VERY LONG AND OVERDUE Written Update

I have to say we have been so busy that I totally forgot this blog existed. I am sorry to those of you who look forward to its frequent updates. Let me just start with when I went to stay at home mom to stay at home mom working 45 hours a week and going to school for 5 credit hours.

In August I started my new job! It is a great job and nice pay, however been a bit overwhelming and time consuming for our already busy family.  I am the Site Coordinator for the Orem Jr. High 4H Afterschool and Mentoring Program. It has brought me much joy. I really enjoy making a difference in these kids lives.  I get to go to the school from 2:30-5 on Tuesday through Friday. While there I run and direct 130 kids a week for the 4H Afterschool program. We have 8 clubs, 2 a day 4 days a week. I am in charge of rounding them all up, doing announcements, snack, pledges, and wiggle games. Then they are excused to their 1 hour club. It has been alot of fun but ALOT of work. So I work 10 hour a week out of the home and then I pick of another 10 shopping for supplies, doing the red tape part of the job and going to meetings. Ryker and Jo to go to my VT house and play for 2 hours with her 5 kids, 3 of the days,  and the rest of the time they are with Jim. The kids love the change in environment I like the time away and hopefully it will take over the cleaning job in a year or so.

We had a district wide celebration for Awareness about Afterschool Programs  last week that I was in charge of with my other 4H site coordinators. It was ALOT of work, but I got to bring my family and we ate free food, played fun free carnival games, and I got paid. That is what is soo cool about 4H they are very family oriented and all about low income alternatives. All the programs are funded by several grants so its is no or really really low cost for the program to run and the participants of it. I also run a mentoring program for 10 of the 130 kids in Afterschool 10 hour a week. I haven't quite started this as its our first year with the program in middle schools but it will be fun I think. They also provide 2 nights a month where I get to take my family to work with me at night and do fun stuff like Festival of Trees, Ice Skating,... for free.  So in other words I get paid to play with my family, mentors, mentees and friends. WAHOO!! Really I love it!

I am also in school taking a Psychology class online and a Medical Terminology class on Wed nights afterwork. I will be applying for the Weber State Radiology Program in Jan or 2009 and because I took some of the wrong sciences, trying to take the easy way out, I have to take some more to even apply. I get free tuition at UVSC because of Jims job and so I am  just getting them out of way.

OKAY so ENOUGH about me!!!

My kids are just growing up soo fast. They are just learning to get along still,,, aren't we all?

Ryker is almost 18 months and is 33 bls. He loves to climb and move, all over the place and constantly. He still squeals like a pig but now says "thank you-bye bye-mamma-papa-Jo-and hello" and then he signs "please, food, and more." 

He gives great kisses sometimes like a dog and is gettin too smart. He is a mini Jim for sure. He loves transformers, or cars of any kind, legos, to be outside, helicopters, football and more! 

He still loves all food.  He loves Jo and to just be with her all the time, she is not loving that part too much. He likes to swing outside in his swing, ride JOs bike and be with his grandparents and aunts and uncles of both families. 

He just cut 4 new teeth, his canines ouch! He is doing well through it but its taking along time. When Jo teethed it wasn't long.. she was up all night, the next morn had 2-6 teeth. Rykers have taken a bit longer and he bites everything in frustration including us. That is no fun, he draws blood.

He got to go to nursery this last week with his dad and had a blast!!!  Jim did too as he has spent the last 5 months chasing him around the church while I do music in primary. We just love to get him dancing or laughing because he is just soo fun to watch.

Now on to Jo...

JO is 3.5 will be 4 at the end of January. She is a spitten image of me, as you can see from the pics. We have had some probs with discipline with her a little lately but things seem to getting better. SHE IS POTTY TRAINING can you tell I am excited! She might get to start a preschool in Jan if she can get in. She needs it. 

She is in to puzzles lately. The Barbies, My Little Ponys, and Dolls are really not her thing. She likes to watch TV a station called Qubo it has lots of the old shows like "LambChops" and then new ones like "Veggie Tales." She also likes 2 new shows on PBS called "Super Why" and "Word World" they both teach letters, reading, words, and problem solving. 

She loves to read books, we can't get her to go to bed without at least 2-3. She is still having a problem with wanting to go to bed at a decent hour. She likes to draw and right now her choice of art are spider or ghosts. 

She is a smart little cookie, one day she did a 100 piece puzzle all by herself. She is still doing this and has since moved on to 150 pieces. She is so funny to watch while she does it and is soooo PROUD when done. She will pick up a piece, look at it, the colors then look at the puzzle,  then she will start to place it. She works from the outside in which drives all the Innes family members insane as they work from making an edge and then inward. Jo just does groups at a time. We are really proud of her. She also likes to paint and color with her Aunt Jo, Angela, Amy, and Cortney. She is working on staying in the lines.

We are excited for Christmas as it will be lots of puzzles, books and movies really.

She counts to about 17 and can recognize numbers 1  to 13. She knows she is 3. "Thats how old I are huh mom" she says. We are working on the ABCS. 

She also loved to play tea party with her grandpa "spike/mike" cousins, or Uncle Digger. She loves to roughhouse with Digger alot and we can't wait for them to have kids to play with too. hint hint!

Now JIM

He is still workin hard for us and being a great dad and husband. Me being gone alot lately has been a strain but he is being so awesome about it. We, him and I, get to go to San Antonio the 2nd week in Nov for his work for a week. It will be a nice little trip. If any of you know places there we HAVE to go let us know.

Ever since "Transformers" came out in July. He has been busy building his own new collection of them since his mom got rid of them when he was young. He says he could have put both our kids through school  with his old collection and the value of it. Anyway I think he has about 20 big and small and some that talk and move on their own. Jo and Ryker love them too.

He sets and plays with them often. I think its soo cute as he concentrates on the more difficult. When asked why  he does such things he explains that he is smart and very technically minded and as he takes time to play it helps him to stay that way. He begins to ponder about ideas and inventions. I told him okay!

He is still flying helis. We had a helicopter funfly in Sept in Lehi that we were in charge of.  It was a great success, lots of pilots, people, and prizes. Jim won the biggest prize a Trex600 worth 400 and some other stuff all for the $50 he put in to the raffle. It was really fun too and we didn't get hailed on this year. All though.. JO did have some probs, she got sick the first night, so I had to take her home at 3AM to Orem to sleep. She locked her self in the RV and then when we finally got her to open a window and over achieving friend of Jims slammed open the window too fast and her poor little hand was in it so her cut up her fingers pretty bad. She also fell over in a chair. "Just like your mom" my parents say as they laugh and reminisce about my clutziness.  The Funfly was fun. As I said Jim is still flying when he can and weather permits. The weather hasn't been to cooperative lately. He still writes for the helicopter magazine "RcHeli" and we still clean the doc office.  He is hoping to start school again in Jan.

Me... well my hair is getting longer and I have been working out some. I am still trying to stay sane with our busy life but I like it that way. I still sell AVON and Close To My Heart. I love being with my family and friends. 

We have done alot of stuff with family and friends this past year tied quilts, catered weddings,went on trips, went to funerals, played alot of cards and a card game called "Killer Bunnies" taken lots of pics and just really enjoyed being together! 

We went to Lake Mead in August shortly after the last post. I will have to post some fun pics. Ryker like the water as did JO. JO rode the water weanie, or banana some call it with her cousins. It was a nice vacation. 

In September, we had the funfly and got to spend time with Richie, Amber and Anna.

This month we have been watching our spending, been to parks and tried to embrace being outdoors. Done alot with my job. We had a new nephew born over Conference weekend names Quynton and he is a doll. Now to Halloween Jo is going to be a doctor, she got a cute FP pink set for her potty training efforts and Ryker a football player, Raiders of course.

I really look forward to the holidays ahead and seeing more family.  We love you all tons! Please take Care!