Rudy's LAST year of school!!!!!!

After about 10 years of college, (sometimes going part time or taking just a class or two while I went to grad school) Ru can finally say he's in his last year!! :) I'm so proud of him for not only how hard he's worked, but for the energy and guts it takes to go back to school for another completely different degree. It hasn't been an easy or quick road at all, but he's almost there! This will be his last academic year and then he'll have a semester of internships, and then after passing his boards ... he'll be a licensed PT!!!!!! I'm telling you, I've been planning his graduation party for a few years now, and it will be a good one!! :)

For our mothers who care about this sort of thing...

Ru's classes this semester are: Cardiopulmonary Seminar, Clinical Electrophysiology II and Lab, Management of Musculoskeletal Disorder II and Lab, Clinical Pathophysiology, Neuromuscular Management and Lab, Masters Research Project Class and Neuro Clinic to treat patients. That's 9 classes, folks! I'm so glad I'm not in his shoes!! :)

Good-bye summer! Can't wait to see you again!!

Our God is faithful!

I got the Kindergarten P.E. job!!!!! You should have seen my victory dance! ;) I'm in awe of how God works and just how perfectly all things have come together. A year and a half ago when I found out I'd lose my job, I panicked. I was around 20 weeks pregnant and didn't know what in the world we would do. Thoughts of health insurance and interviewing while very visibly pregnant for who knows what kind of job filled my head with tons of worry. Then, later in the day, I felt a sense of peace wash over me. I knew that God had blessed us with a child knowing full well I'd lose my job and if He thought that was ok, there must be a plan I just didn't know about. Ultimately, He knew better than I did about what I'd need or want. The day Kyle was born, my world changed and all I wanted was to stay home with him. Thanks to losing my job, I got to spend the entire first year of my son's life at home!! And now God's provided a way for me to still be a SAHM for half of the time and make enough money to cover our needs. It almost sounds too good to be true!

What's so good about it? Well, it's a 50% position, which means I'll be working Tuesday and Thursday all day (8:30 to 2:30) and Wednesday half day (8:30 to 11:30). I can still teach the K-1 class on Fridays and be home with Kyle on Mondays and all other afternoons. And?? Rudy's school schedule "just happens" to perfectly mesh with my schedule. He'll be home two mornings watching Shmu, and I'll only have to pack the boy up to go to Grammie's one day a week, So childcare is free and with family!!! (Thanks Ru and Mom!) Then, from a professional point of view, I get to keep my foot in the door and add another year to seniority and the pay scale, all the while broadening my experience as a teacher with the new subject matter and age group. And although I miss teaching and will one day be very excited to get back in the classroom, I'm not there yet. I'm still 100% enjoying being a mom and can't fathom how I will be able to be the kind of teacher I once was as well as the kind of mom I continue to strive to be, all at the same time. So, having all the benefits of being labeled (and paid) as a teacher without all the work is just perfect!! When I'm done for the day, I can just come home and be a mom. No working late in my room, no report cards, no papers to grade... just be a wife and mother! :)

I knew God had a good plan in mind... I've just been a little anxious to see what it would be! And I couldn't be more grateful for how this has all turned out.

I have an interview!!!!!!!!

Can you tell I'm excited about it this time? :) I really, really want this job because just about everything about it would be perfect for this time in our lives. A while back I got a phone call from the HR dept. of my former school district. They are finally down to my name on the seniority list of potential re-hires. This is much, much sooner than I had anticipated because I've heard that districts all around are still being asked to cut millions.

On Friday at 9:30am I'll be interviewing for a 50% Kinder P.E. position. I'll explain why this is so great if I get the job. I'm pretty nervous because I want it so badly and have a lot to lose if I don't get it. I know there are at least 4 others vying for the job. One lady is a former colleague who has a lot of experience in the primary grades, especially Kindergarten. It's always unsettling to have to walk into an interview and sell myself in a matter of minutes and it's especially hard when I know the competition is formidable.

(sigh!)

I'd so appreciate your prayers! I'll update as soon as I'm through. In the meantime, I hope I don't turn green! :)

Our little character!

Curious just doesn't quite describe it. I know all babies/kids are to an extent, so when I try to think of how to describe Kyle, I'm just at a loss. The kid has to touch and explore absolutely e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g!! He can't go in a room without touching the wall, checking out the furniture textures, pulling a book down only to be distracted by something in the corner. This is how it goes until everything touchable in the whole house has been touched and tinkered with. I'm sure it's a good thing, but it is so exhausting to keep an eye on him in new places or to take him anywhere. Lately, I've heard my parents, my sister and Rudy all saying that they are absolutely worn out after spending time with him. It's nice that he's so mellow and doesn't fuss much, but being able to sit still for a minute would be great, too! :)

Here are some silly Dinker pictures:

He loves to climb on our couch.

And just has to push his car all by himself. (Going to the park, a total of 2 blocks, can take an hour now.)

Anything with wheels is sure to entertain him. He's made lots of friends at my grandma's living facility.
Climbing onto and into things is a current favorite.

He adores his Papa and just about climbs his way into Dad's shower each morning. Don't worry, Ru's got him on the other side.

A fun day!

First, our good friend Frank surprised us with a spontaneous breakfast at our favorite place in Newport. It was so nice to eat out and catch up. It wasn't so nice to have to switch taking Kyle out for a walk back and forth, up and down, all around town. The kid refused to sit still and so badly wanted to walk out into the street. Stairs pacified him enough for us to finish our meal, alternating between us, of course. I don't think I want to go out to eat with him for a long time. :)

On one of the many walks with Papa.

Then, GG came on a layover!! After a dip in the pool, we went on a bike ride. Kyle loved riding in Daddy's basket in our back alley way.

We love this smile and love that he's giving it to his Grandma!He was adamant that he was going to climb this.

Kyle learned how to turn around on his belly and slide down all by himself. When his feet touch the floor, he goes right back up the steps to do it again!
Daddy taught him how to slip rocks through the cracks of this drain.

And after Kyle was in bed, we brought in a delicious meal Gina treated us to. Just perfect!

Kyle the Climber!

While setting some things up in my classroom today, Ru and I were shocked to turn around and see this...

His first look is asking us whether or not he's in trouble. When I took out the camera, he figured he was ok and gave us a huge smile. My slow camera caught his second, more tentative smile as Ru and I were shaking our heads in dismay!

Mind you, we had already childproofed the room and I guess we'd figured there would be no way he could climb such big steps and at such a steep angle. Guess again, mom and dad!

Murdo!

We're back! And I'm in culture shock!! My dad was the first to mention it and when he did, I was reminded of having the same feeling every time we'd come home from such a trip. It's just crazy how we can wake up, have breakfast and lunch in one place and then come home for dinner halfway across the country just 3 hours later, to find ourselves in such a different world. We left a small town (of 679 btw. Google was wrong.) where everyone waves hello even if they don't know who you are, you can leave any door unlocked because you are completely safe, the skies are a perfect, clear blue with almost fake-looking puffy, white clouds, and where it's totally safe for Kyle to help Grandpa drive the car on country roads. And then we arrived at LAX and traffic on the 405! Although my dad and I were both in agreement that we love where we live... it is hard to come back. There's something about the wide open spaces and sky full of stars at night that feels therapeutic. I don't know if we're over glamorizing some of the things we like about it, or if we just don't want to come back to our lives full of busyness and stress. Either way, I guess it's just a good thing we can appreciate both worlds and the trip was a really good one for us.

Kyle is a super traveler and did really well on both flights. I was pleasantly surprised to find that our flight out together was uneventful and easy. I think we have our system down by now, and it helped to have a direct flight. Kyle's favorite activity on the plane was pulling the window shade down and pushing it up. This, and playing with the tray table, went on for about an hour.

Right away we saw family in Sioux Falls and then drove out to Murdo with my grandparents and parents. We weren't on the road for more than a few miles before familiar SD things like bug splats on the windshield started appearing. About an hour and a half into the drive, we couldn't see out the window and had to stop to clean it. It was fun to count down the towns until we got "home." We had a great time being with my grandparents and showing Kyle all of our favorites. The only thing missing were some friends, siblings, and cousins. This was the first time in my life when I was the only "kid" around. Kyle kept us busy though. He did a great job sleeping and eating!!! I don't know if he's going through a growth spurt or what, but the boy was chowing down on big people food! Hooray! And I don't know if his extra energy came from sleeping so well or what, but the boy was on turbo speed and my parents and I were completely worn out! I warned Rudy, who'd had 3 nights of beautiful, uninterrupted sleep, that when I got home, it'd be his turn to watch Kyle and let me sleep in. Well, Ru played with Kyle most of the day, and after all their wrestling, outdoor activities including a bike ride, jeep ride and wagon ride, as well as playing with neighborhood friends, Ru said he was worn out, while Kyle just couldn't get enough!

Shmu was really excited to see his Papa and be home. He loved exploring every room and checking things out, as well as playing with his toys. He started loading his dump truck and dumping! And, he's learned how to open and close zippers. Most of all, we could tell he liked being with both his parents.

You can click on the album below to see our photos. Then, click on the slideshow button, if you'd like.

Kyle and Momma in Murdo, 2010

Thank you, Dad and Mom! I really appreciated everything about going back (minus the heat, humidity, mosquitoes and grasshoppers, of course)!!

Our Family

Thanks to my cousin Mark and his lovely wife, Lisa, we have some pictures of our family at Kyle's 1 year mark. 288 pictures, exactly. Here are some of our favorites.

Thanks, M&L! We love you!

US Open of Surfing

Huntington Beach is hosting the US Open of Surfing this week. So, Saturday morning, bright and early, before much of the crowds and traffic could get really bad, we went to watch the pro surfer heats. It was fun for Ru to see what the pros can do on waves he surfs regularly, and fun for me to watch some of the big names I've heard about for so long. It was amazing. It was also nice that the marine layer didn't burn off till noon, so it was nice and cool.

I don't know what Kyle thinks about surfing, but I do know that he's fascinated with Daddy's skateboard. He wants to ride it all the time.
Then, while Kyle napped, I got to clean the house uninterrupted! Woohoo! Yes, I was THAT excited about my clean house and the chance to get it all done at once! Speaking of exciting... my wonderful, amazing, beautiful, unselfish, thoughtful, and oh so generous cousins in LA came over to give Ru and I a date night!!!! Not only did they offer this wonderful gift, but my cousin's wife actually emailed a list of dates for us to choose from (meaning they were really serious about their offer). Love her!

My cousin Mark has an amazing camera and is a really good photographer, too. So, we asked if they could come down a little earlier in the afternoon to take some casual family/Kyle's 1 year pictures for us. Excited to post those next!

Ru and I got to use a couple of gift cards (one for dinner and another to "pay" my cousins for their babysitting) and enjoyed a quiet, nice dinner out. We tried super hard to not talk about Kyle and I'm pleased to say, we accomplished our goal! It was something very strange to order off a menu (I sound like I'm 12!) and not have to feed a little mouth beside me. I forced myself to eat slowly and enjoy every minute of it. We finished off the night by going to see Inception at the movie theater.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, Mark and Lisa! Love you guys!

Kyle likes Marley

We finally got a clip of Kyle's latest moves. He loves to bounce to music and especially likes to bob his head ever so subtly when he's eating in his high chair.