Update

So I really, really did not want to start a blog. I've been resisting for years. But my kids all decided they were going to start their own so I thought, great, now I'm the outdated mom (insert eye roll here). I gotta keep up with my own kids, at least.

Here's the update on us. Troy is still working at EchoStar (Dish Network). He is currently looking for a job where he is appreciated for his multitude of talents, though. This weekend he is going on a trip to California with all his brothers (he has 5 of them). He should have a lot of fun. . . I'm jealous, I want a trip!

He just built some shelves in the garage and I'm bugging him to build more. He's very useful for that sort of thing.

Rachel and Jacob are taking classes online this year. They are loving it, too! Their teachers and curriculum are online, I just have to keep them on task. Rachel is really into reading, lately. She read all the Twilight books and is currently in the middle of one of the Warriors series. Her birthday is in February so she is looking forward to going to church dances.

Jacob loves to draw. That is probably one of the biggest understatements you've ever heard. His favorite thing to draw is dragons. We have boxes and boxes of his drawings in our house. He's also really into cryptozoology. If you don't know what that is, you should ask him. He prides himself on being almost as tall as me. He's only 5'4" and I'm 5'7" so I can still take him.

Amanda is a fifth grader in the Gifted and Talented class at school this year. She was so used to being the smartest kid in the class, the oldest kid in the class, the first one done with all her assignments, the fastest reader, etc. that when she moved into this class, which is fifth and sixth graders combined, she had a real identity crisis. She's doing great now, though, and is really excited that there are other LDS kids in the class. She's making friends and influencing people, or so the saying goes.

Samantha is in Third Grade. Her teacher, who was Amanda's teacher a couple of years ago and has had Rachel and Jacob in to help out every week, keeps wondering about her. She's as smart as the other kids but didn't seem to have the motivation that the others do. The first few weeks of school we couldn't get her to read anything. All of the sudden, though, and just like my other girls, she decided that she wanted to be a reader. Now she wins almost every reading challenge each week (they're supposed to read at least 100 minutes a week - she usually reads over 300!) She tried to read Twilight before the movie came out but couldn't make it. Still, she's over halfway done!

So, now me. . . I've had some fun this year. Troy and I learned how to scuba dive and we went down to Cozumel with his family for a scuba trip. I almost died but it was really fun. I got released from my calling as the Primary President in the ward. I'm now the Relief Society Secretary. Quite a change but I'm loving it.

I'm no longer doing videos. I've switched over completely to photography. It's a big relief to be able to focus more. I still want to focus it even more on just wildlife photography, but the portraits make money so that's what I'm doing. I enjoy it and all but I'd rather hone my skills in just one area. As you can see, no picture of me with this part of the post. That's why I became a photographer, so I don't have to be in front of a camera (he, he, he!)