So, remember my post a few weeks ago? The one where I felt so sad and hopeless because our car had broken down and we were having trouble coming up with the money for Jonathan's school? Well, some updates on that situation. We bought my friend Joel's old cheap car and so far it's working out great.
On the school tuition front we applied for federal aid and actually were awarded two grants. Each one for $400 each semester. Then, Jonathan turned in his paperwork for tuition reimbursement and got $400 back from that. So, that's a total of $1200 each semester if we get the same reimbursement from Maverik for fall. Here's where it gets really neat: Jonathan's tuition for fall: $1179. It's covered. We were so worried about it. We'll have to come up with a few hundred dollars for books, but his tuition is taken care of. Isn't it great how the Lord will provide? Have faith, pay your tithing, work hard, and things will work out somehow.
Monday, June 25, 2007
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Addicted to Swimming
I swear that Gwen is addicted to swimming. So far this summer we've been to our condo's pool a dozen times or so. Well, about two weeks ago we went through a typical Utah early June cold snap and it rained in the valley and snowed in the mountains for nearly a week. Gwen was super grumpy without her pool fix so we filled up our big tub and let her play in there.
Also, here's a picture of Gwen's favorite toy - our 7 year-old border collie, Boot.
Saturday, June 16, 2007
The Internet of Doom
So, I'm finally giving in and getting the internet in my home. It's being installed tomorrow. This after a vow to NEVER have the cursed thing in my home again. Hopefully I have learned from my past and will be able to enjoy the internet's better qualities without having to worry so much about the evils that lie within. Jonathan needed internet access for school. Sure, he could keep doing what he's been doing and go to school and use their computers, but he can't take Gwen along. That means that I would have to stay awake and watch her while he was away working on assignments - and let's be honest, goofing off for hours each week. I've been picking up extra shifts at work to help pay for school. This means that I've been extra short on sleep which makes me extra grumpy. The one good thing about getting internet access is that Jonathan will be able to stay home and keep an eye on Gwen while he works on his school work and I will be able to get those few precious hours of sleep that I need.
I'm still worried though. I know there's a great potential for abuse with the internet. Not only content, but also wasted time. As soon as the connection is up and running we are installing this security system. It's free and recommended by the FBI and a good friend of mine's stake president got up in their stake conference and told all the members to install it ASAP on their computers and make sure only the wives knew the passwords and had control over usage. One of the best parts about it is that I can limit the amount of time we waste on the internet. I'm hoping that this is the solution I've been waiting for.
I'm still worried though. I know there's a great potential for abuse with the internet. Not only content, but also wasted time. As soon as the connection is up and running we are installing this security system. It's free and recommended by the FBI and a good friend of mine's stake president got up in their stake conference and told all the members to install it ASAP on their computers and make sure only the wives knew the passwords and had control over usage. One of the best parts about it is that I can limit the amount of time we waste on the internet. I'm hoping that this is the solution I've been waiting for.
Friday, June 15, 2007
Happy Birthday, Honey!
June 11th was Jonathan's 28th birthday. He's so old. Unlike last year, we both had the day off this year. I had worked the night before and Jonathan had school in the afternoon. He let me sleep until he left for class. Jonathan wanted to spend time surfing the internet after class so he stayed until about 4:00. When he got home we drove out to Sandy to the Expo Center. There was supposed to be an Asian Festival but it had ended the day before - oops. Instead, we went to the Gateway Mall downtown and walked around until dinner time. We had dinner at the Happy Sumo.(click on the images to make bigger)
We had the Maki combo and a sunomono roll with mochi balls for dessert. I really liked the California rolls and cucumber rolls, but wasn't too hot about the sunomono rolls. I was pretty impressed for my first time having real sushi and raw fish. We even gave Gwen some of the cucumber roll to try. She liked it. 
Daddy takes advantage of a distracted Gwen. We gave her a bottle to keep her busy while we were waiting for dessert.
Gwen entertained us with her amazing "Look Ma, no hands!" technique for drinking her bottle.
We had the Maki combo and a sunomono roll with mochi balls for dessert. I really liked the California rolls and cucumber rolls, but wasn't too hot about the sunomono rolls. I was pretty impressed for my first time having real sushi and raw fish. We even gave Gwen some of the cucumber roll to try. She liked it. 
Daddy takes advantage of a distracted Gwen. We gave her a bottle to keep her busy while we were waiting for dessert.
Gwen entertained us with her amazing "Look Ma, no hands!" technique for drinking her bottle.
Friday, June 8, 2007
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
Our Fun Weekend
This weekend was so fun. To start off, earlier this week we ended up buying my friend Joel's old car. It's nice to have transportation again. On Saturday, Gwen and I went with a couple of my old high school friends to the zoo. It was hot and crowded but worth it. I loved getting to spend time with some of my favorite people in the world and Gwen loved watching the other people and animals. I hadn't seen most of my friends since Gwen's baby blessing back in October. I really miss being able to just go hang out with them all the time. It's just too hard these days when Gwen only has a few hours between naps and is in bed by 9:00 pm. That schedule doesn't lend itself to a partying lifestyle. I was just happy to see these people again. We could have been standing in line at the DMV and I would have been perfectly happy.
Gwen couldn't see most of the animals but she loved watching all the other little kids running around. We did find a couple of trout that she could see up close. She'd never seen anything like that before. She kept reaching out to touch them as they swam behind the glass. Those were her favorite animals. She even managed to fall asleep in her stroller for a while. So, thanks Joel and Katie for inviting us. It was so much fun.
Sunday, we got a visit from Grandma Thompson. Grandma's must have a special vibe because Gwen sure lit up when she saw Grandma Thompson even though it's been a few months since her last visit. She giggled harder than she has in a long time as she played with Grandma. After a few short hours, Jonathan had to leave for work so I took Gwen over to her other grandma's house. Gwen sure loves her grandmas. They get the best giggles and smiles and she'll even cuddle with them. At Grandma Buckholts' house Gwen helped unload the dishwasher (even though the dishes were still dirty) and helped Mommy eat an ice cream sandwich - yummy! At about 8:00 she really needed to be put to bed so we had to leave quickly. What a fun-filled grandma day.
Monday was fun too. Gwen had a hard time going down for her nap. She was tired but didn't want to stop playing. We had planned to go have fun with Grandma Thompson, but I wasn't going to subject others to Grumpy Gwen. Since Jonathan had the afternoon off and it was hot outside - over 90 degrees, we went swimming. We stayed for about an hour. There were tons of other little kids so Gwen was super happy. After swimming, I took the baby home for a nap finally and Jonathan got ready for work. Gwen fell asleep in Mommy's bed so I napped with her then woke up because Jonathan was stumbling around the room in the dark. He wasn't scheduled for work until 6:00. Yay! We all took a nap until 5. That evening Gwen was grumping again so we went back to the pool. I swear that kid's addicted.
My weekends usually aren't this fun. They're usually just me and the baby with some grocery shopping thrown in. Or, even worse, me and Jonathan working the entire weekend.
Gwen couldn't see most of the animals but she loved watching all the other little kids running around. We did find a couple of trout that she could see up close. She'd never seen anything like that before. She kept reaching out to touch them as they swam behind the glass. Those were her favorite animals. She even managed to fall asleep in her stroller for a while. So, thanks Joel and Katie for inviting us. It was so much fun.
Sunday, we got a visit from Grandma Thompson. Grandma's must have a special vibe because Gwen sure lit up when she saw Grandma Thompson even though it's been a few months since her last visit. She giggled harder than she has in a long time as she played with Grandma. After a few short hours, Jonathan had to leave for work so I took Gwen over to her other grandma's house. Gwen sure loves her grandmas. They get the best giggles and smiles and she'll even cuddle with them. At Grandma Buckholts' house Gwen helped unload the dishwasher (even though the dishes were still dirty) and helped Mommy eat an ice cream sandwich - yummy! At about 8:00 she really needed to be put to bed so we had to leave quickly. What a fun-filled grandma day.
Monday was fun too. Gwen had a hard time going down for her nap. She was tired but didn't want to stop playing. We had planned to go have fun with Grandma Thompson, but I wasn't going to subject others to Grumpy Gwen. Since Jonathan had the afternoon off and it was hot outside - over 90 degrees, we went swimming. We stayed for about an hour. There were tons of other little kids so Gwen was super happy. After swimming, I took the baby home for a nap finally and Jonathan got ready for work. Gwen fell asleep in Mommy's bed so I napped with her then woke up because Jonathan was stumbling around the room in the dark. He wasn't scheduled for work until 6:00. Yay! We all took a nap until 5. That evening Gwen was grumping again so we went back to the pool. I swear that kid's addicted.
My weekends usually aren't this fun. They're usually just me and the baby with some grocery shopping thrown in. Or, even worse, me and Jonathan working the entire weekend.
Friday, June 1, 2007
More Pictures of Guess Who
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