CA BALL

It has been a while since my last post. There has been a lot going on lately. I want to post about this special day that we celebrated on Jan.27. It was a day for all the people who were successful writing the UFE exam for becoming a CA in September. Technically Jeff isn't a CA quite yet, he needs to put in a few more hours articling, but it will only be a few more months until that changes and he can choose the type of job that truly interests him.
The day started out with a ceremony, where each person being honored at the ceremony had a fellow CA introduce them and give some sort of 2 minute speech about them. It was a given that Jeff would choose one of his brothers. He of course chose the one that always has something funny to say, usually at some one else's expense. This was no exception. Mark presented Jeff and was short and sweet with his comments, of course he did have to throw one not so nice comment in there, but we won't mention what that was about.
The evening was a great big party, where everyone gets all dolled up for a 5 course meal followed by a dance. It started with everyone who passed the UFE being marched in by a bag piper. There were a couple of speeches and then the night began. I must admit, the food was pretty good, the evening was entertaining and the live band was old, but good. It was a great evening, well suited for such an exciting time in our lives.
I am so proud of Jeff and all the work he has done to get where he is. I am excited for him to be able to have options in his career path, and I can't wait until that time comes for him in a few months. He deserved this night for everyone to recognize him and his accomplishments and the future that he holds.

This is the only picture I could get of him before he left for the ceremony in the afternoon. He sure wasn't interested in posing.

The best picture I have of Mark presenting him.

From Left to Right:
Farhan, Colleen, Trent, Louisa, Kim, Jeff (of course)
This is a group of people who also passed the test. With the exception of Kim, who was his "MENTOR" for the UFE exam. I think Jeff's definition of mentor is free lunches, and not much more than that.
Jeff is really lucky to have this group of people to work with, they are all so nice and it seems that they have a good time with each other.

It is time to celebrate!!

I am so excited because Clara is finally potty trained!! I can't believe it! It is so nice. I thought it would be hard going out and having to run to the bathroom all the time, but it's not like that at all. We can still make our regular trips to the mall without any problem, and that's what matters!! We still have to work on night time, but that's ok, she's getting better at that. I am so happy!!

These are some pictures of the kids last week. Jeff has been really busy at work and had gone without seeing the kids for a couple of days, so I took these pictures for him. I just love how they play together, they just love each other, and I hope it is always that way. Clara is such a good big sister and such a mother to him.

Swimming Lessons

I started the kids in swimming lessons and they love it!! I was a little nervous about Donovan because he has never been swimming before and he is a disaster in the bath because he won't sit still for a second, but he sure enjoyed swimming! The second we entered the water, he was splashing and laughing like crazy and he continued doing so for the whole 30 min lesson. Clara just loved it as well. She had no fear and loved putting her whole head under water. My mom will be coming with us because Jeff will be so busy at work, so it's good that the we will have some quality time with Grandma. I am so excited for the remainder of the lessons. I think the kids will just love it!! They didn't even know what they were getting into, but they were really excited hanging out in the locker room waiting for us to get ready!!


Donovan's first swim, what a sport!!

Christmas 2006

We had a fabulous Christmas. Very simple, and lots of fun.
We started out on the 23rd with a trip to Cardston to visit Jeff's parents and Jeff's grandpa. That was a lot of fun because we don't get much one on one time with his parents, so it was really nice to have that.
We spent Christmas eve are Derek and Julie's and that was also a good time. They got their kids some neat presents for Christmas, including a ping pong table and a basketball game, like that actual game in the arcade where you have a shoot out side by side. That is a fun game and is very addicting!! All the kids that were there acted out the nativity, maybe next year Clara will participate!!
We had Christmas morning just the four of us. It was so fun, I sure love my family. Watching Clara open presents was great. Every present she opened she would gasp and say WOW!! That was cute to see. She is just so sweet and so much fun. We got her tickle me elmo this year and she loves elmo so I thought she would love it! Not so much. She was so terrified of him!! Donovan even more so, he kept crying every time he started up! It was so funny. Donovan wasn't into Christmas at all, he kept crawling over his presents. Not even interested in the wrapping, or the ribbons or bows. Not that I expected him to be. Clara took care of opening his presents. She now thinks they are hers and won't share with him. I think we will be trying to solve that issue for a long time coming.
The afternoon we went to my parents house. We were all spoiled. The kids got tons, but we got our fair share as well! Thanks mom! It is always fun to be with my family on Christmas. Dinner was amazing, and now I have to work on losing a few pounds!
I sure loved Christmas this year. Having kids sure has helped me appreciate family more. Seeing their faces light up over the simplest things reminds me that those are the treasures in my life!!

This is what made Donovan happy on Christmas day.

Santa Pictures

I took the kids to see Santa at Market Mall. We got there before Santa, so we were lucky. About 10 minutes after we got there, so did everyone else! It was packed, and as we were leaving I heard them telling people it was a 40 minute wait. Santa pictures aren't THAT important to me!! Anyways, just wanted to share the pictures I took. Clara wasn't all that impressed with Santa and was very hesitant to sit one his lap, but I bribed her with a candycane, and she did it. There was no getting her to smile though, which was ok, because not everyone can be happy all the time. I think that the sad santa pictures are the best anyways. Donovan, of course, smiled and laughed like always.

We're Back!

So I would say that our trip to Boston and New York was very successful. I had such a good time. Jeff had to work, so the only thing he really enjoyed was New York. I spent the rest of the days shopping with Donovan. We were lucky to leave Clara with Stacey, who she absolutely loves!!
Donovan and I arrived in Boston on Wednesday the 29th later in the evening. Jeff was actually staying in a smaller town about 30 min west of Boston, so we rented a car and headed that way. I guess I need to ask for better directions because I soon learned that Boston's highways can be a little confusing!! Plus...there were toll booths everywhere! It was weird to have to pay to drive on a road, but I guess it's because their roads are so old, that they just need lots of work. The price you pay for visiting such a beautiful area that is so full of history. It didn't take long to get into the swing of things. First thing in the morning, I was out shopping!! I headed to the outlet mall first. It was about 25 minutes from the hotel and it only took me about 2 hours to find it!! Again...confusing roads. It was so worth it though! I absolutely loved it there. THey had everything, except a gymboree outlet, but that is probably a good thing! I found some CRAZY good deals. I wish I had more money because I found so much stuff I liked there. I had so much fun that Donovan and I headed back the next day. There was a mall that was close to our hotel so I stopped there for a quick peek. The Gymboree there was absolutely packed full of stuff and everything was a stupid good deal. I really had a hard time leaving that store, but I didn't have lots of money to spend there, so I had to limit myself to very little. The mall had Pottery Barn Kids, it had Janie and Jack, it had Hollister and tons of other stores that I was so happy to see. I am so jealous that I don't have these stores. After the mall I headed to Target. That store was even better than I remembered. I wish we had Target up here. The things I wanted most were quite large so they would never have fit into my suitcase. Oh well.
Then was our trip to New York. What a great time that was. We honestly had one of the best times of our lives! I would really love to go back there. What an incredible city, just full of amazing things! When we were first driving in I was so nervous and scared that we would be jumped or something. Once I got a feel for the place, I felt so safe. There are so many people that I don't imagine much could happen to you. I felt so safe that I had no problem walking down the streets of Manhattan by myself at 10pm. What a great place. I just hope I can go back sometime. We were only there for a short time so we didn't get to see everything we wanted, but maybe one day we will have the chance again. I am just so grateful for the opportunity.
Once back in Framingham, the town we stayed in, I was right back to shopping. That was my whole purpose of the trip, and I sure got that job done right!! They have the best shopping there.
Now the most important part. Donovan. He is an absolutely amazing little boy. THere is no way that I could have asked for more from this little guy. I was a little nervous about flying with him, but he had no problems. We had 4 flights in total and on one of the flights he whined for like 2 minutes and that was all. He slept for most of the flights and when he was awake he had no problem being on my lap. What an absolutel angel. Shopping was a breeze with him, no problems, he would sleep when he was tired and he would play when he was awake. He had no problem being confined to the stroller. Honestly he was SO INCREDIBLE. In New York, he slept in the backpack when he got tired, he slept in the fancy resteraunt we went to for dinner and he never complained about being stuck in the backpack. Truly...there is nothing more that anyone could ask from a baby. He had some fun too, he learned how to pull himself up on the crib in the hotel, so now he is pulling himself up on everything! He climbed into Jeff's suitcase and just laughed, it was so cute!!
All I have left to say is I can't wait until June when Jeff may possibly be going back to Boston for another 2 weeks! I sure hope so because I would love to go back!! There is so much I would like to see!!
 

Art For Heart

I just decided I couldn't leave this out of the blog. It was just too touching to not post these pictures.
Scroll down to the World Trade Center post for an explanation of these pictures.