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?)