Just testing this thing out, to see if I like authoring like this.

Picture:

What a cute baby!

1st quarter 2009 adventures

Wesley and his joy school class toured Apex Fire Station #3



We got some snow!



We had "playset pizza" for FHE one night:



Collin had his first Pinewood Derby and took 5th place overall!





Collin ran in his school's "marathon", running a full 26 miles over a couple months:



We had lots of fun outside:



Aubrey went wild at a Rock Band party:



Grady kept us entertained:



And Indiana Wesley kept us in line:



And the pollen came:



See all these pictures and more in my 2009 1st Quarter photo album.

New job, busy week

I took a new job within IBM, which I'm pretty excited about. I'm now the Jazz.net Lead, meaning I'm in charge of all development for the site, meaning I have to make sure that all the changes that need to get done get done. It's a pretty big deal for me, so I'm pretty excited for the opportunity and shift in career. 

As sson as the job was finalized last Friday, they immediately asked me to go to Boston for meetings and a customer conference later in the week. So, I was there all last week. I got hit with the firehose for a couple of days, then spent a couple of days meeting and talking with mostly my new co-workers and people who are interested in what will happen on the site.

So, that meant that Aubrey was here all by herself with the four boys all week. She did great! I got home late Friday night, and Saturday morning we got the kids all ready and went to the Sarah P. Duke Gardens at Duke University for a family photo shoot. Our photographer seemed pretty laid back, but she wasn't too expensive and she will give us the original high-res digitals, so that is a plus. We'll see how they turn out in a few days. The park was beautiful with all the vibrant fall colors, and the kids looked cute, so we're hopeful.

Here's the Duke Gardens:

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Aubrey is at the gym right now doing gymnastics. I think if she could somehow combine graphic design with doing back handsprings, she would do it all day long. They both put smiles on her face!

Collin read Helaman 5:12 for the scripture tonight in FHE. I helped him draw a picture and he used it to tell the younger kids what the scripture was saying. It was really nice, and I'm excited for his baptism next month. Owen gave an impromptu lesson about being nice, which sort of fell apart as soon as Wesley started trying to give his input into the lesson. Ha. Sometimes being a parent just feels like an impossible task. 

Wesley is doing fine from his collision with the ceiling fan last night. Aubrey put a couple of butterfly bandages across the cut, and it looks like it has closed up just fine and is healing. 

Oh, and the kids are tracked out now too, which means they don't have school for the next four weeks, since their track out spans over Thanksgiving. It's always challenging to stay sane around the house and keep the kids busy and out of trouble. The house -- we just have to let it go!

Aubrey also picked up two tickets for us to see Twilight on opening night. She's excited for the movie; I'm excited for the date night!

At the fair and soccer time!

Wesley had a great time going to the state fair with his Joy School friends!

Collin is almost finished with another great season of playing soccer. He gets really into it and is very intense and competitive. We encourage him to have fun, and he does, but he is really focused on winning. It will probably pay off for him over the years, but will also make it tough for him.

Look mom! No teeth!

Collin was excited to finally lose one of his front teeth (courtesy of mom and a piece of floss), and then his next one came out the next day (courtesy of dad and his fingers).

Pack 'em up

I've decided to try a blogspot blog, as I'm sort of getting sick of maintaining my own blog engine on packhams.com.