In Which We Catch Up.

So, here's a rambling little post about what's going on in our lives since I haven't posted in almost 3 years.

Brent:  When last I posted, Brent was working as a valet team captain at a nice hotel in downtown Bellevue.  After a long and crazy three years there, he quit in the middle March of 2016 and went back to school at the end of the month.  He's been working hard on his Biomedical Technician degree and will start his final semester at the end of this month, finishing up around Memorial Day.  From there, he'll either internship or start a job - we're hoping his networking will help him get a job right away, but an internship will be a good experience for him too.  Other than school, he's just busy being an awesome dad and husband, trying his best to fulfill his church responsibilities, and playing basketball two nights a week with some guys from church.

Michelle:  I've been living the stay-at-home mom life and loving it (for the most part, haha)!  Cal and I pretty much just hang out at home all day.  We were meeting up for mall walking with friends or family for a while there, but we've fallen off that wagon...  With Brent in school, funds have been a wee tight, so I've picked up a couple seasonal jobs when I can.  I worked at the Puyallup Fair Washington State Fair with my step-mom and one of my sisters and then I worked at Coach Outlet for the holiday season with my other sister and some former co-workers from my Eddie Bauer days.  Now, it's back to the full-time stay-at-home gig while Brent enters the homestretch for school.  I don't mind being at home, though it was nice to work a little bit last year and get some adult interaction, lol.  Calvin is a pretty chill kid though, so being home is usually pretty easy.  I have really expanded my cooking skills the last couple of years (hence the What We Ate Last Week posts and any recipe posts I might share) and that's been fun.  I've also been reading a lot.  Sometimes Calvin will just play or color while I read, sometimes he'll sit next to me and "read" his books, and sometimes reading doesn't work out so well because he needs attention.  Last year I set a goal to read 30 books and passed that, so I set a goal of reading 40 this year.  So far, I've read eight, but I"m close to finishing one and I just started another.  If you have any recommendations, I'd love to hear them. :)  Same with recipes!  I made a goal to try 52 new recipes this year, as well as find the perfect brownie. :D  So far, we've tried 30 new recipes, including two new brownie recipes (one of which, was pretty darn tasty!), and most of them have been pretty good!

Calvin:  Calvin, Calvin, Calvin...where to start.  Well, last time I posted, he wasn't even born yet and now he's quickly approaching 3 (middle of June)!  I'm not quite sure how that happened.  As I mentioned earlier, he's a pretty chill kid.  Pretty good at self-directed play about 90% of the time, but also a good snuggler.  He is such a sweet boy, always giving us hugs and kisses and telling us he loves us.  He is currently obsessed with Daniel Tiger, Mickey Mouse, tractors, firetrucks and his toy cars.  He loves to "read" (just like his Mommy), color, play cars, go for walks outside, play in the backyard, help switch the laundry over, help unload the dishwasher, and help Daddy make pancakes every Saturday morning.  He also loves going to Nursery (the Sunday school class for 1.5-3yrs old) on Sundays and does a pretty good job being reverent at home for family prayers and scriptures reading.  He's a silly boy and loves to play and laugh with us.  He also loves his blue puppy and his penguin stuffed animals - they come just about everywhere with us, though they often stay in the car when we're out and about.

So, there you go.  A little update on our lives.  It's a goal of mine to be better about updating our blog this year, especially since the latter half of the year is so up in the air.  Who knows where Brent will get a job and where we'll end up!  If I make this a habit then, hopefully, it'll be easier to stay up-to-date with everyone if we end up having to move away.  We'll deal with that when and if it happens though - we'll keep you posted! :)

In the mean time, keep giggling!
Michelle