June Update

This poor blog is so neglected. Lets do a quick update. Its June. Time is flying by. The girls have 2 more weeks of school until summer vacation. Ben's been working in Seattle since April. Its great because he gets to come home on the weekends. I've been working about 30 hrs per week in Labor & Delivery here in Spokane. We are busy busy busy trying to keep up with life. We visited Ben in Seattle last weekend. He surprised the girls with new bicycles (used new bikes). They were very excited. We went to the space needle, hung out at Pike's Market in Seattle, went bike riding at the park near his hotel. It was a great weekend. Now its back to reality, trying to keep up with the housework, the lawn, all the kids activities. But I am truly grateful that Ben has a great job & that we are here a good area to raise our kids. Life is good.

New York Trip Day 2

Friday was a very busy day.

We took the train from Hicksville
to Penn Station
and headed into the city.

Lots of time spent walking around.

And taking pictures.

Busy traffic, busy people.

Narrow one way streets.

Time Square

It was rainy,
foggy,
& beautiful.

We went to the Discovery Times Square Museum. They have the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit going right now. It was wonderful. We spent hours pouring over the artifacts. Some are thousands of years old. I kept thinking of what was happening in the scriptures (Old Testament, New Testament, and Book of Mormon) when looking at the dates.

Ben was done in about 30 minutes.

I took 3 hours.

What a patient husband I have.

We grabbed a quick bite to eat at Junior's.

Ben had some New York Cheesecake.
Then we went to see The Phantom of the Opera.

It was beautiful.
I cried.
The music was fantastic.



Then it was on to the Empire State Building.

This building is beautiful.

They have tight security.
Its like going through the airport.
They almost didn't let Ben in.
He had his pocket knife that he had to check in and leave with security.
They gave it back afterwards.

Spectacular views!
I can't believe they built this in 1 year!
I liked going at night.
There were no lines.

This is a view looking up from the observation deck. It was crazy windy. I thought my camera would blow right out of my hand. They originally thought they could dock a Blimp at the observation level. But updraft winds created by the building itself made that impossible.
Ben and Carolyn

New York Trip Day 1

Ben's been working in New York for a few months. I get to visit him for the weekend. I flew out on Thursday morning from Spokane, WA into St Paul, MN. And then onto LaGuardia airport in New York City. I slept most of both flights after staying up packing most of the previous night. So it was a good use of my time. Ben is staying at the Residence Inn Marriott in Plainview NY. Its a nice extended stay place. They have free dinner in the restaurant Sunday - Thurs nights. It was a nice evening.

New Home... Closing 6/15/2011

We have been looking for a house and we have a closing date! We are excited. The kids will all have their own rooms.

My life is boring...

Wow... I am such a lame blogger. But things are boring. We live out here in Spokane. And I haven't discovered any cool fun things to do. I basically work and drive my kids to & from school. And go grocery shopping. Everything is very close together. 3 minutes to the school to drive or 10 minutes to walk. And I drive because it is freakin' COLD!

Ben is loving his job. Each day that passes has shown me that his job has been truly a gift from Heavenly Father. He's taking advantage of the educational opportunities and will be starting school part time either this summer or fall.

The girls are in a great school with great teachers and making nice friends. Natalie loves her dance class & Julia loves her gymnastics class. Levi is growing so fast & is now 15 months old. He hasn't had any PKU issues. Our metabolic Dr in Sacramento said he didn't need to see us anymore & no followup would be needed here in Spokane. His Pediatrician here in Spokane just did a PHE level last week per my request and I'll be surprised if its elevated. Levi's development has been normal and he's a bright, sweet, cuddly little boy. He loves to be read to. He loves music. He understands quite a bit, but he's not the most verbal yet. :)

My work is taking some getting used to. There are some cool things about it. It is a LDRP which means I get to care for the laboring mom & then the mom & baby after delivery. Some days I have post partum moms and babies, some days I have antepartums. It doesn't get boring. Some patients are what I call a "one night stand." This means they whine soooo much and complain soooo much and drive a nurse crazy that even though you had them last night... you have therefore done your time and are not required to ever have them again. Who cares about continuity of care. They are a ONE NIGHT STAND. A fellow nurse had one such patient. Her room was the farthest room from the nurses station and took quite a hike to get down there. She would often use her call light to send for her nurse. And then have her nurse make several trips in with ice, pain meds, formula, extra blanket, pillows, etc etc... Her best line was when she called the nurse to come to her room. When the nurse got there, she stated that when she flushed her toilet, the noise would startle her baby. She asked if the nurse would please flush the toilet while she stood in the farthest corner of the room holding her baby so the noise wouldn't startle her. ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? That was my favorite line. Classic ONE NIGHT STAND of a patient.

Well there's a quick update on my boring life. I'll try to be a better blogger.

New Place

So we recently moved to Washington state. We're loving it. There are some changes for sure and I really don't do CHANGE very well. But I'll get used to it. The girls started a new school a few weeks ago. I started a new job. Ben started a new job. We are living in an apartment until we find a house. Lots of change. Lots to get used to. :)

Fast Forward

My life feels like the fast forward button got pushed. Everything has flown by so quickly since I started back to work in January. I've been picking up lots of extra shifts at work & essentially turned my part time job into a full time job. Ben's been able to keep up with all the girls' activities while taking care of baby Levi when I'm working the noc shift & sleeping during the day. As these days fly by... my Natalie has turned into a beautiful little lady. She's taking a dance class on Mondays that I never get to see her do. I know she enjoys being with her best friend who is also in the class. Tuesdays my sweet, tender-hearted Julia goes to ballet class... which I've never been able to watch her do. Twice a month (on Tuesdays) I teach the Activity Day girls ages 8-11 in our Branch. Ben drives the ballet run and picks up Activity Day girls from school & I wake myself up to plan and do the activity every other Tuesday... but I miss watching the ballet class. On Wednesdays Juls has her gymnastics class. I totally love gymnastics & I miss being able to watch Juls in her gymnastics. She's very good and shows me her new gym skills all the time. But I miss watching her. I missed Levi rolling over from his tummy to his back for the first time.... I cried when Ben told me how he had rolled over. I told Ben that from now on... Levi is not allowed to do anything for the first time without me. If he does something new... don't tell me. Pretend that when I see it.. It's the First TIME he's ever done it. Life isn't always what you planned it to be, but I feel like I am missing out on my own life. It makes me sad. Fast forward... Levi is 4 months old now. He smiles and laughs.. He loves his mommy and his daddy. He is such a good baby. He loves going on walks with his daddy in the stroller. I need a bit more balance in my life. Less working and more time with my children, husband, & family. New goal. :)