that contractions began Sunday night. After 13 hours of labor, it was time to push. After pushing for almost three hours (which it usually takes about one), I was exhausted and had torn a bit. Colt was stuck sideways in what's called tranverse arrest, and he couldn't move through my narrow bones. The only option was a c-section. I am so happy we made it through! My recovery is going quite well; it's been very helpful to have Adam around and to have his mom here to help. My parents get home a week from today on the 28th. Life is really great!!!

Enjoy these cute pics.

SURPRISE!!!

well kids... i know you're all shitting your pants because the one and only Olivia Winn has joined the brilliance of the blog group. you're sitting on the edge of your seat right now, gripping the mouse, hanging onto every word... some of you are even reading aloud because you can't believe this miraculous event is occuring. Oh come on... you've missed me. So the first time i was invited to this blog thingy i was special ed and didnt' follow the directions correctly and i failed to join. but karen caught me online today and told me she'd send me an invite yet again... so you can all thank karen cause i know you've missed me... especially you nicole, don't deny it. well. life is good. i don't have an official job right now... i'm just oil painting.. which is a good time...

so yeah... that's a little bit of my work... and i went from this

to .... this

so until next time.. hope all is well with you kids. and i can't believe you're all having babies... good times.

It's a ...

It's a girl! We went in yesterday for my ultrasound and we are having a baby girl! I am soooo excited! Justin really wanted a boy, but before we walked in I asked if he would be mad if we had a girl. He said no....and good thing! (After all, he's the one who determined the gender!) No, he is really excited actually! At work the other day he saw his manager's three year old daughter and decided little girls can be quite adorable! :) She'll have him wrapped around her finger!

The ultrasound was seriously the neatest thing ever! Just ask anyone who's had one! It was so fun to see her little body! Right now she weighs eleven ounces. She was really cute...she was waving her little hands in front of her face and she had her feet crossed at her ankles. It is seriously so amazing to see them moving around inside of you! Anyway, the good news is that she is healthy and it all seems more real now!

Read this!

I am reading a really good book right now and I think you all should read it! It is Smart Women Finish Rich by David Bach. He also has one called Smart Couples Finish Rich. It is great! It is really easy to read and has really practical, valuable tips and instructions on financial matters. It covers everything from budgeting, investment, insurance, home-buying, and lots else to help you understand how to be financially secure. It's just so important because these are the things that affect everyone. So please read! You will be happy you did.

I'm also reading The Poisonwood Bible which is my favorite book. I read it every summer and I'm making Jeff read it with me. Haha. It's more of a girl's kind of book.

I hope you are all doing well! Congratulations to Becky with her new little baby Colt! He is so adorable!

NEW LOOK

So...I was really starting to get sick of the black color of our blog! So...I decided to change it up a bit! So if you are confused just know that you are at the right spot! :) I wanted something fresher and I really liked this template so I hope everyone else does as well! I also added a fun quote at the top left that I thought fit our group of friend's perfectly! Although we don't see each other all the time I think all of us know that each one of our friends will always be there for the other! I know that this has been true in my life because (let's face it) I've been through rough times in the past and I knew that you were all there for me to support me! I know that was forever ago, but I still want all of you to know that I'm thankful for all of you for being my friend! :) Keep the posting up! I have really enjoyed staying in touch again over the last few months! It was sad when I didn't know what was going on with people and now that we have this blog I feel like we are all connected again! YAY for technology!

Graduation!

Well I did it. I am offically a University of Utah Alum. It's so weird. I am really going to miss college life I have really loved it. But we all have to move on right? This was a really long day. I had seen Spider Man 3 the night before so I was on no sleep and I went to the early Convocation with Pres. Monson, then this ceremony was at 6:45 at night. Here I am right after I got my offical picture taken.
These are all the graduates from my Newsbreak class. The old guy is our teacher.
These are my good friends from Newsbreak. Matt, Me, Adam, Lloyd and Alan. (Always with the boys :)
You know her. She actually stole the read thing. Which ironicly is called a stoll. Te he.
Well there you have it. Some pictures from the longest day of my life! But a fun one.
I leave for Hawaii in the morning. And if anyone gets bored Monday night turn on Channel 9 at 10:00 and you can see the last newsbreak sports broadcast. I know you BYU fans wont apprehiate it but I'm in it so. . .
Hope all is well. Congrats to everyone who has fun big changes coming up. Love you all.

Crib

So we don't have a new house or anything, but I thought I would add our newest piece of furniture! Justin's parents gave us some gift cards to R.C.Willey that were going to expire, so this is what we got! It's pretty basic and simple, but it will work! We are very excited to know what kind and colors of bedding to look for...which we'll find out in two weeks! We can't wait!

I am still feeling well, which is to be expected in your second trimester (usually). I am starting to show a little bit, but you can tell better in some things than in others. It really depends on the pants! I haven't felt the baby yet, but they say that from 18-22 weeks is when you may start to feel the baby. I am 18 weeks today, so pretty soon I'll feel some movement I'm thinking!

BTW Patrice the lotion you made is amazing! I absolutely love it and I want the recipe! If you have a chance and can post what you did, that would be awesome!! I have everyone smell it and sample it and everyone loves it! I showed my mom and sisters and they want the recipe too! Good work!

The last thing is I have to put in a plug for Layers! The Spring Line is up and launched and they have a whole bunch of really cute swim suits, dresses and t-shirts. I haven't had anyone volunteer yet to host a friends party, so if you're interested, let me know! The hostess gets to earn free clothing!! I just got my spring catalogs, so if anyone is interested, let me know and I'd love to mail you one.

Hope everyone is doing well! Love, Nicole

My House!!

Hey everyone! I didn't realize that I hadn't posted pictures of my house! I guess I forgot! So here they are! ** DISCLAIMER** These were taking BEFORE we moved in. I haven't taken pictures of it since we've moved in, but we've painted and done a few other things!
1) Is the outside view
2) Is my kitchen! I HAVE CABINETS!! I had like 2 in my apartment, so needless to say, I was pretty excited!
3) Family room & I'm standing in the kitchen nook
4) entry/living/dining room
5) Standing in our loft, looking at the extra bedrooms and stairs!

It's not much, but we really like it!
Whit

Out of the Loop

WOW!!! CONGRATULATIONS to everyone that is engaged or pregnant! That is so amazing and I so excited for everyone! I feel so out of the loop, when we moved into our house our Internet was all messed up so I haven't been able to really do anything besides check my email! But.. we're back up and running so that's great news! We are finally settled into our new house, it's SO much fun! I love it! It's crazy the little things I get excited about, like picking out paint colors, or buying a new kitchen table! Nothing really exciting has happened to us since the last time I posted, but I thought I would say congrats to everyone because everyone elses lives are so exciting and changing so much! It's amazing, I feel like I'm ready to be a mom too.. this is the last week of my BC pills... and then... well anything could happen! Well I love and miss you all!
Whit

Wow, things change so fast! Babies, dogs, houses, husbands, school and jobs!!! Things are crazy!!! It's been a long time since I have posted, so I thought it was about time! Things are great! Clint has one more final and then he is home free for the summer. In the fall he has one class and then he's done!!!! Actually, he has been talking about going to on to get a MBA so we will see. But all in all he is doing good! Bode, is almost 11 months and into everything! He has 8 teeth and chews on everything! I love hanging out with him all day and wouldn't change it for the world!!! He keeps me pretty busy, but besides that Young Womens is keeping me really busy. I have some fun news, we are looking at building a house in Syracuse, which is a little south of where I live now! I'm way excited, we have found a great builder and are looking at the options, so we will see how that goes! Well hope all is well!

Pictures

I thought I posted them, but they didn't show up!

New addition and Hawaii

Hello everyone,

I haven't posted for so long. I don't have the internet at home and so I have to come to my parents to get it. Homeless, huh? Well, the most recent thing for us is we got a dog! His name is Chevy. He is a black lab. We got him when he was 6 weeks old and he has grown so much everyday! He is now 3 months old. He was such a handful at first, but he is slowly getting easier. I never knew dogs were so much work. He is our baby. Also, we went to Hawaii over our one year anniversary. It was so beautiful. I loved it there. We did fun things like seeing the Polyenisian Cultural Center, Pearl Harbor, Snorkeling, Hawaii Temple, and we learned how to surf! It was a great trip. I would go back in a heart beat. Anyway that's about it for me. Congrats to all the pregnant people and newly engaged. That is so fun!

almost done....

So, of course I'm checking the blog instead of doing homework! My good news is that I am almost done! I graduate on May 4th, and then take off to Europe and Southeast Asia for the summer. We're spending 3 weeks in Europe with my parents, come home to go to Lake Powell, and then leave to Southeast Asia for 3 months where we'll visit Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. I really can't wait!

As a school project, we had to create a wikipedia article on a meteorology subject that interests us. Here is a link to the article I created, if anybody is interested. It's on wave clouds! They're pretty cool.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wave_cloud

Hello everybody!

Hi every one! This is my first time posting so sorry if it's not to interesting! I know I should have done this sooner but I didn't. After seeing everyone at Becky's shower i realized that I really have been missing out on everything that is going on. I just wanted to give a quick up date about me. I just got married 6 weeks ago to the greatest guy. his name is Scott Wilson. He is 29, from Orem and works for a company called Mstar we are in the process of looking into school for him to get his masters. We plan to leave in January but who knows We live in Cedar Hills and love it. Were actually in Chase Jensens parents ward. I finally graduate on the 27th from UVSC and the best news of all I'm pregnant. I'm due December 11th. We know its fast but we were planning on it so it's really no surprise but were so excited!! We hoping for a girl because both our families are all boys so cross your fingers! I'm not sick yet but I'm always hungry!! I feel like I eat all the time...I'm sure that some of you know how this feels. We will keep you updated! Well i hope I can keep this up, I can barley keep a journal so we will see how this goes! It was fun to read and see everyone on the blog. Talk to you all soon.

karlie

UVA

Seth and I just got back from "Darden Days"-the admitted students weekend at the University of Virginia (the business school is called Darden). Charlottesville is honestly amazing! The school is even more amazing. It is Jeffersonian architecture and is immaculate. The town is so charming and has so many fun things to do. We found a townhome that we love next to some members who are first years at Darden. It has 4 bedrooms, 3.5 baths, two fireplaces, and a back patio with a stream in the back yard. It is so perfect. Attached is a picture. We hope that we can secure it-maybe if you all pray that we will get it, we will! It is very underpriced too. I am so excited for this fun adventure. It is absolutely beautiful out there, so anyone coming to the east coast must come visit! We were also able to stop in Baltimore to visit my brother Paul and his wife Stephanie. Their son Luke is 3 and is huge, and their other son Liam is 4 weeks old and tiny (he wasn't even 6 lbs when he was born). It was really fun to see them

Continuing with the good news...

My good news is I'm PREGNANT! Ahhh! :)

I am due October 7th, so my big day comes a little after everyone else's! I am 14 weeks along. This past Friday we went to our second appointment and heard the heart beat! It was so neat and so crazy.

I go in for my ultrasound to find out the gender on May 17th. We cannot wait! Justin wants a boy so they can be "best friends" and I will be happy just to have a healthy baby! So far things have gone so well for me. I have hardly ever felt sick. As long as I get plenty of sleep and eat every couple of hours (I feel like such a pig!) then I do really well. I have never thrown up, so I feel like one of the select few lucky ones!

This baby will be grandchild #4 on my side of the family and the first on Justin's side, so his parents can't wait! Although my parents are excited as well. I still haven't told anyone at work, but I plan to do so soon!

TRIPLE Good News!!!

You guys will never guess! I heard the news of my life last week.

My parents were in town for 3 weeks, and they headed back to the Philippines last Friday. Well, I was talking to my mom on the phone to make sure I would get the chance to say goodbye. As we chatted, she met up with my dad. I could tell he was informing her to pass some information on to me. The conversation went a little like this:

MOM: "Oh, by the way, Dad says plan for me to be there for the baby on May 20th."
ME: "Really?! That's great, Mom!"
MOM: "Can he come, too? Can we both come - to stay?"
ME: "Well, sure! Do you mean that? I didn't know both of you would be coming. I'd love it!!"
MOM: "Becky, did you catch what I just said?"
ME (rewinding a little): "What? You said can you and Dad come. Oh wait, did you say TO STAY?!? Are you saying what I think you're saying?"
MOM: "Yes. We are coming home to stay."

It turns out that my dad got a phone call on March 9th, asking him to take a new assignment. My parents are coming back home! It is so shocking since we've all been preparing for another 1.5 years without them... But every time I think about it, I can't wipe the grin off my face!!

Double good news!!

Congrats Kathryn! I'm so excited for you! I love this blog! Does anyone else check it all the time to see what's new with everyone or is that just me?

I also have good news to share.......I got engaged today too! The Easter Bunny was very busy. :) He had a friend dress up as a huge easter bunny and deliver an easter basket to my house during my big family party. He proposed right there in front of everyone! I was so surprised because I also didn't think we'd be getting engaged for a few weeks.

His name is Devin Bland and we've been dating about a year and 4 months. We were set up on a blind date around Christmas 2005.....who ever thought blind dates actually work? :) He's great and I'm so excited! We're getting married September 12, Salt Lake Temple and Millennial Falls for our reception, so hopefully everyone can make it. I will post updated pictures of us later.....this one is almost a year old.

Congrats again K! Can't wait to see your ring!

Guess what!!!!!!!

I am engaged!! So most of you know that I met Jeff last summer when we were in Guatemala together and we've been dating since last May. It has been crazy the last year as he's been going to school in Utah while I've been working in California and DC. But now he's out here with me in DC and it has been so much fun!!! He planned an Easter egg hunt for us today and in the last one I found there was a ring! I was way surprised. Well I knew we were going to get married but I didn't think we'd be engaged for at least another month or so. We are moving home in July and will be in Utah for at least another year because Jeff has one more year of school left at BYU. We're planning on getting married August 7th, so you better all be there!! I think someone has a list of everyone's addresses, right? Becky maybe? I'll call you. Anyways, I am so happy and Jeff is the best!!! I am excited for all of you to meet him. xoxo

ps does anyone have any suggestions of places to look for wedding dresses? and any reception centers that they love? thanks!

Cancun and A HOLE!!!!!

Hi all! Well, Bryce and I were lucky enough to go to Cancun last week with my parents. We got back one week ago and had a blast! I finally got a tan! Getting a tan is very difficult when you are inside an office 40 hours a week. So it's nice to finally have some color! We didn't do very much. We sat by the pool a lot, which was fabulous! Bryce and I went parasailing (that is a picture of us...I promise), we went snorkeling a few times, and just played and had fun! I'm glad we got to go. It was great weather and it was sad to come home to snow last week...good thing the snow didn't stick to the ground! :)

The hole is the hole for our house (I'm sure you figured that out when you saw the picture)! I'm not sure how much many of you know about this house of ours, but I was told that I would have a house in this neighborhood in about 2003/2004. When Bryce and I got married we were told to only sign a nine month lease on our house because our new house would be done in June of 2006. Well...none of that ever happened! :) But, things are finally happening now! Our hole was dug last Thursday and the foundation is going in sometime this week! Bryce and I spent about 4 hours on Saturday (yes we missed the second session of conference...we are bad) driving around and looking at houses and going through a couple of model homes. I have to start picking everything out and I'm looking forward to it...but I'm also not looking forward to it at the same time! So...that's the "news" in my life as of right now! Most of you like to see pictures of babies posted on here...and...well...since I don't have a child yet, our house is my baby for the next couple of months. So I will probalby post pictures on here as things progress so you can all see our house turn from a hole in the ground to an actual home!!! I'm just extremely excited that things are happening!

Anyways...I hope to hear more from people. I'm glad that we have people posting and sharing their lives with us...but I still would love to hear from more! :) It's great keeping in touch since it's so hard to get together nowadays!

I love you all, Karen

Claire's first food

Hi friends! Yesterday we took Claire to the doctor and she is still in the 95th percentile for height and weight. She is so big! He also gave us the go ahead to starting feeding her. Today we fed her rice cereal. She seemed really weirded out by the texture (but most babies are) and she was so funny. It was really a blast. Being a mom is the greatest thing in the world!

Just saying hi!

Hey everyone! It has been a long time since I have posted and although I don't have a lot to share, I'll share what's going on right now with me!

Quickly Happy Birthday to Emily Waltman on the 23rd, which is in a couple of hours here! Justin's birthday is Sat., on the 24th and it is his golden birthday! 24 on the 24th! We are driving to Star Valley, WY tomorrow after 5 for the weekend to celebrate with his family. We haven't been up since Christmas, so it should be really fun! Justin's youngest brother Brad who is a freshman here at BYU received his mission call at his parents house and he will be opening it either tomorrow night or Saturday, depending on when the other siblings arrive!! We are very excited for him.

Work is going well for me. We are working on launching American Founders Academy (14-18 yr. old kids) and University. We are teaching morals and principles that schools no longer teach these days in public schooling in our courses. For the kids who may be attending school, this will be a supplement to their education. We are teaching classes on the Constitution, classes on economic prosperity, family studies, a bunch of other classes. Anyway, I could say a lot about it, but there's an idea!

Justin is still going to school full time and working 32 hours on the weekends! I'm really excited that I get to spend some time with him this weekend!! He plans on attending spring and summer terms at BYU and will study in the meantime for the LSAT which he will take either Sept. 29th or Oct. 1st. He will only take two classes fall semester to finish up and graduate in December of this year. He will then work full time starting in January of '08 until law school at the end of August...that's the plan anyway! He will start taking his prep class for the LSAT this summer again and he feels confident he will do well, so we hope he will!

I also wnat to report that Layers is very soon going to be introducing their spring line! I am really excited because I've seen a couple of pics and they are going to have some really cute stuff! Of course I'm supposed to say that, but I would say it even if I weren't a distributor! :) They are coming out with swim suits, boy shorts for swimming, spring/summery dresses, and of course shirts! I plan on having a party with our friends sometime possibly in April, so I will post about that when the date is sure so you can all come! Primarily it will be fun to just have a hang out so we can see everyone! It feels like it's been a while!

Well I hope things are going well with each of you. Christine your pics make me want spring to be here really soon! Ah! If only I lived in Vegas!!

Love, Nicole

My Reaction

I just can't believe all of these babies!! Are we really that old? Crazy!!!

Summer

So, since Kathryn mentioned summer, I had to brag about this weekend! We tried the pool out for the first time this season. The water is 80 degrees! A little too cold for Claire, but still lots of fun. Feel free to come visit anytime :)

Pinch!

I hope you're wearing green! Happy St. Patrick's day!!! And it's almost summer, I'm so excited!

Good day mate! (is that Irish? I don't think.) Top o the mornin!

Watch Out!

Okay, I've decided to be brave and post a picture of myself and my belly. Christine requested pictures of the little ones; this is the best I can do. :) In answer to the most common questions/exclamations I receive: Yes, the belly is huge. Yes, I still have two months to go, even though yes, it looks like I could pop any day now! At least this pic can give you a fair warning so you don't die of shock if you see me...

More Posts!

Hi everyone. So I have decided that people need to post more. I know you might think that you have nothing intersting going on, but you do! I want to know what everyone is up to, and I want pictures. I especially want to see pictures of the kids. They grow so fast and I want to see them change, so please post! Well, Claire is almost 5 months and we just took our first flight to Utah. She did pretty well. She is as big as her one year old cousin (in the pics). It is now in the 90's here in Vegas and I am not looking forward to the summer! Well, hope to hear from everyone soon!

Save some money!

Hey guys - As you're doing your tax returns this year (if you haven't already done them), here's a couple of things you might want to check out.

First, for those of you that moved in 2006, you might qualify for a deduction. I did and was able do deduct almost $500! Go to http://www.irs.gov/publications/p521/index.html to see if it applies to you (it's kind of long to read through, but you have to be sure you meet all of the qualifications).

If you paid tuition in 2006, you may be able to get a credit (even better than a deduction) for it. Go to http://www.irs.gov/publications/p970/index.html and check it all out. I was able to take the Lifetime Learning Credit and save $250.

If you made a contribution to a retirement savings plan (like a 401K or IRA), you can take a credit for up to $1,000 or $2,000. Check out http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=107686,00.html. Note, you cannot take the credit if you were a student for any part of 5 months during the year.

Make sure you take the credit for federal excise tax paid ($30 for single and $40 for married filing jointly). Everyone gets this one.

There are other deductions/credits that you might qualify for, but I think these are the most common for the situations most of us are in. It can get pretty complicated, so if you do it yourself, make sure you are really thorough and fill out the forms correctly. It would probably be worth it to hire someone. Let me know if you have any questions!!

Miss you all!! xoxo

Diapers

Hi guys

So, I receive a monthly email from a conservation organization called NRDC. (National Resources Defense Council)
The topic this month was the most eco-friendly way to use diapers; whether cloth diapers are better because they reduce waste, or worse because they require water and chemicals to clean. The answer was that it is hard to say, but they talked about a new company that offers flushable diapers. I think the general idea is that you buy fabric diapers, but there is a snap-on thing that you flush when it gets dirty.
I don't totally get how it works, but here is their website, if anybody is interested:
http://www.gdiapers.com

It seems cool, but not being a mom and having to deal with messy diapers, I don't know how it would really work.

Also, here is a link to the whole article about diapers:
http://www.nrdc.org/thisgreenlife/

Sorry if you're bored by now, I just thought it was such a cool solution!!!
Just for fun, here are some pictures from our President's Day climbing trip to St George.
It was 76 degrees! It felt soo good!!! (:

Me climbing at Chuckawalla

Jared bouldering at Moe's Valley

Happy Birthday Nanette!

Nan,

just wanted to wish you a happy birthday! Hope you are doing well

Baptism

Hey friends,

I wanted to make a new post but I couldn't think of any big news...then I remembered that a couple of weeks ago Adam baptized his grandma! She's almost 90 years old! Adam's mom Suzi converted to the church at 16. Her mother, the one that just got baptized, was totally against it and wouldn't let her get baptized. So Suzi got baptized when she was 18, and around 30 years later she converted her mom! It was an amazing spiritual experience to see my husband baptize her. He'd been hoping so long that she would join the church, and she finally did. She is the sweetest lady in the world. Here's a couple of pictures!

Before...



After...

Anyway, Christine your little girl is so cute! I hope everybody's adorable little ones are doing great, and those who are pregnant, I hope you're doing well also! (Even though I know that's probably not the most fun part!) I hope everyone had a great Valentine's day. I got Adam two little African Dwarf frogs for his valentine! They're so cute, they're tiny water frogs and they stay in a little tank with our Betta fish. He loved them! We also dressed up and went to a formal Valentine's dance at studio 600! It was way fun. Hope this isn't too boring of stuff to be posting...I guess for us, the small and simple things are fun too!

Not much else is new with us...although we are going on an Alaskan cruise in May. I guess I'll post a couple more pictures after that! Stay happy everyone!

--Meredith

Claire is 4 months!

Just thought I would share some recent photos of Claire. Patrice was right, they do grow up so fast. It is crazy! When I was pregnant each day just crawled and now they are flying.

High School Reunion

So I had a quick question: Does anyone know any information about our High School Reunion this summer? I am sure that Meghan does, but since she never publishes anything to this site, has anyone talked to her? We are going to be in Utah in August for a week before moving to VA and I was curious if it would miraculously be during that time.

Sports Broadcast.

Hello all. Just thought I would give you the option of watching my first televised sports report. For my final semester I am in a class that completely creates a 15 news broadcast. I am solely working in sports which I love, and I will get to anchor twice and report two more times. So if you are bored check out http://www.newsbreak.utah.edu/ The title says something about history being made and my name is under the title. I think it is the 4th story? Anyway. . .I'm super busy with two jobs and full time school. But I love school this semester, quite sad I am almost done to be honest. My friends and I are taking a week trip to Hawaii in May, right after I graduate. That's about it. School, Work, and Utah sporting events. That's all I do. Oh I am training for the half marathon in March. It's right before spring break. Then my friends and I are going to play in St. George for the week. That's it. Hope all is well. Hope you had a lovely president's day!

Karen's Update

Well...I think it's kind of ironic that I created this blog for everyone and I am one of the people that never writes on it! :) I just don't have much to say I guess! All I do is work every day from 8-5 and then go home and watch Bryce study (not really, but that's all he ever does...he is even having to study on Friday and Saturday nights now!) So happy I'm done with school!!!!! I guess there is one update I can tell you about...but it's not happening any time soon, but it's still exciting I think! Bryce and I are taking quite the big trip this year (again) and will be going to Europe for 2 weeks. We are starting in France and then we'll be traveling to Italy and then to Austria and the areas around there (Germany/Switzerland). It's just the two of us this time and I'm really excited to go. We will be going in July so it's still a couple months away, but it will probably be here faster than I think. We are also going to Cancun in March with my parents. I've figured out that in the time period of one year Bryce and I will leave the country 3 times on vacations: China, Mexico, and Europe. There's a very (VERY) slight possibility that that number could go to 4 if we end up taking one last trip in December. Bryce has always wanted to see 2 things in South America: Iguacu Falls and Machu Pichu. So if things work to our advantage we may go to Peru and Brazil in December...but that's just an idea for now! We both are figuring that we may as well get our vacationing in now when we don't have kids and while he is still in school and doesn't have a full time job. So...I guess we'll have to see what really happens. (Oh and keep in mind that this list does not include the many football games Bryce will probably want to see this fall.) HA...football! I'm glad it's over for 8 months! Not sure how many of you know how much I watch football...but it sure is a lot! Good thing it doesn't bug me too much huh?! But that's pretty much it for me at this time. No baby news yet...probably won't happen for a bit longer! :) Definitely can't be prego while in Europe, just in case I have the Christine pregnancy! :)

Hope everyone has a Happy Valentine's Day and that it's more romantic than mine! Bryce has a killer test the next day so he'll be in one room and I'll be in the next! :)

One more thing...I had to update the blog from the blogger account to a google account. I believe that when anyone tries to add a post now you are going to have to get a new sign-in or something. Sorry. I didn't want to do it, but it finally made me when I was trying to write this post. The website didn't change, just the login information will change. If any of you have any problems let me know!

East Coast in January

Hi everyone! I don't have anything very exciting to report, but I thought I'd post some pictures. The first one is Jeff and I hiking in Marland on a beautiful, sunny, 75 degree weather in January! It was wonderful all month, seriously I was outside in shorts every weekend. Very sadly, in the past couple of weeks it has gotten freeeezing cold. Brrrr! (it's times like these when I wish I was living in California or Hawaii or something!) The next picture is from a trip we took to New York a couple of weeks ago. It was my first time there and we had a blast. Do you guys remember Megan Fairchild? She got us tickets to one of her ballet performances and it was amazing! I don't know anything about the ballet but I thought it was great and she had a big solo part. The last one is at Mount Vernon (George Washington's old house).

Happy Birthday to Karen!!

Miss you all! xoxo

It attached the pictures in the wrong order, oops.

Big Kicks, Big Decisions

Well, I thought I’d clue you all in on the latest for Adam and me and the baby.

We have decided to name our little guy Colt. The pregnancy is going well, except my increased knack for being clumsy, scatter-brained, and emotional. Colt is ultra active and busy in my belly. I don't think he ever stops! It has gotten wild the last few days; I cannot imagine how it will be right before I deliver. Last time I visited the doctor he told me I was having a contraction. What the?! I couldn’t even feel it. But then, I’m sure I’ll be feeling it later. :)

Adam has an intense school load this semester – 23 credits! We decided it was worth it for him to take it all on right now, not have a job, and graduate in June (six months earlier than anticipated). He’s doing great; I rarely see him flustered, stressed, or doing any homework at home. I know he works REALLY hard while at school to manage his time and get everything done. Man, I love my husband!!

A lot of plans have changed for us in the last few weeks. Adam learned about some career opportunities with a construction company and was immediately called in for an interview. The company extended him a competitive offer as a Project Manager/Estimator… in their St. George office. We felt so good about it and decided to accept! Yep, we’ll be moving mid-summer. I am excited and know this is the right fit for our little fam right now.

That about sums it up. I am feeling fine and keeping busy with work. There is always something for me to do – travel, recruiting, HR tasks. If all goes well I will be working till the beginning of May. Hope this letter finds all of you happy and thriving!

THE END.

Oh, and I almost forgot – HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KAREN!! We love you.

About the FranklinSquires Companies

Hello all. I wanted to let you all know more about the company that I work for. Here is a little info that I pulled from the FranklinSquires website:

FranklinSquires is a private capital and consulting firm built on the philosophy of Prosperity Economics-- the “ancient principles” of prosperity rediscovered by America’s founding generation.
A person or society locked in serious financial bondage ultimately loses all other freedoms. Since its inception in 1999, FranklinSquires has been committed to helping individuals, families, and businesses worldwide achieve self-reliance, economic independence, and the liberating consequences of prosperity. This is accomplished through FranklinSquires’ commitment to developing a global infrastructure of education, media, and finance by working with inspired entrepreneurs building world-class companies dedicated to this mission.

Working here has been a great opportunity and blessing in my life. I have learned so many things and continue to learn more each day. There are many ways to get involved if you are interested in what we do and stand for.
-The owner of the company is Rick Koerber and he has a radio show...called Free Capitalist radio. You can go to www.freecapitalist.com and listen online or you can listen on 630 AM K Talk. He is a great speaker who talks with lots of passion and power and is very motivating.
-The Producer Revolution is a membership for those who want to rub shoulders with those who are like minded. They have forums once a week in several places in the nation...including several in Utah. There are many things included with the Producer Revolution including an online forum and message boards, a daily email, etc. You can find out more about this at www.producerrevolution.com.
-American Founders University is very soon going to open. It will offer classes four times a year with 8 50 min. blocks. Then the next 90 days will involve activities where you apply what you have learned in real life situations. Right now we are still working on the curriculum, but we are soon going to launch! You can find out more at www.americanfoundersuniversity.com.

If you would like to know more information or have any questions, let me know! I just thought I would share so you can know more about what I am involved with!!

Have a great day! Nicole

P.S. If you have seen billboards with people that say I earned such and such amount of money using my 700 credit score, those are from my company! Also there are billboards that say Free Capitalist radio and have Rick, the owner on them.

Just for everyone's info Ben Luikart's wife Andrea is pregnant! She's only about 6 weeks along, so she's got quite a ways to go. Ben is so excited! He prays every night that it's a boy, it would be hilarious if he ended up with all girls.

One of the rare moments when Blake is attacking Hallie! Other than that not much is going on. Blake is the sweetest little thing when Hallie's down for her nap and he's in the spotlight. If he gets too hungry all hell breaks loose! He takes after his daddy. Hallie's in the copy cat phase and is now telling me to 'hang on one sec' and 'stop it'. It just goes to show that they really are listening. She does have a jealous bone, Ryan cant give me a hug without her complaining about it. It's hillarious!

They just put our cabinets in our house and are starting to stucco, it's nice to see it turning into a home. We cant wait to move in!

Hope everyone it doing fabulous! and planning babies, ha ha ha; but I'm totally serious!

HAPPY VALENTINES MONTH!