Letter to My Missionary Part 7

January 13^th, 2013

My Dearest Brother,

Every time I feel like I don’t have a lot to say I end up saying quite a bit so I’m not going to tell you that I don’t feel like I have a lot to say this time and we’ll just see where we get. J

School starts tomorrow morning. 6:00 am. I had to sign a waiver that basically said I can’t hold the school responsible if I keel over and die at Boot Camp. I feel like it will be pretty hard and challenging but that is a good thing as long as I don’t keel over and die. The hardest part of getting back to school is that Jake and I will tag team on Mondays and Tuesdays. I will get out of class at 6:50 am and rush back home so that Jake can get to work and then the SECOND he gets home from work I have to rush off back to school. It will definitely be hard and challenging but hopefully we can end each evening with an episode of Psych together. Did you ever watch those shows before you left? We love them. Jake got seasons 1 – 3 for Christmas and then we bought 4 – 6. Since Christmas we have already watched the first 4 seasons. Yes, yes we have. It is our favorite thing to do together right now. We watch episodes, munch on homemade popcorn and laugh together.

I think that one of the biggest things that I decided this week is that I won’t be running in the Salt Lake Half marathon. Besides the fact that injuring my heel and getting really sick in November set me way back on my running I don’t think that I will be able to commit the needed energy to training for a half marathon this semester. I already have to stay on top of 13 credit hours, 2 kids, and teaching piano lessons. Mostly I just don’t think I can train for the half without pushing myself into over exercising. I HAVE to go to Boot Camp on Mondays and Wednesdays and my gym membership is good until October. I really want to go to Powerflex and Cardio Circuit at the gym and I believe that participating in those classes will help prepare me to be a better personal trainer and group exercise instructor than running will. I love to run and will definitely still run occasionally and will probably even participate in some shorter races (5k or 10k) but I really don’t think I should be clocking the kind of miles I would need to be ready for a half marathon in three months. I have pondered about it and counseled with Jake and mom and I really feel like this is the right thing for me to do right now. I was led down a different path when I injured my heel and decided to join the gym and I really think I need to continue on that path.

Jake is working on his admissions to WGU. He has to have an interview with someone and take several placement tests. I have no concerns about him getting in and we already switched his FAFSA (financial aid) application over to WGU. It is just kind of a waiting game right now. While I am not anxious for him to be back to school it will be nice to know that we are back on the path to having it finished.

Abrielle did really well in Primary last week and seems to be making the transition nicely. I was afraid that she would really cling to Nursery and not want to move on but she seems to have embraced what we have explained to her about being a big girl now. Her behavior has definitely improved now that she is back in Preschool after winter break and we have altered her sleeping schedule so that she naps earlier in the day and goes to bed at 7:00 am. This is wonderful for Jake and I because it gives us plenty of time to spend together at the end of the day.

Nathan has spent most of the week sick. Poor baby. He has had high fevers, rashes, and spent 2 hours STRAIGHT crying one day. I couldn’t believe it and was beside myself that he wouldn’t let me comfort him. It was an incredibly draining experience and after two straight weeks of taking care of sick kids I am worn down. We thought it was finally over and we were planning on attending the temple yesterday but when we went to get Nathan in the morning he had thrown up all over his bed and was running a fever again. So I stayed home yesterday, all day, taking care of him. Cross your fingers that it is over now!

I decided to cut my hair this week and go to a different color. It was really long (past the middle of my back) and was getting unruly. I lost a lot of hair after I had Nathan and so the bottom half of my hair was incredibly thin. When it reached the point that it wouldn’t really do anything but hang there limply I decided it was time to cut it back. Mom about had a hernia when she chopped a good six inches off of it but she pulled through and I am thrilled with the results (see attached picture).

My hair has been red since May and I decided I wanted to try something different there as well. I like the red but it is fun to change things up occasionally. I took Jake to the store with me and pulled a bunch of different colors off of the shelf and let him choose which one he liked the best. He decided on a Light Medium Chestnut Brown. I don’t have a picture of the color yet because no one in our family knows that I did it. LOL! Usually mom and/or Alyssa help me dye my hair but I decided to let Jake help me this time. He did a fantastic job and was very thorough. It looks really pretty although I keep double taking every time I pass a mirror because I don’t recognize the dark brunette! “Light Medium” is deceiving in that title – it is dark and my hair has been light for a really long time. I will send you a picture hopefully next week.

See? I told you I always have more to say than I think that I do. I just really enjoying writing to you and letting you know what is going on in our lives. I miss you, my dear brother, and I am proud of the work that you are doing. There is a part of me that will be quite sad when your mission is over and we aren’t writing letters anymore. It is so nice to know the details of what is going on in each other’s lives. But we will just have to work hard to maintain that relationship once you get back. We have always been so much alike that I cannot imagine it will be hard. Once it warms up again we’ll have to spend mornings in 2014 running together and chatting.

I love you so much! Take care and stay warm!

Love, Shayla

Helping Daddy make Pancakes

This is the only way that I could get him to stop crying and actually eat something. He was thrilled to be sitting in the pantry, munching on his bread.

Wrong color now but this is the new haircut!

Very hard morning. This was after Nathan (and I) finally stopped crying. You can see my red, swollen eyes. It breaks a mommy's heart to not be able to help her baby!

My knight in shining armor off to save the day with shield and sword in hand!

QUESTION FOR MY DEAR READERS: Have you made any big changes for the New Year? Do you plan to? Leave me a comment letting me know! I love hearing from people!