California Dreaming

Coming this summer we are packing our bags for a summer in Redwood City, CA (40 minutes south of San Francisco). Stephen got offered a summer internship at DreamWorks Animation. This is a great career opportunity that fell into Stephen’s lap. DreamWorks contacted his academic advisor asking if he could recommend anyone for this position. He recommended Stephen. Stephen interviewed, answered a bunch of nerdy technical questions correctly and got the job.

Although this is a great opportunity, the thought of it has brought me a few days of great stress. See, Stephen was already offered a teaching position at the U this summer. The pay was good but it was just a job and not in the field of computer graphics Stephen wants a career in. In my mind I was planning on him teaching this summer and us living our regular lives in Utah.

Then this opportunity with DreamWorks came along. This position is in the exact field and type of company Stephen wants to work for when he graduates. The experience and contacts are priceless, but the pay is not so good. And since the cost of rent is sooooo high there, nearly all of his income will go toward rent. That’s the part that brings me the most stress.

Psychologically, I have to tell myself that we are going for the experience, contacts, and a fun summer in gorgeous California, “all expenses paid.” We won’t come home rich in money, but rich in experiences, new friends, and fun.

California here we come.

P.S. Anyone want to rent our house for the summer? Anyone know of someone in the Redwood City area with an inexpensive apartment to rent? If so, let us know.

Here Be Giggles

One day when Jeana wasn't home, the girls and I had fun with the webcam.  Warning: it may make you laugh.

From D.I. to Dream Kitchen

A few months ago “Mrs. Claus” was reading this blog and saw how to turn an old wood entertainment cabinet into a play kitchen. She fell in love with the idea and knew Mallory and Eva would love it too. She knew they already had a little play kitchen and really didn’t have room for a bigger one. Plus, it would be a lot of work. So it didn’t really make sense to make one. But common sense rarely stops “Mrs. Claus” from doing anything. She told herself that if on one of her random trips to the D.I. she came across an ideal entertainment cabinet at the right price she would know it was meant to be and she would buy it. And sure enough, on one of those trips she came across this one. It was $15, so it was meant to be.

Before

She didn’t know how she would get it to her “workshop” since her “sleigh” wasn’t big enough and Mallory and Eva were with her. Luckily, a friend let her borrow their “sleigh” and she was able to pick it up that night.

When she brought it into the “workshop” and “Santa” saw it, he gave her the biggest roll-of-the-eyes she has ever seen from him. All he could think about was how heavy it was and how big it was and if it was going to fit in the girls’ play area.

So, after nights and nights of hard work and with borrowing power tools from elf-like friends, “Mrs. Claus” was able to turn the old entertainment cabinet into this:

After

“Mrs. Claus” was right the girls loved it.

Here Comes Suzy Snowflake

I began teaching my daughters dance. I figured I knew enough about dance to teach them. It has really worked out great. My niece Julianne even joined the class. We have class once a week in our basement. We have a 30 minute dance class followed by 30 minutes of play time. It has been fun for all of us. For Christmas I taught them a dance to "Suzy Snowflake."
My girls were good sports about performing it twice on Christmas Eve for both sides of the family. I would love to post the video of their performance, but blogger is being dumb and won't upload it.

Computer Genius

There is a fine line between genius and lunatic and during finals week Stephen was leaning more towards the lunatic side. But all his hard and crazy work paid off. He got straight A’s. I am so proud of him. He definitely earned every one of those A’s.

Merry, Merry!!!

To Know Him is to Love Him

The best decision I ever made was to marry Stephen. And the best day of my life was my wedding day. I can remember when I told my mom Stephen and I wanted to get married. She told me later that she went home and cried all night long. I remember her calling me and telling me how sad she was about our decision. See, she didn't know Stephen. She had only met him a few times before our announcement. It made me sad to think I was causing my mom distress. For a moment the thought crossed my mind, "Okay, I don't need to marry him, but I need to figure out a way to get him in my family." Then it occurred to me that to know Stephen is to love him. My mom just needed a chance to get to know him and she too would love him. Sure enough, he wooed her too. It wasn't long before she was hugging him good-night after family parties and just giving me a "see ya later" wave out the door. Stephen is a wonderful man full of kindness, humor, optimism, intelligence and integrity, just to name a few of his qualities. I love him and if you know him I bet you secretly have a little crush on him too.

Happy Birthday Stephen!