What We've Been Up To...

It's that time again. Lance is preparing for yet another round of finals... luckily his last! Class is winding down, study guides are being circulated, and stress is starting to build. Lance has his last final the 14th of May, followed by the beginning of his BAR review class the 19th (which is everyday from then until July 9th 6 DAYS A WEEK!!!) In his "spare time" he is researching SUV's and trying to decide what would be best for our family. He finally got his start date for work... November 16th. A little later than we would have hoped but definitely better than the January 1st we thought it might be. He is excited to end school and ready to start his career.

Am I really going to post this flattering picture of me? Those of you who know me aren't really that surprised, are you?
I had just tried to defuse my hair... it still DOESN'T work, obvioulsy. If nothing else I'll look back at this picture and laugh... it was the only one I could find of just me... go figure.

It's that time again. Finals for Lance, which means I have to grin and bear the long days without him and the even longer evenings with him holed up in the bedroom. During this time of year I really have to work on my attitude. I try to be supportive but find myself making excuses for him to "take a break" and help with the girls. This time around I think I'm going to have a list of things we can do when we reach that "bored" time of the day when Beth and Izzy start going for blood. I have to remind myself this is the last time (ummm.. then we enter the real world stage of life where he comes home at 6:30 every night instead of just Monday and Tuesdays). On a more positive note I am feeling good, exercising regularly, staying busy with my calling (Compassionate Service), enjoying friends (ok- "friend"...Thanks Melis), and starting to read Teaching Your Children Values by Linda and Richard Eyre. I'm constantly thinking about our future, which car to buy, where to buy a house, whether to move to Utah for those 3 months inbetween when our lease is up and Lance starts his job, etc. We are once again at a "moving for the summer" point and I'm less than excited to pack up our stuff for storage while trying to guess what we'll need for the next 3 months of our lives. Thankfully I know with the Lord's help everything will work out... that keeps me from pulling my hair out :)

Beth has been trying her best to be cooperative and obedient... or has she? She is struggling with telling the difference between being nice to her sister and bugging her uncontrollably. We are in the "if you have it I must want it stage" and both girls are playing their parts "awfully" well. Beth is still clinging onto her pink blankie with her very life, although an Easter beenie baby has been added to the pile of stuff that has to go everywhere with us. Some of the things Beth is enjoying in her life right now are : playing outside every minute she can with Izzy (usually includes dumping dirt down Izzy's clothes), chewing gum (she just mastered this), dressing up (we go through at least 3 outfits a day), trying to ride her new bike (work in progress), and trying to get away with tormenting Izzy without being caught. She is very independent and sometimes our personalities clash. We are thankful for Lance to be the peacemaker in our home :)

Izzy has been teething. That should tell you all. She was once a very happy baby, happy to play by herself, and do her thing. She still enjoyes doing her thing, which includes playing in toilet water, eating toilet paper, unloading the dishwasher as fast as I can load it, trying on everyone's shoes, playing outside every waking moment, and recently carrying around her blanket and sucking on the tassles (heaven help us! I can't imagine where she learned that from!) When Izzy is not clinging to my legs and fussing she is still a bubbly happy toddler (is she really that old?) She turned 15 months yesterday and I am stubbornly hanging onto her as my "baby". Some of Izzy's favorites are cheese, milk, hot dogs, ice cream (duh), and a Dum Dum sucker whenever her sister has one (those of you who know my OCDness can laugh at the mess I have to deal with afterward)

We are all content and healthy for the most part. We are enjoying our 70-80 degree weather and spending as much time outside as possible. We are excited to start another chaper in our lives and finally be a little settled. I hate not knowing exactly what that chaper will hold but hey, I guess that's life...