Drumroll Please!

Well, as of tomorrow morning it will be official- we will be moving to LAS VEGAS!!! Dustin got offered an amazing job there and we will be taking it!! We are SUPER excited- the job has amazing benefits, it will be a tad bit warmer than Indiana (just a tad) and we have family a little bit closer!! We aren't sure exactly how it is all going to happen or when we will be moving but are slowly working on the details. SO- if you have any contacts in Las Vegas please email me or leave them on the blog because we would love any info!!

We are super excited for this weekend as family is coming in town-and excited to share our fun weekend with everyone!!

Teething and an Ear Infection

Sounds like a fun house right?? Let me tell you, we are having a BLAST (sarcasm intended)!! Bennett (cute Mr. Chubs) is working on his top chompers and they are oh so close to being here...hopefully by this weekend they will have made their long awaited arrival. Even though he is in pain he is still (for the most part) super happy.

As far as the ear infection, well Halle started having allergy issues and with that I know comes ear infection (at least for her)! And how do we know when she has an ear infection...does she do any of the signs that you read about- you know; pulling on the ears, etc.... no she just gets plain mean. So- needless to say we had a fun weekend of ibuprofen, clariton, and antibiotics. Hopefully everything will be better because Dustin is graduating THIS WEEKEND!! YYIIPPEEEE!! All of our parents and my sister-in-law Anne is coming up to celebrate!! (can you tell I am excited??)

Hopefully everyone else's kids are doing much better than ours.

The Surprise

I had no idea what we were doing for our Anniversary, and Dustin really have me thinking we were doing something off the wall crazy! I had packed workout clothes, a swimsuit, and had to have a snack before we went to "tie me over" so I wouldn't get exhausted. Then the whole way there he was giving me clues like, "Have you ever been bungee jumping... have you ever been to a ferris wheel...etc..." I had NO idea what we were doing.... until we pulled up to the parking lot of a SPA!! For our anniversary we went and had couple massages (an hour long) and they felt SO NICE! With chocolate dipped strawberries and candles it was definitely a nice surprise!!

Happy Anniversary

Happy Anniversary sweetie! I love you!!

Kids

Dustin did always say that he wanted 5 kids...so does this mean we are done??

Birthday Weekend

We enjoyed a great weekend celebrating Dustin's birthday. It started with a dinner at Texas Road House,


coming home for presents

and then a scrumptious chocolate cake and icecream. Halle loved helping out with the present opening, and celebrating the birthday....I think to her the past 4 days have been his birthday!

First earthquake!

Well we had an exciting (call it that) moment this morning when I was feeding Bennett and all of a sudden the whole home started shaking! It was about 5:30 in the morning so it was still dark...and my mind was going nuts! At first I thought I was having some sort of stroke, then realized that I don't think i would be coherent if that were happening. So I figured it was really an earthquake or it was just too early in the morning. After checking the news this morning it was an earthquake...and it was a 5.4 of the rictor scale!! Super fun way to start off a great day!

Happy Birthday!

Today marks the big 28 for Dustin, and even though he won't have the opportunity to celebrate with me and the kids (due to being in Vegas and then the blasted club night) I wanted to let everyone know how grateful I am that he came into this world when he did!!

Here are 28 wonderful things about my husband that I love:
1. He loves me for me

2. He loves spending quality time with the kids, and yearns for each extra second.
3. He is a hard worker and will give his all.
4. He is a worthy priesthood holder
5. He loves his parents

6. He takes out the trash for me
7. He is so darn handsome


8. When we go on trips he drives through the night...all night. (He says so I can sleep but maybe he is scared of my driving?)
9. He is diligent about studying the scriptures

10. He has an undying appetite for whatever I might make (remember those vinegar pancakes?)
11. He is supportive in all the things and projects that I want to do.
12. He paints my toes when I am pregnant
13. Then he pays for me to get a pedicure when I am pregnant :)

14. He is a champ helping out with the newborn stuff
15. He has the ability to make REALLY good guy friends, the kind that we will have forever (and I always love their wives too)
16. He loves all the different hairstyles I go through, and encourages me to continue
17. He strives for more education

18. He makes me dinner when I don't want to cook
19. He is eager to watch the kids if I need to do something
20. He loves spending time with us
21. He is humble (didn't give any of us a birthday list, because he didn't want anything)
22. He loves my family...all of them (and there are a lot of extended family members that come with the package)

23. He is head over heals in love with me, and lets everyone know
24. He always cleans up the dinner dishes, and if he can will help me cook
25. He is a clean freak
26. He is wise with money (investing etc)
27. He makes me become a better person

AND

28. Because he is my knight in shining armor

I LOVE YOU an amazingly great day!!

Supposed to...

As many of you know Dustin made a FANTASTIC video while the Kids and I were in Texas (if you missed it PLEASE scroll down and watch it!!). Many of you might be expecting something for Dustin as we miss him tons but lets all be honest here- #1 I have no idea how to do anything of that sort, and #2 I don't have near as much time on my hands with two kiddos running around. We are doing great, and miss him. Look forward to something exciting on the blog tomorrow since it is his B-day...

The Job Search

Aahhh yes, the job search. Not much has happened to us (the kids and I) lately so I thought I would update everyone on one of our most frequently asked questions. How is the job search going, when will you be moving, and where? Those are all very good questions...and the hardest part is that I don't have exact answers. In Dustin's field that he is going into (Higher Education Administration) the job market didn't open up until just about 2 weeks ago (when the end of the semester is).

That being said my husband has done an amazing job finding REALLY good jobs that would both fit him perfectly and that I would be excited to move to. Thus far he has had first time interviews (phone interviews) with schools in Las Vegas, Arizona, and Indiana (yes we do love it here). Next week he will be meeting face to face with a school here, flying out to Las Vegas for another interview and this is only the beginning!!

We "aim" to start our new job around July 1st (and yes I said we because this is a group effort here). We are going on holiday with my parents in June and hope to start shortly thereafter. More than likely getting an apartment so that we can get to know the area first, then buy a home after finding what suits us best.

This is a very exciting time for us and we will keep everyone posted when we "secure" a job. As I keep reminding myself-in the market that we are in finding a job is like getting married. When Dustin flies out to meet his future employers he has to be happy working for these people, in their environment...because I mean come on, you don't marry someone with the thoughts that you will get them to change. You love them for the way they are. I am proud of Dustin for working so hard throughout his Masters degree so that he can have the "pick of the litter" when the job searching time came around. There are so many other things that I want to say, but lets just suffice it all by saying that I love my man.

Happy 7 month!!

Yesterday was such a beautiful day that we had to get out and play!! We had a blast and went to the park with a lot of friends-enjoying a small picnic. After naps and dinner we just had to go get a Brusters icecream cone!! (SUPER YUMMY)

Halle got a vanilla with sprinkles (doesn't stain as bad as a bright purple cone)

And Bennett enjoyed watching us eat...(poor guy) but he is 7months old as of yesterday!! Time has flown by since he was born- he is quite the talker and really enjoys sitting up and watching around. (I am in no hurry to get him crawling so I am quite content with him sitting!! )

What a day!

What a fun day today! We started it off at gymnastics (which Halle loved)! I still am not too happy about paying for Halle to run around the gym crazily with no instruction whatsoever.
Then hurried over to cheer for friends that were running the IU mini marathon Bob and found that Lisa Esplin was running too!! It was such an inspiration to see all of those people running...maybe one day I will complete one too! (Yes, I was registered for one in about a month, but due to ALOT of family coming in town for Dustin's graduation we decided to postpone running so that we could spend time with them.


We then started watching conference (which for those of you who don't know is when the leaders of our church address us on both Saturday and Sunday twice a year via a conference in Salt Lake City...we watch it on the internet). ANYWAY we were watching it when all of a sudden a name was said that sounded familiar, and my Uncle was just called to the second quarm (sp?) of the 70! James Martino, (how exciting Kim, Emily, Karina, Lauren and Ben!!!) So that was super exciting!

And am ending the day watching the movie Enchanted while Dustin is at a meeting (and am LOVING it so far). Hope everyone had a great day too!!

Chuck E. Cheese

On our last day Grammy took us to Chuck. E Cheese...and it wasn't crowded!! (amen) Halle loved riding the horse...I think she rode it 10 times... at least?

Bennett was being a super cute ham the whole time- he did NOT like the mouse though.

And here is Halle posing with her Aunts! She wanted to be on her knees just like her Aunt Natalie!

Playing with family

Halle loved playing catch with my Grandma and Grandpa. She was super cute and didn't want anyone else to play, I think she has a special place in her heart for them.

We also got to meet Pappa for lunch one day. I think we decided, well no, the kids decided next time we will have to meet somewhere more conducive to kids!

Working on the farm

Halle got to (as she said) "go work on the farm" on day too. She loved playing with the cows (yes they are VERY tame), riding horses, and cleaning the stalls (yuck).

Zoo

Halle really enjoyed playing with her cousin Landon while in Texas. We even got to go to the zoo with them!! She still is talking about her friend Landon...and asking when we are going to see him again!!