You gotta get messy to get Clean

An important lesson my mom tried to teach me as a child..... You gotta get messy to get clean.  My mom would say, "go clean your room." Grudgingly I would do just that, now in the process, anything I found while cleaning that I thought: was interesting, I didn't know where it went, or I was too lazy to put in the correct spot, went to one of two places, shoved under the bed, or I put it on me.  By then end of cleaning time I was randomly dressed up. I would run tell my mom I was done and she would come for the inspection. 

The inspection was the worst part because I was so proud of how clean my room was. Unfortunately every time, I was shattered, she would  look under the bed and pull everything out and then she would go to the closet and pull everything out. 

Frustration??? Yes, it was coming out my ears. Now my room was messier than it was when  began. Cleaning days  were so awful. Then Heather came up with the idea to start by pulling everything out to make an island on the floor then piece by piece we would put things away to get rid of the island. It worked and it was fun when we did it together but with her not around I find I have reverted to the stuffing method.

As you know Jordan and I are moving on Monday to Salt Lake, now the problem with moving is this that you have to clean. No the problem with this kind of cleaning is that  when your done it is pretty obvious if you stuffed stuff under the bed or in the closet, So you can't actually do that and get away with it. Therefore, it has to get messy to get clean, and I tell you what our apartment is exactly that.... completely messy, but that means by Monday we should be reaching clean.  What can I say, Happy Easter.

"Girls Night"... Is that gender specific????

Most people consider a night of pampering a girls night.  

After more than a year of marriage I realized that just because it is called girls night does not mean it is just for girls. Nor does it mean once you are married there are no more "girls night" or "Pamper Parties" 

      

As you can see Jordan is about as good at it as any girl. The only difference was he wanted me to rub his feet and do his pedicure, and most girls night I have gone to, we do our own. 

What can I say it was great. Tea Tree facial masks, pedicures, Mary Kay moisturizer, back rubs, and visual relaxation journeys. 

Jordan enjoyed it though he made it clear this is not something he claims to love and we will likely only do this bi-yearly.

Guys like it FAST!!!

Well Jordan is a guy meaning. It has to be fast, skiing, snowmobiling, cars, boating, whatever just make it fast.

Our ward priesthood group choose to do a pine wood derby, you wouldn't believe all these grown up boys with their cars. Jordan wanted to make sure his was fast. So he put a lot of thought and a lot of work into it.

So what do you get when you put a ...

pinewood derby car

with

CO2 cartridges???

Well you get a very happy Jordan.

Check out how fast it is moving in this picture, it was so crazy.

His car beat all others, not just a little but by a very long shot, the other car would be half way down the track and then his would smoke theirs.  Of course they did races in brackets and so as the winner you have to do it a lot. I can't help but worry about what all that CO2 will do to his brain.  It has been nearly 24 hours since and he is still jumping up and down with excitement. 

BACK TO SLC

After Graduation we moved to Idaho and then I figured we would be off to another state after Idaho. I did not expect nor did I want to move back to Utah, let alone so soon. But Jordan now has an internship lined up in Salt Lake. To my dismay I have no resistance, I am so thrilled an emotion I did not think I would have about moving back to Utah.  Now I don't have to stress about getting work off for all the weddings, i can go to the Family reunions, hang out with real friends, and perhaps get a job that actually pays money. 

Infact I already have a job all set up, back at the same place I have been working summers for the last 4 years. I will be leasing apartments again. No, I never needed a degree for that but it surely pays more than my job for which I have a degree. Overall I am excited. And I think Jordan is too. We are getting a sweet deal on rent and yet it is still $200 more per month than we pay in Idaho, There will be a few less than blissful things in SLC but overall we are so excited.

So what do you think, should I wait till April and give my boss just the basic 2 weeks notice or should I give him a heads up in advance so they can find someone sooner to fill the position? I want them to get someone good, and I would be happy to train that person.  I feel I have a slight dilemma.  

The Annual ski trip

Every year we go on a family trip to Grand Targhee Ski Resort for an awesome weekend. This weekend was absolutely fabulous, but we are all so sore we can hardly walk. There was no expectation for snow until a few days before. Check out our car and how much snow is stacked on top, note how high my feet are compared to the tires. Yes, like every year it snowed the most on Saturday night, really making us want to skip church and join the ski church.

The best tricks of the trip were Jordan's multiple under rotated backflip landing him tips in the snow and smacking his face to the ground. Jennie followed his lead and under rotated a couple back flips one of which she came crashing upside down on her head from 20 feet up, and the other gave her a great big fat lip. And cousin Logan's un-scouted back flip that landed him right in a pine tree. This year we are happy to report no broken bodies and no broken gear like last year. It is a weekend where everyone is trying to compete to go just a little bigger than the last person. 

This trip was also awesome as Heather flew in from Virginia to ski with us. Well we had tons of fun with the whole crew and we can't wait for next years trip. We love Targhee, we love snow, and we love the awesome people we get to spend time with.  

Jordan's New Hobbie

 We have always known how much Jordan likes to longboard and wake board. But he has just found a new hobby in the world of boarding. He is now making longboards. He told me he wanted to make longboards but I didn't think that he would actually be good at it.  I assumed him and the neighbor boy Steve would make something dinky they would be proud. I found out I was really wrong. His finished project turned out really great... If you are interested in buying one from him, just put in an order. 

Christmas in Honduras

It is true our Christmas was fabulous. No, it didn't feel like Christmas but, isn't Christmas rea

lly about giving. We had an awesome chance to give. We were doing some service work down in Hondur

as. (Yeah, I can now locate it on a map) We gave time, books to the first library in a village, love, dinners to poor families, gift baskets to people in the ward who needed food, toys to

 kids in the hospital, puke plus other stuff to the toilets, and school supplies and uniforms to 100 children. We gave in many aspects and it felt great, but we also received. We receiv

ed, love, kindness, lessons on humility, hospitality, parasites, and t

he chance to learn the trades of the disabled people.  It was t

ruly and amazing experience and we are very grateful to Jordan's parents for taking us along with them. 

It was warm in Honduras, we experienced sweat rather than snow. It was quite incredible. 

When we got home we enjoy seeing Heather and Rich for an hour before they had to catch their plane back to VA. We also had an awesome couple days of skiing with friends and family. Jordan hucked a couple of back flips on of which was while being towed 

by a snowmobile. The hot springs in Heber were a new experience it was like hide and go seek for the warm patches amidst the cool patches, and avoiding stubbing your toes became another game. Really it was awesome and a great time to hang out with the VanSlooten cousins. 

Now we are back home in our cosy closet of an apartment which now has tile in the kitchen and bathroom (a huge upgrade for us). The snowbanks here in Rexburg are crazy, Jennie has lived in snow country Utah most of her life and she is still amazed with the snowbanks. Every street has a 2-3 foot bank on the edge and we learned why places make such big parking lots. The reason is they need and entire section for the 20+ foot mountains. We are dying to dig a cave in one to sleep in.

 Jennie thought she didn't want to come back to work but the people she works with really have a big grip on her heart and she loves it. Jordan starts school tomorrow (Jan. 07) he is excited he is just trying to pretend he is a "cool kid".   

Consider this our December and January post and we'll update our blog again in February or March.