ZOLL

A few months ago a friend told me about a job opportunity with his company, ZOLL. Bryan and I thought it over and decided to go for it. It is a per diem/part time gig. Basically, when the sales reps sell defibrillators to the hospitals, they need clinical educators (where I come in) to go in afterwards and educate the staff on the use of defibrillators. I started it in April and have been hopping on a plane about every other week in attempts to get up to par on my training. Bryan has been amazing through all of this. His parents came out for a few days and also helped. We greatly appreciated their time and help. Our kids loved when they came and ask when they can come again.  I'm really enjoying my work, but am looking forward to scaling it back now that I'm more comfortable with the expectations of the job. I'm still balancing cutting back on piano students to only one day. I think once the piano recital is over this week and I'm not on a plane every other week with my nursing job I will be able to catch my breath! I never had any idea the different avenues my nursing degree would take me!

I practiced up before going on my first assignment flying solo and I was glad I did! I taught class sizes of 1-15 depending on the time of day. Practicing at home was perfect because I knew if I could keep my kids' attention while teaching, I might have a shot with some of the doctors. :) Luke was quite disturbed by my headless/armless torso on the bed when he came home one night! I had to reassure him several times that it was just pretend. 

Ski Buddy

I found some killer deals on Loveland Ski Passes and took Luke on a ski date. We had a great time! I really enjoyed spending the day with him. He was still wanting to do more runs at 3:00 PM, but I was exhausted! I persuaded him back to the car with the promise of stopping for a treat on the way home. :)

Happy Birthday to Me!

I felt spoiled on my birthday.  Bryan made breakfast and then kicked me out the door to do some shopping without kids. I love my kids. I love shopping. I do not like mixing the two. Although, Emma did go shoe shopping with me the other night. We had a fun time and she even picked out the pair of shoes for me that I liked the most. Still, I appreciated some "me" time.
I joined a friend at the park for a birthday picnic and felt loved from the cards, texts, calls and drop-ins from friends and family. The afternoon and evening were busy with kids' activities. Bryan asked what my preference was for dinner and I placed my ordered for some of his smoked ribs. He obliged and we dined at home with the kids. For dessert, we each enjoyed our own mini cake from Nothing Bundt Cakes.

New suitcases...I was genuinely excited! I AM getting old!

My favorite present came from Luke. I love that he wrapped up his favorite toy (Legos) and gave it to me.

Not even forced by me, a birthday miracle! Sometimes my kids do love each other!

 An octopus left on our backyard patio addressed to me from some of my favorite neighbor kids. 

General Conference

We enjoyed a nice, quiet weekend at home listening to the leaders of our church. I tried taping up pictures of the 1st presidency and 12 apostles around our living room and kitchen. I was surprised how much the kids liked this and finding each one when they spoke. Luke brought down Legos and Emma chose her dollhouse to play with while we tried our best to listen. Myles found it most entertaining to torment his older siblings by playing the destructor to any toy or creation they formed.
In between sessions, Luke helped me with homemade cinnamon rolls. I think I try a different recipe every time. They all taste delicious to me.

The kids played in the backyard between conference sessions. We love the Cramer family and are so happy to have them as our neighbors.

So Long, Farewell

I think if Myles knew this was going to be his last day with his binki he would have found the super glue and permanently affixed it to his mouth. This boy la-la-la-la-loved his binki. I clipped the ends and we haven't looked back. There was one afternoon when he woke up and was crying for his binki. I went in and rocked him for the rest of his nap time...which was quite awhile. I loved snuggling my baby, who is not so much a baby anymore.

Mexico: Day 8

We took a few more pics, packed the taxis and made our way to the airport. Our journey home proved to be full of surprises and more memory makers. Prior to checking our luggage, poor Emma threw up all over the airport tile floor (talk about splatter effect, yikes!). One nice perk of it happening there was they brought it a hazmat crew to clean it up and all I had to do was change her clothes and clean her up. On the flight home she was still throwing up, but Bryan handled it like a champ and was ready with a handful of barf bags. I was seated on a different aisle with Myles and am fully aware I lucked out-especially because Myles slept so well. At one point, Kelly said she walked by and Bryan and Emma were cashed out. Bryan, always prepared, had the barf bag over Emma's face while they both slept. Haha! On the decent, our friend's kid began to throw up! We were quite the infectious crew! Gross! The flight attendants made sure to announce that they would have a cleaning crew come through before the next flight! Oh man, what are ya gonna do? We made it home and everyone is now recovered.

Adios Mexico!

Mexico: Day 7

We made the most of our last day. The girls went to the spa in our building and enjoyed a pedicure.  This was Emma's first pedicure. Londyn and Emma did really well. (It was the longest pedicure I've ever had!) Bryan and I got a massage the night before so I was feeling extra relaxed after the pedicure!
We joined the boys at the beach for a few hours. Kelly and I took 4 kids up to the pool while Bryan and Devin enjoyed some relaxing time on the beach while Myles napped in the stroller and Paxton on a lounge chair.
The kids started to get a little hanger so we ordered some nuggets and French fries by the pool. It was the perfect break and energy rejuvenator they needed (we all needed). We packed up that night and enjoyed one more night listening to the waves and feeling the ocean breeze.