April shower's bring May Flowers

Here we are in April already! How time flies!! Mark has been home for two weeks now. The kids and I have enjoyed him being home. We were able to go out with our good friends, Amy & John, on Saturday night and enjoy a good dinner and a hockey game. We have never been to a game before, so this was a whole new experience for both Mark and I. It was a blast!! I loved every minute of the game! I can't believe how much they fight! It was crazy, but in a fun sort of way!! I think all of us wish is wasn't the last game of the season!!

The kids are all doing well. Riley has a new habit of putting his underwear on backwards, so he can see the picture of Diego, Thomas the Tank Engine, Nemo or whatever is on the backside of his underwear. This causes a whole set of problems, for which I am trying to change this habit! See the results of wearing your underwar backwards below:

So the sad news comes now, Mark leaves us for 5 weeks starting Sunday. In my previous post, I stated he was going to Tulsa, which was wrong. He is actually going to Lawton, Oklahama, which is about an hour and 1/2 away from Oklahoma City. He will be working on a military base, so I am hoping he gets the yes "ma'am" thing down!

One more exciting bit of news to help me through the lonely 5 weeks, I have "WICKED" tickets!! Kaycie and I are headed out on the town to see "WICKED" on the 19th!! I am so excited!!

Happy Easter to you all....

MARCH UPDATES

With Mark out of town and me trying to work and be a good single mom for the last month, I haven't had a chance to post.

Things are going well, Mark is ready to come home. I think he is tired of Appleton, Wisconsin and the cold weather. He says the work is different (hard physical labor), but fun. I am glad he is enjoying the work...because he is on to the next job in April...Tulsa, Oklahoma! This one should be a shorter time frame., which is nice!

I was lucky enough to be able to take my kids on a much needed vacation this past weekend. I know crazy right! I packed them up all by my lonesome and took them down to St. George. Luckily, I had a friend, who's husband is with Mark, down there with me. She stayed in a different condo, but we did hang out everyday! The kids had fun and it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. My friend, Natalie, and I took off Saturday night and went to Mesquite...for much needed adult time! We played Bingo and I won $25, a two night stay, and a $50 dinner. She then went to play cards and I decided to play the penny slots. I sat down at the only open slot machine and won $100!!! We had so much fun!!

WHEN TIMES ARE TOUGH...MOVE TO WISCONSIN...

So today's the day, Mark left this morning for Wisconsin! I was suprised my kids took it so well, they were up eating breakfast and talking and then when Mark left, each one of them hugged him...and there were no tears.

I think Mark is kind of in shock, but we are all taking it as a huge blessing. I am crossing my fingers construction picks up here in Utah. But, it is nice to know that my husband is willing to sacrifice for his family and travel to find work.

I also look at it as an adventure and am a bit jealous of Mark's side of the adventure. If you know me, you know I "LOVE" to travel. Mark has bid some jobs that will come after this one, in places I have never been, so it makes me a bit jealous! However a brief visit to these places for me is better than his one month stay, which will possibly be his life for a while!

So, I have made a list of projects in my house, to pass the time. I have plans to take the kids on a trip and I have a few ideas of how to keep them entertained. I am fully confident that I can be a good single mom for this month and possibly several months to come.

I am extremely thankful for this opportunity. I will miss Mark a lot, but am thankful for technology...e-mail, text messaging, and talking on the phone will be nice!

Wish us all luck!

Here's my Jake! He's such a boarder...he wishes he were pro! I wish I could help him get there! I really have a hard time telling him he can't go snowboarding everyday...even on school days, but so far this year he's only missed one! He has such talent for the sport! It is fun to see him enjoy something so much!

DAM 2 DAM RUN

Mark and his friends ran the Dam 2 Dam run at the Sand Hollow Resevoir just outside of Hurricane, Utah. It was a 5 mile run, with around 300 people running the race. Mark and all of his friends made it in the top 100! Mark's time was 40 min 38 sec. He did a great job!

IT'S MY BIRTHDAY, SO I CAN CRY IF I WANT TO!

I won't be crying...even though I've turned 35 and know that I only have 5 years until the big 40. I am excited for my birthday each year! And plan on celebrating every year, I never want to be "one of those people" who like to ignore my big day! Bring it on...presents, lunches, vacations, nights out with the girls...I am all over it for the entire month of February!!

Thanks for all the birthday wishes...I have enjoyed this day and have 10 more days in February to enjoy! Curses to the month of March...it always ruins my extended birthday!!

APPLETON, WISCONSIN

So why is the title "Appleton, Wisconsin" you ask? Well it will be Mark's new home starting in March!! He should be there for almost a month. I am a bit freaked out, but so excited for him. This is a great opportunity and if things work out, he could be traveling around the United States working on different projects! I am kind of jealous, because I love traveling and it would fun to see new places! But, I am happy that we don't have to pick up our family and move!

Life will definitely change for me, I will be somewhat of a single mom. But, it is worth the sacrifice!

As for everything else in life, things are going great. Jake continues to snowboard every weekend! Kaycie started gymnastics...well I should say...I signed her up for gymnastics without her knowledge. She was so mad, the day she started, she kept glaring at me during class, I could tell she was flipping me off in her heart. But, by the end, she was loving it. She said, "Mom, the teachers kept asking me if my mom or dad was a gymnast and they said that I was born to be a gymnast." So now she thinks its her calling in life. I am excited that she is loving it and she defintely has a talent for it! Riley is still keeping us busy. He is in pre-school 4 days a week. He does not allow any of us to walk him to the bus, he has to do it all himself. He loves school and runs around the house singing songs, talking about colors and shapes, and drawing. He has made a lot of progress, which I thank pre-school for!!

Oh and did I mention...it's birthday month! Oh yes, February is my month! I keep wondering where the last 35 years went! I also keep thinking it's time to grow up...and then in the next breath, I think why!