And now we relax...

So our semester is over and boy are we glad. For a while there, I was not sure if we would make it through. With a new baby and an intense job hunt- life got a bit overwhelming. It was a tough semester for Kevin which was complicated by the seven trips he took. Now finally though after a lot of stress, spreadsheets, and agonizing, we finally decided to accept the offer from ConAgra Foods which means...da da da da... We are moving to Omaha!
We both feel good about the decision and think Omaha will be a really good place for our family and ConAgra a really good place for Kevin to launch his marketing career.
It was really hard though to turn down that delicious chocolate company we all know and love-- especially with Kevin's parents so close there. Who knows what the future holds though.
So since making our Omaha decision we have found that when we tell people- their response is usually "interesting." Most people also have heard of ConAgra but are not really sure what they do. Here are just a few of their products.

boyardee" border="0"> CHEF BOYARDEE	david seeds" border="0"> DAVID SEEDS	EGG BEATERS	HEALTHY CHOICE
hebrew national" border="0"> HEBREW NATIONAL	hunt's" border="0"> HUNT'S	KID CUISINE	marie callender's" border="0"> MARIE CALLENDER'S
orville redenbacher's" border="0"> ORVILLE REDENBACHER'S	pam" border="0"> PAM	reddi-wip" border="0"> REDDI-WIP	jim" border="0"> SLIM JIM

In Omaha, ConAgra is home to the frozen foods division which means Kevin will either be working on Marie Callendars, Healthy Choice, KidCuisine or Banquet products. We'll let you know which one as soon as we know.

Well, as for the semester from my perspective, I can pretty much sum it up in two words- "Sleep Deprivation." Brielle is an angel baby. We love her dearly. She is cute as a button and a sweet sweet spirit but she (like most newborns of course) is a terrible sleeper. The issue is complicated by the fact that I have two other children who make it difficult to sleep past 6am and IMPOSSIBLE to take naps. Plus there were those fun two trips out of town that I was able to accompany Kevin on, where I reached new levels of exhaustion (due to airport delays and my own personal postbaby health issues) that I would've expected to kill me--- but I survived. I am still here. And in fairness to sweet Brielle, she is making gradual improvements in the sleep department. We are working on the transition from our arms to her crib--and from the hours or 2am to 5am she does pretty well!


A recap of my semester wouldn't be complete without mention of my new favorite escape from reality. I couldn't have discovered it at a better time.
Yes it is a "young adult" book but I am seriously considering putting the Twilight series on the top of my favorite books ever- yes even above my beloved Jane Eyre and perhaps even C.S. Lewis classics. I just love it that much- even to the point of rereading it- yeah I know that's pretty crazy.

Well, with the beginning of our Christmas break, I got a chance to get Brielle dressed- yes for the first time, she is wearing something other than a sleeper- what a cutie!And just for fun here are a few more kid shots.The other day I was out with Brielle- who was sporting a big bow like this one and somebody said to me, "I just love those Ridiculous bows." So what am I supposed to say to that "Thanks" or "How rude." Its ok though- apparently Brielle isn't such a fan of the big bows either.

Merry Christmas to you all!

"Top of the World"

In commemoration of our last Saturday here in Provo and to complete Brayden's indoctrination as a true blue BYU fan, Kevin took Brayden on his first hike up to the "Y". It took them only 45 minutes to get to the top and they loved every minute of it! Brayden enthusiastically called it the "top of the world" and from the top of the "Y" he phoned his Oma and Opa and his Grandma and Grandpa to celebrate his accomplishment. Kevin was very proud of him and hopes that he has thoroughly brainwashed Brayden to be a Cougar fan for life! :-)

Here are a few pics of the taken with Kevin's cell phone (hence the poor quality and shadows...)

Happy Gradulation!!!!

The big day has arrived. (and no- I did not mis-spell my title. Thats how the kids were saying it all day -it's a mix between congratulations and graduation-- quite a good word, I think). Any way you say it ...HOORAY KEVIN DID IT !!! We may now refer to him as Master Kevin (or you can, I don't think I will :) We are so proud to have such a distinguished and well educated guy in our family. Kevin graduated at the top of his class and we couldn't be more proud of this official MBA! Way to go Kevin!Here is the long awaited cougar picture. And when I say long awaited- I mean it. We actually had to wait in line about 20 minutes for our turn to get this shot- and since it was such a cool spot, Brayden just had to have a go at it too (hopefully this is a foreshadowing of things to come- (and just to be clear I mean the graduating from BYU thing not the riding on a cougar thing).Kevin and friends.

And this is our family with the Dean of the Marriott school, Ned Hill- which is significant and cool because he was the one who interviewed Kevin and I for our marriage recommend so very long ago- which is one of those few moments in my life I actually remember quite well. He looked at our family and said that it looks like it worked out for us...
indeed it has Mr. Hill, indeed it has.

Now I know what you are thinking- this picture sure isn't very great. True- its not the shot of him shaking the dean's hand or actually being handed the diploma- but consider my situation- baby in one hand, camera in the other, Makenna underfoot, Brayden left in the seats as I dash (and by dash I mean move as fast as I could beg Makenna to go) through the Marriott center, up and down various stairways trying to find where to take the picture and trying (but failing) to make it in time to catch his name being called. All that considered- really the picture isn't so bad after all.

Family PIctures

A friend of ours took these fabulous family pictures at the park the other day.