February Update

Gosh time flies by.... I would like to keep things updated. I feel like I was just writing about January. It seems we are so busy as a family. Almost every night we have something scheduled either, dance, tumbling, piano, soccer, basketball, or young men's. And often multiple things on one night. Now another months gone by and I haven't had time to post on my blog :(

** Brad - He is off his 'regular' work schedule and now he is officially on 'special ssignment'. What this means is Monday through Thursday on the day shift!!! He knows that he may be forced to cover some weekends on overtime but hopefully not too much. He has been working the crazy shifts for about 7 years. It is hard on him, so he is excited to be straight days for the rest of the year. The bummer will be when he goes back on after this year then he will really hate it, but we take what we can and and glad he has a job!

**Kim- I have been so busy with school. I am currently doing OK, I have a B in the statistics

class, which actually I feel good about. I am going to a tutor and that seems to be helping, because my understanding of the class probably isn't that great. I have been working 1 -3 days each week, with the exception of this week I have not been feeling well. So I went from being bored to a little overwhelmed.

**Stockton - He just had mid-terms and with the exception of his favorite science teacher,

he is doing ok. I went to parent teacher conference and it was funny because almost every

teacher said he was just being a little lazy, their words not mine. Brad and I have been telling him that at home though, so I think he caught on and he has been working harder the last few days so hopefully he can work to his potential. He is busy with basketball, playing futsol

and of course his favorite, piano.

** Grace - Well good news, bad news.. she went off track today. Luckily she has lots of friends

off track and she can get busy playing. Its funny to see kids grow and change. Grace has always been a busy kid and always on the go, well the last few weeks, she has been home a lot. She has really enjoyed the television. So I am hoping that this isn't a new hobby, but with spring coming I doubt it. I want her to branch out a little and meet a few new friends. She is busy with piano, dance and tumbling and doing great in school.

** Sara - She too is off track. I hope that she will have fun on her time off. She has lots of girls in her class and I know she will have a great time while off. She has had late nights each Friday night for the past month or so and its been fun to see Sara go out on her own and not just rely on Grace. I love watching her mature and become her own person. And even though she loves her friends, she still loves her sister more.

So besides, our little vacation to AZ, we have just been doing the same old, same old. Sometimes I think we are boring but then I think about that...and I am glad, because it also means nothing catastrophic either. So all is WELL!!

President's Day Weekend

WARMTH!!!!!! Yes, we went somewhere warm. For the President's Day weekend, LaRoca went to play in Phoenix, AZ again. We decided to take the family this time. So we went a couple of days before the tournament and we had a lot of fun. It was a busy weekend in Phoenix, besides the tournament we were in, there was baseball tournaments, gymnastic tournaments, a horse show and the NBA Allstar Weekend. We decided to go downtown and take in some of the fun of the Allstar Weekend and we were walking down the sidewalk and a news van pulled up and started interviewing us..well, me everyone took off running. So I was interviewed by the local news and was on the 5 PM broadcast (almost famous). We went shopping. We ate yummy food. But the best thing was it was about 70 degrees and sunny. The girls swam so much. They went from the water slide, to the hot tub, to the regular pool. It was nice to get away and be in the sun. I got to lay out by the pool in FEBRUARY. It was good times.Oh YEAH about the tournament...well, it wasn't as successful as last year. They got beat in the quarter finals by a team from Mass. they are ranked 28th in the nation, so they did good, but not GREAT. On the way home, Grace and I got bumped by the airlines, so Brad and I will be using the free airline tickets to go somewhere FABULOUS..I will keep you posted.

Graditude

Brad and I were driving home from Salt Lake last night and he works for ChevronTexaco, it is a union job. Brad has chosen not to be part of the union, he doesn't necessarily agree with the whole union thing so he is not a member. The contract with the company was under negotiations this year and it has been stressful because they have been threatening to strike to get more money and Brad not being a part of the union would have had to cross the picket lines, which was stressful for him. (He is only 1 of about 5 that are not members). Anyway, the union settled with the company and there will not be a strike. Thank goodness.
I had just been with a friend whose brother was laid off and we were just discussing the economy, and how many people we know and love that are suffering. Well about 9 years ago, we went through our own "mini depression". Brad had his own brick business and it was very good for 8 years then he tried to expand, and then there was a bump in the economy, nothing like it is now, but still Brad went without a paycheck for about 8-10 months. Luckily, we had money put away and we had parents that were in a position to help us. Which you hate but are very grateful for. At the time, it was devastating, it still chokes me up to think about the desperation I felt. I would have gotten a job but Stockton was in Kindergarten, Grace was 1 and Sara was JUST born. I remember my mom saying "you can get through this", and I saying, "give me a date, I can endure but I want a date." Well we did get through it. Brad finished his degree, (he was on the 15 year plan, but he finished.) He went and laid brick for someone else for a while and worked for Syracuse City for a while, then my sweet dad in his wisdom and kindness said one day, "Chevron is hiring, it's kind of crappy hours but it is a great company". He had worked for the company for 30 + years. So Brad applied and got the job. YES, he does work 2 weekends per month, YES, he does work 7 nights per month, YES he does work holidays, but YES he does have a GREAT job. Had that NOT happened to us 9 years ago.....he probably wouldn't have gotten another job and being in construction right now, we would have lost everything. At the time, it was a big trail but now I see that was a HUGE blessing. It breaks my heart to know people are going through hard times and I don't know when it will be over, I wish I knew a "date", I have been through it personally and hopefully I can help others as I was helped through that period. BRAD you are my rock and my hero. I love you with all of my HEART.

AWKWARD STAGE

Sweet Sara is in "that stage". She is slow at losing her teeth. The front tooth has been loose then she won't wiggle it, and it was not very cute. It has been kind of sticking out and just not cute. I have been on her case to wiggle it and get it OUT! So today, Sunday, we went to Grandpa and Grandma F's for dinner, the WHOLE crowd was there, and you can expect Jana to say something. I was trying to show her the tooth and pushed it back and the tooth CRACKED. Sara started crying, Brad got mad at me and I felt bad (not really) .....it so needed to come out. So this is her in the "jack-o-lantern" phase of life. I love her and it looks better than it did before.