The Goss Family

2011-12-05T10:08:00.001-08:00

I am the luckiest girl alive to have this handsome man ...

and this adorable girl...

in my life.

Jon is loving his job at the prison. He works night shifts (6pm - 6am) and since he works 12 hour shifts his days rotate throughout the month. So we have learned that the time of day or day of week doesn't really matter. We enjoy all the time we have together, no matter when it is. When Jon is working or sleeping, Josie and do I our best not to be too loud or get too bored. I must say...I miss the summer much more than I have in the past. It is only the beginning of winter and I am already starting to feel cabin feverish (partly my own fault).

A little about Josie:

Josie is such a fun little girl. She spends her days teasing me, climbing on everything, and pretending she is a princess, kitty, puppy, big bear ... or whatever else enters her sharp little mind. She also loves to pretend to cook and eat food. Although, right now her pretend food is a bunch of bead necklaces (she needs to wait until Christmas for a food upgrade).

She is talking and talking and talking. It amazes me some of the things she ends up saying. She knows her colors and her numbers. I can't really take credit for what she knows, I just show her a few things and she picks it up so fast. I have determined that her favorite color is red. She is always asking for red things.

Josie loves to sing and dance, especially when I turn on her favorite Disney and Glee songs. She sings along ... and it is so cute. Sometimes I am willing to listen to the same song over and over again just because her singing is so cute.

Josie is so friendly and outgoing. She is always saying hi to people that we don't know. She loves to give hugs and kisses. She has such a good happy nature about it, I really can't complain about the few tantrums that happen during the weeks.

I just wanted to give a quick update and talk about Josie. I need to be better about writing down her stages and the things she loves to do.

Another Graduation

2011-09-19T09:35:00.000-07:00

I am sure all of you are aware that Jon got a job at the Department of Corrections in Draper. He started Police Academy on May 31st and he just graduated on September 15th. This graduation was much shorter and much more exciting than his graduation from BYU. The academy included many classes on laws, drugs, defensive tactics, guns, how to handle inmates, and many other classes. This is where I get to brag about my amazing husband. Before he started academy he decided that he was going to be dedicated and be in the top of his class. He was extremely dedicated in working out, practicing his defensive tactics, and studying for his written tests. He would even encourage his carpool and other cadets to stay after to workout or practice their defensive tactics. He even helped a few cadets pass their tests. All of his hard work did not go unnoticed. There were about 10 awards and Jon received 3 of them!!! Out of a class of 45 he was in the top 10%. He also received the top Defensive Tactics award, and the Best All Around Cadet award ... meaning he had the best defensive tactics and written test scores combined. Oh, and let's not forget the fact that all of our cheering (especially Janelle) was noticed by the Academy Commissioner. What a great start to his career!
I am so proud of his hard work and dedication. Since graduation he has been training in Max Security. He is learning a lot and really enjoying his job. Thank you to everyone that came and thank you to everyone that has helped us get through academy.

Receiving his certificate of completion

Showing off his hard earned awards ... he is so handsome

I'm so proud!!!

Everyone that came -- THANK YOU

First Hair Cut

2011-08-11T21:24:00.000-07:00

Josie has worked really hard over the past 2 years to grow her beautiful strawberry blonde curls. I was always scared that when I cut her hair, her curls would go away. So I just let her hair grow and watched it turn into a mullet. But I didn't care...I loved it!
For some reason while I was standing in line at Walmart I realized that if I just cut a couple inches off the bottom it take away a lot of the mullet and it would take away her curls. So after bath-time, we turned on Beauty and the Beast (one of the only ways she will hold still) ... and I chopped.

BEFORE

She is slouching forward, but it still shows her mullet-type hair.

AFTER

YAY!!! She still has curls and her hair is actually straight. I just LOVE my little girl.

Water Baby!

2011-07-20T08:24:00.000-07:00

This summer Josie and I have spent a lot of time at the pool. We started the summer with swim lessons to teach her a few rules and get her used to the water ... she immediately loved it!

Last weekend Jon had some family in town. We went to the AF city pool and it was so much fun. Thought I would share some of the super cute pictures.

Operation: Sticker Therapy

2011-07-05T08:09:00.000-07:00

Your mission: to help bring happiness and distraction to toddlers fighting cancer by mailing stickers, sticker books, or happy vibes!

Hi! This is Abigail (my niece) the day before her 2nd birthday. You can see her central line and her surgery scar.

When she was 19 months old she was critically ill, and diagnosed with cancer--stage 4, high-risk Neuroblastoma.

She has been through a lot--with a lot still yet to go through. Abigail loves stickers and they offer distraction and entertainment during multiple hospital stays.

When kids are fighting cancer, they go through a lot of yucky therapies: chemotherapy, radiation therapy, antibody therapy, etc. We decided to call this project Sticker Therapy...a therapy they could look forward to!!

Our goal with Operation: Sticker Therapy is to receive enough stickers to be able to put some packets together to share with other children we meet who are fighting for their lives. We encourage you to donate some stickers, and then know that you are blessing the lives of some precious children.

Please mail them to:

To: Operation: Sticker Therapy
C/O Fans Across America Charitable Foundation
18521 E. Queen Creek Rd., Suite 105-187
Queen Creek, AZ 85142

Thank you for your kindness and generosity, and may it be returned unto you!

If you would like to make a financial donation to Abigail, that would be greatly appreciated. You can do so by visiting this site:
http://www.fansacrossamerica.com/assist_a_family/registry/families/families_in_need/abigail_goss_family.php

or by including a check payable to "Abigail Goss Medical Trust Fund" with your stickers. Thank you dearly!

NEW JOBS

2011-06-06T16:02:00.000-07:00

Jon and I officially have new jobs!!!
Jon started working for the Department of Corrections last Tuesday. He has 4 months of Police Academy ahead of him. Ten hours a day of classes and physical training can be taxing, but he is much happier. He loves being the provider for our family.
As for my job...I feel like the luckiest girl. I am doing laundry, dishes, cooking, cleaning, shopping...etc! But you know, even though the work is mundane and it can be annoying, I am so happy doing daily tasks for my family. We have learned a lot over the past 2 years. It has not been easy, and Im not sure I would want to do it again, but I am grateful for the lessons we have both learned.

Now, lets talk about Josie!!! She is 22 months and a busy bee. She wakes up happy, eats a big breakfast and then plays really hard until her nap, then she wakes up, and plays really hard until it is time for bed.
She LOVES animals and she is an expert at animal sounds; puppies, roosters, bee's... haha, it's so fun. She has such a cute personality and I am so proud to be her mommy.

BUBBLES!!!!

2011-04-17T20:43:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we spent the best $2 of our life. Walmart has this little bubble bottle that does not spill (Thanks Megan for telling me about it). Josie loves it!!! Not only are bubbles the best invention for little kids, but this bottle takes away any mess and spill. SO AWESOME!!!

I have some cute videos but blogger isn't allowing me to upload videos right now ... ugh. totally annoying. Oh well! Here are some cute pictures.

NEW JOB!!!

2011-04-11T14:04:00.000-07:00

Jon received a conditional job offer from the Draper prison! We are soooo excited. He just has to pass a drug test and a background check, and he is good to go! He will start training on May 31st, at which point I get to quit!!! Do you hear me singing and doing my happy dance?
Well ... that isn't the end of it! There is a job opportunity down in Gilbert AZ that we are looking at. We are going to go down the beginning of May so he can do some more testing and an interview....so we will see what happens there.
We feel so blessed with this job offer and we are so grateful for the prayers that were made on our behalf.

Crafty Dreams

2011-04-05T08:13:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted in a while because I started another blog! www.rcraftydreams.blogspot.com

I have always enjoyed sewing and doing simple crafts, even though I never really thought that I was very crafty. Well, Jon has had a hobby for a long time that has allowed him to paint and use his crafty brain ... so recently I decided that I should start doing my own hobby. There are many nights that we will turn on a movie so we can both do our hobby. The only time we will say anything to each other is when we want to make sure that what we are doing really is as awesome as we think (I know...we are crazy!)

In my blog searching, I kept seeing cute ideas but I could never remember where I found it, or remember all the things I wanted to do. So I started a craft blog for myself. It allows me to keep track of all the awesome ideas that I find, and to keep a to do list of the things I want to do. PLUS, when I finish a project I am able to show it off. This blog has given me a lot of motivation to keep up with my hobby ... and I find that the more I search, and do projects, the craftier I get.

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JOB UPDATE --- I wish I had some awesome news, but we are waiting .... STILL!!!! We are going crazy!

Jon took the psychological tests, and the polygraph. Those were very mentally draining days for him, but we think he did a good job. He doesn't have anything to hide, so we are praying that they will see how awesome he is.

We thought we were supposed to hear back last week, but we are still waiting. We will let you know when we know.

Possible Job

2011-03-16T16:36:00.000-07:00

I have been afraid to post anything about a possible job for Jon because I don't want to jinx anything. But I decided that by posting this, I could also ask for you prayers on our behalf. As you know, I am working full time, and Jon is with Josie full time. Jon has been working really hard to get a job so we can switch roles.

So, here is an updated on what is happening----
Last month he applied for a position as a Correctional Officer at the Correctional Facility at the Point of the Mountain. It is a really long process, and it requires me to have a lot of patience. With the application he also needed to take the NPOST test (Pre-employment test), which he successfully did and passed with a 93%.
On March 8th, he had a physical test and interview. He had to run 1 1/2 miles in 17 min 30 sec, he completed this in 11 min 30 sec. He also had to do 7 consecutive push ups and 20 sit ups and a 16 inch vertical...haha, I know those sound so difficult! He exceeded their requirements and he ended up being in the top 10%. Interviews are always hard to gauge, but he felt like he did a good job.
There were a total of 260 applicants, and after the interview and physical training they cut it down to 150 applicants. He made the cut and yesterday he took several psychological tests, this ended up being about 1200 questions. Tomorrow he is going to take a polygraph test. In about 2 weeks we will hear back with the results and if they still want him, then he will be asked to take a drug test, and get a physical from a Dr. If everything goes our way, he will be selected to start POST training which will last 5 weeks. He will have to pass everything with at least 70%. After the training, he will then start the job on May 31, 2011.
WOW -- I'm tired just thinking about the process.

I have the utmost confidence in him, and I know he will do an amazing job. It does scare me that there are still 150 people fighting for 40 positions. If you could please pray for him to be noticed and to get the job, it would be greatly appreciated. The experiences that Jon and I have been going through over the last year have been extremely difficult, but I have also learned a lot. It is hard to live on Heavenly Father's time, but I have faith that Heavenly Father knows what is best for us....I just hope that this job with the Correctional Facility is IT! Love you all! I will keep you posted.

Grandma and Grandpa Goss

2011-02-21T13:09:00.000-08:00

This post is dedicated to Josie's Goss grandparents. They are on a mission in the Philippians and I thought it would be nice to post some pictures and make a special video for them to see.

SISHY!!!
A couple weeks ago we went to Walmart and stopped in the fishy isle. Josie was so excited about the fish she ran up and down the isle saying "Sishy! Sishy!" and pointing to all the different fish. The next week Jon and I thought it would be fun to bring a couple of the 'sishies' home. We found a big enough glass bowl and went and bought 3 fish. Jon named his fish Jimmer, I named my fish Zoe, and Josie named her fish Sishy (by default). Here are some pictures. You can just see how excited she was.

Sadly, the fish only lasted a few days. I guess that is what we get for buying Walmart fish.

Jon's hockey buddies fixed up Utah Lake so they could play hockey on the lake. Josie was also there enjoying the snow and the cold.

Look at how precious she is!!!

Last but not least, here is the video of Josie talking to Grandma and Grandpa Goss. Of course anyone is welcome to watch. Josie is just too cute! The only way I can get her to hold still and talk is by letting her watch the screen ... she just loves watching herself.

Nursery Time

2011-01-23T19:49:00.000-08:00

NURSERY!!! Josie went to nursey for the first time today. Jon walked her into the room and she ran straight for the toys and didn't even look back. It was amazing! She had such a good time. She has never been so happy after church. As for Jon, he absolutely loved being able to listen in Sunday School and Priesthood.

I have always looked forward to the day when I would be able to make cookies or something with my daughter. So the other day I thought I would let Josie stand on a chair and help me make rolls. It was so cute! She helped me stir and roll the dough ... it was fun. It didn't take her too long before she realized that she liked the way the dough tasted and started getting flour every where. It was so adorable I just had to show everyone the pictures.

2011-01-06T13:46:00.000-08:00

Back in November my family got together and we had a HUGE family reunion. It was the first time we have been together since ...um... before Steven went on his mission. So before I got married! It was a lot of fun to have my whole family around. While we were together we thought it was the perfect opportunity to take pictures. This our little family picture.

Isn't she just the cutest 17 month old you have ever seen?

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Last Saturday I got a call to meet with my bishop Sunday morning before church. I immediately started thinking of all the callings I would like and would not like to have...but I decided that I would accept any calling that I was given. I was thinking that being the primary pianist would be the best job in the world ... well this will teach me to want a calling. I was called to be the primary chorister...I'm pretty sure my eyes got really big and my jaw dropped because almost immediately he started telling me why I was chosen for this calling. This Sunday will be my first day and I already started having nightmares about it. I am very nervous, but I am also excited. I think once I get used to everything it will be a really fun job. I felt a lot better about entertaining kids after the previous chorister brought over a ton of materials and posters. Jon wishes that he had my calling right now because he does not want to watch Josie during Sunday School and Priesthood ... but really, he only needs to do it for a total of 6 hours! After that she will be in nursery!!!!!

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Jon got his top braces off last month and he will be getting his bottom braces off in a couple weeks. He is excited about having straight teeth. Jon having fun at home. He does a great job taking care of Josie and taking care of other needs around the house. The other night Josie got sick and threw up twice. He took care of Josie, did the laundry, and everything else that comes with a sick baby...and let me sleep. I didn't even know she was sick until I got to work. He is a great man, I feel so blessed to have him in my life.

Merry Christmas ** Happy New Year

2010-12-27T16:32:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!
We have had a wonderful December. We have tried to focus on the birth of our Savior by listening to Christmas music every day and trying to serve those around us. I really enjoyed December, and part of me is sad that Christmas has already past. But now we are on to a New Year and new adventures.

In November we moved to American Fork. Jon's parents went on a mission to the Philippians and we moved into their home to take care of their home, plus we get free rent...we thought it was a pretty good trade. It has only been about a month, but so far it as been an adventure. The water heater broke, Dad Goss split his pants and asked us to do some shopping and send him new ones, there is countless mail to sort and take care of, and we have a new roommate. Jon's brother Brendan is also living there. It is definitely different, but it has been a good move for our little family. It is a really good neighborhood. We are having fun getting to know our neighbors and the ward, and I look forward to getting a calling and getting to know everyone better.

Josie is O-SO-CUTE!!! I don't know what I would do without her sweet personality. She is even learning to talk and sign language. When she was about 11 months she started screaming for things that she wanted, and it was trying my patience. I understood why she would get frustrated though, she had no way to communicate with us. So I started teaching her how to sign things like "more" "please" "milk" "food" and "puppy", she picked it up so fast. She can say "Momma" "Dadda" "mo" (more) "mio" (milk) "sease" (please) "arf arf" (Puppy) "yes" "NO", and probably a few other things ... she seems to learn something new every day. Ever since she has learned these few simple words life is so much better, and we have a happier baby.

In the last 17 months of her life, not once have I wished the time away. I have always enjoyed each stage ... but every Sunday for three hours I desperately wish for her her to be 18 months so she can go to nursery. It is really hard to enjoy church when you spend the whole time chasing a your child and trying to keep her happy ... so I am thanking the nursery leaders in advance for holding such a noble calling so us crazy parents can enjoy church. ONE MONTH TO GO!!!

Jon is still searching for a job, not much to report in that area. I am still working for the state, not much to report in that area either. I think part of the reason I haven't posted anything in the last 4 months is because I feel like we are kinda stagnant. Nothing is really changing in our lives, and because I am still working full-time, my free time is limited. I love that I am able to provide for my family, and I love that there is stability and security in our situation. But both Jon and I are ready to switch roles ... we know that someday it will happen, but in the mean time we know that our situation is helping us grow. And in the future we will better understand each other and we will be a stronger family.

**I know pictures are always the best part of people's blogs, but I don't have any available to me right now. I will try to add some soon.

Quick Update

2010-08-08T16:46:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe that it was over a year ago that we held Josie in our arms for the first time. She was born on August 2nd weighing 9.2 lbs, 21 inches. One year later she weighs 19.13 lbs (25th %), 30 inches (80th %). She is such a joy to have around. She is always smiling and on the go.
It surprises me how much I personally have grown, and that Jon and I have thoroughly enjoyed this past year. Some weeks and months were harder than others, but that is life. I wouldn't trade this year for anything.
**I really want to post some cute pictures of Josie, and even some video of her walking, but Josie is waking up. Maybe...just maybe I will get to it later :D

Since Jon graduated he has taken the History Praxis test, and he is still looking for a full time teaching job. The job market is not a happy place as many of you are aware, especially for teachers. For the first time, ever, Utah has become a destination for teachers from other states to come to teach. The teachers market is totally saturated, so we are working on getting Jon some substitute positions as well as taking some pedagogy classes to better his resume.
I am still working for the State. It is not my favorite job in the world, but I am still grateful for a stable job where I am able to support my family. On a more personal note, I will be having an outpatient surgery on Aug 18th. It is a personal problem that I would rather not post on the Internet, but if anyone wants details you are more than welcome to call me. While I am not delighted to be having surgery, this is a problem that I have been dealing with since Josie was born, I am grateful that I am getting it taken care of. Please keep me in your prayers.

Graduation and More

2010-05-16T14:15:00.000-07:00

Congratulations Jon!!! He graduated from BYU on April 23nd. It was a great experience because his Dad is the Assistance Dean for his college and he was able to give Jon his diploma. It was a fun day, and we really appreciate everyone celebrating with us.
For Jon's graduation he asked for braces. He had braces when he was in high school...but that is a long story and well...he needs and wants them again. We found a place in West Jordan and does cosmetics only, meaning they don't worry about jaw alignment or anything else, just straightening the teeth, which is awesome because he will only have braces on for 6 months and it is WAY cheaper.
Jon's Grandma, Verda Mckee Kitchen passed away on April 21st. We knew she was ill and when she took a turn for the worse we weren't surprised, but still watching your loved ones suffer and then leave this life is never an easy process. She was such an amazing women, I have been taking the time to read her biography, and I am so impressed with her, I look forward to getting to know her better some day. She had 10 kids ... and a lot of grandchildren. She had such a profound impact on her family that there were only 6 people out of all her decedents unable to attend her funeral, 2 had previously died, 2 were on missions, and the other 2 had obligations they were unable to get out of. I felt so privileged to see this family come together and be apart of the occasion. This is also the first time that all of Jon's siblings have been together in about 13 years. This meant that I I was able meet Jon's sister Rebbecca, it was so fun to meet her and be with his family. I know we all feel blessed for the experiences we shared together.
In addition to these two huge events Jon's nephew Kimball received the Arronic Priesthood, My brother Brian and his wife blessed their baby Olivia Daniels, My sister, Brenda and her husband bless their baby Nichole Stacey Keizer, and my brother Greg came home from his mission. Oh, and let's not forget that my brother Steven got engaged and I was able to meet his fiance Allison, who is a very sweet girl. With all of the huge life events surrounding me at the same time I realize how blessed I truly am to have my family and the gospel such a part of my life.
Life is so wonderful and amazing, it has been a busy but amazing month.

Josephine! Josie is now 9 1/2 months, when we went into her 9 month appointment she was 18.5 lbs (50th) 28 inches (75th) and 50th in her head. She is crawling everywhere and even cruising along the furniture. The other day she tried to climb up our computer desk to reach for something ... Jon and I are constantly amazed with how big she is getting. She knows how to wave Bye-Bye, say YEAH! by clapping her hands, and when music comes on she start smiling and dancing. She is getting better at anything and everything she attempts to do. She is such a sweet heart and we love having her in our family.
Jon is staying home with Josie while I am working full time. We both are trying to enjoy our current rolls, but once Jon gets a job we will both be more than happy to switch.

Can I Finish A Blog?

2010-04-17T09:40:00.000-07:00

The last three posts were written with good intentions but never finish or published. I decided to publish them so you can see my intentions are good ... but I seem to lack the ability to finish them. So, we are going to make this post short and sweet ... and of course it will all be about Josie.

Josie is now 8 1/2 months old and has such a cute personality. She is becoming so fun and dangerous to have around the house. She started crawling a few weeks ago and now she will not sit still. Especially when we change her diaper ... it is war! She has learned how to wave "Hi" and "Bye" especially when she wants attention. Grandma Goss was kind enough to teach her how to say "uh oh" when she drops something, and it has become a favorite game of hers. When I am holding her and she throws something it usually takes me a few times to realize that she isn't just dropping it on accident. Her latest version of the game to pick something up and throw it while saying "uh" and then crawl after it. Josie is an extremely happy baby. Josie has been sick for about 2 weeks, half the time I forget she is still sick because she still has a lot of energy and she is still smiling and laughing.

This video is from when Josie first started learning to crawl. We no longer need to coax her into crawling the length of the carpet, she is happy to crawl anywhere and every where.

This video is one of my favorites, although kinda gross.

This is only a glimpse of our wonderful daughter, hope you enjoy! We love you all.
**I finished!!!

2010-04-04T15:33:00.000-07:00

Before I had Josie I was sure I was going to be one of those mom's who couldn't stop posting cute pictures and gushing about their adorable baby. Well as you can see I haven't posted since New Years. Many fun and cute things have happened that part of me wishes I posted for all to see, but another part of me doesn't care because I was able to spend my precious free time watching Josie grow up. Since I am working sometimes it makes me sad to put Josie to bed because I am not quiet ready to stop playing with her....but I definitely don't want a cranky baby so the Mom in me persists.

This is an exciting time for our family, Jon has 2 weeks of school left, and Josie is crawling and learning so much.

Jon had a surprise half way through the semester and was told that he needed to take 2 more general credits. So we opted to take an online course instead of a block class or waiting for spring semester. Unfortunately this meant he had to finish the whole class by April 2nd. He was told that Teaching of the Living Prophets was the easiest class so he signed up and started working. He finished the whole class in two weeks which included writing 15 pages (1 page for each living prophet and apostle), 3 pages of something else, finding 100 quotes for 5 topics in the last general conference issue and typing them up, along with another random assignment, and 10 quizes plus a final. I will admit that I helped him out with a few of the assignments because they were so long and tedious, but I am very proud of him for working so hard to make sure he will graduate in April. He only has a few more assignments and tests left for his other classes, and I know he is getting anxious (so am I).

Now to the cute part of our family...

Happy Easter

2010-04-04T11:28:00.001-07:00

I can't believe that it has been 4 months since I have posted.

2010-02-21T16:30:00.000-08:00

Life is going by so quickly and I can't believe that Josie is 6 1/2 months already. She is sitting up, pivoting in circles, and moving backwards. I swear she must be the happiest baby, she is always smiling and laughing. Jon and Josie come and visit me two times a day (so I can feed Josie) and she always greets me with the biggest smile.

Happy New Year

2009-12-31T22:33:00.000-08:00

Today as Jon was driving me to work we talked about tonight and what we would like to do to celebrate the new year, and it occurred to me that I would rather stay home and spend a quiet evening with Josie in bed, than try to go celebrate with friends or family with a cranky baby. All of a sudden I felt old. Well, my quiet evening started when Jon went to bed early (he worked the grave shift last night, and then watched Josie all day), I then put Josie to bed and took a long bath and read a book...and then Josie woke up. She is now sitting next to me playing with her doll, and I am so happy that I am "old". I live a comfortable, happy life with a wonderful family, and my best friend as my husband. So in honor of the end of 2009 I want to take some time to remember what happened this year, and show my gratitude for what I do have.

At the beginning of the year, Jon was laid off from Enterprise-Rent-A-Car, but then shortly got a job with Chrysalis, an independent living program for mentally and physically challenged individuals. He works in a house where three guys live. He likes his job, most of the time, and since the hours are mostly evenings a weekends, it has been a blessing. In September he started his Senior year of college at BYU, he is extremely anxious to graduate in April. I am so proud of him for his hard work and persistence in his education. In August Jon became a daddy, and took on full responsibility. His fatherhood became official when Josie was 1 week old and left her stamp of approval for Jon as her daddy by pooping all over him. He is a wonderful and loving dad and he has been so willing to take her to his classes, and work grave shifts so we don't have to get a baby-sitter.

Josie was born on August 2nd. She came into the world at 9 lbs 2 oz and she has been growing like a weed ever since. She has quite the personality, and she is one of the happiest babies. If you are ever feeling blue, you just have to talk to her and she will give you one of her contagious smiles, and talk back to you. About a month ago she decided that she didn't want to drink from a bottle anymore. We tried many different nipples, but it's a no-go! This is a problem since I work 10 hours a day (M-Th). But somehow we have managed, and again it makes it a little more bearable with her happy attitude. Josie loves to talk and experiment with her voice (even the high pitched screams). She is almost sitting up by her self, and we have started feeding her rice cereal this past week, and she loves it.

This whole year for me has been devoted to Josie. Between being pregnant, giving birth, and then caring for her, I feel like have haven't done much else. I am very grateful for the fact that I had a healthy pregnancy, and I was able to give birth without complications, and on top of all of that Heavenly Father gave me the most beautiful, happy, and precious spirit to raise.
I have been working for the State of Utah for 2 years now, and although my job is frustrating at times, I am very grateful for my job and the fact that I can provide for my family. Because of my position I see TONS of Utah families that struggle with paying bills, personal relationships, and just life in general. This is an odd blessing in disguise, because I always come home so grateful for Jon, Josie, my family, my home, and the life I had growing up.

Thank you everyone for being such good friends and a good support. Thank you for helping us in our times of need. Thank you for being such good examples. Thank you, thank you, thank you for sharing you lives with us. We love you, and look forward to spending more years with everyone.

** Well I have finally calmed the dogs down from all the New Year fireworks, and I think it is time for me to celebrate by going to bed!
** I just realized that 8 years ago from tonight (this morning) Jon and I had our first kiss! :D
** I have some super cute videos and pictures to post, but it is too late and I will try to post them soon.

4 1/2 months

2009-12-17T16:36:00.000-08:00

I wrote the following about 2 weeks ago and didn't finish or post it.

Our little Josie girl is 4 1/2 months, and just the cutest thing in the world. She is the happiest baby that anyone could ever ask for. She is very alert, always smiling, and loves to experiment with her voice ... even the high pitched screams. We went to the dr. a couple weeks ago and she weighed in at 15 lbs 4 oz and 26 inches, that puts her in the 95th percentile for her height, 90th percentile for her weight, and 55 percentile for her head. She is going to be a tall skinny girl with a tiny head! She is so much like her Daddy in so many ways. She is very social and loves to talk to anyone and everyone (even when she is starving and Mommy is at work and unable to feed her).

3 Months

2009-11-01T14:06:00.000-08:00

I can't belive how fast time goes by, and how fast Josie is growing. I had a wonderful 12 weeks off of work, but then reality started again. I started back to work last Tuesday. I am so grateful that Jon has an easy schedule and he is able to watch Josie. I should be approved to work from home any day so that I can be around. Especially since Josie isn't a huge fan of bottles.
Last month we blessed Josie. I had worked really hard to make a blessing dress for her, and I finished at 2 am the morning off. It was a wonderful day. We had a lot of family and friends here to help us celebrate that wonderful day. Jon gave Josie a beautiful blessing, and I was happy that he didn't suprise me with a different name for her.
Josie is such a happy baby. She is always smiling and talking to us, and she is even starting to laugh for us! We just love watching her grow. Last week she rolled over from her tummy to her back for the first time! I was so amazed and excited. She hasn't done it again, but I keep watching. Even though I get so excited when she learns something new Im sad that she wont be so little for very long.
Here are some pictures from the blessing, and a few others of the cutest baby in the world.

3 Wonderful Years

2009-08-25T16:12:00.000-07:00

Almost 9 years ago my mom introduced me to Bro. Goss, our new home teacher. He shook my hand and told me he had a son, Jon, who was my age. I didn’t think too much about it, but I did hope he was cute, especially since there were no guys in my ward my age. Jon wouldn’t be moving in until after his current school semester, but I was excited to meet him. The day came and all my friends crowded around to meet this new boy. There were 8 girls wanting his attention but somehow I was the lucky one to win his heart. I had no idea how much life would change after that Sunday afternoon when I shook his hand and said, “Hi I’m Rachel”.

I had no idea that…

I would spend the rest of my teenage years growing into a better person because of your example, love, and forgiveness.

You would be the standard that all other boys would be measured against.

As I grew up and moved onto college and you on your mission that I would not be able to stop thinking of you, and hoping that our paths would cross again.

You would forgive me before forgiveness was ever asked.

We would have 3 first kisses. Even though all of them were memorable; 3rd time’s a charm!

I would be happy if we were left on a desert island together.

I would be happy being poor for the rest of my life if that meant I got to spend it with you.

You would get down on one knee and ask me to marry you.

We would plan our wedding together,

We would go to the temple and make a covenant with God to cherish each other forever.

We would make a lot of mistakes together, but that we can laugh at them today.

Our marriage would be the best thing in my life.

You would be my greatest support and motivation.

We would have children together.

You would be the one the one to make me laugh every day.

You would be the one to dry my tears.

You would be the first one I want to tell my news.

You would be the one that I want to grow old with.

You would be the one I get to make and keep traditions with.

You would continue to be my best friend, even after 9 years.

We would have a lot of firsts together.

We would get to learn how to be parents together.

Jon, I am so thankful that I have been blessed to have you in my life. I honestly had no idea that life could be this wonderful. Even at 3am in the morning when I'm feeding little Josie, life is perfect because you are next to me rubbing my feet, or dreaming about rubbing my feet. Jon, I love you so much and I continue to enjoy everyday with you. At night I go to bed excited to wake up next to you and spend another day with you.
-Love you FOREVER

BATH TIME!

2009-08-16T13:46:00.001-07:00

Josie lost her umbilical cord yesterday so I decided to give her a real bath. I had been noticing a lot of gunk coming from the umbilical cord and eventually I found it in in her jammies. I have given her a few sponge baths, but it had been a few days...and she probably smelled like rotting milk. I probably smelled(smell) like rotting milk. She was a little fussy when I took her clothes off, but once she felt the warm water she relaxed and really enjoyed it.

Just look how cute she is!!!

Josephine Omeara Goss

2009-08-10T08:20:00.000-07:00

Josephine Omeara Goss was born August 2, 2009 at 8:18pm. She was 9 lbs 2 oz and 21 inches. Sunday morning August 2nd I woke up around 5:30am and realized that I was having very painful back labor. Almost immediately the contractions were 3-5 minutes apart. We took our time getting to the hospital because I didn't want to be sent back home. When we did arrive at the UVRMC hospital it was 8am and I was dialted to 3cm. They gave me an epidural around 9am and I was so happy! I tried to take a few naps, but that was pretty unsuccesful. We talked about names and watched Beauty And The Beast to pass the time. At 4pm our nurse came in and said I was fully dilated and the baby was at a +1 so I could start pushing. At first it was a little exciting...it meant that our baby was really about to come. I had prepared myself to push for 2 hours. Well, 1 1/2 hours came and our sweet baby had not moved at all. She was posterior and was hitting my pelvic bone. We also found out that I have a little curve at the end of my tale bone that was getting in the way. The Dr. tried turning her over twice, but she flipped back both times. At this point he told us our best option would probably be to use forceps. We tried for another 20 minutes or so and then there was a shift change for our nurse. Our new nurse had me try different positions but nothing was making a difference. After 2 1/2 hours of pushing we were ready to have the Dr help out with the forceps. Unfortunately, there was another shift change for the Dr. so the new Dr. on staff wasn't able to make it to my room for about an hour. Even though I pushed for about 4 hours, and I was extremely exhausted, I think this was a blessing in disguise. I still was not able to push her out, but somewhere along the line when my epidural was wearing off I could feel the need to push and I found the energy to push her just enough where she turned and stayed. Even with the forceps I think this really helped her come into the world safer and easier. Josephine Omeara Goss was born August 2, 2009 at 8:18pm. Little Josie had already pooped so the NICU was there to make sure she didn't breath any maconium. I wasn't able to hold her right away but hearing her cry and seeing her for the first time was so unbelievable. Josie had a lot of cuts and bruises, but she is perfectly healthy.

Proud Daddy

Beautiful Josephine

Going Home

HAPPY 4th

2009-07-06T12:35:00.000-07:00

I feel like I would be ungrateful if I didn't take a few minutes to talk about my amazing 4th of July weekend. Brenda, Rick, Brian, and Callie planned a little weekend in Park City and then invited Jon and I to come along for the fun. We all (except for Jon who had to work) got up to Park City on Thursday night had delicious speghetti, and just hung out in a cute little condo. The condo had an amazing view of a lake surrounded by the mountains ... it was so pretty. Friday we went to the outlet stores. Luckily Brenda's 1 year old has about as much energy for outings and shopping as I do, so I able to walk around the outlets for the prefect amount of time. I spent most my time going into Carter's, Osh'Gosh, and Motherhood looking at all the cute things I could get for my baby. I was strong and only bought the few things I needed off my list ... but it was hard.

Later Friday afternoon Jon was able to join us and we all went swimming. It was awesome to get in the water and feel completely weightless! That night we had delicious potatoes and steak for dinner.

Bottoms Up!

2009-07-06T07:39:00.000-07:00

We went to the dr a few days ago for my routine appointment. Our little baby is perfect! She has even turned so her little bumm is up. She is loving my ribs and seems to cuddle up against them as much as possible. Being pregnant has, for the most part, been a lot of fun. It is exciting to watch our little baby grow and feel her moving around. I can't believe that I am down to only 1 month left. I already have her "going home outfit" picked out and her clothes washed, but I still need to organize everything and make our 2nd room a suitable baby's room instead of a storage unit. I have also decided to make her blessing dress. I never thought about it until a woman in my ward showed the Releif Society the Heirloom dresses that she has made and offered to teach classes. Well, the classes never happened, but I fell in love with the style of dress and decided to make my very own. I have had fun trying out new sewing techniques and attempting to make this dress. I really like what I have done so far, but it will definetly be prettier from a distance.

We moved into our new apartment...and we love it. We don't have internet set up yet, so sometimes I feel like I'm disconnected from the world, but in some ways it is really nice. Jon is taking the summer semester off from school since the baby will is due around the time he would have finals. So he is working and enjoying the summer...It is a good break for him. We are both very excited and eager for him to finish up this last year of school.

Expecting...The Unexpected

2009-06-12T09:18:00.000-07:00

Time has been going by so fast. I can't believe that I am aleady 32 weeks pregnant. I only have 2 months left to go, and I don't have any time to relax (at least not yet...probably never will).
In May we found out that there was a possibility that we would get kicked out of our current apartment. The house that we live in is not registered as a two family dwelling. Basically we are living illegally! The city put one of those embarrassing yellow "Public Notice" signs on the front lawn...it's amazing how many people actually stop their car and read it. Our landlord appealed the cities decision, but it was denied. He has now hired a lawyer, and requesting the city relook at his case. The soonest we could find out a definite "YES" we can stay would be the end of July. After doing my research and looking at the notes from the meetings, I do not trust that his appeal will be approved ... which would leave us moving after the baby is born. Moving is a lot of work with out a baby, I can't imagine adding that to the scenario. So last Thursday we decided to move now...which was a very hard and stressful decision. Especially since we have two dogs. After spending so much time looking on http://www.ksl.com/ and http://www.craigslist.com/ for apartments, calling to ask if they allow dogs, and then looking at nasty apartments, Heavenly Father answered our prayers. I found a 2 bedroom 1 bathroom apartment that is awesome! I am supper excited because we will get a dishwasher, bathtub, and a few other luxeries that make life easier.
We are moving next weekend, and I am supper excited to get moved in so I can finally set up the babies room and get our home ready for our little girl. We were hoping that our apartment now would be our last provo apartment, but I guess the Lord has other plans for us. Dispite our excitment we are really sad to leave our ward and our calling (Sunday School Teachers for the 12 & 13 year olds).
So that is our unexpected news ... today I am off to pamper myself just a little. Im going to get an hour massage, oh I can't wait.

Garden Time

2009-05-10T16:35:00.000-07:00

Jon and I decided a few months ago that when it got warm enough it would be fun to plant a garden. We have a really good landlord that allows us to do pretty much whatever we want. In our backyard there is this 6X6 peice of land that was covered in weeds and small trees, it was just ugly. After all the raining we took an afternoon and dug out all the trees and pulled out all the weeds. We could not believe that we chose to do yard work. Neither of us have ever liked yard work, but as it turns out ... it's not as bad when your parents aren't making you.
Our upstairs neighbors were excited about the idea as well, so we combined forces and planted a combination of plants. We planted 4 tomatoe plants (Roma, Big Boy, Husky Cherry), 3 peppers (green, yellow, red), 1 banna pepper, 6 jalepanos, 1 salantro, 1 basal, and a section for red and green onions.

It's been about 1 1/2 weeks since we planted our little garden and everything is still green and getting better. It definetly helps that we have a sprinkler system to do the watering for us, but Im so proud of ourselves for what we have done. I love coming home from work and just staring at how big the plants are getting. This could be the beginning of a new found love.

I Must Be Crazy

2009-04-20T19:36:00.000-07:00

After my ranting and raving about dog hair, I got myself into more trouble. We got another dog! There was a family who decided that they no longer wanted Maggie, a 3 year old female Puggle. Jon and I thought this would be a good opportunity to give Caesar a girl-friend, at least for a short while until we find her a good home.
Maggie is very easy to fall in love with. She is just a sweet heart! She also has a big under-bite so she always looks mad or confused. Caesar and Maggie have a lot of fun wrestling and humping, it is quite entertaining.

Even though we have a baby on the way, this is a really hard decision. I think about how happy they are together and I want to keep her. Then I think about how crazy they can be, and then adding a baby stresses me out.

Tonight Jon and I took advantage of the warm weather and took them to the park. Caesar has always been a very good dog off the leash and coming when called. It is a luxury that we want Maggie to learn. While at the park we tied Caesar and Maggie together hoping Caesar would be a good teacher. It worked pretty well, and it was so cute when they would come and sit together. There were a few times that Maggie dragged Caesar when he was trying to listen and come to us, it was really funny. Poor Caesar, he is such a push-over. I know I must be crazy for even considering this puppy, but just look at her! Anyway, enjoy the pics...we will let you know what happens.

New Vacuum and More

2009-04-17T19:56:00.000-07:00

As most of you know our sweet puppy sheds a TON. His hair gets everywhere regardless of how often I give him a bath and brush him. The hair was annoying before but it never really bothered me. Recently his hair has become completely disgusting and bothersome. Not only do I get annoyed with one small hair but then I look at the carpet and the thought of my baby laying on the floor and getting hair in her mouth or even on her clothes really bothers me. Our old vacuum cleaner died a few weeks ago so I decided it was time to invest in a nice vacuum. I wanted to make sure it wasn't just something that moves around on the floor so I feel good for vacuuming, but a really good one that will pick up the dog hair and make the floor a safe place for my baby. I did my research and found a really good price on a Eureka Optima Pet Lover.

After purchasing the vacuum I have found myself almost obsessed with vacuuming, plus it has an awesome attachment that really picks up dog hair off my couch...I love it!!!

It is really weird how this baby has effected my life before she is even born. I find myself thinking about our future in a different light and even the thought of her not being in our future is more depressing than I expected. She is a very active little girl and I can always count on her to jump on my bladder at least once a day. Last week she kept getting the hiccups and it made me have to pee.

Jon is finishing up the winter semester this week. He only gets a break for a few days before he is starting spring semester. He is still on track to graduate April 2010 and he is working so hard to get through school as quickly as possible without going crazy. I am so grateful that I have a husband who is so loving, supportive, and hardworking. He works so hard not only in school and work, but also to keep me happy. I just want to let everyone know how wonderful he is, I can't imagine myself without him.

23 Weeks!!!

2009-04-10T20:32:00.000-07:00

I have to admit that I posted a picture of my belly with my previous post, but then I removed that picture because I thought my belly looked too big...silly I know. Im used to looking at my belly by looking down, so when I saw the picture to the side it took my by surprise. So here is a picture of me at 23 weeks.

New Job - New Belly

2009-03-29T18:56:00.000-07:00

I love spring and all the wonderful things that come this time of year (weather, flowers, green, rain, baby animals, happy people, camping, etc). Jon and I both have new things to celebrate!

Jon got a job!!! He started working at Chrysalis, this is an assisted living organization that has several homes around the valley for mentally handicapped individuals. There are generally 3-4 individuals (of same gender) living together. Jon's job is to go spend time with them and make sure they get to work, take their meds, or just enjoy life. Jon is really excited to have this job and the experience that he will gain. It is definetly a plus that this gives him the leadership experiences needed for a future resume.

I have a new belly!!! Even though I am half way through my pregnancy I didn't feel like my belly was sticking out until about 2 week ago, and now it is just getting bigger. I was still able to sleep on my stomach, wear my normal shirts, and bend over without thinking. Last weekend I made Jon go shopping with me to find maternity shirts, it was a lot harder than I thought it would be, but I guess since everyone and their dog is pregnant in Provo the stores are picked out. The only thing that kept me motivated to keep looking in other stores was the tight and uncomfortable shirt that I was wearing. On the bright side I can still wear my jeans. Even though I can't wear my favorite shirts it is fun to see my belly grow and it is especially exciting when I can feel our sweet baby moving around.

These are a few other cute pictures that we took when we went hiking with Caesar

It's a ...

2009-03-08T18:52:00.000-07:00

Life is so full of surprises and blessings. Jon and I were able to find out that we are going to have a baby GIRL!!! We were able to find out at week 16 because we participated in a study at the Utah Valley hospital for preterm birth. We had previously decided that we didn't care if it was a boy or girl, we just wanted a healthy baby. I worked hard to make sure my brain stayed gender free, so when we were able to find out that we are having a girl it was really exciting to finally start thinking of names and imagining our baby.
Our baby appears to be very healthy, 150/min heart beat, 2 legs, 2 arms, 2 eyes, 1 mouth. It was amazing to watch our miracle moving around on the black and white screen. I even felt her move last week. She has become the center of our world, and we can't wait to meet her.

Since the last time I wrote Jon lost his Job at Enterprise Rent-A-Car, they got rid of all the part time office assistance. He is still looking for a job, but we have a few prospects and are hoping that this will be a good opportunity for him to get a job with experience with youth. Jon is finishing up his Junior year at BYU and he is excited to finally have a break from school this upcoming summer.
I found myself working on various projects and trying to keep my house clean. The "nesting" that people talk about is definetly present, I find myself wanting to clean at our apartment, but I don't always have the energy to do so.

New Year Update

2009-01-08T19:03:00.000-08:00

So far 2009 has been extremely good to us.
I hit my 1 year anniversary at work on January 2nd, which means I am off probation, and I have a very secure job. In this economy it is very comforting to not have to worry about my job.
Jon started a new semester on January 4th. We are especially grateful that he past his politcal science stats class last semester so he wont have to retake it this semester...which leaves room for more interesting classes. So far Jon is enjoying his classes.
TODAY - Jon and I went to the dr. office and heard our little baby's heart beat! YUP...I'm pregnant. I am due August 6th. Jon and I are so grateful for this wonderful baby that has blessed our lives. I can't even tell you how excited we were the day I took the pregnancy test and found out. Our joy has only continued to grow each day. Today helped make the whole experience real. I was afraid for a while that this pregnancy was a figment of my imagination, but when the dr put the doppler on my belly and found a strong healthy heart beat (180/min), it became so real. I have been on cloud-9 all day. I can't even go into detail how extactic both of us are.
I personally have had a little morning sickness, but nothing really to complain about. I have learned that I need to eat first thing in the morning and every 2 hours after that. Ironically food is the last thing I want to think about now that I have to be constently eating. But any discomfort that I am feeling is worth the sacrafice for our precious baby.

Family Pictures

2008-11-07T13:12:00.000-08:00

A couple weeks ago we asked Holly Beck to take family pictures for us. She just got a new camera (one of the really nice ones that real photographers use.) and she is still learning how to use it. She was more than happy to use us as practice. She did an amazing job. She has also been taking pictures at the hockey games, and she always does an awesome job. Anyway, just thought I post a few of the pictures and publicly announce how awesome she is.
Yes ... we love our puppy!.

BYU Football

2008-11-03T19:37:00.000-08:00

I have to talk about BYU football, and let out my frustration...because frankly, our defense blows.
It's funny that 3 years ago I would have said, "First down...what?" But now I find myself going to every home game, yelling at the refs, doing my cougar call and singing along to the fight song. Jon has taught me about the joys of football. Which is actually a good thing since he wants to be a high school football coach.
We had such a good start to the season, and our defense looked so promising...but between playing 'away games' and our defense going on vacation it is clear to see that we just might be over rated. Please don't get me wrong, I am a huge cougar fan and I will stay TRUE BLUE no matter what happens. We still only have 1 loss under our belt, which is awesome, but I am so scared for the BYU-UTAH game, and I am extremely jealous that I will not be able to go.

My Projects

2008-10-12T15:05:00.001-07:00

Since I work for the State I got to benefit from Govoner Huntsman's 4-day work week. It makes for long days, but I love it on Friday. Even before I got Friday's off I found myself putting together a long list of project for me to complete (cleaning my closets & pantry, painting my kitchen, painting my table & chairs, start scrapbooking...etc) and the list continues to grow. So far I have organized my closets and pantry, I painted my table & chairs, and I even started scrapbooking.
*Before the vaneer was removed
I was looking forward most to redoing my table. It took me a lot longer than I planned, but only because I got lazy and the weather wasn't helping. The top of the table is vaneer (I think) so I used my hair dryer and a wet cloth to to losen the glue

and then I just used a flat screw driver to pry the vaneer off the table. I was surprised at how easily it came off.
After the top was off I sanded the legs and the top. Unfortunately, I think the top is just ply- wood so no matter how much I
sanded it still had the same texture. I finally got it smooth enough to prime. I just got a regular spray paint primer, and I only primed the top where the paint would soak
After the vaneer was removed
After priming it the weather got really cold for a few weeks so I didn't paint it until last week. I just got some cheap black spray paint from walmart, but after doing 1 coat the paint had completely soaked in. I went and got a better spray paint and it worked perfectly! After doing 1 1/2 coats I sprayed it with a glossy spray to make sure the paint doesn't rub off when I wash it.
For the chairs I just spray painted them. I didn't care too much about getting the dings out, I just wanted them painted.

And so ... here you have it, My Final Product!!!
Don't look too closely at the chairs because I ran out of paint to finish off the 2nd coat. You can't really tell with inside lighting, but maybe someday that will be put back on my list as a project to do. Until then, I am really happy with my new table and chairs!!!

2 YEARS OF BLISS

2008-09-04T18:46:00.000-07:00

On August 25, 2008 we celebrated

two beautiful years of marriage.

Even though its taken a couple of weeks to post our amazing weekend I wanted to let everyone know how wonderful the past two years have been for us. We have been blessed in countless ways, but our biggest blessing comes from our marriage and the love that we share between each other. Ok...sorry I wont bore you with all the sappy love stuff and I will tell you about my wonderful surprise for Jon!
On our wedding day Jon's sister told us to take turns planning our anniversarys. Jon planned our first anniversary and so it was my turn to plan this year.
Ok so a little back ground. For hockey Jon bought some really old hockey skates for $15, and they were slowly falling apart. One evening while I was watching Jon's hockey game I was wishing that I could just surprise Jon with brand new skates, but we didn't have the money...and for me to really surprise him I would have to secretly save money. So I did! I started taking $20 our of every paycheck and hiding it in my drawer. I also would take any other cash I received and stash it away. By the time Aug 25th came I had a really good chunck of change. I took Jon to the Players Bench in Murry and totally surprised him! He had no idea that I had an envelope of cash ready to pay for whatever pair of skates he wanted. He found a really good pair of rebok 5k skates. It was awesome, and I was so excited that I was able to pull it off.

After getting the skates I took Jon to lunch at Tucanos in Salt Lake. It was sooooo good!!! We stuffed ourselves and then went to a castle where we spent the night!
This place was awesome! We stayed at the Castle Creek Inn in South Jordan. http://www.castleutah.com/ All the rooms in the castle were different, but really nice. We stayed in the palace royale room. Beautiful bed with posts, TV, jetted tub, and unlimited snacks. Outside there is a beautiful little water fall and trail to enjoy. Not to mention the breakfast that they made for us the next morning. The decor was awesome, and very well done. I highly recommend this place to anyone looking for a nice little gettaway! I just can't say enough about how much fun it was.

The next day we stopped by the Timpanogos temple (where we got married) to do sealings. We had been there for about an hour enjoying ourselves and the sweet spirit when all of a sudden I started feeling...um...not normal. I started getting a little hot, and my vision turned blury. I could feel that I was about to pass out, so I figured it would be better to stand up and interupt than to pass out and interupt. It was actually really funny.
It was an awesome weekend, and we both enjoyed being able to spend time together and remember the sacred promises that we made 2 years ago.

Another month...come and gone!

2008-07-31T16:28:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe how quickly this summer has gone by, it is already August!!!

HOCKEY IS OVER!!! We are excited for the ending of this season because that brings the happy news of another season, with a better team, and the hope of a much better season. Jon's team ended the season with 2 wins and 8 losses. The great thing about this season is that Jon was able to move around to different positions and he also had the opportunity to play goalie for other teams. Hockey will always be Jon's 2nd love, which means ... it is mine as well ;)

I am still enjoying my job ... and like always there are more changes to adjust to, but it makes for an exciting day. They have assigned me to be one of the two the financial specialists for the office. I am pretty excited about it. I have worked with financial cases for a while and the customers are a little more...um...'needy' but they are also in sad situations where they truly need the assistance. However, I must say, when customers bother me TOO much, it makes me want to postpone the benefits that they will receive, just to show them that I have control. Unfortunatly, I am too chicken to even try something like that...but I think it often.

Jon is almost done with the summer semester and he is so excited to finish with this class. He is especially excited because he is learning statistics. He was not expecting to learn statistics when he started political science, but here he is...I suppose there is value to it, but I can relate to his hatred of the subject.

Summer Life

2008-07-02T21:24:00.000-07:00

Summer life has consisted of the same life as winter life (except we die in the heat instead of the cold). Jon started hockey for the summer, but I haven't had a desire to write about it because, frankly, his team sucks. Don't mistake this team for the Cheifs, it is just a tempory hockey fix until everyone on the Cheifs team gets back for school. There are a lot of good players but they fail to play as a team. They would all rather have personal glory instead of team glory. Which seems a bit ironic because their personal glory is not going to be recognized unless their team has glory as well. I think in the last 5 games they won once. Jon has had some good opportunities to play forward and center, but his preference is still defence. Last week we lost (no surprise) but Jon made the only 2 goals that our team had. He has been getting really good, but unfortunatly he has lower back problems so we are working on getting his muscles strengthend and stretched to prevent a bad case of the hockey back every night.
Well, that is really all...I just wanted to report that we are still alive and loving life!

Nothing to Say :)

2008-06-01T13:53:00.000-07:00

I felt like posting some awesome news or cute pictures, but the only pictures we have are of ourselves and those aren't so cute and the cute ones that we have of Caesar are already posted.
Life is same-ol-same-ol...
Everyday I go to work and try to keep people happy by giving them food stamps. Everyday Jon goes to school and then to work where he tries to keep people happy by putting them in nice cars.
Jon is buff--Rachel is Hot

GRADUATION AND MORE

2008-05-11T21:31:00.000-07:00

I am official!!! I walked across a stage, shook someone's hand and moved my tassel from the left to the right all while wearing heals ;) It was an awesome weekend and I was very excited to celebrate and have some acknowledgment for my acheivment. At the commencement on Thursday Elder Bednar spoke which was really awesome for me because when I started college at BYU-I he was the president there and he spoke to us (group of freshmen) during our orientation. I also had the opportunity to have family home evening with him. So I thought it was very nice to have such an inspiring man, and a prophet of God bookend my college experience. The convocation on Friday was really nice and short. After that everyone was so nice to come by our new apartment and eat baked potatoes and chilli (one of my favorite meals) to celebrate with me. Thank you everyone for your love and support and for celebrating this time of my life with me.

Jon and I had been wanting to get memberships to Golds Gym since it is right across the street from us. So after all the graduation excitment we went over and signed up with a pretty good deal. Since that day we have gone 5-6 times a week. Yesterday we met with a personal trainer...this is a free one time opportunity that everyone gets when they sign up. For me, it was ok, I liked having someone tell me how to really work out...but for Jon, he loved it. Especially since Jon has an actual goal in mind and he is trying to bulk up and get in shape so he can be better at hockey. Unfortunatly the membership has run us dry and we don't have the money to pay for a personal trainer, but we are both having trouble moving around the house because our muscles are so sore.

This summer Jon is working 20 hrs/wk and taking a Bio 100. We are both excited because he is going to start hockey this week. I am still working hard and there never seems to be enough time in the day to help everyone, but I still love my job. I actually am going to start taking Spanish classes and my work is paying for it. I have a few Spanish cases right now so it will help if I can start to understand the language even a little bit. Plus I have always wanted to learn more Spanish so this looked like a good opportunity.

A NEW PLACE TO LIVE

2008-03-25T20:31:00.000-07:00

After searching for a pet friendly apartment without bugs for three months, I finally found a 2 bedroom basement apartment. It's located on 560 North 900ish East...by the Golds Gym. This apartment has the kitchen in a seperate room from the living room. There is even a pantry with a door so Caesar won't beable to eat our food anymore. The greatest part is we only have to pay a little more than what we are already paying. We are extremely excited to move out of our ant and cockroach infested apartment.
We will be able to move in the beginning of April. I will keep you posted with how the move goes.

LIFE IS GOOD!!!

2008-03-14T16:41:00.000-07:00

We don't have the most exciting life to report on but I thought I would post an update anyways. I have finally finished training at the Department of Workforce Services. After 2 months of training I was grateful to get my own case load. I have 43 cases, and I love what I do.

Jon is enjoying school (except for his history teacher). He is also working hard at Enterprise-Rent-A-Car. He just got promoted from a wash boy to a customer service rep. That meanst that he gets to wear a shirt and tie and he wont have to wash cars in the snow.

HOCKEY!!!

My hockey update will not be as detailed and interesting as Jon's will, but I have to mention how great he is doing and that his team is number one in the league for the second season in a row. This is a picture of his team from last season after they one the last game and claimed the Provo Stanley Cup. I think there are only been a few additions to the team for this current season.

His games are always a lot of fun to watch.

Hockey Season is Here!

2008-02-05T08:17:00.000-08:00

I had my first hockey game of the season last wednesday. We beat the Ninjas (a new team) 6-3 after a few scrums and a lot of taunting. I got an assist and had a breakaway where I ended up jumping over a diving defender...i missed the shot however. I ended the night with 4 shots, 1 assist. Our next game is against the MythBusters (another new team) on wednesday. I'll continue to post the progress of the Chiefs. If anyone has a Facebook account, the team has a team page on facebook. You can contact me for info on that if you'd like.

Here we go!!!

2008-01-11T18:52:00.000-08:00

Here we are along with our current updates!!!

Rachel - After many long years I am proud to say that I have finally graduated from BYU with a BS (Bull S***) degree in Marriage Family and Human Development. It was a good time and I learned a few things, but mostly I am glad that I am done. In December I was offered a position with the State Department of Workforce Services as and eligibility worker. So basically I determine if people can receive government benefits such as foodstamps, medicaid, financial assistance, or child care. I have two months of training to go through and I am only on my second week, but it is going by fast and I am really enjoying what I am learning.

Jon - The greatest thing about writing last is that I can look back on what Rachel says and tease her about it so that I have something interesting to say in my part of the blog. I am in my fifth semester at BYU and am dealing with a wopping 16.5 credits and 20 hours of work a week. Most of my classes are GE's and are not very interesting, but I am enjoying my coaching football class where I will be able to meet the coaches at BYU and learn from different game plans and techniques. I am probably most excited about my Book of Mormon class where I will be writing a research paper on the rise of the Gadianton Robbers and the political unrest caused by their existence.
Hockey season is about to start. January 16 is when our team (the Chiefs) will get together for our second season. We are planning on switching around a couple of guys so there is a possibility that I will move from defense to being a center or winger. We'll keep you posted.

Caesar - He is our cute little baby!!! Last April we went to the Humane society in Murray. We were trying to decide between our little Caese and a little old chiuaua. After taking Caesar (who was Chico at the time) for a walk we fell in love with his tear drop shapped little body and decided to take him home with us. Ceasar immediately became attached (and I mean very attached) to the two of us, especially Rachel. He is a good little boy, he does his peepee and poopoo outside and we can even take him for a walk without a leash.