The Big 30!

Jared turned 30 yesterday! He spent his birthday studying, going to stake conference and oh ya, taking Eliza to urgent care....she managed to fall off the counter and slam her head on the tile. No blood, luckily no concussion, but man it looked like it hurt!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO A WONDERFUL FATHER AND HUSBAND...WE LOVE YA!

Yes, we are still alive...

Talk about a blogging hiatus. Its been a crazy spring, I can’t believe May is just around the corner. I’ve had a lot of people (mainly outside of the Houston area) ask what is going on with the Space Program and there is no defined plan….and so we wait, patiently (we’ll kind of patiently; you know how impatient I am.

Jared got a call in March about transfers to Huntsville, Alabama. At first it was just another application, but soon things got serious and we realized there was a good chance we would be leaving Texas within the month. So we made a mad dash to do ton of minor house projects (you know the towel bars that break and you stick under the vanity). Within three weeks, we replaced some siding, painted trim, re-textured bad patches in walls, sodded a portion of the yard, planted a few trees, put in a new shed floor, rewired lights and the list goes on. All I have left is to refinish the three bathroom floors and I feel like our house would be close to market ready.

We found out a few weeks ago that the main contractor lost its bid and the transfer was for a subcontractor so the position was canceled. And so we stay put (which is a relief). Jared is tied to his job because they are paying for his Masters, if he leaves voluntarily he has to repay…. so we’ll be here at least until fall. It’s an odd feeling, waiting for the potential ax, but we have faith things will work out – they always do. We do our part and the Lord will do his.

Erin has been busy with T-ball. She is actually very good (I feel a bit guilty being surprised by this, but Erin takes after her mother and is not overly athletic).

Eliza started with a new speech pathologist last month and is making great improvements! It’s been a long road but she is starting to talk in phrases.

Ike is so close to walking. He likes to push things around the house and now can make it all the up the stairs and does fairly well coming back down.

My garden is in full swing and I have scored of little green tomatoes, can’t wait until June! We finally got our girls camp director last week. We have worked together before and I am really getting excited for YW camp this year.

And out of all of us Jared has the daily grind, Work, school, church, work. The highlight of his week is Erin’s t-ball. It has become their little activity together and is really cute.

Busy afternoons

Digging through desk drawers and eating crayons...that's the life!

Easter

We had a wonderful Easter and spent it with good friends and family watching the Spring LDS General Conference and eating dinner together.

Its a week late but we thought we would take photos of the kiddos in their Easter outfits....easier said than done. I don't think any one turned out great, but humorous to scroll down.

Swing batter batter batter….SWING

This spring we signed Erin up for city T-ball and she loves it (minus that her uniform is gray, talk about a drag). As un-athletic as she is, she has picked it up and has a great throwing arm.

Erin has been hooked on The Sandlot, she stood like this for several minutes :)

Jared is an assistant coach and is really enjoying helping out and getting to spend some time with Erin. I missed her first game last week but we all got to go this Saturday. They don’t keep score, there are no outs (mainly because no one can catch the ball) and they only run one base at a time. The main goal is to 1. Teach them to hit, 2. Get them running in the right direction, and 3. Teach them which hand their glove goes on (I’ve learned there are several possible ways to wear a baseball glove, who know). Its a slow moving game but I had a great time watching them. She played first base and did a great job (throwing the ball back to the coach). GOOOO STINGRAYS!!!

Strawberries Galore…..

Kallie G. and I took the kiddos out to Frogberg Farms last Thursday. It’s a pick your own Strawberry farm. Last year we picked way too many and canned who knows how many jars and strawberry jam. So this year I was excited to go, but made a promise to myself to keep my pickin’s to 8 lbs or under.

Erin and Eliza grabbed their buckets and started picking (and eating) and before I knew it I was loading over 15 pounds of ruby red strawberries into my van. So Friday was a canning day ; 7 pints of strawberry raspberry jam and 8 pints of cranberry strawberry jam. As delicious as it is I am so sick of it. Guess everyone knows what they will be getting for their birthdays this year