Brent spent the last school year teaching second grade. Those little kids kicked his bum. He was so tired every night! They were a little too young for him. This school year he is back in fifth grade and his afternoon class is probably one of the most challenging groups he's had yet. He has the opportunity over this next spring to take an adminitrational training with his district. We are hoping that will improve his chances of getting some interviews this next summer for vice principal jobs. Keep us in your prayers! - Brent loves his little projects and this year he built a nice sandbox for the girls to play in comfortably. They were certainly getting too big for the little on under their swing set. He's also going to be reorganizing our yard this spring. Texas gardening has proven to be completely different from Utah gardening and he's finally admitted we need a new approach. We are hoping to build some raised bed garden boxes this year. He is such a great Dad and is definitly the fun parent. Mom is all about rules and routine. He's taken them to the zoo more times than I can count and is so much better about being outside with them so they can draw with sidewalk chalk or ride their bikes.
Brynley has been growing like a weed and is almost as big as Mariska. She is very active and loves getting out and going places. Every morning she asks where we're going to go today. Her favorite days of the week are Tuesdays and Thursdays because she gets to go to her PreK Mother's Day Out Preschool from 8:30-2:00. This is a great program and she always has a fun time. She is absolutely ready to be in kindergarten next fall... I am also very ready for her to be in kindergarten this fall! We also try to make a playgroup every Wednesday and we always go to Story Time on Fridays at the local library. They do a great job as well, always complete with a craft and a snack. She also just turned 5 and is crazy excited. I can't believe it's been 5 years! Time is going by so quickly, I'm really starting to pay more attention to the little things I know I'll miss when they are big.
Mariska just turned 8 and is trying hard to make good choices. She is always asking me if things are "against the church" and asking questions about how Heavenly Father wants us to do things. She is excited to be baptized, although it's going to wait until January so that Grandma and Grandpa Eldridge can be there. She is very excited to be going to Activity Days at church every other Wednesday night. She is currently in 2nd grade and is blowing us away with her reading skills. I'll give her a chapter book that I think will take her a good while to read and she'll come out a short while later totally finished and looking for more. For her birthday we got her a bedside lamp so she can read each night before bed. This last year she lost teeth left and right. Nearly bankrupting the Tooth Fairy!
This last January I went back to college!!! I am so excited and so very proud of myself. After many sleepless nights and hours of consideration, I have decided to attend Texas Women's University in Dallas and go through their Bachelor's of Nursing program. If all goes as planned, I should graduate when Brynley is finishing the 2nd grade and Mariska is finishing 5th. This last year has brought on so many exciting challenges. I've been taking math, science and psychology courses and really enjoyed gaining knowledge. I'm also really surprising myself with straight As. My current course GPA is a 4.0. I have a few Cs from UVSC from 12 years ago, but I am retaking those courses and replacing them with As. So far I'd have to say that my favorite class has been Anatomy and Pysicology 1. I am fasinated by the make-up and functions of the human body and I'm very pleased to say that it all seems to come very naturally to me. The most fun things I was able to do this semester were see tissues under the microscope, disect a cow spinal cord and a sheep's brain. I volunteered to do all the touching and cutting because I need to toughen up in order to succeed in the nursing field. I am taking three classes at a time, since I still have so many responsibilities at home. This spring I am taking 3 more classes at the local community college and then I should be transfering to TWU in the summer semester.
We were blessed to be able to spend Thanksgiving with some new friends, Bryan and Michelle Countryman. They have 2 girls Mariska and Brynley's ages, and 2 more younger kids as well. They are from here and I really have enjoyed getting to know her. We were also joined by new friends Bryce and Stacey Cranmer, sitting across from us.
We were also able to go to Six Flags with the girls twice this year. Once because of the free tickets we get through the schools and a second time because of our good friends Shanya and James Matthews, who invited us to go on a day they could get in a free guest with their season passes.
We also took a trip to the Dallas Aquarium, which was fun for a day, but a total rip-off we won't be doing again... good thing we got some good pictures while we were there.
That's our update for now! Since I'm no longer working I'll try to fit in more regular updates.
