An Interesting "Last" Time

From Chris' Facebook Page:

"Today marks my last international trip with CA, where I've now worked for 10 years. If you didn't know, my company has been bought by a hardware company (Broadcom) and will be changing its business model drastically. It's been a great ride and I've enjoyed all the various aspects over the last decade. I'm close to working out a new job (have a couple of places I'm talking to now). I will be laid off in November and hope to have a new gig ready to go immediately. I'm excited for a new start."

Here's to new beginnings.  We will keep you posted when we know.

A Day Away

Every year on Chris' work anniversary, he gets the day off.  Most years we have been able to get away and explore in the mountains.  This year, we headed toward Colorado Springs and enjoyed a day exploring at Seven Falls.  We had lunch at the base of the falls at Restaurant 1858.  Climbing the stairs to the top of the falls was enough to wear a person out!  Great views though.

We drove to Cripple Creek hoping to find some great Fall color.  I really need to find a place in Colorado that offers more color than yellow!  While it is pretty, some variety would be outstanding.  Cripple Creek didn't have much to offer so we didn't hang around to long and found a back road toward Salida and then back in to Highlands Ranch.

A day spent with Christopher is always a good day.

Singing the National Anthem

Kristen was asked to sing the National Anthem before the girls' volleyball game at school.  She and her friend Reagan sang together and did a great job.

Kristen Was Bored

Kristen was bored one evening and this is what I found when I came out of the office.  I think she is adorable.

Babysitting and NJHS

The National Junior Honor Society group at the middle school planned a fund-raising event allowing parents coming to Parent/Teacher Conferences to drop off smaller children to be tended.  In order for it to work though, parents needed to sign up to watch the NJHS kids who would be watching the smaller kids.  Not enough parents signed up so advertising wasn't really done well.  I think there was only one or two kids that came while I sat and waited.

Amy Got a Job

It has been a struggle to get a job in Rexburg.  Amy has applied for so many jobs, had some interviews, been told no many many times, and been discouraged.  Finally on Friday she got her first-part time job.  She will be working in a small kiosk--Cocoa Lodge--selling hot chocolate.  We are so grateful for this job.

She has an interview for a second part-time job working as a receptionist in Rigby (about ten to fifteen minutes away).  Feel free to join your prayers to ours.

Triple Berry Pie

My dear friend Kirsten Savage brought me a pie to cheer me up.  Gluten free and delicious.  (No, I am not gluten free, but she is.)

Wookie Award

Chris went mountain biking yesterday and apparently won the Wookie Award for crashing not once but twice.  His mojo was definitely off as he hasn't had a major crash in years.

Here's Chris at some of his finer moments yesterday.

Emergency

I was out working in the yard yesterday.  I could hear all kinds of sirens and it sounded as though they were at Pelican Shores South Lake next to our lake.  The sirens didn't stop and got louder and louder until suddenly they were driving past our house to the lot next door where a new house is being built.

I walked over to find out what was going on and apparently one of the sheet rock workers had fallen one story and been knocked unconscious.  He had been able to get up and walk out to his truck where he remained until the emergency personnel arrived.  A collar was immediately put on his neck.

He was able to carefully climb out of the truck to the stretcher where he was then asked more questions, his back was checked, and then he was strapped to the stretcher.  Pretty scary.

Our front gate was broken and today was the first day that it had actually been closed in months.  Sadly, the emergency personnel had a hard time getting in and finally our HOA president, Steve Harbert, went down to help them out.  We will be getting a box installed that allows them to get access to our neighborhood with a special key and code.

Experience Rexburg

Amy and roommates attended the 2018 Experience Rexburg event designed to bring the community and university students together.

The highlight for Amy was being allowed to get in and then start up a 1974 Challenger.

License Plate

I am always looking at numbers and unusual combinations.  Notice anything about this license plate?

Bowl-a-rama

This is the last middle school Bowl-a-rama for my girls to raise money for the middle school's music department.  Kristen got to go with her friend Maggie and though their scores weren't stellar, they had a blast.

Amy and Liz

Since Liz only lives a couple of hours away, she came up to Rexburg to spend the night on Amy's couch.  As Amy was still waiting to hear about a couple of jobs, they took the day to have a little fun together and explored the Idaho Falls zoo  Apparently there was a ferris wheel close by that Amy snagged a quick picture on.

Misha Got A Job

Misha happily started a new job as a student custodian at her old elementary school.  She wears the vacuum "jet" pack on her back and begins to vacuum the classrooms and portables at the school.  She can listen to music and podcasts as she works and seems to be enjoying the chance meeting with some of her old teachers.

She sent me some pics of her old classrooms the first night she worked.  Ahhh, good memories.

5th Grade

3rd Grade Cubbies

Her feet and back are sore by the night's end, but she is already starting to notice some increased muscle tone.  Misha said she switched which arm she vacuumed with every other day.  If she were keeping track of her steps, she'd be logging some major miles each day.

New Apartment New Roommates

Amy was alone in her apartment for a couple of days before the rest of her roommates arrived.  Turns they are an apartment of Coloradans with four of the six girls from different cities in Colorado.  They all get along great so far.

Amy had plenty of time to get moved in before the other girls arrived.

Amy's actual room mate, Kaylee, didn't arrive until late Saturday evening.  It appears that Amy has met her match with Kaylee's sleeping abilities.  Kaylee is taking online courses this semester.

The other roommates are Alyssa, Alexa, Brooklyn, and Sierrah.  All freshmen I believe.

Here's a few of some of the girls after church last Sunday.

The Apartment Wreath

Amy and roommates found this hubcap on the side of the road last week on the way home from church.  It is now their official apartment wreath.

Longmont Art Walk

Used to be when the girls were younger that we took them to Longmont's street fairs throughout the summer.  They loved walking down the middle of Main Street, drawing with chalk on the road, trying to catch bubbles, and dancing to the live bands.

Chris and I happened on to Longmont's Art Walk and posted a picture for our girls asking "Remember this?"  It wasn't too long before I received a text from Misha, "Came down to Main Street for the Art Walk."  She drove with her friend Sam and Sam's younger brother to check things out as things weren't too happening at Frederick's Miner's Days.

We met up with Misha and company at Scrumptious, a popular ice cream shop on Main.  The Art Walk was okay.  The street fairs were more fun, and certainly more fun with the enthusiasm of little girls.

Cheering in Kohls

No, Chris wasn't cheering for the great prices!  He didn't think BYU was going to do so great with its football game against Wisconsin, so he agreed to come to Kohls with me while I picked out some fitness shoes.  He started watching the game on his phone and settled on to the bench in the middle of the shoe department.  Kristen was a lot mortified when Chris starting cheering, "Yes, yes. Go, Go." for BYU's first touch down.  "Shhhhhh, Dad."

Chris commented, "I can handle shoe shopping like this!"

A short time later, BYU was again in a position to score and we were just about to check out.  Chris didn't hide his enthusiasm this time, and you just know that every other guy at checkout was slightly jealous.

As we headed home, Chris kept the game on and all the while teaching Kristen the finer points of the game so that she would understand.  She and Chris headed for the big screen in the basement when we got home and made abundant noise each time BYU scored.  I think Chris is secretly glad to have a football-watching buddy.

Misha Mowing

Misha is ready to pass the mowing reins on to Kristen, but she still has some skill and swag driving the zero-turn mower.

Daddy Daughter Date

The Elder's Quorum planned a fun Daddy Daughter Date.  They drove up to the church in Lyons with it's covered pavilion, picnic tables, and open space.  My girls made tin foil dinners for themselves and their dad.

Chris arrived home from Germany and 45 minutes later, he was out the door with the girls.  Not only did they have the tin foil dinners, they also made peach cobbler in Dutch ovens, and then watched a movie--The Greatest Showman--outside using a projector and a sheet.

They had a great time together.  Misha left a little early to go to the football game at school, but stayed long enough to have dinner.

New Car

We had already been planning to buy a new car when my Pilot was damaged by hail.  The hail storm just sped up the process for us, though we had already narrowed down our options.  It was simply a matter of finding the best deal and Chris did just that.   Anyway, it happens that we now have three gray cars in the garage.  We upgraded my 2011 Honda Pilot for a 2018 model.  I like the sleeker, less boxy design of the newer Pilots. 

Switzerland

Chris finally made it to Switzerland for the first time.  I was just a tad bit envious.  With all of his meetings, though, he only had a few minutes to explore at dusk before it started to rain.

Love Notes

I love that we all leave notes for each other in this family.  As I was in the girls' rooms the other day, I spied the encouraging notes had Amy left for her sisters and then the goodbye notes a couple of days later for all of us.

This last note is one that Kristen left for me one night.

And Then She Left...

Always a sad day when she leaves home, but I suppose it helps that we will see her in a month when we all meet up in Utah for my dad's 80th birthday.

Amy Back to Idaho

It was sad to say goodbye to Amy though maybe a little easier since we will see her in a month.  She and I finished loading up all of her stuff in the Acura and then she was "almost" on her way.  She stopped first at Subway to pick up lunch for her and Kristen.  Next she dropped by the high school to say goodbye to Misha during her lunch break. Amy just missed getting to Kristen in time for her lunch break.  She signed Kristen out for about ten minutes so they could eat their Subway sandwiches together before Amy began the long trek to Idaho via a quick overnighter in Utah. 

A "rest" stop at Little America in Wyoming.

It was a happy reunion when Amy finally pulled in to Liz's driveway.  Amy spent the night with Liz before heading on to Idaho about two hours away.

A Trio of Lovelies

It always makes me sad that I don't get as many pictures of Amy as well as Amy and her sisters now that she is off to college.  We had the perfect opportunity to get a few photos of all the girls together on Monday evening as the sun went down.

Kristen

This lovely young lady was happy to share in the photo shoot fun on Sunday and Monday evening.