Family Update

It's been a few months since I last posted a general update about our family. So here goes . . . It's gonna be a long one!

First, Cody graduated. Hooray! He received his Bachelor of Science in Digital Media from UVU and is done with school (at least for now). It was admittedly quite stressful at times for all of us, but he finished and learned a lot in the process. One of the most valuable experiences he had while attending UVU was the opportunity to work in the Center for Digital Design and Development on campus. He actually continues to work there very part-time and will finish up at the end of this year. His primary focus was creating applications using Flex Builder.

As Spring semester came to a close and with only a couple online courses left to take over the summer, Cody started looking for full-time work . . . and looking . . . and looking. I'm certain many people can relate. It was a very stressful time, to put it mildly. There were lots of interviews, second interviews, and no job offers. Finally Cody decided to go into business for himself doing freelance web design and development. He had already been doing side jobs, so it was just a matter of drumming up more business. My parents kindly offered him a room in their home to use as an office (working from home was not an option) and he got to work. Still, with the inconsistency of freelance work (and pay) we were still pretty stressed. Thankfully, this didn't last long as Cody received a call from a company he had interviewed with a few months back, asking if he was still interested. After weighing our options, Cody took the job.

He now works for a company in Draper as their only, full-time web developer. He has felt very valued and appreciated and has had plenty of work to keep him busy. He pulled a 17-hour work day on Friday, which I hope will not be repeated, but is excited about the project he's working on. His experience at the Center at UVU has proven extremely valuable as he is creating a customizer using Flex Builder, which he loves.

Cody is continuing to do projects on the side as well, and I truly appreciate how much time he puts in to support our family. When he has a bit of free time, which is a somewhat rare occurence these days, he continues to be an avid PC gamer. We are grateful for the date nights we are able to steal together here and there, and I must say that he is awesome about letting me pick the movies we see. Seriously, he'll watch anything with me . . . including 5-hour BBC miniseries, and Jane Austen flicks. I sure love him!

The bubs have been cute as can be and the main source of my recent hair loss. Just kidding. :) They do keep me on my toes. They are smart little cookies, and curious as ever. They know all of their shapes, colors, and alphabet. They can count to 12, sing the words to a number of songs, and have an affinity for musical instruments. More on the instruments later . . . . The biggest change they have experienced of late is the move to BIG GIRL BEDS. I thought this would be a happy occasion, but it has been quite the rollercoaster! They successfully tipped over their dresser, removed drawers, opened their closet and emptied out boxes of clothes, etc. We first removed everything from their room except their beds, and then had to remove everything within their reach in the closet. I'd say the day I found them in their room, with the floor completely covered in baby wipes and realized they had opened EVERY package of Costco wipes in their closet, probably wins the prize. Lately they've been spending two hours locked in their room during nap time, bouncing on their beds and generally being rowdy and NOT SLEEPING. Cody and I had a good laugh the other day when we talked about what we would suggest to other parents of twins about transitioning to BIG GIRL BEDS. Cody suggested removing everything from the room and padding the walls. I voted for adult-sized cribs. :)

The bubs really are sweet little girls though, and I love them SO much, despite the stress they cause. I said to Maeryn the other day, "Maeryn, say, 'I'm cute!'" To which she replied, "No,no. I'm stinkin' cute!" And this morning as I was getting ready for church Afton looked my outfit over and said, "Mama black shoes, soooo pretty!"

I've been busy as I recently joined the HOA board for our community. As we are in the midst of a lawsuit, it has been a rather time-consuming responsibility, but at least I'm in the loop, right?

I've also had the opportunity to watch my little nephew and neice, Jack and Ruby, a few times while my sister Hillary, and her husband Kurt were house-hunting. The bubs love all of their cousins, so they were excited to have Jack and Ruby over. I'll show a video of them with Rubes later, that is just adorable! The great news is that Kurt and Hillary are under contract and will be moving into a home in Orem just after Thanksgiving. I'm so excited they'll be living closer to us!

I've also been busy with my writing group, and working on my own writing project. As I've been doing some research, I've had the opportunity to visit regularly with my old piano teacher, whom I love. I hadn't seen him in 8 years, and it has been so wonderful to catch up with him. He is such a dear man.

Most of the time, though, I'm just busy with the day to day.

So, there's an update! Like I said, a LONG update! I'll try to be better about posting more often so these posts don't get out of control!

Note on Pictures: Afton is on the left and Maeryn the right where they are together. Afton is in the pink and dark blue. Maeryn is in the light blue and giving the big cheeser grin. :)