and we'll fall asleep....counting our blessings

so we spent all of yesterday wondering if will was going to have a job or not.  we found out monday that his company was going to be having lay-offs.  we weren't really worried.  will's pretty good at his job and his salt lake territory is a pretty big market.  then came the big day and one by one he was hearing of people on his team getting let go.  the guy from reno.  then from denver.  will's boss (whom he highly regarded) from seattle.  it wasn't looking good.  will's call wasn't until 2 in the afternoon.  so we had to wait a long time.  his call was short, 5 minutes at best.  they told him he was staying on, but that his job would completely change.  he'll only be involved in the martindale-hubble end, no longer lexis-nexis.  he'll only be selling client development, no more research.  (which is quite a big deal.)  and the worst point about it:  his new territory includes spokane and boise.  that means he'll be travelling to those cities every other week.  ugh!  will and i have always agreed that he'd never take a job that meant he'd regularly have to be away from our family. 

but he didn't really 'take' it.  they just gave it to him without asking if he wanted it.  it isn't ideal.  it's not our idea of a happy work situation.  but it's a job.  and he still has a paycheck and benefits.  that's a lot more than many can say after yesterday.  so even though we're a little bummed about the changes, we're very thankful he is still employed. 

he has to travel to L.A. on monday to begin new meetings with new bosses and get new training for all of this good stuff.  but on a bright side- we don't have anything going on this monday night.  every other monday in december we have tickets to plays, polar express, choir concerts....so it actually worked out well for us. 

the following monday we're going as a family to pioneer theater to see the play 'white christmas'.  it is one of my most favorite christmas movies.  i hope it's good on stage.  it's hard to compete with bing crosby and the andrew sisters, right? 

that's my boy

a few weeks back the boys had 'crazy hair day' at school during red ribbon week.  we were messing around with brig's hair, and since it had gotten so long, i decided to try to style it my way.  i think i kind of nailed it. 

he actually wore it to school that way.  he is one confident boy. 

i even had the whole flip thing going on in the back.

this is currently one of my latest projects.  i took yet another knitting class!!  i've got the whole crochet thing down- but i swear knitting is so much more difficult.  problem is- half of the stuff i love is knit and not crochet.  dang it. 

i like the one on the right.

not the same, but close?

i worked so hard on spencer's costume.  it looked good, until you put it up against the real thing.  :)  the eyebrows and the black space between the two front teeth were the hardest part.  quince bailed on nacho about 5 days before halloween, so brig became nacho.  he acted the part well, but he was far too skinny.  i'll have to post pictures of the other boys later.  their photos are on my mom's camera.  we did the whole party thing again on saturday for the boys' friends.  it was almost completely school friends, so some of them i didn't even know.  we did fear factor with them- we were a little worried the girls wouldn't get into it.  holy cow!  we were dead wrong. 

yes- those are worms.  not one of them wimped out.

the half goat milk, half buttermilk bottle

spencer didn't have a clue who emma was dressed as.  sad. 

just a few

my photos this year turned out crappy.  my good camera wasn't working.

the 80's dance after the party.  better than expected.

bad picture of the hanging ornaments.

the first place costume winners.  (one of my personal favorites.)

the second place award- which actually tied for first.  wow. 

before and after

                                                             then...

now...

we're getting more used it.  he looks so different without them.  they are s.t.r.a.i.g.h.t.

fall photos

abbey road?  this picture cracks me up.  they look so robotic. 

sometimes i feel like the luckiest mom in the world.  i REALLY love these guys. 

btw- preston's date said yes.  the dance is this saturday. 

my boys are growing up

spencer had a choir concert last night.  when he came upstairs all ready i seriously thought he looked like he could be leaving on his mission soon.  (without the braces, of course.)  i instantly felt scared and sad- i'm not ready for them to grow up and leave yet!!!

preston is asking a girl he doesn't know very well to the herriman inaugural ball.  these are the notes he's putting inside the balloons.  she has to put them together to figure it all out.  too easy? 

it's that time of year again....

i'm frantically trying to plan our party. 

cruisin'

the mariner of the seas.  it was ginormous.  3200 passengers and 1600 crew.  crazy big.

this isn't the best view of the deck, but you can get the idea.

it was rainy in mazatlan, but it looked like a pretty area.

there was a huge storm in puerto vallarta late in the afternoon.  there was so much rain on the decks, water was just running everywhere.  the lightning and thunder were insane.  not the most comforting sound on a ship. 

too many formal nights for my taste.  i prefer casual. 

the inside 'promendade' look of the ship.  it was 14 stories high.  so amazing. 

cabo san lucas had the best weather and prettiest water with white sandy beaches.  but...still some of the filth i wish wasn't there. 

i don't know how anyone could go on a cruise and not gain weight.  all we did was eat.  and eat.  the food was extremely good.  on the 3rd night we were asked to dine with the captain.  it was interesting.  very formal.  his name was jarret, he was 35 years old, and he was from canada.  he was very down to earth.  not at all what i was expecting.  it was nice.  don't ask me why they picked us. 

we had a good time.  next cruise will be alaska, i hope. 

pride and prejudice

last week some friends and i drove down to cedar city to the shakespearean festival to see the play pride and prejudice.  it was good.  (not great though.)  we had a really fun time- which made it worth it.  we stayed in st. george and ate and played.  it was awesome for me because i got a private 4 hour lesson on crocheting granny squares from jen.  (while we drove, which worked out perfectly.)  i seem to always miss the classes she teaches- so this was really great.  there was an incredible lightning storm while we were in st. george.  our condo was right by a canyon, so i sat up that night and just watched it out the window.  it was pretty amazing. 

we all bought masks at the festival.  i love stuff like that- and apparently so do my kids.  :)  i was even thinking of making the halloween party this year a masquerade.  i'm not sure all of the husbands would go for it though?  

the mighty provo

last saturday we took the younger four boys and rafted down the provo river with a group of friends.  i have to say, the first 30 minutes or so were horrible.  lincoln was crying, and quincey and i were both close to it.  i kept telling will i was 'done'.  but we stopped and moved lincoln over to our friend's raft, (which was the cadillac of all rafts) and re-situated in our own raft and then we were fine.  it was our first time, so we learned all the things we'd do differently next time.  clayton and brig were in their own raft, which was comical to watch.  (and a little scary.)  but they had fun, even though clayton was pretty nervous the whole time and brig was screaming at him constantly to "help row!!!"  overall, it wasn't that bad.  i think i'd do it again.  will had fun- and sometimes that's all that matters.  :)

the boys are all back in school, except preston (who starts tomorrow) and spencer (who starts thursday.) i'm sad summer break is over.  i'm not sad to see the heat go away and i'm not sad fall is almost here.  but this is the first year i'm dreading fall just a bit- because that means winter is not far behind it.  and i have to say- i'm not excited for winter.  really not excited. 

  

have i mentioned how girls are turning my world upside down these days?  having a 16 and 15 year-old is more drama than i ever expected it to be.  i guess i never really considered that on the other side of break-ups and heart ache is a...well...boy.  and those boys are hurting too.  it's like experiencing high school all over again.  ugh! 

i believe my boys are awesome.  i love them and adore them the way a mother should.  i accept their imperfections and i realize they are only human, but i think they are really quite fabulous.  so i don't worry at all about their futures with girls.  the right one will come along, no doubt.  sometimes i wonder if several 'right ones' will actually head their way over the next 6 years or so.  that's the scary part.  when to intervene.  when to say they are 'feeling' too much for a girl.  we can control the dating and the frequency they communicate etc. but we can't control they way they feel for a girl.  or the way she feels for him.  this is tricky stuff.  i can shout at them till the cows come home that they should just be friends with everyone and not fall for any one girl in particular.  but i come back to the point that they are human.  the heart will feel what the heart feels.  and unfortunately, my heart seems to feel major empathy for whatever their hearts feel.  is that normal? 

anyway- this is uncharted territory for us.  i'm learning as we go.  and it is dang scary. 

meet emma.  spencer's goddess divine.  the boy is smitten. 

no pictures of preston and sara.  at least not right now. 

wisdom teeth surgery

just coming out of anaesthesia.  look at the difference between the two.  spencer was high as a kite and texting his friends.  brigham almost fell over.  and he was drooling. 

4th fireworks in logan, at grandma fisher's

fisher family fun

 

the williams-fishers.  boy did we stick out.  we were told to wear yellow.  super. 

there's a couple of tree swings on the property.  very popular. 

and once upon a time there was a baby who was switched...

with another baby.  this is the famous rodney.  very sweet, soft spoken man.  just like my grandpa.  :)

we go back for another fisher reunion over the 24th.  they're going to get so sick of us.