We're Moving!

Guest Blogger: Brad

I figured since I am the one moving our family that I would post the story.

So back in April of this year I took the Fundamentals of Engineering Exam at Idaho State University. I passed! So in May when I found out I passed I felt like I should update my resume on my Monster.com account. I had also recieved an email from Monster telling me that I hadn't used my account for 1 year. So I updated my resume that night and the next morning I recieved a phone call from a staffing agency out of Boston. He told me he was looking for someone with experience in Unigraphics NX (a common CAD program used in engineering). He said he found my resume online and sure enough I had what he was looking for. He said he was going to pass my name along to the company he was recruiting for and that I could expect to hear from them in 1-3 weeks. Well, the phone call never came. I heard from the staffing agency about 6 weeks later telling me that the company was moving their headquarters from Indiana to Chicago. They were tight on their budget so it turned out that it wouldn't be until October or November that they would be hiring again. I was a little bummed since I really wanted to start my engineering career. I was enjoying my time at Jamba Juice, but my personality was not fitting the business mold needed to do a really good job. If you've met me before you know that I am not the social bug. I am an engineer. I would love to design equipment and do complicated math rather than socialize at a party or whatever the situation may be.

Anyway, back to my story. The staffing agency told me they had two other jobs that would fit my qualifications and that they would like to try and get me some more interviews. The first came quickly. It was a job in Connecticut with a semiconductor company (ASML). On a scale of 1-10, 1 being the easiest interview and 10 being the hardest, this was a ten. I was sweating bullets as they grilled me and my education. When it ended I felt like crying becuase of the feeling of failure. I wondered, maybe I didn't get the best education, maybe I am not cut out for engineering? Thoughts of doubt wouldn't leave my mind. It was a rough night's sleep. The next morning I got another call from the staffing agency telling me that ASML thought I did a remarkably good job on the interview and that they were seriously considering me for the position (my jaw hit the ground). I was beyond shocked. I didn't get a job offer though. They found another candidate in New Jersey that could go there for a face to face interview and it was easier for them to hire locally. I was really bummed again, but I had another job interview coming up that I had to prepare for.

Kress Corporation located in Peoria, Illinois was looking for a mechanical engineer that could start soon and catch on quickly. I knew I could do the job and after hearing that I did well on the previous interview, my confidence waxed strong (I try :) ). This interview ranked a 4 on toughness and after the other interview I was well prepared. I got the job offer and accepted.

So, after this long story, you now know that Shanna, Landon, and I are moving to Peoria, Illinois. It is going to be a great move for our little family. Shanna and I couldn't be happier about this opportunity. We are both going to miss Twin Falls, Jamba Juice, and being close to our families, but we know that this is where we are supposed to be moving.

When I graduated in April, 2010, the economy was still recovering and jobs were difficult to come across. I have been so grateful for the opportunity I've had to work at Jamba Juice with my brother-in-law. I have learned some great skills while at Jamba. One of the best skills I gained was solving concerns among my employees. It is so important to have a strong team and be able to work well together. These management skills I have gained will benefit me for the rest of my life. I have also learned a lot about myself. I know better now who I am and I've gained some self confidence. I have never regretted my decision to join the Jamba Team and will take these skills and many more with me as we move forward in my engineering career.

I grew up in Madison, Wisconsin which is about 4 hours north of Peoria. I am excited to be going back to the Midwest. We have already found a place to live and have made multiple contacts with our new ward (it's actually a really cool story that we will have to tell later).

Landon: Our 1 Year Old

Photos taken by Bethany Cook, Set in Time Photography

More to come!

Earlier this week I took Landon in for his 1 year checkup. The doctor said he is healthy, growing well, and developing normally. He weighed in at 20 lbs 2 oz and his height was 29.5 inches. He's on the smaller side, but the doctor said that his growth patterns look great.

He really likes feeding himself so I've been giving him a lot more of what we eat, just ripping it into small pieces. Sometimes he surprises me with how much he eats. Then other days, he just isn't all that interested. It's funny. He likes spicy foods and he adores yogurt. I'm in the process of weaning him from breastfeeding. Yesterday I cut out the last middle of the day nursing, so now I'm just down to a morning and an evening nursing session. It feels weird going that long without nursing! But he seems to be handling the transition just fine. It's hard for me to imagine the day when I won't nurse him at all. Hard to believe it's just around the corner. I'm going to miss that special bonding time that we get each day. I'll just have to find other ways to get it.

He still takes two naps a day and most of the time he sleeps great at night now. It was rough when his top front tooth was coming through, and then again when he was sick last week. But when he's feeling good and is well rested he sleeps well. Now if only I could get myself to go to bed early enough to feel well rested! (He gave me a few weeks where he slept in until 7:30 or 8:00 am, so I got out of the habit of going to bed early. Lately his wakeup time has been more like 6:15-6:45 am, regardless of what time I put him to bed. Actually when I put him to bed later he wakes up at 6 am! I don't get it. So I just put him to bed between 7:30 and 8:00 pm so I can have a breather in the evenings.)

Landon's been army crawling for the last couple of months. He's gotten really good at it. Just the last couple of weeks he's been starting to try a little regular crawling. Each day he does it a little bit more. So I made sure to take one last video clip of his cute army crawl before he stops doing it. That's what is posted below. He's also become very proficient at pulling himself up to standing over the last couple of weeks. It's made it harder to get him to go to sleep because I lay him down and then he just pops right back up again. Last week when he discovered how much fun this new trick is, he took like 30-40 minutes to fall asleep for his naps for a couple of days while it usually takes him 10. But slowly the novelty of it seems to be wearing off so he's starting to fall asleep more quickly. I have to admit, he looks pretty cute standing there with a big grin, so proud of himself. Oh and now he is cruising along furniture, too. It seems like everything has just clicked recently for him with his gross motor skills. It's been fun to watch this whole learning process.

Did I mention that he is a super busy body and into anything and everything he can get his hands on? Sometimes I feel like my hands are tied when I'm trying to get anything done with this kiddo around. I didn't know how easy I had it for his first 9 months of life! I will definitely appreciate immobility a bit more with the next babe:)

My heart just melts when this little boy says anything that sounds close to "mom". It's usually something like, "mamamum". I'll take it! It seems like he's been saying "yeah" and "no", but it's hard to tell if he means anything or if he just likes the sounds.

I just love this little man to pieces. I can't imagine my world without him. His laugh just makes me so happy I want to cry! He has brought a whole new sense of purpose into my life. What a precious gift we've been given. I've learned so much about life and about myself as I've cared for him this past year. I'm sure he's going to teach me much more in the years to come!

Landon's 1st Birthday Party

Landon turned 1 on July 30th. I can hardly believe we have a 1 year old! We had a little birthday celebration for him a couple of weeks ago and I've been trying to get around to blogging about it since:) We also celebrated Teryl, my father in law's, birthday. It was fun for them to blow out the candles and open gifts together. I felt bad because we were all so caught up in watching Landon with the cake and candle, etc. that we forgot to say Teryl's name when we were singing! He was a good sport about it. I guess when you've had 29 birthdays, you've been sung to a lot:) We couldn't get many smiles out of Landon during the party because he got so distracted with all of the people and the decorations. He was still being cute as always (yes I am biased). It was a nice little family party. Thanks to everyone who came to celebrate with us! We appreciate your support and it really made it a memorable day.

Here are many many pictures from the party. Sorry so many, I hate choosing pics. They are backwards in order because of how I uploaded them and my computer is being difficult and not letting me move them around. Oh well! Better to just get it posted than to wait for it to be perfect, right?!

Playing in the hose to clean off the cake and ice cream. He loves playing with the hose!

Brie, Ashlie, and Sophie. They are always fun to have at parties! Maylie, their big sister, was great, too. She blew up all the party balloons for me!

Landon and Grandpa Teryl blowing out the candle.

It was funny. Right after we got done singing, Ashlie came up from the side and blew the candle out for them! I have it on video and it was pretty cute. We lit it again for the guys to give it a try. Landon just stared at it:)

"What's that bright thing?"

Cutie-pie face!

Enjoying a gift, along with all the fun girls!

Family pic

Grandpa Teryl and Landon, The Birthday Boys

Family pic

Brad made a DVD of pictures and video from Landon's first year. Landon loved watching it!

Entranced by the show:)

Landon with Mommy

Chowing down on some dinner. He loved Grandma Roper's deviled eggs!

My first try at a decorative cake. Perfectly imperfect, right?! It's a monkey head, in case you can't tell:)

I made sure to take a picture soon after I frosted it just in case it fell apart. I wasn't too sure the ears would stay on, but thankfully they fared all right. The cake was pretty dense because I baked it in a Pyrex bowl and it took like 90 minutes to bake! It still tasted alright, just not as light and fluffy as the cupcakes. Thankfully we had lots of those because I doubled the cake recipe. We had lots of cake batter!

Landon liked the cake, but he wasn't too sure about ice cream!

Examining his "new" play table. Thankfully he's playing at it right now while I finish this blog post!

Wagstaff Reunion 2011

We went straight from the Scott Family Reunion in American Falls to spend some time with Brad's family in Utah. Brad's sister, Shelley, and her son, Hunter, were in town from Ohio. It was so nice to visit with them as it's been a long time since we've seen them. We were also able to make it to the Wagstaff Reunion, which is Tammy's side of the family. We always have a lot of fun with them. Here are some pics from the get together:

Visiting at the park

Colin and Kyle

Trying to get the great grandkids to look at the camera at the same time!

Landon going in for the bite...yes he did try to bite the knee:)

Landon and Grandpa Wagstaff

Landon getting spoiled with yumminess by Grandma and Grandpa Roper

Landon and Hunter with Grandpa.

Looks like I need to get one of these monkeys for Landon!

Scott Family Reunion 2011

A couple of weeks ago we had a great time at the Scott Family Reunion in American Falls. A lot of family was able to come and we enjoyed visiting, eating yummy food, boating, crafting, and singing campfire songs while roasting marshmallows. Don't worry, Uncle Bob won Landon over this time by feeding him a plethora of watermelon:) It was great to catch up on what everyone is up to. My parents were kind enough to let us stay in their motor home with them again, which is my kind of camping! Here are some pictures that we snapped just before we left when I finally thought to get out my camera:) (Oh and cut me some slack for my unkempt look, we were camping:))

Brad with my bro-in-law Ryan and my cousin Shawn. Handsome fellows!

Landon with Grandpa and Grandma Call

Roper gang with Uncle Karl and Aunt Carol. They came all the way from Nebraska and it was so nice to see them and some of their kids. We got to hear about their African Safari and their at home mission. They are so much fun!

The Roper gang with the Bevans: Uncle Tom, Aunt Donna, Shawn, Elise, Nicole, and Caitlyn. They are one great family!

We had to get a picture with my partner in crime all growing up, my cousin Jared and his sweet wife Michelle. He will soon be done with PA school!

We missed those that couldn't come and we'll hope to see you soon!

Quick visit

My cousin Melody got married a few weeks ago in the Rexburg temple. I was so excited for her! Landon and I took a little trip to be a part of the celebration. Apparently I forgot to take any pics at the actual wedding events, at least with my own camera:). Which is too bad because Melody looked absolutely beautiful! But it was a fun weekend filled with a BBQ, a wedding, a fun reception, shopping, and some family time. I'm so happy for Melody! Seems like she found a great match for her.

Mom and Sophie at Applebee's

Landon and Brie...love those sweet faces!

The Bevan girls: My Aunt Donna, Elise, Caitlyn, and Nicole. We had a fun going out to eat after the wedding. LOVE these lovely ladies!

Family Reunion in Island Park

Back in June we had a little Call family reunion. We had a blast camping in Island Park. My parents were nice enough to let the three of us sleep in their motor home with them. That's my kind of camping:) Julie and Ryan were there with their girls. My Aunt Brenda and Uncle Bob were there for a few days with their four granddaughters. We had a nice balance of being busy and relaxing. We went 4-wheeling, razoring, swimming, played tennis, napped, ate plenty of good food, saw a play, roasted marshmallows, and learned about our ancestors. Oh and the guys had fun playing golf while the girls crafted. Here are some highlights from the trip:

Landon with Grandpa's gloves on...too cute!

I want to be like Grandpa!

We had lots of fun just visiting and relaxing. We may have taken a couple of naps:) Ryan and Julie had their hammock set up which was so nice!

Uncle Bob tried everything he could to get a rise out of Landon. Bob got nothing but a straight face in return. It was funny because he'd be laughing at his Uncle Ry one minute and then Bob would start teasing him and Landon would get this face like "It's gonna take more than that to impress me."

Girls everywhere! Aaagghhh!

We played a little tennis at the clubhouse. We are definitely rusty, but it was fun! Ryan and Julie were whipping us into shape:)

A little High School Musical action at the Playmill in West Yellowstone. Of course this was the obvious pick with 8 little girls with us:) I always love going to the Playmill.

Cruising on the 4-wheeler

We took Landon for a little ride on one of the razors. He seemed to like it.

So much fun!

We stopped in Rexburg on our way home and visited with my sister-in-law, Megan, for a bit. Landon was a pretty happy camper sitting in her lap:) We had a nice visit.

It was a fun little family reunion. My parents did a great job putting that together. They know how to have a good time!