Happy Thanksgiving

I'll try to talk to everyone but I just wanted to say Happy Thanksgiving! I hope everyone has a fantastic day on Thursday. We are staying home for lunch and then going to the neighbors for dessert. Thanks for the turkeys mom-they are hanging around the house!

I finally got my schedule for three days. I'm so happy, I really hope it well make a difference between crazy and semi sane. The past 6 months have been such a whirlwind of craziness. Hopefully we can get a handle on all of it! Kaobe is out early today so me, him and Leiah are going to lunch and bday shopping for Indy's bday and for new xmas tree decorations. I can't believe it's time to put up the tree already-where has the time gone!! I've got to finish my bathroom painting today and them move onto my room-mocha brown. I love painting-it's fun fun. I need some fun indoor activities for the kids to do inside this winter. We are going to put some carpet down in the basement and get a ping pong table and stuff. Any ideas??

I hope everyone is doing good-what is everyone doing for xmas? Just wanted to say hey! Love you all, me

Want to see what I've been up to?

If you're wondering if I'm still alive, the answer is yes! If you're wondering if I'm still sane, the answer is debatable! If you're wondering if words can express how grateful I am for a supportive husband, the answer is no! Words cannot express how grateful I am for Nate and for his help in getting me through this Semester!

I posted on our blog about the lab that I'm in. Check it out! You'll see some fun stuff ;)

This week is my head teaching week and my theme is water! Dad is going to come in and talk about Scuba Diving as a guest speaker! We went up today to find him some pics & to give him a little tour! I'm really excited - I think he's going to do a fabulous job!!

Anyway, it's 1:23 a.m! I've been sick for a week, so I really need to get to sleep! I just took some meds, so hopefully they'll knock me out soon (when you're sick, Theraflu Nighttime works wonders - just FYI!) So, this post has been nothing but randomness and I'm not even sure what I've written is coherent! If not, love me anyway!

Give your kids a hug for me! We miss you guys a lot, especially around this time of year!

Love ya,
Clar

... happy halloween ...

(Three Hole Punch & La Fawn Duh) (oh, and Sadie!) (oh, and this was at Lizzie's birthday party a few weeks back)

Hey everyone! I'm really missing you guys today and wishing that we could hang out with the kiddos and see all their costumes! As a Halloween Treat for me, you should all post a picture of them on the blog or your FB :)

We hope you are all having a wonderful night! Nate & I are headed out in a few minutes to make the rounds and see all the local kiddos that we love! We'll make a stop at the Dutsons to see Omar & Marisol all dressed up, do some trick or treating with Carlynne & Ollie and their little ones, then head out to see the Wilkie's for a few minutes!

Give your little trick or treaters a hug for us and tell them that we love them!

Love,
Nate & Clar

have a great day

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HALLIE....hope you have a fun day and had a fun party. We sure love you!
hugs, grandma

Blindslided!

Hey Familia,

It's me again. Just thought I'd share a little news...Cody went into work today only to find himself in a last minute meeting where an announcement was made that his office is closing. Yep, it finally happened! The entire R&D part of the office is being closed out. This means that 200 out of the 230 employees including Cody are out. Luckily, Cody is one of the last people to go. His job ends on March 31. A lot of his co-workers have to leave in November. So there you have it. I think were both still shocked even though we knew it was eminent in the next two years.

Cody is unbelievably chipper at the moment. He came home for the rest of the day and is working on his latest hobby involving L.E.D.'s and his truck. He has been looking for a new job for a while now. So he's happy he got to stay with Ericsson long enough to get a severance.

It's so weird that I woke up this morning to a normal day and how fast it changed! It has been full of ups and downs and it's only 3:00. Were just thankful that we don't have to be jobless right away and Cody can take his time and find a new job that will be fulfilling and challenging. He really would like to switch gears and work in some new green tech job or research.

I'll keep ya posted!

Love,

Jen

Feelin Like Fall in Colorado!

Hi La Familia!

Just wanted to say hi to ya'll.

We're having a nice fallish day here in good ole Colorado! Today we celebrated biscuit day in Erie. We went down town to the biscuit festival and ate biscuits and gravy for breakfast. Very yummy! Dad you would have loved it!

We've had a nice busy week going on. We got a new tree delivered yesterday. Had to dig a huge hole, thanks to Cody's strong arms I didn't have to do much! Now I have a nice big tree out my back door! That's my big news, kinda boring if your not into trees I guess!

The fam is doing great. We're off to a great year in school! So happy with teachers and classes. I'm even more delighted that Cody will be done with his board obligations this November! Yipee! Hopefully we'll have lot's of time for fun in the snow this winter. Surf gets a free ski pass this winter. All 5th graders in Colorado get that nice little perk. Hopefully we'll take advantage of it!

I guess that's about all. It's been such a hard month, I miss you so much and love you even more! I don't always let you know how I feel but, I really love you guys so much! It's been hard to be so far away from all of you this month. I've been really trying to take Aunt Debbie's advice about spending quality time w/ the kids. Looking them in eye when they are talking, and being available to them mentally as well as physically. It's so easy to be too busy and distracted when the boys need me. Anyways, gotta get going.

Have a great weekend!

Hope Italy is fabulous Jess! You have no idea how jealous I am!

Love you all!

Jen

sad

I feel very sad, my posts on my blog are gone and I had some great feelings there I wanted to keep. Is there any way to retrieve them? Mom

Hey fam

How is everyone? How is everyone feeling? Are we surviving the week? Just wanted to say love ya and to be strong. This life is one crazy ride isn't it? Wish I could see you all and give you hugs-but this will have to do. Hugging my kids a little tighter and holding Obeta's hand a little longer this week. We haven't had to deal with to much heartache in the past-I guess it's our turn this year. I'm so far away and don't get to talk to you all as much as I would like to but I think about you guys and your families daily. Thought a lot about life this week, what's important to me, how I spend my time, what I'm teaching my kids, how I treat others, what I'm supposed to do with my life, lots to think about. I hope that I can live my life honestly and in honor of grandpa and Cory and all those who've died that I love. It makes it easier to get up and go, not to be idle and let life pass me by-knowing that I still have so much left that I want to do and I really have no idea how much time I have. I hope I can be a better sister, aunt and daughter to all of you-I'll try harder to be there for you. Love ya-me

Our visit from Surf & Scout

Hey everyone! It's been a long time since anyone's posted - so I thought I'd start back up by posting some of my fav pics from when Jen was here!! I posted more details about what we did on my blog so I'm not going to narrate!!
















We missed the rest of you but we had a great time with Jen & the boys! Happy 4th of July weekend to you all! We love you!

Hey everyone

Hi family,
How are all of you doing? The phone and computer have been quiet this week, so I'm assuming summer is keeping everyone busy. Hope you are all well. Dad and I had weeded raspberries and did some yardwork, then watched Avatar, then went to Smoking Blues for our anniversary. Quin and Jodie's is Monday so we had a double date. Now dad's at work and I'm just crocheting as usual. It was a warm beautiful day finally...I love the sun. I have packages for the kids, I'll get them mailed on Monday-just a fun little treat. Give them all big hugs...we miss you all. Love, mom

A day in May

Planted potatoes today and learned a new skill-rototilling, all on my own. Dad will chew me out when he sees, but I had fun and I want to get the seeds in the ground. I'm ripping out flower beds and downsizing some...yes, I did listen and heed my daughters words of advice last summer. It will take time, but I'm getting there. How are all of you? I miss everyone. Dad is quiet..ok, he's usually asleep when I'm home and I'm asleep when he gets home...so we need some noise. Preferably ten little grandkids...I'll take all of them all summer. Seriously!!!!
We have had some nice days and many crap days weather wise. A friend of ours who works with economics has given us some advice...more food storage and rotate it. He says there is no way with the trillions of dollars the government is spending that we will come out of this financial mess easy or early. He said to have food on hand because it's going to get pricey and some of it will get scarce.
Then today, the butcher said the price of chicken is going to zoom up because of the foreign trade policies...another friend who is the gorcery manager at Macey's said to stock up every chance you get...things are going to skyrocket and people are going to have to tighten their belts.
Coming from 3 different people over the past month in 3 different conversations is not just a coincidence. So, I'm begging and advising you to try and get storage of water and things you need just in case. One of the best things we have done is invest in wheat and a grinder and plant fruit trees and berries. I'm not trying to be an alarmist, but this nation has some serious problems and they aren't going to just disappear. We the people are going to have to pay and being prepared can't hurt. Please just think about this, ok. I worry about my family and I couldn't stand to have any of you going hungry. Maybe it won't come to that, but it wouldn't hurt to listen. Not all of these people are church members...so, it's not just a Mormon thing.
We also had some great advice from firefighters and EMT's the other night about earthquake preparedness, learning to use fire extinguishers, changing your first aid supplies often...bandaids do wear out and fall apart, I saw some. They also advised us to know where our shutoff valves for water, fuel etc. are and have a wrench handy to turn them off in emergencies...all women should know these things. They also said basic CPR and first aid were a must for everyone old enough to learn. They told us that five blocks away from us there was a water line that broke last year and the people were without water for 4 hours and begging the city to bring them some. When they were told that the city didn't do that, they stole the water from the crew working on the lines...they were not even ready for a few hours. We were also told to prepare enough to share if needed and to not tell everyone about our storage supplies, because of looters. That was interesting. If any of you want info on how much and what to store and how long it lasts. let me know. I've been trying out a new product called Thrive, it has a 30 year shelf life and it tastes good...it's freeze dried fruit, veggies and meats. I'm working on getting time to be part of a certs group...a person quailifed to respond to emergencies in the area and help where needed. It's a nine week training course with test etc. I feel like I know alot, but can learn more and be ready when help is needed.
Please kids, consider this. How are my bambinos doing? We need to do some skypeing this weekend, we both have ot off. Yeah! Take care, Love mom

Yard Work...Oh My!!

I feel your pain and joy mom. It's a lot of work but I love it too. My problem is I'm just totally lost...I don't know where to begin! I want to do a planter garden this year because we've heard the soil here is horrible. But where oh where do I start??? Any words of advice would be lovely. I want to start small...carrots, onions, tomatoes, zucchini, green peppers and maybe pumpkins. Have any of you ever tried mail order flowers? I've heard of a company out of Michigan that is supposed to be great.

We are all good...finding plenty to keep us busy. We had half day school all week this week for conferences. The kids are doing great in school and seem to have adjusted quite well...thank goodness. We are gearing up for Kaobe's B-day next week. No idea what to do-possibly bowling or mini golfing with some friends. He wants some stuff for his room-I found him some groovy Beatles posters and a stereo so far! SHhh don't tell. I've been busy looking for jobs-okay not that busy-but I do hope to start working soon. It takes money to do anything unfortunately. We are also looking for a dog! We found a 3yr old Jack Russell/Beagle mix that we are checkin out. Not sure yet.

Mom-you will be receiving a few letters from the kiddos-all on their own!! I'll do better now too! I can't believe April is almost over-where is the year going? I can't wait to wear shorts and tanks though-I'm loving the sunshine. We got some Adirondack chairs for the deck-now we just need a grill and we are all set! My sweet babysitter Ashly offered to come be with the kids tomorrow night so Obeta and I can go out for our anniversary-so sweet of her! So we are going to the Capital Grille again-hopefully I can taste the food this time! Gotta get them all from the bus...pray for me to get a job please. I think I'm ready! Love you all, Me

Missing all of you

It's midnight Tuesday and I can't sleep. I keep thinking about my family and I miss all of you. A rousing game of cards and some junk food with you would help...come on over. How are all of you doing? I've been a slacker lately on keeping in touch. Sorry. Between work, yardwork and church and crocheting, I've used up my hours each day too fast. I'm loving the spring weather and walking and the smells and colors and the several dozen hummingbirds that are in the apricot tree..it does look like popcorn on it and the little birds are loving the blossoms. I mowed lawn last night...here we go. We bought our garden seeds, thinned the berries, trimmed the trees and planted a honeycrisp apple tree. I do love spring work, it gives me a sense of satisfaction to clean up, plant and be outside.
I'm still having a hard time getting used to foundation and powder on my face, but love the Clinique moisturizer I wear at night...it's like morning dew.
Dad is getting some things done with all of his stuff out of the truck. He works alot of hours...more than I expected. We are adjusting ok....I got spoiled doing what I wanted when I wanted.
Are my grandkids being good? Seriously, we are looking into a camera for the computer...we haven't spent much time in town, our schedules are so different and we have to share the car, at least for now. I had to laugh at Leiah, she always tells me about her hot tub, so I asked if I could come and sit in it with her. She yelled, Hey mom, grandma's coming to sit in the hot tub. Wish I were that close to all of you. When the windows get steamed up, Ty's outline of his message before he left can still be seen on the window. That reminds me, I need ten new pieces of artwork from ten bambinos...you know who you are, so get busy kids. I miss all of you and I'm sending hugs and good thoughts your way. Love, mom

Hoppy Easter to the Un-Utahites

Hey everyone!! We are hanging out at Mom & Dad's from some Easter afternoon fun and though we'd post a couple of pics! (Taken by Nikki the Nikon. We love her.)

Underneath the Boxes

Hey Fam,

How is everyone? We are all moved in-thanks for your calls. Most boxes are unpacked-not organized but unpacked! Kaobe and Ada had a tour of their school today and are excited to start tomorrow. Looks like a great school-I'm happy for them! Indy will hopefully start Friday or next week. We feel totally discombobulated-that you how you spell it? There are no neighbors under or next to us-no cars to scrape off and no flights of stairs to carry groceries up! You'd think we'd be in heaven but really we are in a stupor just taking this new life in! Our neighbors are very friendly as are most of the people we have come in contact with out here-we are so not in NJ anymore! People actually say thank you here!! I almost feel like I'm in happy valley!

Love you guys-hope Jess gets to Belgium safe and everyone is happy and healthy! Love, Amanda

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday Tyson, you now have a phone message, an email, a facebook message and a blog...guess I covered the bases in wishing you a fun day. Love, grandma

Happy Birthday!!

Happy Bday Ty!! We hope you have the best Superbowl party ever! Thanks so much for your special visit to NJ. We had a fantastic time with you and your sister and mom. We wish you the best 12th year of life ever! Talk to you soon, The Osolu's!!

Happy Birthday Tyson

Happy Birthday T!

We heard all you wanted for a party this year were some awesome Super Bowl snacks! We hope that you get them and that you have a great day! To add to your joy today, here is a list of some of our favorite memories of you...

- Meeting you for the very first time! Your dad brought you into the waiting room at the hospital looking so proud! You were so teeny and adorable and we were all so excited to meet you!!
- Watching you dance and sing in your Blues Clues outfit via webcam when you lived in Guam!
- Watching you play "Toy Story" in grandma's living room after they moved into their new house! You had all of the characters down perfectly!
- Watching your art develop! You have such amazing talent and we love to see the things that you have done!
- When I was visiting you in Germany you gave me a pretty good scare one night - you had gone to bed and I was talking to Nate on the phone and you kept throwing my sweatshirt over my shoulder... I had no idea how it was happening until you started giggling...
- Hanging out with you and playing cards with you!
- Your love for anything that had a character you could play - Nate loved when you played Star Wars and whacked him on the head with your light sabers.


Happy Birthday!

Love,
Nate & Clar

Happy Birthday Blake

Blake,

Someday when you have internet you might look at this blog, so when that day comes, sorry we didn't get to chat on your Birthday! I hope that you were able to have a decent day! We miss you and we hope that we get to see you soon!

Love,
Nate & Clar

Happy Birthday Surfer

Surf,

We hope you have such a great birthday! I can't believe that you are already 10 years old! Here are some of our favorite memories about you:

- meeting you for the first time when you came to Utah for our wedding! I couldn't believe that you were so small, and you had SOOO much hair!
- coming to your house right after we were married! I was laying on the couch playing with you, and you spit up on me, right down my shirt - it was gross and disgusting, but Uncle Nate thought it was pretty funny!
- digging for worms with you when your dad and Uncle Nate built your sandbox on another trip out to your house. You were fascinated with them!
- A couple of years ago you were at grandma's house, and we were eating dinner. Somebody said, "I'm stuffed." I had just learned that in Australia, if you say your stuffed, it means you're pregnant, so I told you & Scoutie that. A little while later, that same night, we were sitting in the living room talking, and you and Scoutie came in with clothes stuffed under your shirt and said, "Aunt Clar, we're in Australia, and we're stuffed." It was hilarious. We even took this picture of you.



You always know how to make us laugh and we love you so much! We hope you have an awesome day! And keep your eyes peeled in the mail for your gift!

Love,
Uncle Nate & Aunt Clar

Happy Birthday Cody

Cody,

Happy Birthday! We're not quite sure how old you are, but you're getting up there, right? :) We love you and we hope you have a great day and a great year! We look forward to hanging out with you at some point during the year!! :)

Love,
Nate & Clar

We survived the packers!

Hey family,

It's been a crazy week here in Colorado Springs. We moved out all our stuff and are sleeping on air mattresses, sitting in camp chairs, and eating on a card table. Phuc says we are living like refugees, but I think it's nice to get back to the basics and not have too much to clean up! I do have to admit we both went through a bit of depression this week as they packed all of our stuff while we just sat there watching it go. It's hard to make an empty house feel comfortable like home, but we are slowly coming around and the kids always bring excitement and noise with them. We've also been having to eat out for every meal except our cereal breakfast, but I finally got the kitchen under control yesterday and I made a roast for lunch today after church. I am looking forward to a less busy week, trying to settle back in-we had to pull everything out for the packers, now I'm wiping everything down for our renters and moving our stuff back in and airing out the house from the smoker movers and cardboard boxes.

Hallie got a Dr. Seuss book on Friday night and I took a few minutes with her, trying to teach her how to sound out words to read. I unleashed a total monster and anytime she sees me, she begs me to read with her, she absolutely loves it and is doing remarkably well for only a few days of reading. Phuc and the boys hide every time they see her coming with her book in tow, because it requires the utmost patience to read with her! The kids were out of school on Weds, Thurs, and Fri and then have tomorrow off as well so we've also been doing lots of appointments trying to get everyone up to date for the move. The week has been full of dental appointments, doctor visits, and parent conferences. I am proud to say the kids are all doing awesome in school which makes me worry less about them adjusting in Belgium.

Anyway, that's our week in a nutshell, not real enjoyable, but I'm so glad it's over. Hope you all are doing good, Love ya, Jess

Surprise, Surprise!!

Much to my surprise as I was laying, wallowing in tissues and hot pads and day old clothes my lovely husband brought home the most special gift I could ever receive!! My Mommy!! I was shocked to say the least! Thanks mom for a fantastic surprise!! Can't get much better than this-although now your gone we are missing you too much. We wish so much that dad could've been here to. Your turn next right dad? You gotta wait till we move so you can sit in the hot tub though!

Thanks everyone for making it such a special week and not "spilling the beans"! The kids had a fantastic time, I've not seen them that happy in a long time! We loved playing cards and pictionary and guesstures! We loved the ice trip into the city to see Central Park! Mom has now been across almost all of the bridges in NY and NJ! Thanks for the special "haircut" day! Yes-Clar I totally chopped my hair off-a little shorter than planned but I love starting fresh! My got "chopped too"! Hehe! We went to Longhorn and Wegmans for lunch and lots of mall time(probably a little too much mall time!). Thank you so much for Obeta and I's night out-it was fabulous to spend time with my hubby after such a long and arduous(did I spell that right?) fall! And the kids loved loved loved their babysitter!

I'm so happy we got to see some family for Christmas and even happier that it looks like we'll be seeing much more family this year!! We cannot wait for Jess's visit in a few weeks!!! I love you guys- you are all the best!! Your favorite sister, Amanda

Happy Birthday Obeta

Obeta, Obeta a man with many names! We love you and we hope you had a fabulous birthday!!

Love,
Nate & Clar