Wahooooo!

Today was my last day of work. I am DONE! It hasn't really sunk in yet. I think that Monday morning will be when it hits me that my life as I have known it for the past 2 years has changed. From now on, I get to be the one who picks my kids up from school.

Yeah!!!!

Oh Happy Day!!

Oh, today is a happy day! Why you ask? I just filed my taxes. Whahooooooooo!!!

I used TurboTax for the first time and it was the easiest thing ever. We have alwasy had someone else do it and after our experience last year we realized that we knew more about the deductions we qualified for than the guy at H&R Block. So we decided to give it a try. And it was so easy. I am so glad we are done, and we are getting money back!!

Have a wonderful tax season!

So, this weekend we went on an overnight vacation to meet Dusty's parents for the Utah game in Laramie, Wyoming. We left work yesterday at 5 p.m., packed up the kids and our stuff and headed out. We got to "beautiful" Laramie around 8 p.m.

The kids immediately went to town jumping on the beds in grandma and grandpa's room and had a great time goofing around. Dusty ran to get Winger's chicken and he brought me back some Asphalt Pie...delicious!!

We went to bed and Emma decided to be a little stinker. Jacob ended up making a bed on the floor, while Dusty and Lex slept on one bed and I got to sleep with Miss Emma. We woke to the kids at 6 a.m. and I was able to hold them off till about 7 before I had to get out of bed.

We had breakfast at some place other than Perkins...wonderful! Then we headed out to do a little shopping. Grandpa Burke apparently doesn't like shopping but he was a good sport about it. Thanks for understanding that we don't have many stores where we live.

Next, it was game time. Last year, I swore that we would not take the kids with us to a Wyoming game again because the fans there are CRAZY! No joke. But this year turned out o.k. Most fans were pleasant other than one a couple rows behind us which I kindly reminded to look at the score board. By that statement I hope you can tell the outcome of the game. We won!! But then I was petrified to walk all the way from the first row of the stadium up the stairs past a ton of angry Wyoming fans. We made it out safely and got the heck out of there.

And now, at last, we are home and just relaxing to wind down our Saturday.

I hope you all had a great Saturday!!

Alexis' Paper About Her Family

Yesterday Alexis brought home a paper that she wrote in school. I wanted to share it with everyone because it was one of the cutest things I have read.

My Family is Awesome by Alexis Burke

"My Dad is the head of the house because he is the boss. My dad works at Cabela's and so does my Mom. My Dad is the best because he loves me very, very much. My Mom is really nice because she cooks dinner, lunch and breakfast. I really, really love my mom. I have a brother that is annoying because he always talks about Power Rangers. But I really love him very much. I have one sister. She loves princesses, but I hate them. If I be mean to her I get in trouble. But I don't be mean to her because she is my sister. I am old enough to be nice.

My family's names:

Dad Mom Alexis Jacob Emma"

I love the fact that she says that I do all the cooking. That is funny because Dusty is normally the one cooking when we get home from work because I am busy checking homework and cleaning up the mess we left when we rushed out the door that morning.

It's funny what kids pick up on. For example, the "you are old enough" line. At least we know she is listening to us when we tell her these things.

I am really proud of Alexis and want her to know how much I love her.

Bye for now.

Stay-at-home Mommy

Well, it is official. I finally gave my notice at work. My last day will be February 20th. I am SUPER excited!!! It will be an adjustment seeing as I have been working for 2 years now, but it is a welcomed change.



I will be watching a few kids to bring in a little extra money for us. This will be good for Emma because she will still have interaction with children her age. Emma doesn't understand the concept of "1 month". So every day she says "it's been 1 month, I am not going to preschool today" and then I have to say "no, you are still going". And then the drama begins. So, it will be fantastic when the day finally comes that I can say "You aren't going today".



Having been a working mother I have gained an appreciation for women who do just that. I have learned that when necessary you do what you have to. I have gained friends and made lasting relationships by working.



I have also gained a greater appreciation for women who have the opportunity to stay at home with their children. What an important role! My desire to stay home with my children has increased and magnified this past year. As Dusty and I have worked toward getting our bills in order to do this I have learned to be disciplined and to have patience.



To all mothers out there, working or not, I say "Kuddos to you!".



P.S. I may also be starting to teach violin lessons. This is something I have been wanting to do for a while now.

Snow Day!!

Today is a "Snow Day" here in Sidney, Nebraska. It has been snowing since Friday, 4 days now. School has been cancelled, the roads are a mess, and even though I just shoveled you can't see it.

Yesterday I had to bring Emma home from church because she wasn't feeling well and had a fever. It seems like she is getting a cold. When she woke up this morning she still seemed a bit under-the-weather so I had already planned to stay home from work. Since I was already home it wasn't a big deal that school was cancelled.

The kids are enjoying themselves; Jacob is playing the X-Box, and Alexis and Emma are playing princess (so much for Emma being sick). And I am taking the opportunity to work on the computer and organize my pictures and update the blog (your welcome Kandy).

So, our plans for today consist of staying inside and sipping hot chocolate to keep warm.

Have a great day!!

Christmas 2008

We went back home to Utah for Christmas vacation this last year. The kids were so excited to see their cousins! We got to Grandma and Grandpa Burke's house on the 24th and stayed until January 1st.

Christmas day was packed full of seeing both Dusty's family and my family. We had Dusty's family party in the morning and then headed up to Riverdale to see my Mom and Paul. We saw my sister Amy and had a great time visiting and watching the family videos that Amy makes.

Next, we headed over to see my Aunt Sherry. We have not been able to see her much since we moved to Nebraska and I was so glad to catch up with her. She is basically the only Aunt I have ever been close with and it doesn't hurt that I was named after her!

We also got to see my sister Julie and her family. The girls went for pedicures and the guys went to Hollywood Connection to ride the indoor rides. Emma went with Dusty and Jacob. She rode the bumper cars all by herself. Dusty said it was the funniest thing he ever saw.

Dusty's brother Jason, and his wife JoDee, invited us over on Saturday night. We played games and laughed a ton. We watched the movie "Stardust" with them. I thought it was a pretty good show. Jason and JoDee's girls were so cute to play with Emma and Jacob. Anna was persistent in teaching Jacob how to play the Wii and she really wanted him to win (it really was so cute to watch her helping him).

We also got the chance to go down to Beaver, UT and spend a couple days with Dusty's oldest brother Todd and his family. We went to the St. George temple with Todd and Steph. Dusty and I have never been to that temple, so we really enjoyed it. Dusty and I like to go to different temples and now we can check that one off our list. Thanks for such a great time Todd and Steph.

Our last night in Utah we got to go to the Utah basketball game. The kids had a lot of fun and they won!! Go UTES!!!

We had a really great trip and were happy to have seen our family. Though, it was nice to come home to our own beds!