Tagged again! A great reason for a new post! Beware... this is a LONG one!

Four jobs I've had:
1. Piano Teacher
I'm so grateful to have the opportunity to work from home and share my love of music. It's tough at times trying to juggle it with being a full-time mom, but I've really formed a bond with my piano families. Unlike my school classes, I've been able to watch a lot of these kids grow up. The student I've had the longest is now 11. She was 5 when she started. She's one of my favorites, not because she's an amazing musician, but because I've seen so much growth. She's the perfect example of how persistance pays off.
2. Teacher at Challenger... 2nd grade, summer school, kindergarten
It was my first teaching job out of college. Working at a private school was the best thing that could have ever happened to me at that time in my life. They paid better than the public school system and I was able to cut back to part time the year Jade was born. Their program is amazing for the accelerated learner. I've used their methods with Jade at home and in tutoring kids who are struggling.
3. Secretary at a reposession company
Have I told you about the attorney who had his BMW reposessed 3 times? He had such bitter feelings toward our company (like it was OUR fault he wasn't making his payments!) that when I accidentally left my keys in his car after pulling it out of the lot he held them for ransom. What about the lady who was so surprised that we called the police when she came to pick up the "industrial chalk" that she was keeping locked in her glove box? She was even more surprised when it tested positive as cocaine. My boss was fantastic about working with my college schedule and gave a raving recomendation when Challenger called for a reference.
4. Server at Frontier Pies Restaurant
This is where I met my one true love... the cook (Nate, of course)! It's so sad that they closed down. They had a great menu, full of made-from-scratch recipes.


Four movies I've watched over and over:
1. Napoleon Dynamite
Whenever we can't decide what to watch, Nate pulls this one out. We laugh and laugh when Napoleon pounds Uncle Rico's van with an orange. The best thing about it? All the humor is clean!
2. Cars
I do actually love this movie, but the reason I've seen it probably 100 + times is because it's the ONLY movie Logan asks to watch.
3. You've Got Mail
Tom Hanks is one of my favorite actors. He's got class, which is so unusual with those Hollywood types.
4. Ever After
What can I say, I am a romantic.


Four places I've lived:
1. Midvale, UT
2. Provo, UT
3. Sandy, UT
4. League City, TX


Four TV shows I watch:
I've given up on current TV (except #4) It got so complicated trying not to miss the new episodes. Believe it or not, I've survived without knowing the fates of my favorite characters. Instead, Nate picked out some DVD's from the library, and surprisingly, I really enjoy them and it gives us something to do together.
1. Knight Rider
2. Highlander
3. Stargate Atlantis
4. Jay Leno


Four places I've been:
Can you quess the country?
1. The City Of Love
2. The Eagle's Nest
3. Just over our southern border
4. Home of The Sound of Music


Four people who email me regularly:
mostly forwarded messages, but usually with a little personal note too!
1. My wonderful mother
2. Shannon
3. Stephanie
4. Michelle



Four of my favorite foods:
1. Pizza, cheese or ham & pineapple
2. Anything with a rich creamy sauce... pasta alfredo, chicken cordon bleu
3. Anything citrus... orange chicken, lemon rice, lemon bars, raspberry lime desserts
4. Anything chocolate, but no nuts please!



Four places I'd rather be right now:
There's nowhere I'd rather be... honestly... I'm a homebody. I love being at home, especially when it's cold outside. I'm also a real germaphobe, so going to public places freaks me out.

Four things I'm looking forward to in 2008:
1. Visits from my sisters. I miss you girls so much!
2. Jade's Baptism
3. Summer. I love the warmer weather. I look forward to this one every year!
4. Building a deck in the back of our house. This is our last major building project.



Four friends I tag:
1. Ashley D... Your life is so exciting, I can't wait to see how you narrow down your choices, especially the "Four places you've been."
2. Michelle T... are you tired of being tagged by me?!
3. Stephanie... you always have such great things to say
4. Taralee... c'mon sis, I know being the mother or four keeps you too busy, but I'd love to see if there's anything that surprises me.

Just in time for V-Day... a Husband Tag

What is his name? Nathan, "Nate"

How long have you been married? 11 1/2 years

How long did you date? 9 months

How old is he? 33

Who eats more? Him

Who said "I love you" first? He did. Within an hour we'd decided to get married.

Who is taller? He is, by nearly a foot!

Who sings better? Me, but he has more talent for singing than he admits.

Who is smarter? This is a tough one. How do you judge intelligence? Nate has an amazing memory for trivia and he's great with quick math. I have a horrible memory, especially of names, dates, places, etc. I took school very seriously though and always performed well.

Whose temper is worse? Nate's, although he'd be the first to point out that I have my moments as well.

Who does the laundry? We share the sorting and loading duties almost 50/50, but I handle almost all the folding and putting away.

Who does the dishes? Mostly me, but luckily the kids are getting old enough to do a lot too!

Who sleeps on the left side of the bed? Nate

Who pays the bills? Me. I love numbers.

Who mows the lawn? Nate

Who cooks dinner? Since he works past dinnertime 5 out of 7 days, I cook on those days and he'll jump in lots of times on the other 2 days.

Who drives when you are together? Nate

Who is more stubborn? Probably me

Who proposed? He did... in a swimming pool. I wore a swimming suit on our first date (Seven Peaks), so it made sense that I should be wearing one when we got engaged.

Who has more friends? I haven't been keeping score on that one.

Who has more siblings? Me (4), Nate (3)

Who wears the pants? Nate would say I do. I say he does.

What is his love language? Physical touch and together time.

What attracted me to him? Unconditional love and persistance

And now it's your turn. I tag Michelle Taylor, Heather Roberts, and Amy Hintze. Have fun bragging about your men girls!

Aeris X5

I have been meaning to write a post about this for a couple of months. A cousin of my dad's shared some exciting news in a Christmas letter this year... their daughter had given birth to quintuplets at the end of July! Since Aeris was born within a week of these babies I thoroughly enjoy getting onto this amazing mom's blog and comparing stats. What a remarkable family! It was so facinating to read the older posts about the pregnancy and arrival of these sweet babies. I've been having so much fun following their story that I thought I'd share it in case you might be interested too.

The Wilkinson Quints web page has links to both the mom's and the dad's blogs. Enjoy!

http://www.wilkinsonquints.org/

Buried

Whenever we've received a new layer of snow overnight, Logan comes running in first thing to let us know. I usually jump right up to check it out, especially when we'll be going somewhere. There's something so exciting about waking up to a world that looks so different than it did when you went to sleep. This morning we woke up to drifts of snow 2 feet deep! When our neighbor, who is in the bishopric, was unable to make it out of his driveway for his morning meetings, they decided to cancel church for the day. So we spent the morning oohing and aahing at all the fun drifts around the house and hanging out as a family. The sun came out long enough to allow for some shoveling and for Nate to feel confident about the roads on the way to a Superbowl party at a co-worker's house. Now it's blowing and snowing again. I hope he's able to make it home! This would have been a good winter for 4-wheel drive... and a good snowblower!

On Thursday, Logan, Aeris, and I enjoyed a preschool field trip to the Museum of Ancient Life at Thanksgiving Point. He loved burying dinosaurs at the erosion table and listening to the dinosaur sounds around the gigantic skeletons. "Those are ghosts." He said, quite matter-of-factly. In the car on the way home I asked him what he liked best about the museum. He said "eating sandwiches." Is that typical for my kids or what? Their first focus is always the food!

We enjoyed watching dear President Hinckley's funeral on Saturday. The final musical number, "My Shepherd Will Supply My Need" arrangement by Mack Wilberg, is one I sang as part of a stake choir a couple of years ago. What a powerful piece of music! I couldn't contain the overflow of emotions when I sang it then. Listening to it while watching the footage of that sweet man... Wow! I bawled and bawled. I had the amazing opportunity to be in close proximity with him only once, as he arrived in the Conference Center for The Light of the World production back in 2002. The spirit washed over me in a way I've never experienced before or since. I'll miss him so much.