A Day in the Life...

This is my work team. They are a good bunch of humans. Awhile ago I challenged them to increase their credentialing requirements by 10% in a month, and they did 20%. Awesome!  So I got permission for us to go on a retreat. We went out to lunch and then did an escape room. I've only done one escape room before and it was so stressful I just sat in the corner and waited for the rest of the group to figure it out.  This time was much better around and we all made it out with four minutes to spare. Whew... They are hard, trustworthy workers who are in this job because they want to be. I have team rules that anyone on my team leaves the drama at the door, doesn't shame/blame/judge others, and finds something positive in any situation. They are great.  THey are also full of shenanigans.  One time when I went on vacation, I came back to a random folder on my desk with a whole bunch of information on witchcraft, and random things hung on my wall that only social workers woul...

Cuties Dakota and cousin Sabrinna at the duck pond at Oma's Red and a cow bull squaring off on our walk the other day... Lehi Days: rodeo and parade fun! I LOVE the rodeo   :) Clear Creek for Micah and Dakota with their other half Emery.  They spent two days at the Clear Creek campus doing all sorts of things- hiking, animal trapping, ropes courses, and finding bugs... Camping. Micah brought 9 stuffed animal tigers... We've been camping three times this year. Each time it has been windy and rainy... A few weekends ago Tim's parents went with us. This was a break from the wind and rain- mostly we holed up in the trailer... Orange lilies are my favorite flower in the whole world and mine bloomed a week or so ago! Cuties hanging out in my room... I secretly took a picture of my boss during one of our video meetings. Her name is Lana and she's the best supervisor I've ever had in my whole life. I look up to her immensely and hope I have half the brains, ambition, and de...

 These two hooligans are now eleven! I can't believe it. They are pretty fantastic in every single way. Eleven words that describe Dakota: Playful, fun, charismatic, determined, witty, friendly, energetic, proud, comical, confident, bold Things she loves right now: ALL animals but especially goats, pigs, and dogs, the color green, being with any friends, ice cream and tacos (and ice-cream tacos), and family games. Eleven words that describe Micah: Adventure seeking, shy, sensitive, thoughtful, quiet, hopeful, imaginative, forgiving, easy-going, caring, peaceful Things she loves right now: Tigers, old-school scary movies like Jaws, Jurassic Park, and Gremlins, turquoise, BBQ ribs, and karate. Both of them are much more... these just stick out.  We've celebrated lots of times over the past week, starting with having a bunch of friends over. We played minute-to-win-it games, ate pizza, and watched a movie. In between, the bunch of them just ran around the house and yard while scr...

If we had to narrow it down to which parent is fun... this guy wins... He and Kota are two peas in a pod. This is them playing baseball in our house with a broom... And throwing food at her... And, even though he says he hates the dog... the dog loves him... Kota being a dork, or, as she calls it, Awesome.  Tim says the same thing about himself.  

 We've been celebrating Copper's #13 birthday all week! We think she's pretty remarkable. 13 words that describe her: Determined Spiritual Good natured Intelligent Independent Insightful Calm Protective Curious Accepting Joyful Patient Peaceful Things she loves right now: Lilo & Stitch Space & Astronomy Cats Math & Science Her BF Emily The color pink Crepes/Pancakes Non-stop reading Copper's the gal I have to continually remind myself to get out of her way. Sometimes (nearly all the time) when we ask her to make a decision, she just shrugs her shoulders and says she doesn't know.  Or, she takes f-o-r-e-v-e-r to decide on really simple things in life, like when we choose books at the library and she takes as long as it would take as if her life depended on it.  What I have to remind myself of though, is that she isn't just indecisive- she's really contemplative and when she finally does decide on something, it's pretty meaningful. About a mont...