Easter 2010

It was just a nice mellow Easter this year. Since Mother Nature still thinks it's the middle of winter, all the snow on the ground stopped the Easter Bunny from hiding eggs at our house. But, that's OK, we did it for him the next day! :} We did get to enjoy time with some of the family, which is always a nice thing! Sherrie so kindly offered up dinner at her place.

We were glad to get to have Grandma with us too. These days, it's almost a fight on who's turn it is to get her on Holidays. Lucky us, we won this one! :}
Of course the boys found some time to throw the football around for a bit (which is pretty much a daily occurrence!)
And, of course, Kaley had to give us a little dance (which is also a daily occurrence! :})
That was pretty much the extent of it. Since we enjoyed our Spring Break the weekend before in sunny St. George, we were OK with that! :}

Dyl-Pickle turns 12!

It's hard to believe our little guy is now 12 years old!! You've all heard the story (if not, you can view it on his past birthday blogs, or just ask :}) of his miraculous entry into life, and how he was a fighter from that very moment (well, from the moment he was conceived; but, that's a whole 'nother story! :}). Though bringing all 3 of our kids into this world was evidence of the true miracle of birth; Dylan, in particular, was determined to get here as early as possible & gave us quite a scare! There were concerns he may have some medical/learning issues with being so premature; but, this has not been a factor at all. Now, if I could blame his over-curiosity to that, I would! He really is a smart kid though (sometimes too much for his own good! :}). It really does just seem like yesterday that his cute little self came into this world, certainly doesn't feel like it's been 12 years, I can promise you that!

He's big into the book series right now, Diary Of A Whimpy Kid. So that was the theme of his birthday. Between getting the rest of the books he didn't have, and getting to take his friends to the movie that had just came out, I think we got it covered.
Grandma & Grandpa came over to enjoy some birthday time. Toby LOVES it when Grandpa comes over & gives him extra loving! :}

No, he didn't get clothes from Justice (which is a little girl's clothing store...Kaley's favorite!). But, we had fun making him believe we did! :}
I think he was most excited about all the cash he got! Too bad he hasn't mastered the art of saving quite yet! But, he's been happy to take many runs to the gas station instead!

Happy Birthday Dyl-Pickle, WE LOVE YOU!! :}

The Beginning of Dance Competition Madness...

Welcome to our 1st year as official dance competition parents! I realize this is a lot of work for the students/teachers...they work SOOO hard!! Really, they do! But, know it's not so easy for the parents either! (especially for ones who tend to forget important things: props, times, you know....that kind of stuff! :}). Though what a great experience it's been & somehow we all survived! :}

Meet Kaley's teacher, and "Big Sis", Ambree. I'd say her "other mom"; but, she's all ready claimed Ms. Diane (owner of Dance Biz & Ambree's mom) as her own, so, guess a sister it is! :}

Ambree has done such a wonderful job with her, and the other girls. I couldn't be happier with the studio, in itself, for not only teaching them the love of dance; but, more important, for the sportsmanship & special bond you can obtain with your Dance Sisters.

Our first competition took us to St. George (and I think you all know I'll never complain about going down there! Especially when it was a whole lot warmer than home!). We got there just in time to catch some of the girls do their routines Friday night. Here she is amongst some of her other team members: Jordan, Lexi, Alexis, Davey, Ivy, Danyelle, Whitley, Kaley & Emma.

Lexi & Danyelle doing a Broadway Duo this year

Ivy giving us a shimmy

Intermission involved a little more fun dancing!

Cute little Emma encouraging Kaley not to be scared (she knew all about it, she told her! :})

And how fun they got to see their previous teammate, Lauren, who has since moved to St. George!

I want their flexibility!

One thing about these girls, they are always having fun & being silly!
"Howling at the moon!"
Kaley dying to go swimming still, despite not being able to get her hair wet or take her curlers out! :}

Other teammate, Riley, with her cute country routine.

And Emma's turn with her Rockin' School Girl number

Cuteness!

And it was finally time for Ms. Kaley! I think you can tell nerves didn't even play a factor here. She couldn't wait to get out there & do her thing!

And how fun that Aunt Sherrie just happened to be down there that weekend & got to come see her perform! She was very excited about that! :}

Way to go girls!

We had plenty of silly moments...

And some precious ones too....

We got to finish up the weekend with a BBQ at their friend, The Mickey's, house (Lauren's family). They were so kind to open it up for all of us!
Ambree with her co-hort, cousin, Kylie

The "Dance Moms"..who are just as fun & cute as their little girls! :}
A dancer never really stops dancing, right?! :}

We enjoyed their beautiful home, especially the fun game room!

Back at the hotel for a little time in the hot tub/pool.

Dyl, still our cute little kid! :}

And "Ms. Poser" is pretty cute herself!

One last round in the pool before heading home. They had to get in what they could!

Oh, how fun it is to watch your children grow & become who they are/will be! This is all part of the Joys of Parenthood I wouldn't trade in a second!! :}

Back in the saddle again!

So, here I go with the next phase in this crazy thing we call life! It's funny how you look back & categorize these phases: your school days, college days, when you start your family, or when you worked at different places, whatever. Well, as most of you know, I took the last 5 years "off " to focus on being a stay at home mom (I say that figuratively since I was probably busier than ever & really was never "home" too often!). But, the main focus was being more available for my kids as much as possible. Not to say the Dad's role is any less; but, let's be honest, it's generally the wife/mom who are essentially responsible to take care of the household, and to get kids where they need to be, etc. (and luckily Doug is really good at helping there too!). As much as I loved working for Fidelity, it wasn't exactly easy to work around your personal/family life with odd shifts, lots of continuous OT & virtually no flexibility! This time off gave me a chance to certify as a Jazzercise Instructor, and be able to do what I love to do, at the same time. I'm glad for that...we always need to take care of ourselves too, so that we are a better wife/mother! :} It allowed me to be on the PTA Board & be much more involved in the kid's school. This past year it gave me the opportunity to help with Kaley's class each week, which is something I would really look forward to. Helping 6-7 year olds with their words & learning how to read is so fulfilling! :} Of course there were many other pros to this; but, as the saying goes, "The Grass Is Always Greener On The Other Side". There's always the good & bad to both (like not having a decent steady paycheck would be one of the bad sides to that :}). During this 5 year time frame, I did still take on a part time job eventually to help out & glad they could be flexible with me for all my needs; but, it wasn't exactly the happy career choice I'd been dreaming about! :} And if I was going to go back to full time, I had to be sure it was somewhere I wanted to be (for being at work that is! :})


So, needless to say, here I am back in the corporate world again....hence, time to begin the next phase. This time around it wasn't about the "status/job title" or just finding any job. Again, it was about finding a reputable place that is known as a good company to work for & where I believe I would enjoy working. It's been a tough process....let's face it, jobs are not as easy to find these days with our current economy. I had a few friends go to CompHealth (a medical staffing company) from Principal (my job prior to Fidelity)...they were in the same building. They all tell me they love their job. That in itself tells you something (and hey, bonus if you get the chance to work with some good friends too :}). I also read in the Forbes Magazine how they were listed #26 in the Top 100 Companies to work for in the country. That told me I needed to try & get on here! I had to be patient, it took numerous interviews & 6 months of trying to get on; but, here I am! One week into it so far & I can honestly say, at least so far, I love my job! (which, if you care, is to find housing options for traveling physicians, in a nutshell). The people here are great (including one of my besties, Connie..aka: Jonesy, as well as Laci-Loo, Neener, Coley, Natty-Poo (from Oregon that is), and other previous co-workers! :}). CHG's (CompHealth) #1 Core Value is "Putting People First" & I believe them in just the little bit I've seen so far! All companies should have this kind of mindset. I realize they're "just words"; but, it's important & that is exactly the kind of company I was hoping for!


So, here I go again to longer days. Let's be honest, I all ready miss my "Morning Jazzercise Ladies," oh how I loved starting my day with them; "alone time while kids are at school"; being with Kaley's class each week (those cute little stinkers made me feel so loved on my last day..just love that age! :}); and sleeping longer some mornings (oh, it's been a while since I was up before the break of dawn!). But, such is life...do what you've got to do, right? And this is what I had to do at this time in life....so, Let It Be, as the Beatles would say! :} Wish me luck!

Oh.....and I know due to all this, and finishing the other job, and dance competitions, and all the other family stuff & madness in our lives; I am pretty behind again on all the happenings of The Coleman Five. But, give me 'til May & I'm on it!! I have some darn cute pics to include too! :}