It's been a while, huh?

Hello Friends!

It's been a month and a half... wish I could say we have been in some foreign land on an amazing Summer Vacation!!! But.... nope, we've been here in Orem. I do feel like my life has flipped 180 since the last time I posted though. . .

1. NEW JOB!
2. well, we had already moved since the last post -but I guess it feels like we've still be getting settled in.

It was a difficult decision to actually leave BYU. They have the best benefits in the world!!! But I was just SUPER bored there. I've been a receptionist for the last 2 years... I needed a change of pace, a reason to feel I'm worth something to the world. I asked for more responsibilities, but it was just 'busy' work and I realized I really wasn't interested in anything with my job anymore, there was no totem pole to climb, and with BYU's hiring freeze... who knows when I'd be able to transfer to another job at BYU!?

So a position as a billing clerk landed in my lap from Utah Valley Radiology Billing. I am taking over a girl's spot that is pretty much a supervisor. For two of our clinics they use a program they use at the BYU Health Center and no one else is sepcialized in it at the Billing office. So it's pretty perfect! Though I had a good headstart b/c I knew how the program kind of works, I am using it in way I never knew existed. It's great experience. We use a program I used at my medical records job too, so that is a help as well. Plus! I LOVE my co-workers! All the girls, and a few guys, are all awesome and very cool to work with. I feel more myself and comfortable in the environment. This is a great change for me in many ways!!

It was very hard to leave BYU benefits, I don't think we'll ever work for such an amazing 'company' again. But I am more happy all around at the new place. Two jobs ago I left because we had no benefits, even though I was making a lot more. One job ago I left because I wasn't happy, even with amazing benefits! Now I am getting paid a little more, not as great benefits - but Definitely more happy. AND this job experience is fantastic for my future, hopefully I can land an at home billing job when we have a busy family life. but if not at home, the hours are the most flexible in the world, so I will be able to work on the side with whatever works best for us when the time comes.

Although the new job is the majority of my life. . . other fun things have been going on too.

We are team teachers in Sunday School, I'm SO glad seth was called to be my co-teacher last week!! We teach the 17-18 yr olds in HS, who haven't graduated from HS yet. We have a pretty sweet ward, a very diverse ward of blue collar workers, farmers, and the very very wealthy.

Two nephews were born in July! Seth's younger sister Aubrey had her boy Preston on the 27th and My sister Alicia had her baby boy Beck on July 30th! I'm excited to meet Beck next weekend when we take a very quick trip to Nauvoo for cousin Todd and soon to be cousin Catie's wedding.

Seth's parents were here for a while... Seth's dad was able to get away from work (GM) for the first part of July and his mom, Sandi stayed in Utah until the beginning of this month. We had LOTS of visitors the ENTIRE month of July!!!! sister Amy, boyfriend Jake, Jake's brother Kit and Andrew were here off and on almost every weekend. Cousins Jake and Sarah who were entering the MTC stayed at our place... It was an ENDLESS party!

PIANO!!! We have had a little money stashed as a piano fund. And last week we got an upright for much less than we expected we'd spend! Though... it has a lot of Character, needs a lot of repairs - it is very fun to play and pluck around on. Seth found a a piano hammer for $15.00 off ebay and we tuned it ourselves so that it is playable. We still need to tweak it here and there, the strings don't stay put. Since it isn't tunable, I am VERY happy Seth thought of and bought the hammer so we didn't spend $150 for an ol' guy to tune it! Especially since it probably would have cost more than that since the piano is exactly a whole step lower than it should be - at least it is in tune a whole step lower! We aren't professionals anyway, so it's definitely alright that it isn't an incredible sounding piece. Plus! We won't want to take it along with us whenever we move out of the state, it really isn't worth investing more money into it.

Seth has been studying at 8am for an hour, the last two weeks, with some friends for the A+ certification test. He hopes to take it in a few weeks and hopefully to get certified so he can be more marketable for jobs. Hey, I think credentials are a great thing on any resume! I'm proud of him for being so motivated, I just hope it continues on to study for the GRE, because we are supposedly going to apply to grad schools very soon.... WISH US LUCK!!!

Seth starts his last semester at BYU in a week and a half - he is pumped! We have 3 cousins who entered the MTC the last few weeks. Cousin Jake to Phoenix AZ, Cousin Sarah to Argentina, and Cousin Austin to Texas! WE also have two others in the field at the moment... Cousin Lyndee in Independence, MO and Cousin Riley in the Phillippines. It's pretty sweet how our family is representing!!

My mind is fried... My brain is done thinking and trying to remember our lives the last 6 weeks. I guess this is a lesson to be learned.... blog more often if you don't want to be rambling on trying to catch up.
AND!! How lame is this post without pictures!?!? Sorry....