Amazon Offer

I am happy to report that I received an offer from Amazon!  All that hard work and the long hours over the summer have paid off.  Amazon is an incredible company and this is a very nice option to have.  We are going to look around a little more to see what else is out there but the offer is very enticing!  We will keep you informed as we make our decision.

BYU Football

We bought some tickets from a couple of MBA students so we could go as a family to the BYU vs. Wyoming football game yesterday. I knew that this could quite possibly be our one and only football game we get to attend in person this year, so we tried to make the most of it. There were lots of rain clouds floating around all morning so the kids and I made ponchos out of trash bags for each of them and then they decorated each with markers. Thinking that we would be cold and wet we came prepared with jackets, ponchos and hats for everyone. The kids both wanted their cheeks decorated so we drew the appropriate Y's and BYU's and were ready for the game! 

Of couse when we got there the clouds all went away and the sun made us pretty hot. But I'm glad we went prepared for anything!

 

The bad thing about the student section is that you have to stand a lot if you want to see the game since the surrounding fans are all standing. But luckily it wasn't packed and so we could take up a little more room on the bench that we normally could if everyone had shown up. 

Katelyn enjoyed the game the least, but she did like helping me clap, especially when we sang the fight song after every touchdown.

And she liked trying on Justin's hat multiple times.

We had a great time at the game and were so glad that we got to go to one. After the 3rd quarter however, we decided that Katelyn especially was ready to go. 2 1/2 hours in the sun and not being able to walk around anywhere is tough for any 15 month old! So we beat the crowds and got back to our van and watched the last quarter at Marianne and Rob's house! It was nice to watch it on a comfy couch,

and the kids were more than happy to "help" Marianne in her brownie-making efforts. She had much more help than she was used to having. But the kids love to help in the kitchen and they weren't quite as interested in the outcome of the football game as the rest of us were. What a fun day!

We were very pleased with the outcome of the game.....

44-0. Go Cougars!

Halleluiah!

We finally got a replacement for our video camera that died early in the summer. It has been very tempramental since we took it to Nauvoo, IL for a family reunion two years ago (it really didn't like the humidity). But when we hit Seattle this summer it refused to work anymore. We finally took it in for an estimate and found that it would cost more to repair than it was worth. After lots of research, let me introduce you to the Flip video camera. It is the smallest video camera I've ever operated!

It is so fun to use though! We had fun video taping the kids yesterday. 

Last night Justin took Lindsey on a special Daddy-daughter date. 

They went to the Botany Pond to feed the ducks at Lindsey's request and had a picnic dinner that she had helped me make before they left. They had a great time! Justin took this cute video of her while on the date with our new Flip camera. Check it out:

 

While they were out having fun Brandon, Katelyn and I got out the blocks to build towers in the front room. Katelyn enjoyed stakcing them for a few minutes but quickly learned that it is much more fun to knock the towers over. Brandon had to protect his "castle with a football field and a basement" many times from the destroyer. 

I don't know why Katelyn kept trying to step on the blocks. It looked like it hurt to me!

We had a fun time though. Hopefully we will be able to continue the "date" tradition every few weeks so that the kids get to have some one-on-one time with their dad. He's so busy with school!

Cinnamon Crunch Popcorn

On Sunday night before the kids went to bed we decided to make a treat as a family. The kids voted to get the Whirley Popper out. It had been a while since we'd made popcorn that way, so we were excited to give it a try with the kids. They were great helpers and took turns at turning the handle while the popcorn got hot.

 Lindsey was pretty excited when she heard the popcorn pop. 

Good job kids! We ate the whole bowl in one sitting and it was yummy!

Hooray!

Hooray for: 

Homemade salsa that turned out really yummy....

only my second attempt....

and this time I made my own version because of my ingredient choices.

We had tons of fresh tomatoes and onions from Justin's parents in AZ and their canned jalepenos too, so it really was AZ salsa!

It got the stamp of approval from Justin, and he always has an opinion about salsa. 

(Maybe he's just being nice?)

(Note to Justin: I don't plan on cutting up that many tomatoes by hand again for a few months, so enjoy it while it lasts!)

Hooray for breakfast outdoors in your pajamas on a Saturday morning.

(Hooray for Grandpas and Grandmas too!)

Hooray for little girls in sundresses, especially ones with gingham!

Hooray for waterslides

Whether you go down forwards

Or backwards

And finally...

Hooray for all of the MBA opening socials (#3 tonight)/information fairs/orientation events and other dress-up events we have been to in the last two weeks. Hey, it's nice to have a reason to dress up sometimes! The craziness has begun! :)

Hey Duckies!

Feeding the ducks at the Botany Pond is always a fun thing to do when you're in Provo and the weather is nice.


The ducks really loved the Cheerios.


Katelyn thought we had brought them for her and protested when we gave them to the ducks instead.

Brandon tried a few different throwing techniques, but the ducks didn't seem to care how the Cheerios got to the ground.

The ducks made Katelyn a little nervous

But by the end I think she was trying to say "quack!" After all, she and the ducks could agree on one thing....Cheerios are so yummy!

SNOW??

We had an unseasonably cold day on Labor Day here in Utah. Lots of wind and rain in the morning. Our high only reached 63 degrees in the afternoon with the sun shining. I'm glad we had our jackets out! I was shocked to see snow on the mountains when the clouds cleared away. I'm not ready for it to get cold! N0 snow in September!

Moab

Since Justin is in the thick of school now, I don't know if he'll ever get around to writing about his trip to Moab. So I thought I'd at least post some pictures. He went on a retreat there Labor Day weekend with the MBA Marketing Association. Let's just say that it was a very successful trip, and I think they had a little bit too much fun.

The Hummer Tour

The MBA Marketing Association (MBAMA) Presidency

Delicate Arch

They also enjoyed rafting down the river and spending time with recruiters from four different companies that recruit marketing MBA's from BYU.

All in all, a good trip, and only a little sunburn.