Boys and the bath

Financial Advice

My friend from college, Shaun, posted this financial advice on his blog. I highly recommend that everyone checks this out during these troubled times.

Advice for Navigating these Troubled Financial Times

Some of the coolest people you will ever read....

Presenting,

A great blog, written by some of the coolest people I know - an ex-professor, my best friend, friend of a friend, and girl I have never met, but someday hope too.

I hope to always be a witness to such genius.

Evidence of my new camera

For Christmas/Anniversary/Birthday, Nick got me a new camera! I think he was distressed about the lack of photos of our children (I hate using our old camera), and tired of my grumbling when I did use the old camera! Here are some pictures of the boys from today.

Our almost big news.....

There is a great chance are moving to Salt Lake City this summer! Last fall, Nick received an e-mail from his professors about the University of Utah receiving a large grant for their school psychology doctoral program. Well, even though we had decided that we were finished with school, and that we love Nick's current job, we decided it wouldn't hurt anything to apply. So Nick applied, and we received word that they wanted to interview him in person! Nick flew to Utah last weekend on Thursday night, to prepare for his Friday interview. Well, as he was leaving the hotel to go to dinner with his sister Thursday night, he received a phone call from the director of the program. She wanted to meet with him that night!

They met, and she proceeded to speak with him at length about the program. Basically, she said that unless he flubbed the interview the following day, he had a great shot at being in the program! They also went over Nick's schedule of classes for next year - it was incredible.

Of course, the interview with the whole panel went very well the following day. They complimented Nick's questions, and they appreciated his answers to the hypothetical situations. We will find out for certain the first week of February, but it looks like we are moving to SLC! Unless, of course, that we decide that it is not best for our family.

Interestingly enough, it is a hard decision. We love Nick's current job, and allergies aside, we really enjoy where we live. But the PhD. would be great, and it would be practically free, between the tuition waiver and the stipend. We would live in the same state as my parents, and it would be fun to see old room mates and friends. Nick would also be on his way to his dream job - a professor. The grant is a leadership grant, specifically geared toward getting professors out.

Of course, through this whole process, Nick was unsure whether he was a good candidate. He would never brag about himself, but I am so proud of all of the work he has done! He will be graduating in May with a specialist degree in school psychology from the best program in Texas, and he has been published twice! He also has worked in the autism clinic for a year, and has worked as a school psychologist this past year for two elementary schools. He speaks great Spanish, and has an awesome GPA. I could not be prouder of all the hard work he has put in.

We will see! If/When Nick receives his official acceptance, we will spend a fair amount of time on our knees, praying to figure out if this is the best course of action for our little family. Who knows?

Christmas and a Catch-up

So sorry it has been so long since we have posted. Holidays are crazy, and we have been enjoying ourselves! Here are some highlights, organized chronologically:

November

• Jacob's preschool celebrated their 25th anniversary! We love his school so much, and though it was stressful at times planning for the event (I was the head of fund raising - with the President of the Board), it went beautifully and was a ton of fun. We are certainly so blessed to be a part of such a lovely community.
  
• Thanksgiving! We had a delightful time visiting with Nick's family. We gorged ourselves with our Greek thanksgiving - spanikopita, tyropitakia, mellamacarna, limonata and other such assorted goodies (I think I might have spelled one of the dishes correctly, if I was lucky). It was lovely visiting with all of the siblings and their children. Jacob and Joshua are the best playmates, and Sam got to meet his cousin Ethan that is only one day older! We also loved seeing the always adorable Paul and Will. It is a blast having all the boys (6 under the age of 5) in the house.
  

December

• Christmas! We celebrated Christmas a million times - starting with putting up the tree the Sunday after Thanksgiving. All of us adore Christmas here - it is such a joyful time. We then proceeded to celebrate Christmas at the preschool (Jacob had his first presentation - it was beautiful and fun watching him sing), at home, at Nick's parents' house and at my parents' house! Jacob is obsessed with Star Wars this year and received plenty of gifts to show off his obsession. He also received tons of books and other fun presents. Jaocb especially loved going shopping for Sam and Mom and Dad. He really got into the spirit of giving, and requested the story of the birth of Jesus EVERY NIGHT before bed. It was lovely.
• Nick and I celebrated our sixth anniversary in St. George while we were visiting my family. For the first time since Sam was born, we went out on a date. We went to the Painted Pony for dinner and had such a lovely dinner. It was fun to dress up and be adults again. My parents and family watched Sam and Jacob, and when we got home Sam had fallen asleep on my sister. I don't know who enjoyed it more - my sister or Sam.

• Family, family, family! My sister Susan, her husband Rogan, and my awesome nephew Asa were in St. George from Los Angeles. I love seeing them, and we spent many a night up late playing games (Bang, Pandemic, Ivanhoe, etc.). It was wonderful! And of course, my parents are always amazing. Great food, great company - it was a beautifully relaxing vacation. My brother Michael, his wife Emma, and their seven kids also stopped by for a few days. It was so much fun seeing Carina, David, , Kathleen, Peter, Annie, Jared and James together! We are really looking forward to our family cruise in the Caribbean next summer.

January

• Sam has multiple teeth! Over the Christmas break, Sam had two bottom teeth come in. Last weekend when Nick was away, he had three top teeth come in. It was a fun weekend, let me tell you. the house was a wreck, I was a wreck, and the only person who got any sleep was Jacob. We were so excited to pick Nick up from the airport this past Saturday night! Daddy to the rescue!