We are alive

I can't believe it's been since September that I posted. I'm not promising that I'll post regularly now, but I wanted you to all know that we're all alive, kicking and screaming (well some of us).

Update-

Mark is doing great at work (still investing for AZ fund) and has started more seriously pursuing his second love, no not another woman, music.
He's in voice lessons and a big choir EVMCO (I can't remember what it stands for, but they're giving the Mo Tab a run for their money).
Mark has been studying voice with Jordan Bluth and is having a recital next month. He doesn't want a lot of people to know about it, so pretend you don't know when you talk to him.
Together with a friend of ours, Nate Curtis, Mark is starting an investment/economics group. I'm not really sure what they do yet, but their first publication is an overview of the US economy (think Econ 110).

I'm in school for the first time in, ahem, ten years exactly. (I graduated BYU in Dec 2001 and started a community college in Jan 2012). I'm taking anatomy/physiology and fundamental chemistry and I really LOVE both classes. It's like going home. School is something I've always been good at (not to mention I'm practically in grade 13 of high school at MCC). But really, it's so much easier than real life. You learn material, test on it, and move on. There's no pesky relationships to manage that require skill and patience, there's no complications that require nuance. It's just school. And I love it. I've got 2 more semesters before I'll have the prereqs met to apply to the Physician Assistant program at A.T. Still which is down the street. We've had some friends go there, so I'm excited to apply and I hope to be accepted.
I'm also still writing for The Exponent and working with LDS WAVE. I'm in my 9th and final year as a board member of the AZ Hemophilia Association and we are making great progress with the organization. We are ramping up for this year's Salsa Challenge, so if you're around Tempe on Sat April 28th, please join us! Lastly, I'm still teaching Zumba 3x a week and I picked up a Yoga class Tuesday nights in Lehi.

Jaxon, our 3rd grader, has found is new love since he outgrew trains. BEYBLADES. There is a TV show, and a bunch of toys that we have acquired. They are spinning tops with interchangable parts and I just hope that this means he will be fabulous at physics when he grows up :) Jaxon also has a new love for America's Funniest Home videos. He will watch this until the cows come home. He laughs hysterically at almost every video. During the school year, Jaxon read the entire Series of Unfortunate Events, 13 volumes! He loves to read and is working on the Chronicles of Narnia now.

Asher is our energetic kindergartener who actually kissed his little girl friend on the playground the other day. I asked him about it, he said, "Her face was just right there, so I kissed it! I kissed her nose!" He is just sweet and adorable with his little round cheeks and his beaming smile. He's so proud of all of his projects and the teacher calls him the class cheerleader because he encourages the other kids. Our friend teaches art in the class and she said that Asher has a very creative art mind and was the only boy to draw muscles on his life-sized self-portrait. He's learning to read and is persistent and devoted. I don't even have to remind him, he just gets out his book and works on it. Amazing.

Little Finn still stays at home with me most days, but goes to preschool 3 days a week. He's tons of fun and we call him, "Funny Finny." This morning Asher was arguing with me about saving a colored hard-cooked egg that he made. I said, "Asher, Easter is over. We are eating the eggs now. This is not a food museum (h/t Nate Steed)." Finn laughed while the others didn't even get it. Finn's favorite friends are girls. He loves to play pretend and yesterday pretended he was pregnant with a stuffed animal under his shirt. When Lucy told him he couldn't pretend to be a girl, he told her, "Yes I can!" That's my boy! Er, girl. I guess he's always known I wanted him to be a girl ;)

We have had a lot of fun as a family this year and have plans to see Disney on Ice this weekend (we got 3 free tix, otherwise we wouldn't go). Hopefully we'll make it out to Michigan for a few weeks this summer. We really enjoyed it last year.

So, in addition to not posting, I've not been reading blogs either, so if you make a comment I will go back to your blog and read it! (How's that for an incentive to maintain friendships?)

Blogger Swap at Exponent and Doves and Serpents

Today begins our week-long swap between bloggers at The Exponent and Doves and Serpents.

I did a column called, "Ride to Church" featuring all of the churches I saw in my short 3 day trip to Europe.

Check out the Exponent post here, too.

I hope to be blogging more here as well, like maybe the kid's first day of school pics, you know since they've been in school for 6 weeks already.

Visiting Skopje, Macedonia

My work with the hemophilia community too me to Skopje, Macedonia last week. I'm evaluating the local patient organization for a potential twinning program. As an established chapter, we would spend 4 years helping the Skopje association work towards better organization, fundraising, programs, and services for members of the bleeding disorders community. Although this is my first trip to Europe, I'm amazed at how comfortable I feel, not only in the hemophilia community, but in the city. One of the well-traveled staff mentioned that Americans sometimes say that America is the "best" country. I don't believe that because each country has it's greatness and it's problems.

I loved the people, the food, the city. We traveled out of the city up to a beautiful lake called Matka (First photo). We ate at a restaurant up there and visited a very old Orthodox church. I learned from a Macedonian I met at the airport that Matka means "womb." I found it very fitting considering how beautiful the area was and how difficult it was to access.

The people of Hemalog, the Macedonian hemophilia society, were very kind and generous. One man, Simon, gave us some of his homemade wine and brandy. They also treated us to meals and showed us around the city and surrounding areas.

We toured the medical treatment areas for hemophilia and I was impressed at how well it seems

to operate. Many patients are now on home care for their bleeding disorders which is a huge step toward a healthier population. In the future, we hope to help them as they continue to advocate for increased access to clotting factor.

Despite some drama on the return trip home (Tony, my traveling companion lost his passport and I was forced to leave him at the last minute), the visit was really amazing and I am so glad I had the opportunity to go.

But, the twinning program lasts four years, so it is likely that I will return in the future. I look forward to it.

Here's my webalbum.

Update!

We had a such a great time in Michigan, I can hardly believe we've been back for over a month.

As we gear up for fall travel, I'm thinking about what else we can do with our family.

Here's the link to our webalbum.

Jaxon (age 9) just started 3rd grade and Asher (5) just started Kindergarten. Both of them like their teachers. Jaxon has a pet hamster in his class named Brownie. Asher has 28 children in his class, but they are hiring a new teacher so he should be in a smaller class soon!

Finn is ready to start preschool on Tuesday. He's been soooo bored at home without his brothers. He asks to play with friends EVERY DAY. If you live nearby, let's get together and play.

Mark is loving BYU football season and is beginning a business venture with a friend.

I'm volunteering more with the AZ Hemophilia Assoc, in fact I am going to Macedonia this week for an initial visit for a twinning program between our chapter and theirs. I still teach Zumba 4-5 times a week and am looking to build my private class with friends and family. I'm thrilled to have a small following of people who follow me around to different clubs where I teach.

Recently I blogged at Exponent about getting ready to start a career. I got great advice from friends (and strangers) about how to get back into the workforce, go back to school, etc.

We love having my mom here living with us. She is such a loving person and a resource for our family. She has great ideas on how to teach and feed my kids, clean the house, and organize my life.

This fall Mark's brother, David, gets home from his mission and I hope we get to fly out to say hello to him.

Mark has a business trip to NYC this fall and I want to go with him and see The Book of Mormon, the musical. But I just looked at tickets and they are more than $200 each! Sigh.

Maybe when it comes to Gammage in a few years :)

Also, our family has a team for the Hemophilia Walk on Nov 6, 2011. The Walk is at the Phoenix Zoo and we're inviting all of our friends and family to join us. (Here are photos of the Walk we did a few years ago)

If you are interested in joining us or donating to our team, please visit this website.

Goodbye to Grandma Michele and Grandpa Larry at the airport!

That's us at the minor league baseball game that was rained out (it only rained 3 days the whole month we were there!)

Asher is holding some of his fabulous pre-school art.

Jaxon helps his Uncle David fix the soap dish in the shower. David is such a great kid, he's nice and so helpful!

So there is a lot of randomness from us, and a little update of what's going on in our lives.

I Scream! You Scream! More Ice Cream!

I just looked through our Michigan pictures and about half of them have us eating ice cream.

I guess that's a pretty good sign of a great vacation!

An Adult Mind in a Child's Body

Jaxon's been his funny self lately.

We were organizing the house in preparation for my mother moving in with us for a few months. I got a big plastic tub for each of the kids and told them it was their memory box. I gave them each their baby books, small framed baby pictures, trophies, and other memories to put in it.

As Jaxon is loading his soccer trophies (that have previously been on the shelf) into the box he says to me, "Mom, why am I doing this? It's not like I'm packing for college."

Oh yes, Jaxon, it's not like that. But thanks for seeing through my plan to de-clutter your room!

2. Yesterday our A/C went out, again! I took the kids to Neilsen's for ice cream (and we shared a hamburger). Let me be clear, I didn't get my own ice cream because I'm realizing that it makes me feel sick and I don't want the calories, etc. So I was just sampling Jaxon's lemon custard and didn't realize how much I had eaten until he asks me very politely and innocently, "Mom, why didn't you order your own?"

Yes, you see through me again, Jaxon. :)

3. This morning Jaxon asked me if I thought "Jaxon" was a good name for an adult. He was worried that his name sounded too kid-like. I asked him what name he wanted when he was an adult.

"Nick," he replied.

And June Is Almost Over. . .

I've thought about blogging maybe twice this month. I guess I'm out of practice :)

Here's an update of our lives.

Mark- Just moved offices at work. Now he's by himself, with a lot of room. Apparently the person before him was really messy and had a lot of furniture so people walk by the office and do a double take. He's enjoying the slightly shorter commutes of the summer.

Me- Teaching Zumba 5 times a week. Four at Fitness Works and once at home/ in a studio soon. Check out my Zumba blog for more info. I'm also considering going back to school to get my MBA. I still have a lot of other ideas on the table right now, but since Mark's program seemed so easy (because Mark makes everything look easy, even parenting) and it's a pretty diverse degree, I'm thinking about taking the GMAT and applying for next fall.

Jaxon(8) starts 3rd grade next year and we anticipate success. Second grade was a real turning point for him, as his behavior and reading improved a lot (thanks, Concerta). But honestly, we're really proud of him! He went to Hemophilia Camp for the first time, or as he would say, "Homophilia Camp" and LOVED it. On the way home he said to us, "I can't wait to go back. And when I say I can't wait, I mean I can't wait." Of all the things he did at Camp HONOR, learning to skip rocks was on the top of his list. Jaxon turns 9 next month.

Asher (5) starts kindergarten this fall and will ride the bus with Jaxon and stay all day! We're excited for him. I think he'll love it. He's busy being a little bear cub around the house. He's rough and wrestling, but still loving and sweet. He's my biggest helper around the house, helping me cook and volunteering to take out the garbages and vacuum. Both of his brother's play well with Asher and he's a very brave swimmer, jumping off the diving board at the public pools!

Finn (3) will go to preschool 3 days a week this fall (both of us can't wait!). He is our little social butterfly. He's always asking for friends to come over, or to go to a friends house. More mature than our others, Finn generally asks to play with girls who are older than him, including his long time crush, Mina (5). He's taking swimming lessons for the first time and loves it. He's so independent he doesn't want help and just swims as far as he can holding his breath. Finn is also our most responsible child. He comes into our room at 6:30 AM already dressed and continues to help me out throughout the day.

Our kids are all in swimming lessons for just 2 weeks. I also do a playschool (or I try) a few times a week to keep them interested in something other than the TV.

Big news for our family-

1. My mom is moving in with us for a few months. She and my dad recently divorced and she's going to stay with us for a while to figure out if she wants to go back to school, get a new job, etc. We're excited to have her and hope that we don't drive her crazy with our noise and mess.

2. We're headed to Michigan for July! I've been trying to make this trip happen for a few years, but this year I finally convinced Mark. And while I've been planning the roadtrip since January, I only yesterday decided it was better to buy plane tickets. I'm going to give the credit to my friend Danielle and also to Jaxon who says EVERY TIME we talk about the trip, "I don't want to drive to Michigan. I want to fly." And he has no idea how long 31 hours each way would be. So we dodged a bullet on that one.

Thanks in advance to Mark's family for hosting us while we're out there. We hope that we don't drive them crazy with our mess and noise (Is there a pattern here?).

3. We just returned from a trip to San Diego for Mark's grandfather's memorial service. Grandpa Barney was a wonderful man and we'll miss him deeply. You can see the photos from the funeral here and from our quick visit to the beach (it was 68 degrees!).

Mark's Family at the Gravesite

Grandkids and Greatgrandkids

Super-Dad Mark in Action!

Almost the whole family. . .

(Notice my necklace, it's a photo of Barney when he was young in the Navy) Thanks, Margo!