We're Still Here ... Kind Of ...

O.K.

So, it's been like 6 months since my last post, and I know that probably makes me the worst blogger ever, and you're all just DYING to know what we're doing, where we are, how big the bug is, etc... So take a seat and grab a snack, because this is going to be a long one..

Just kidding.

To summarize.. roughly.. 

In July we took the big cross-country trek to see our families before we moved to NY.. Ethan actually did quite well on the trip, and while I still have oodles of pics to scrap, here's a page documenting our journey...

We rode on the train in Heber, played at a splash pad in Phoenix, met extended LaBau relations in CA, and in general had a great time visiting with family. 

We also made a rather major decision while we were in Phoenix.. We were about 10 days away from our move to NY date, and still had nowhere to live and no job lined up - not for lack of trying, of course - I think we spent 97% of our time there on the phone and in our email trying to get things worked out.. After much thought and consideration, we decided the best plan would be for Alec to go out by himself, get things situated, and Ethan and I would meet him out there once we had saved a bit more to help supplement whatever spotty work Alec could find until something better came along..  So we dropped Ethan off at my parents and drove out to KC to put our things into storage..

Now - those of you who have moved know what's it's like to pack for that.. and those of you who have put your things in storage know what it's like to pack for that.. and those of you who have done both know that those two systems are nothing alike.. SO all those boxes we had packed before we left - like 75% of our stuff - had to be UNpacked so we could get out of them what we each needed for our separate living circumstances and pack them all back up.. As well as get rid of a whole bunch of food items we weren't planning on because we weren't allowed to keep them in storage - for obvious reasons.. 

We finally got it all situated - despite some potentially major drama with the truck - i.e. we almost didn't get one so were left with a small 14' that was available for 5 hours one day.. two days before we had planned on.  But with some help from our awesome friends Brandon & Melody, we got everything squared away, and made the trek back to UT.. {For the record, I really don't care to do that much driving in that short of time ever..again..}

The sum of our existence in a 10x20 cube...

Then Alec spent a couple weeks with us in Heber again {looking for somewhere to live}, before heading out to NY mid-August.

Ethan and I spent much of August & September hanging out with my parents, having fun on the computer, being totally spoiled by such an awesome backyard at Ethan's feet, following in grandpa's footsteps, going to the county fair, and enjoying lots of quality time with his cousins.. 

Fast forward to October, and while Alec had definitely been keeping busy in NY - working full weeks just about every week he'd been there, as well as re-mounting the show he did for UMKC back in May at a theatre in NJ - he discovered this wasn't really what he wanted to do with his life, and the amount of time it would take him to get to where he wanted to be - 5-10 years at least - wasn't worth it.. So, we started looking at other options .. Fast forward a couple of weeks, and after several emails, meetings, phone calls, and just the right amount of "serendipity," he was offered a job back at USU basically being the supervisor of the people who now have the position he did when we worked there as a student, with possible room to grow.. As a bonus - we feel - they also offered to let me work 20 hours/week from home doing some administrative things for the new box office for the college of the arts.  We took it in a heart-beat.  {The story is actually a lot cooler than that, so maybe one of these days I'll give it the time it deserves, if not, and you're dying to know, just ask and I'll share. :) }

So, we made a mad dash to Logan to find somewhere to live - ended up in an awesome townhouse about 10 minutes from campus - and Alec made the journey back to KC - flying this time - and met his brother there who helped him pack the truck and drive it all out here. 

Oh yeah - Halloween and fall leaves happened somewhere in there, as well..

He was Peter Pan - a favorite of his {at the time} - although everyone thought he was Robin Hood.. Whatever..

So... after all that, it's November.. we're here now.. in Logan.. and are totally happy.. for the most part.. Work hasn't quite turned out as awesome as Alec had hoped, but hopefully with the new year and the transition of him being in charge instead of the students who are now, things will all fall into place.. My position has also changed - about 6 or 8 times just in the last week, lol.. but the latest is that I will actually be working full time as the box office manager starting on Tuesday.. When we were first presented the idea, we had mixed feelings about it - I was super excited and thrilled to be working again - I've really missed it, actually - but we didn't love the idea of putting Ethan in day care all day every day.. BUT after thinking it over, we've decided to do it.. The bug and I are really butting heads lately, so having some time away from him will be good for me, and having the social interaction with other kids will be good for him.. And if things don't work out like we'd like, we can re-evaluate at that point, but for now, we're going with it..

So, that's us in a nutshell.. this turned out to be longer than I planned, and while I left a lot out, I think you basically have the jist of it.. So - what's new with you?

Toddlers...

Our upstairs neighbor gave Ethan this toy.. He says all kinds of crazy things and has lights on his belt - very exciting.. Ethan calls him his robot, and he has recently taken to doing all sorts of new things with him.. 

In particular, he likes to put it to bed.. 

First, he read Robot a story, then put him in bed {on his side, just like Ethan}, covered him with a blanket, gave him a kiss, and turned off the light.. He then proceeded to shoo me out of the room while telling me, "Robot .. sweeping .. qwiet .."

Also, I found all of these items in my fridge today.. Enough said.

Another Catch-All Post..

I know - I'm bad at blogging.. oh well.. if it makes you feel any better, I do talk to my parents pretty much every week, so not everyone is in the dark.. :D

Alright - what have you missed? Ok - The week before Memorial Day, one of the boys from church who is just 3 weeks younger than Ethan spent the week with us - kind of.. His mom is a teacher, and her regular babysitter was having a baby, so we were fill-in sitters.. We had John from about 8:30 to 5:00 each day and had lots of fun! Ethan loved having someone to play with, and I liked that they {mostly} entertained themselves.. By Wednesday, though, Ethan was showing signs of needing a little more attention, so we just kicked things up a notch each night when John went home, and he was fine.. We went to the park pretty much every day with the two of them, but by Friday, Alec and I were parked out.. So we decided to take the kids to Chuck-E Cheese.. It was my first time, and we all had a blast.. It took the boys a while to even realize that the rides did anything, so we spent a good half-hour to forty-five minutes before even using a single token.. 

 Not the best photo, but it's the only one I managed to get..

It had potential, though - if the darn thing would have stopped spinning!  :p

This one kills me!  They were so beat after it all, lol.... They even slept for a while after we got home!

Let's see - then on Memorial Day, we went to the sprinkler park in Independence... Ethan had oodles of fun playing in the water, and there was a regular playground down the hill as well, that he just went back and forth between the two.. I have tons more photos, but my internet is slow out here, so I only wanted up upload one :)

After sprinkler park, Brandon and Melody came over for dinner and games - as always - much fun was had by all.. :D

Umm... what else?  Oh - Alec has started working again.. He's doing Shakespeare in the park - Richard III - and they open.. Wednesday, I think?  So he's been gone most days and nights and we miss him lots, but at least he'll be finished in less than a month.. :D

Ethan has outgrown his church clothes - not that this is super big news, but I think he's just so darn handsome I need an excuse to show off.. :)

I got this 4-piece suit (3T) and another style in a size larger (4T) -

both for $24 on clearance at Sears - sweet!

Ethan has started taking swimming lessons.. I've been wanting to get him going for a while now, and thought summer would be a good time.. He loves the bath, and isn't afraid of getting his face wet - most of the time - and since I love swimming so much, and remember taking lessons when I was like 3 or 4, I figured why not?  When we went for the first day on Tuesday, they had actually canceled them because of thunderstorms, but he got all signed up anyway.. There was no one in the aqua-tots class, so they put him in level 1 - with the 5 year olds - so he wouldn't be by himself.. I was a little nervous, but figured if it didn't work out, we could try again later on.. So we went again on Thursday, and he had a BLAST!  There were about 20 kids there, and they spent the whole hour deciding who was going to what level.. In the end, they're going to do an aqua-tots class after all.. the other two kids are at least a year older than the bug, but they're the same level of experience, so it will be fine.. They started out the class with everyone jumping into the water one at a time from the side of the pool - in about the 2.5 feet section.. Ethan came right in, as long as I held his hands, and he didn't want to let go of me the rest of the lesson.. But once free time started, he climbed right out of the pool, and after 2 or 3 times with me catching him/holding his hands, he was doing it all by himself - even in the 3 feet section.. I think he'll do great.. :)  Lessons are twice a week from now until July 6th, so the timing is perfect.. :)

Speaking of July, we've almost decided what we're going to be doing with ourselves, lol.. Alec finishes up work on July 5th, then we'll take a day or two to re-coup and head off to UT and AZ for one last visit before the big move.. We'll be back to MO sometime around the 24th or 25th, and probably head out to NYC shortly after that.. We're still nailing down details of how we're going to get our stuff there -ideally we'd like to have it all packed in a pod before we leave for UT then just have it meet us in NY once we get there, but there's the cat issue to figure out, and a few other things, but hopefully we'll get it all sorted by the end of the week... Oh yeah - and a place to live - ack!  

BUT Alec got the official word that he will be going with Train to 2010 - the show he spent every waking hour on at the beginning of May - as it transfers to the Crossroads Theatre in NJ in Sept.  So - one way or another, we've got to be there by then.. :D

And, one last little bit of fun before I'm done with this novel.. I've been really under impressed with my photog skills of late, so I've been playing around a lot in photoshop with different techniques to spruce them up a bit.. Here's a few of the different looks I've come up with.. 

 Some of these are my own actions, and some were created by other people.. Needless to say, I think they really do a lot to make up for my lack of skillz, so hopefully I can "make do" with what I've got now, and work on improving the raw material a bit, too.. One of these days, I really should take a class, but that day is not today.. 

Oh - and one last photo - this was taken sometime last week.. I noticed the light coming in from outside was a little wonky-fied, so I looked out, and the sky was this crazy yellow-brown color.. The actual photo didn't capture it very well, but this edited version is pretty close to the real-life effect..

Swagger Wagon

This is Ethan's new favorite thing to watch {thanks, Macy}.. He watches it on repeat.. I guess it's better than it could be... I guess... and no - this does not mean we EVER intend on being minivan people {famous last words,  know}..

Finally Finished!

This post has also been a long time coming - but not quite as long as the last.. ;)  

Okay - it's no secret that I'm really good at starting projects . . . not so much at finishing them.. Alec says my hobby is collecting hobbies... whatever.. Anyway - ever since Ethan was born, I've wanted to make him a quilt.. My mom's a fabulous seamstress, and after having been taught at her feet, I figured it would be no big deal.. Mistake #1. Oh well - live and learn ...

So last September, I waltzed into JoAnn's with my list... I found all the perfect fabrics for my toddler-sized quilt, got all the supplies, and was ready to get started.. I began measuring, cutting, and snipping away.. I set a deadline: Halloween.. Oh, but wait! I have a kit I HAVE to get finished by next week - better put the quilt away... Ok - no later than Thanksgiving... Dag nab it, company's coming - can't have all this stuff lying around.. Christmas.. Oh shoot - is that another collab that's due? ... You get the picture.. And aside from all the outside distractions, it was just one thing after another with the actual sewing machine - it {not so secretly} hates me...

Well, long story short, the poor kid went all winter and spring without a quilt made with love by his mother - not that he doesn't have 5 million other blankets made with love by his grandmother.. AND it was only a week ago, or so, that he even started accepting blankets in bed with him, so it's not like it would have been appreciated.. Needless to say, I finally finished it on Saturday, and I am SO relieved! {And so is Alec - he can finally find the bedroom again!}

Here are a few things I learned..

1. This is the only child of mine that will ever own a quilt like this from me. *please see addendum below
2. Ironing boards are not the best work surfaces.
3. Beds are not the best chairs.
4. When you've got nothing else the right combination of heights, what can you do?
5. When machine quilting yourself for the first time, don't get the highest loft batting possible..
6. Sometimes it's just better to get it done {seriously, I hate that I gave in to that, but it was getting a little ridiculous..}

* Addendum:  When I start going off about how I want to make a quilt for the next kid, please refer me back to this post.  The only way I'm allowed to start one is if we have a place the sewing machine can stay out long term - none of this hiding from Ethan and digging it out the next time business.. Also, I need to have a work surface that's meant to be used for sewing - seriously, my back was killing me!  And finally - I can have no scrapping deadlines - self-imposed or other - for at least 6 weeks.  Oh yeah - and nothing with squares any smaller than 4 inches - this 2 inch business was a little tedious.. especially when I realized I'd been looking at the wrong guide on the sewing machine, and my 1/4" seems actually ended up being something between 1/4" & 1/8", so getting all the blocks to fit together and piecing together backing fabric to make up for the larger finished size was a bit frustrating..

Needless to say, it's not the most beautiful quilt ever made - quite frankly, there are a few areas that would warrant it being the ugliest.. But it's to him from me, and hopefully that's all that matters... :D

Wanna' see? . . . .

So Proud!

This post has been a L.O.N.G. time coming, but I'm SO glad it's finally here!  :D  Alec graduated on May 7th, and I couldn't have been prouder!  He spent the final days leading up to his graduation doing nothing but homework, preparing for a portfolio showcase in Chicago and otherwise being great.  It was decided that by the time he finally went to bed on Friday, he had been up and working for 55 hours..  What a champ!  I was pretty emotional about the whole thing - graduations always get to me - but I think I kept it under control pretty well.. And attention!  Best.Ceremony.Ever.  It was a mere 72 minutes from the time it started until we were in the car and on our way home again - and that was including taking pictures and such afterward - sweet!

Ethan crashed right before the event started {thankfully} and didn't wake up until all the clapping and cheering at the end.. Could it have been any better?

Two of the other sound designers - the third one didn't walk ..

My mom made Ethan a super cute cap and gown to match Alec, but he wasn't interested in wearing it at all.. Then, of course, the wind came along and tried to blow the darn thing away..

   
 

Thank You

Ethan has just started saying thank you - finally.  Maybe it will be okay after all.. :D

Stealing Time..

Ethan's driving me bonkers tonight, so I'm giving myself a time out to post these pages I've recently done.. Other than that, nothing exciting has happened.. We're going to Deanna Rose Farm tomorrow, though.. So that should be fun.. :)

This one is with a kit I designed with another girl who used to be a costume designer.. Very fun, and I'm guessing I'll be doing many more pages with it.. :) 

Another kit I designed - this is the boys at the sprinkler park {splash pad} last summer..

Photos from last week..

. . . and counting . . .

Alec has been at the school going on 37 hours working on his show.. He came home for a quick dinner last night, then again after rehearsal for about half an hour just to take a little break and get recharged.. I feel so bad for him.. I've pulled my share of all-nighters, but I don't think I've ever gone this long.. Also, Ethan did not nap today, and despite it all, today was actually a really good day.. He let me work on my laptop for a couple hours while he colored, watched tv, played in the office, etc, so I don't feel quite as gipped as I otherwise would.. Here are a few pictures from today and yesterday..  {I don't know why they're so blurry here - you can click on them for a better image..}

At the park yesterday.. we actually played out in the grass with this stick for most of the time... it was really nice to just sit and not have to chase him from one piece of equipment to the next, lol. 

This was the first time I've EVER been able to get him to "smile for the camera"..
Good thing he likes cheese so much.. :D

His favorite activity these days.. No matter what we do to lock it, he always figures it out..
{and no - our fridge is not empty, he's just crammed it all onto the top shelf}  

Wearing his "hat"

He found some of Alec's shoes and socks and insisted on wearing them.. whatever.. 

 I did get him to blow a kiss, though...
I can tell this is just the beginning of many more photo shoots to come..  :D

I know you probably won't see this, Alec, but we love you and miss you and hope you'll be home soon.. :D

Easter

Yeah - I'm a week late.. Whatever.. :D

So - Easter - not your typical celebration this year, but that's okay.. We still had fun.. :D  We started off the morning going to the church to watch conference.. That was fine for about the first hour.. Then Ethan just turned into a crazy person, so Alec and I were taking turns being out in the hall with him.. Finally, we decided neither one of us was getting anything out of it, so we left.. We had been planning on eating lunch with the ward in between sessions, so I don't even remember what we had, but it wasn't anything special - just something we threw together really fast.. After a quick lunch, we put the bug down for a nap while Alec and I listened to the rest online..  Luckily, it was a long nap, so we were able to listen to most of the second session as well.. :)  

In between sessions, we prepared a little easter egg hunt for Ethan in the living room and sun room, so as soon as he woke up, that's what we did..

The goodies.. {Thanks Mom & Dad for supplementing}

The hunt {and don't ask why I did Easter pics in bw, but I started messing around with one to fix the fact that it was out of focus and liked it so well, I did the whole batch..}

It's kind of hard to tell here, but he's holding like 3 or 4 eggs..

It took him a while to realize he could put them in his basket, so it made
collecting them a little tricky.. 

Relishing in the haul.. 

Didn't you know dripping caramel is the new black?
{click for a better view}

Then we proceeded to dye some eggs...  Alec had been gone all day on Saturday, and since we did candy for the egg hunt, it didn't matter what order we did things in..

His favorite part was dropping the eggs in the cups..

It's tense work taking them out.. 

Not a particularly interesting photo, but I love the exchange between their facial expressions.. 

He sure loves his daddy.. 

After egg dying, we decided to enjoy the weather and drove to a park down by the school to go look at the ducks.. It was nice to get out and Ethan loved running around totally free.. All in all - I'd say it was a great Easter!  :D

__________________________________________________________________________

This picture is totally unrelated to anything, but I love it!

This is SUCH a rare occasion for a couple reasons.. 

1. Ethan hates blankets, and refuses to use them - even to sleep during the dead of winter.. The only thing he thinks they're good for is to play peek-a-boo.. He won't even let Alec or me use a blanket - and I'm always cold, so that is particularly frustrating.. 
2. Ethan and Sasha are coexisting in the same space without trying to beat each other up.. It's a love/hate relationship - Ethan just has an odd way of showing it..
3. Everybody actually stayed there long enough for me to find the camera!  :D

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In other news - since we're here, and all...  Alec and I have finally landed on what we're going to do with ourselves once he graduates.. We actually did a couple weeks ago, but I'm a bad blogger - no secret there.. Anyway - he applied to several university jobs, and was turned down for all of them, although he did have an interview with one, so that was encouraging.. He's kind of been thinking about this for a while, and I've been pretending he's not serious, but over USITT he met back up with several "contacts" in "the biz" and got some really great encouragement, re-vamped some relationships, and was pushed over the limit.. 

The plan?  We're going to move to New York!  Eek!  I'm excited and supportive - although it did take a while to accept the fact that we won't have "steady" income lined up, which means no buying a house anytime soon, and most likely no insurance {still} for at least another year - sigh.  BUT - now that I'm over that, and know how passionately he feels about this, I'm behind it 100%..  Like I said, he doesn't have anything specific lined up right now, but he's been in touch with several people at a company in Yonkers that he's hoping to at least get some amount of work with.. What's great about that is that we'd be out of the city - about 30 minutes - but still close enough and with enough flexibility that he could go in and work on shows on the side as well.. He knows some really great and pretty successful designers - on all levels - and they've all told him to stay in touch and let them know when he gets there because they're sure they'll have something for him.. So... that's the plan.. Oy - still kind of makes me a little nervous, because I know how HARD it will be, but that's okay.. :D

We're not sure, yet, when we'll leave, but it will most likely be in July sometime.. He'll either be working the Shakespeare in the park here again - which he did last year - and that ends the first week of July or so, OR he might go work at a dance roadhouse in Boston which would end sometime the end of July {another contact he made at USITT}..  So, I've been doing a bit of researching about housing with that in mind, but if you have any recommendations on where specifically to live, feel free to hand them over.. :)  

So - that's what's new with us.. Hope you enjoyed it.. :D