HE'S OFFICIAL!!!!

Tonight was the big night we have all been waiting for. Jesse is now officially a FIRE FIGHTER for South Salt Lake. I want to shout it from the roof tops. I'M MARRIED TO A FIRE FIGHTER!!!!! So Cool!!!!!



Before the ceremony started they let the kids check out the fire trucks. And my goodness Ryker and Cy were so excited. All I heard Cy say was "tuck" over and over again. And Ryker was Cy's little guide just showing him around like he knew the place.

Then Chief Morris got up to get things started. He seems like a really nice guy. Very friendly and welcoming. It's great to know that Jesse will be working for someone like him.

 After the three full time guys were sworn in it was the part timers . The five of them repeated what Mayor Cherre Wood said.

 Then one by one their "significant other" got the honor of putting their badge on. It was so COOL that I got to be apart of that.

 Isn't it just pretty?

 Mike and Heidi were so great to come because they stayed to see Jesse get sworn in before they had to leave for St. George. They have a convention down there in the morning, so it was so sweet of them to give Jesse that support.

This might be my new favorite picture of the family!!!! Especially because Cy is smiling. Like I said in my last post, Ryker is always ready for a picture, but Cy doesn't care. So when I saw the picture and that he was all smiles, it made it that much better.

 My heart swells for this man! He has worked so HARD to get to this point. I am so dang PROUD of him. Tonight the Fire Chief reminded everyone that even though these are part time positions, that these guys have come a long way. The fire business is in high demand and it's super competitive. So I am SO grateful to have a DEDICATED and DETERMINED husband. Even though he has made it this far he still has goals set. Full time and Paramedic. And I KNOW he will get there.

My mom and Chan were so sweet to come as well. Before the ceremony started Mom and Chan picked me up and the three of us went to dinner (Jesse was at school and the boys with Mike and Heidi). It was great!

After everything was over the Fire Chief and Battalion Chief's told us to wander around the station to get to know where Jesse would be staying on his shifts. They also let the kids play on the trucks and wander around as well. Everyone there was super friendly. A very good atmosphere. It gave me a really good feeling that this was where Jesse was suppose to be (Now if he could just land that full time position that would be BOMB).

In the car on the way home, Ryker told Jesse that he wants to be a firefighter when he grows up. How sweet is that? It just touched my heart. Ryker has a great example to follow. I'm sure for years to come our boys will be looking up to Jesse. He will be their Hero!

I can't say it enough.... I'm so PROUD of you Jesse! Way to go!

Day Dates

Ever Since Jesse has started Medic School, I have had more time with the boys. For example... on Mondays and Tuesdays I am with them all day, and because Jesse has class those nights, I get to have the boys all night as well.

 

There are only so many things the boys and I can do at home. Especially with it being so cold outside. So... the past two Tuesdays I have made it a part of the day where we go and do something OUTSIDE of the home. I think they get bored (and it's just nice to get out).

 

First week I took them out to the Living Planet Aquarium.  Before we left we ate lunch at Costa Vida (the boys favorite) and then we went over to Orange Leaf (because I had a gift card to use). This frozen yogurt shop now has become a favorite treat of Ryker's as well.

 

Once we were filled to the brim with beans, rice and frozen yogurt we were on our way. For Utah this place is actually pretty good. Granted it's nothing like the one we went to in Seattle. But the kids don't care. They get really excited over the simplest little fish. 

 

 

The favorite: Turtle and Shark Tank.  

Haha, Cy isn't one for pictures. Ryker on the other hand will pose as long as you need him to. Cy could care less. Two very different personalities, yet come from the same DNA. Quite amazing if you ask me. I love the both of them so much!

 You can't really tell, but they are standing in front of pictures of penguins to see how they measure up. Cy thought it was really funny.

 I don't know how long we stayed in the penguin area, but that was Cy's favorite by far. He kept watching the penguins swim back and forth, Then when it came time to feed them, he couldn't keep his eyes off of them. Very intrigued.

 

The next week I  wanted to check out this Trampoline Park in Kaysville for two reasons. One, we had never been there before and wanted to give the boys the opportunity to go. Two, I wanted to talk to the manager about holding Ryker's birthday party there.

It was super cool. The boys just stayed in the Kid's Zone where they had their own foam pit and trampolines. The boys were in HEAVEN.

 They were running and jumping around so fast that it was very difficult to get a good picture. This one is of Ryker doing a running somersault,

 Cy kept falling down. Bigger kids would jump by him and it would bounce him to much to make him fall down. But he didn't seem to mind one bit. Just picked himself back up and kept on jumping.

When it was time to go both of the boys were really bummed. But after talking to the manager and seeing how much fun the boys had I decided this would be the perfect place to have a friend party for Ryker.

Ever since then he asks me how many days until his birthday. He's so excited that he's already telling everyone that he is 5. Haha, he just makes me laugh. I can't wait to blog about his birthday. It's going to be a very fun filled day. I'm going to take the day off of work because between preschool spotlight, friend party and family dinner/party that night it's going to be a busy one. But memorable.

Anyway, getting back on track.... I had so much fun taking the boys out on a little Mommy/Son date. We wanted to do something today, but we got busy around the house and delivering Ryker's party invitations. So hopefully next Tuesday we can get our date in.

South Salt Lake Fire

Since the OFFICIAL phone call from South Salt Lake, Jesse had to go into the fire station to pick up his T-shirt. 

 I don't know why I am so excited about it.. Maybe because it seems more real? We've been waiting for this for what seemed like forever... and here we are. Hehe. Just makes me all giddy inside.

He also had to go to the Uniform Place called Skaggs, where they measured him for his Button up Uniform shirt and his pants. He should be getting that back soon. Along with other stuff with the SSLFD on it. Jesse jokes that he wants to wear it where ever he goes. He's so excited about it. I'm so proud of him and his hard work.

This coming Saturday (Jan 26), Jesse will be doing training from 7am to 7pm. Then on the 31st he will be sworn in. I'm not sure how that all will go down, since we are new to this, but pictures and and a post to come for sure.

He should be started in February sometime. Still not sure. But I will be letting you know. He gave them all the days that he would be available. Which are the days that he doesn't have school (Wednessdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays).

Being Part Time Jesse will work 2 to 4 shifts a month. Each shift is a 24hour shift. 7am to 7am. So at the most he'll work once a week. SSL has three stations and Jesse will be rotating through those stations while he is part time.

K, here is the kicker.... Apparently there is a Fire Fighter that will be retiring in March or April and his position will need to be filled. The Chief told Jesse that the new part time guys that are just getting hired (5 total) will be getting a chance at that position. So Jesse has a 1 out of 5 chance to get this upcoming FULL TIME POSITION. I guess the Chief has told all the Captains at the Stations to keep an eye out for these 5 guys for this position. NO PRESSURE!!!! Jesse has some serious work to do, Good Luck!

We don't know what is going to happen. But everything will work out the way they are suppose to. Just taking one day at a time.

Going into the 3rd week of Paramedic school and I feel like it's going well. Granted I don't see Jesse much, and when he is home he's studying and reading his Paramedic book (which I might add is over 2,000 pages long). But it's how it's going to be for the next 9 1/2 months. I can't change it, so why be grumpy about it? I will just enjoy the moments that I do get to be with him and strive to do everything that I can to help him out.

I'm so proud of him and all of the hard work that he has done and will continue to do. He is one dedicated and driven man.

Just Friged

Since I last posted we have had quite the snow storm. It started on a Thursday night and didn't stop really until Saturday. It just kept coming down. I can't remember the last time we got that much snow. We got about a foot and a half in our yard. Can't imagine how much the mountains got. Man, if I was a skier I would be in hog heaven.

But since then the temperatures have been really low. The highs are in the teens. So in the morning it is almost torture to go out in it. One morning I was taking Ryker to preschool, and the temperature on my car said....

 

Can you believe that? FIVE DEGREES! It might as well be ZERO! Ugh! It's just crazy.

Every day since has been similarly cold. It certainly makes January a much harder month to endure. Walking outside for more than a minute freezes me to the core. I wish that it could be even just 30 degrees rather than 10 as the high. It's sad when 30 degrees sounds warm. I don't ever remember it being this cold for this long.

And because it is so cold, the snow from the storm isn't going anywhere.

Our poor chickens are snowed in. We have been so worried about them being out in this freezing weather. But so far they seem do be doing just fine. The egg laying has slowed down by half. Which is normal. Heat and light is what makes them lay. And, well, when there isn't much of either of those... it doesn't happen. In the summer we were getting 9 to 11 eggs a day. And lately it's been 3 to 5 (occasionally 7). It doesn't help that one of the chickens got sick back in December and she died. So now we are down to 10 hens.

It's funny how we have grown so fond of them (especially Ryker). Oh man, when we finally told him one of the chickens died, he just had a serious come apart. It was the saddest thing. Broke my heart.

 This picture doesn't really do justice on how much snow there is in the back yard. But there is ALOT!

I'm kinda ready for it to be summer already. haha. But it's only January. Got a few more cold months to endure.

The Past Week

2013 has started us out a little rough for us. On New Years Day (Tuesday), Jesse and I were sick. I had a high fever, achy body, runny nose, coughing, chills, cold sweat feeling and etc. Jesse had a really bad sore throat with achy body as well. Needless to say we didn't move much from the couch.

By the end of the night I had to cancel my clients that were scheduled for Wednesday. I rarely like to do that, but there was no way I was working in the condition I was in.

Wednesday my fever got up to 103 degrees and wasn't showing any signs of breaking. While Jesse's throat wasn't feeling any better either so he decided to go to InstaCare. After being there for an hour and a half he was diagnosed with Strep Throat. Luckily for him antibiotics would help him feel better within a few days.

I guess I could say I had the flu? But a flu on drugs. It was relentless. Usually the flu lasts about 24 hours. But at this point I had had a fever for 3 days! Finally that night my fever broke and I started to feel better.

Still feeling really weak, I went to work Thursday and thankfully it was a slower day so I could ease myself back into it. I left feeling OK. Not 100%, but better than the last few days had been.

Friday I went to work, but had a busier day. I was feeling OK until about half way through my day when I got the achy body feeling again, along with the chills. Without a thermometer I couldn't know for sure, but I had a feeling my fever had returned. Ugh. I finished out my day then went straight home to bed. Thankfully Jesse picked up the boys for me and I was able to do that.

Honestly, 5 days into it and I get another fever. I think I did too much at work and my body was fighting back. It's amazing what your body will do to demand rest. Rest is what it got.

Once Jesse got home with the boys I asked him to give me a Priesthood Blessing. He called our Home Teacher and once he got here both of them gave me a blessing.

Yesterday I took the day off of work, but I was feeling leaps and bounds better. I owe it to that blessing. Now I'm just left with this stinky cough and congestion. But I can handle that.

Jesse and I are on the mend. Thankfully. It's been a long week.

During all this we have been praying that Ryker and Cyrus can stay healthy. Between Strep throat and killer flu bug our boys don't seem to stand the chance. But we keep the faith that they can stay healthy.

On a SUPER good note. This week Jesse received a phone call from South Salt Lake's Human Resource!!!! They called to OFFICIALLY MAKE HIM A JOB OFFER!!!!!! YEAH!!!!! Part Time!

He had to go down and do a drug test. There are 5 other guys who also will be getting a Part Time position. As soon as they all go in for their drug test and they all pass is when Jesse will start. So we aren't really certain of his OFFICIAL FIRST DAY, but it'll be soon.

We are Excited! Even though it is part time, we feel like it's a step in the right direction. He'll have his foot in the door and will have opportunity to grow. Between working Construction Full Time and School Full time I think Part time Firefighter is a perfect way to start out and keep things balanced.

Congrats Jesse! You are awesome!