Spring in Utah!

This is what we woke up to! Love spring in Utah!

A little update

The plan to move to Santa Barbara changes daily. Mark is working for a distressed bank in SB and in order to be the CFO he has to be approved by regulators. That was supposed to happen in 30 days, the end of which was April 16. On that day, he heard that the regulators have asked for a 60-day extension (until June 17)! So in the meantime, he will continue to act as a consultant for the bank. We are holding off on the house buying until that little issue is resolved. We are considering renting for the summer so that our family can be together (what an idea!) but are having a little trouble finding something that works.

On another note, my Grandpa Curtis, who is nearing his 92nd birthday, has been having some health issues and is going to move into an assisted living center this Saturday. I'm hoping to get up there (Idaho Falls) to see him soon. It's kind of hard on my parents, especially my mom, as she has been going up there frequently to help out. They also work at the temple two days a week, a really early shift (they get up at 3 or 4!).

Brittany is steadily (frantically?) working to finish all her classwork for her two independent study classes. She has to finish all the math and take a final this week, and then she has to finish her English by the end of next week. She's getting there! She also got a job nannying for a widower with three little boys.

Jared is a very closed-mouth guy. I know he has a social life and he does come downstairs to eat once in awhile, but other than that, you will have to ask him! And Jared, if you're reading this, in your room I found the M&Ms that you said were all gone, and I have confiscated them. You'll never see them again (mwah, hah, hah)!

Tanner has been riding his bike this week. It is so nice to have good weather! He even rode it home from school one day. He is getting proficient at using the band saw and drill press; he brought home a project from his Intro to Tech class and worked on it last night (wood glue and everything)! We are still liking homeschooling! (Well, Tanner would prefer to just be on the computer using Styks, which is a stick figure animation program; or Sketchup, which is a 3D design program; or playing Burn-Out Paradise on the PS3, which is a drag-racing, bang-up car driving game!) We're limiting screen time to 2 hours a day, per the AAP's recommendation!

Kiersten is obsessed with her DSLite (handheld video game), but she broke it! So she has to wait three weeks to play it again until we get it back from repairs! (One less battle to fight!) She asked me to help her climb a tree in our yard yesterday, and when I told her it was a little small to climb, she informed me that she has climbed it before and sat in a little v-shaped spot. She loves to be outside. She's starting to get a little tan from time at recess. She is also learning to ride her bike without training wheels. She rode it with training wheels to school the other day and the other kids teased her! :0( But it's good motivation.

I'm chasing them all around and trying to keep the house clean. Time to start in with the yard work, so that will happen this Saturday. I got to go help my neighbor pack up some of her stuff because they are moving, and it was nice to do something for someone outside my family for a change!

Spring Break in Santa Barbara!

We went to Santa Barbara for spring break, and to move Mark's things there to his corporate housing apartment. He started his new job there on April 5 as a consultant until he can get approved by regulators to be the CFO. He is really enjoying it!

I looked at houses for a few days, and then spent a day shopping and playing on the beach with the kids. Jared was texting the whole time.

Someone suggested we do a jumping pose.

All the kids; this is at Stearns Wharf at the end of State Street in Santa Barbara.

We got some new sweatshirts at American Apparel on State Street. We also spent quite a bit of time at Barnes & Noble.

We rented a double surrey (bike where 4 people could pedal) and took turns driving. Tanner really wanted to drive, so we let him on a straight section, but he kept looking at his feet and driving into the grass! It was pretty hard to remember how to brake and to pedal, even with everyone helping. Great exercise. I managed to almost kill us all when I turned too fast and forgot to brake. It was one of those experiences that is funny... later.

Outside our hotel there was an avocado tree, and Kiersten kept bringing in avocados from off the ground. We ended up bringing 5 of them home!

We headed home a little early so that Jared could take the ACT test on the 10th. It was nice to have a weekend to recuperate from our vacation before school started up again!