Fall and Winter of 2014 - Still Catching Up

I know that I am horrible at blogging, but I do it because if for anything else, it's a journal of our family's doings through the years and I need some way to document. So for the small audience that may read this, I apologize for my slowness!

At the Ogden Temple Dedication on September 6th.

When summer concluded, Erick went back to school to start the second semester of his Masters degree. For those who don't know, Erick is doing a Masters in Civil Engineering with a focus in structures. He did graduate with an undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering from the U in 2011 but because of the economy and jobs being what they were, he was never able to find a job in his field. He was and is still working for J-U-B Engineers, who offered to pay for the tuition of his Masters Degree and help him grow with the company.  This was an avenue we hadn't considered before,  but after a years worth of work and direction in the field, we know this is the right fit! Erick took 3 graduate courses and worked full-time, also balancing me, Ryker and his Primary calling.  He did excellent in his classes and is now half way done with the program - so this time next year we will be celebrating the end of our school careers (at least for a while - I may need to go back for my Masters).

While Erick was in school, Ryker and I have kept busy and that's no joke. Ryker started a online preschool program in July called Upstart by Waterford. It is subsidized by the State of Utah and is a pilot program on early education and preparation for school. Ryker spends 30 minutes each day doing 15 minutes of math/science and 15 minutes of language arts; he does this 5 days a week every week. He knows his numbers up to 30, all of his alphabet and almost all of his sounds for each letter. He is beginning to sound out words. He can also do very basic addition and subtraction, basic geometry, fractions, placement of items (above, below, under, etc). He has also been studying life and earth sciences. Sometimes he doesn't like to do it, but I sit with him each day and try to help him feel encouraged and motivated and so far he is doing great! By the time he finishes the program in June, he will be reading and almost at a first grade level, however, we are still putting him in Kindergarten so he can learn the social skills and study skills he will need to master the classroom behavioral requirements since those are also important. We also spend a lot of time working on going to the bathroom, food habits, house cleaning, art, music, social time outside with friends, and some light cooking and house repairs. This on top of helping me or being drug around by me with my calling as Relief Society President.

Just Chillin' after a day of work and school.

Working with playdough.

Ryker decided early on this year that he wanted to be Perry the Platypus from Phineas and Ferb, the Disney show. Unfortunately, Disney does not produce a costume so we had to make one up and do it ourselves. This meant I had to learn how to read a pattern and learn to sew. This was frustrating but very educational.  You decide how I did.

Perry the Platypus Costume

Picture at the North Logan Pumpkin Walk October 25th.

Thanksgiving was spent at my Dad's home this year, as my parents divorced. Jared and his family joined us and we had a good day watching movies, playing games and eating great food. This was the first time I had ever cooked a turkey by myself and I think I did okay. Afterwards, we went home and the next day, we ended up putting up our Christmas decorations and feeding the missionaries. This was such a great opportunity to talk to the Elders about how the work is changing with technology and what we could do to help each other out. Following dinner, we drove back down to my Dad's to have a party with Erick's family. Maren and Nathan were in town, which is a rarity at this time of year so we took the opportunity to get together and enjoy a bit of time.

December was a rough month because we spent the majority of it sick. It started with the stomach/intestinal flu, then we progressed the croup virus, and then sinus infections for all of us.  Erick and Ryker were the first two sick and then because I spent hours awake night and day, I ended up getting really sick. By Christmas, we had gotten over the majority of it all, but we still have coughs that have lingered.

Sledding with Daddy - December 26th!

Sledding with Mommy - December 26th.

This year was Erick and my 6th wedding anniversary. We spent the afternoon shopping all of the discount food places here in Logan (Christmas shopping), and then went to dinner that night at The Elements - excellent service, atmosphere, and food. It was amazing to sit and reminisce on our special day but to realize 6 years are down. It goes so fast but it has been so amazing!

We enjoyed a really nice, spiritual Christmas. We invited my Dad to spend Christmas Eve and part of Christmas Day with us and we took the time to really focus on the Savior this year, which made all the difference in how we felt and how the day went. It snowed like crazy which is great considering it was the first big snowfall of the winter here in Logan. We were worried when my Dad left to go home because of how much was coming down and how fast.

Christmas Morning after Santa came!

Ryker received an Olaf from Frozen in his stocking!

Erick and I decided that we wanted to hold back on the spending for Christmas because we wanted to make memories all through the year and not give each other things that we either didn't have the money for or no place to put them in our home. So we did stockings and one gift for each other. Ryker got a fair amount from Mom and Dad, grandparents, and Santa. New Years Eve is being spent with Erick's family - Kirsten, Kyle, Taylor, BJ and Holly. It's always nice to have time to see our loved ones, especially when we ring in a new year.

That's the last half of our year in a nutshell. I promise I can and will do better with the coming year.