Black Widow Weekend....

It was time again for the men to leave town and the women to play. It was our turn to host the annual Jarrett Women's Deer Hunt party. It's always a blast to spend time with my Jarrett girls. Never a dull moment! Love you girls!

Craft time...

Mandi & Karen getting busy...

Halle's work of art

Bonnie & Jennifer

Karen's Girls

Mandi, Taylor & Drew

Lyndsey Matilyn, Sydney, Paige, & Avery

Machelle

Alison, Connie, Jennie, Kaylee, & Marissa

Our girls and Jessica's sister Janna also came and played.

Machelle

Certified...

I don't usually post stuff about my job, but the last 6 months I have been consumed. First let me explain what I do. I have worked at the Nephi Medical Clinic for 12 years. I was hired as an annoying teenager to help do some computer work and filing temporarily. You can tell how that worked out. As my Senior year came to an end I decided that I wanted to work in the medical enviroment and decided to enroll in a medical office management course through The American Institute of Medical/Dental Technology...I know it's a mouth full. They have now changed their name to Ameritech. During this year I was introduced to Coding and it quickly caught my attention because A-it's hard and complicated & B-my instuctor said they made good money. We only spent a couple of weeks learning about it and I don't remember doing that great on my test, but I was always interested in it. After finishing, I was hired as a full-time receptionist and did this for about 8 months until I talked my boss at the time, Marge Morgan, into letting me do Coding full-time. Coding is basically taking a medical record and converting it into a series of codes that are submitted on a form to the insurance company so that they know what services were performed and for what diagnosis. This also requires an extensive knowledge of Anatomy, Terminology, detailed guidelines, Medicare, and hundreds of other rules that change from year to year. When I started this job 9 years ago I started a class to prepare me to get Certified. It didn't take long to realize that with my little experience and knowledge that there was no way I could pass the test. So after a marriage, building a house, 2 kids, and several other speed bumps I decided to tackle it again. At the end of April I started a prep class so I could be ready for the 6 hour test. The certification requires you have knowledge in all specialties. In our little hospital I only have experience in Family Practice, Ob/Gyn, and for only the last year Orthopeadics. I had tons to learn and that mixed with being a wife, mother, employee, Primary president, maid, laundry service, and Soccer mom left me feeling on the verge of madness! There were several late late nights, staying home from fun things, and complete weekends spent infront of the computer studying. In the end I have learned Loads! I took my test on Oct 15 and found out today that I passed! Yahoo! My next goal is to earn my business degree, but that won't be anytime soon probably more like empty nester years! Oh and there was a lot of Caffiene involved too...

And for the record I love my job and working part-time. There was a point after I had Kensie that I could have stayed home. For several years I worked full-time for health insurance and dreamed of being able to stay home everyday. Once that was actually an option I still chose to work part time. Why??? 1- I love coding and the fabulous people I work with. They are truely some of my closest friends and I love spending time with them. 2- I love the feeling of making my own money. Casey is a great provider and always makes sure that we have everything we need. He has never forced or guilted me into working and fully supports my decision. He does feel a little guilty everytime someone stands up in church and thanks their husband for letting them stay home. I just tell him I'll get up and thank him for letting me work since it actually requires him to do much more around the house and with the kids. 3- I love the out. Yes, I love my kids to pieces. Yes, I enjoy spending time with them, but No I don't feel like my kids have to be glued to my hip for them to know that I love them and they are my #1 priority. If me working ever started to affect them I would quit in a second, but so far it works for us. I often times feel like the working mom gets a bad rap on leaving their kids especially in the LDS church. In reality working is my out so I don't have time for other hobbies. When I'm home I try and make every minute count which leads to me never exercizing, facebooking, crafting and my blog getting months behind. I guess what I'm trying to say is every family is different and shouldn't be judged on how they choose to spend their time. I'm thankful that I have the opportunity to have a job that is flexible and allows me to have the best of both worlds. I know it doesn't work for everybody, but I love keeping busy and it works for us.

Welcome Libbi Jo Newton...

Libbi Jo surprised us all not only for being a girl, but coming 2 weeks early. After Nikki's water broke and she labored for over 24 hours and only progressed to a 6 her doctor decided that a C-Section was in order. At 9:55pm Libbi was born and weighed 6 lbs 11 oz and 19 inches long. She's completely healthy and a total doll! Congrats Newton Family!

Boulder Day Trip...

The scouts planned a day trip to boulder for some awesome fishing. Cael & Gavyn also went along and caught some good sized fish.

I love this picture even though Smitty closed his eyes.


Catchin frogs...

My new favorite pic..

The Scouts and Don Crowther the scout master.

Cael, Gav, Casey, Alex White, Kip Reed, and Kaydon Collins.

Soccer 2011....

Since the first of Aug we have been playing Soccer 1-2 times per week. Cael advanced this year to the 1st-3rd grade which put him being the youngest and less experienced. He loved soccer last year mostly because of the kids on his team and the fun atmosphere. This year he only knew a few of the kids and I think was intimidated by the older more experienced ones. He rarely got the ball, mostly because he chose to stand back and watch. The second game I pretty much had a melt down when he only moved a few steps the whole game. I don't know why he struggles with being aggressive, but I hope it comes the older he gets. At one point he came home and was mad at me for signing him up for Soccer and not Flag Football. I reminded him that he had to be in Second grade to play football and that he insisted on playing Soccer so he was finishing the season and that he better start trying harder. I refuse to let him give-up and quit. The more I watched the more I noticed he just didn't want to screw up so we started to practice at home and tried to get him use to "tiny"kicks and getting control of the ball. By the end of the season he seemed more comfortable with handling the ball and had a couple of good saves. When I asked him if he wanted to play next year he said no that he wanted to try flag football, but he still had fun.

Back: Coach-Christian Saez, Hunter Taylor, Taryn Anderson, Britan Steele, Nathan Saez,

David Phillips, and Coach Brandon Steele.

Front: Vanessa Hall, Bridger Steele, Taylor Smith, Duncan Pay, Cambree ?, & Cael. Missing: Saige Daley.

He had to pose with his favorite Blackett Boys...

Yes, he is standing there as the ball comes at him..

Kensie's First Day of Preschool!

Yes, it's true my baby started school today. Her teacher is Mrs. Love at the "Wilde 4 Learning Pre-school". She seemed nervous when we went to back-to-school night, but this morning she was excited and kept asking when it was going to start. I'm hoping this will help in her language (i still struggle to understand some of the things she says), her friendship skill (she's picky who she plays with and prefers to play with older kids), and potty skills (I'm not going to hold my breath!) Good luck Baby girl...We love you so much!

Excuse the flip-flops, she insisted and I didn't want to get her upset on the first day. She just flat out tells me "I hate Shoes!" I'm only going to give in until the snow flies and then no more flip-flops!

Labor Day Weekend 2011....

We again were invited to spend some time at the Ferre's Cabin. We were only able to spend Sunday afternoon because of my Certification prep class that I was behind on. My parents pulled their trailer up and invited the kids to stay over Sunday night. I guess that night around the fire was quite interesting with the boys and Greg telling riddles. Gavyn was all over this and kept making up his own. My mom said she was pretty sure she peed her pants at one point! They had everybody rolling! We look forward to this every year and Love spending time at the Cabin. It is so relaxing there and if I were a Millionaire I would definitely have some place like this. Rolayne always out does herself and spoils the kids rotten. Games, crafts, and Good Food make for a great weekend!

Monster Craft

Greg's mom Iris even joined in!

Thanks Greg & Rolayne!