So where ya been?

So I've become one of those bloggers that only posts once a month. Which I think doesn't make me a blogger - that just makes me a really inbox-friendly mass-emailer. So what's happened lately?

Hmmmm -

So I've been studying, and I completed my first two rounds of information gathering. Or almost - I'm still waiting for 2 more subjects to respond. I am mostly finished with my LAST class in my master's program - hooray! I got a 99 on my last assignment, so I'm psyched.

Lesley is keeping me busy, as always, so I don't study like I used to. :) She is a truly WONDERFUL baby and makes me happy every time I look at her. Yes, even when she's crying - which isn't often - I still LOVE being a mom.'

Travis is working a lot these days - and riding his bike, too. The weather is nice (like 70 during the day, 50 at night) so he is biking most days. He skips it if it's raining or really windy.

We've been building a garden shed, too, so Travis can start clearing out his shop. Check out all its majesty!

Mom and Dad were here over Thanksgiving, which was wonderful. The weather was just perfect, so we had a good old-fashioned eat outside Thanksgiving dinner. Travis did a great job smoking the turkey, Betsy and Dathan came over with their cats and Hello Dollies for dessert. Lesley ate her first Thanksgiving dinner with sweet potatoes and grape juice. Mmmm!

Now I'm trying to gear up for Christmas, and looking at what to get for presents. I'm also thinking about what to ask for. We're asking for diapers for Lesley - the cloth ones - as that is my new hobby. I even participated in the Great Cloth Diaper Hunt (internet scavenger hunt) to try and win free ones. No word on whether I won yet, but odds are against me on this one. But I have been hooked on cloth, thanks to my friend Cheryl, who got me started, lots of internet reading, like SoftClothBunz.com, and also a trip to Wildflower Diapers in Scottsdale - the local cloth diaper store. Shannon, the owner, helped me find DryBees pocket diapers, which fit Lesley great. I also found a great diaper on the internet called a Blueberry diaper - which is really soft, and is one-size-fits all fitted. Cloth diapers aren't cheap to get started, but they save you money in the long run.

So we're looking forward to seeing everyone at Christmas - we're driving back, like usual, at least for this year. That may change someday, but for now, we're still hauling LOADS back and forth.

Stay warm - you'll be hearing from us again soon!

Jenny & Travis & Lesley

Uh-oh Spaghetti-o!

Lesley is almost 5 months old! When did that happen? At last visit she was 25.5 inches long and weighed 13# 10 oz. I'd call her chunker, but she's TOO CUTE!

She's started eating cereal, and LOVES to try and grab our cups. It won't be long and she'll be using a sippy cup. She doesn't like bottles, so why bother?

It's still warm here (90s) but we hear the 80s will be returning soon. Ahhhh - perfect weather for a Thanksgiving picnic. Nothing like pumpkin pie on your back porch!

Phoenix - the other 'down under'

I hadn't really noticed before - but living in Phoenix is almost like living in the Southern hemisphere. Last night the low was actually 67- so we opened up the house, and started to get ready for the 'outdoor season' here in Arizona. We can't wait until the end of September, when the weather starts to get nice, when we can go outside and get fresh air - and maybe do some clean up inside and out. Sounds like March in the Midwest, doesn't it?

Travis starting riding his bike to work today, and Lesley and I are finally settled into a routine - again. She's growing so fast! I'm studying in the mornings and doing housework in the afternoons. Lesley is starting to play with her toys - i.e. looking at them, grabbing them, and pulling them to her mouth. She likes to giggle, and she has a "killer smile" as her Grandpa Long says. Now that it's getting nice outside, we'll start taking walks in the morning, too.

Grad school is going well - my thesis research is underway. I'm also taking 3 hours of classes in human resources. Interesting stuff, but it keeps me hopping! I'll be finishing up my research in February, and I hope to defend in April so I can graduate in May. Kind of a tall order, but as I am not working another full time job (you know, other than being a Mom) I think it is do-able.

We're heading to Washington state in a few weeks to visit Curtis and Glena in Spokane - we are looking forward to visiting some cold weather, and seeing the town. I hear Spokane is a really neat place - and we might even check out some of the wineries. They don't grow the grapes in Spokane, the vineyards are in Walla Walla and elsewhere, but you can go tasting in town, which would be cool.

Hope everyone is doing well - we'll be back to KS for Christmas and New Year's. Something tells me that will be here soon - especially with Lesley keeping us so busy!

Jenny

Lions, oh my!

Ah, remember when your toys
were as big as YOU?

Hope everyone is having a good week - we can't wait to get back to town and see the folks!

Enjoy the rain, heat, sun or whatever is in your neighborhood this week.

Cheers!

What's so funny?

Hi everybody!

Lesley Elaine, born June 9th, would like to welcome you to the stay at home mom edition of Arizonalife. We'll keep you posted on the latest and greatest news from Scottsdale. Stay tuned for pictures and great stories!

Hot time in the old town tonight

So as the rest of the country is freezing, it's like 80 degrees here today. Sorry guys - you'll be laughing at me when June rolls around, I promise!

Speaking of laughing, here's what our tomatoes looked like BEFORE the freeze a few weeks ago. Beauty, huh? The plants looked like crap after the couple days of hard freeze. Lots of our landscape plants don't look so hot, either. Oh well - it's getting to be planting season again. We'll probably put in a new vegetable garden when the "Seniors" are here. Travis' grandparents and great aunt and uncle are coming to visit on the 16th.

So I better go do something important - like clean the kitchen, and make dinner. I need to try and read my finance homework tonight, too. If anybody out there has tips for making a financial accounting text more engaging - please pass them along!

Have a good week and stay warm. Keep in touch if you get a minute!

Jenny

Another day, another... wait. What was the question?

So, inexplicably, it's February. And that happened...when?

Classes go marching on...the recruiting blitz goes marching on. At least it's warm and in the upper 60s here - unlike the expected high of ZERO for Sunday in Iowa. I get to hear a weather report from my classmates each time I dial in for a teleconference class.

I think I'm the only distance master's student in Foodservice and Lodging management at ISU right now. At least they didn't kick met out! Instead, I get called by the professor every week for two classes. And I get to guess what my classmates look like. I know their names and voices, so it's kind of like listening to the radio.

Work at MCC is progressing - I'm teaching one course, with 6 students. I am also trying to get as many students enrolled for next semester as possible. Here's hoping!

I hope everyone is doing well and keeping warm. Things are pretty quiet around here!

I'll write again soon - we finally got some pictures developed that show what our tomatoes looked like BEFORE the freeze. Now the plants look like crap - but the tomatoes themselves are ripening on my counter OK.

Happy weekend - time to sleep in!

Jenny

And baby makes 3!

Here she is - the newest Watson!

I know the ultrasound makes it hard to see anything, but according to the tech and my doc, everything looks good. We haven't picked out any names yet, but we've still got time. They didn't move my due date - we're still looking at June 4. That assumes that the baby got the memo, and doesn't show up early.

It's raining here in Phoenix- and we like it! Hope everyone is keeping warm and dry. Good luck with studies, and work, and all that jazz!

Cheers, Jenny

New year, new post!

Happy New Year!

So it's been just about forever since I wrote last, but here's my resolution for this year... try to post more than once a quarter!

The spring semester has just begun, I've already started my new classes at Iowa State, and I'm waiting to hear on my classes at MCC. Five students does not usually make a course, but as culinary is a new program, we'll see if it goes forward for this semester or gets postponed to next fall. If the class doesn't make, I'll focus on recruiting and program development this spring, which is plenty to keep me busy!

I'm taking courses in financial decision operations, current issues seminar, and one measly research credit. That should be enough to get my proposal done, however. That's one of my goals for today - revise my proposal to date. We'll see if I can get it done on my day "off".

Otherwise I'm doing laundry and keeping warm - we've had a couple of hard freeze warnings over the weekend. We even had ice in our pipes! A couple of our landscape plants got hit pretty hard, and our tomatoes look REALLY sad, but we've been covering them up overnight. Here's hoping they recover!

Otherwise, things are getting back to normal - or at least as close as they can. :) I go for an ultrasound on Wednesday. I plan to post any good pics next week.

Hope everyone has a happy and healthy new year! Good luck keeping YOUR resolutions.

Jenny