We're going to....

I just realized that I haven't announced on my blog that Brett got a job and we are moving to 

!!!!!

So after we had flown over from Switzerland and had a few days here, Brett flew to Pittsburgh to do an interview.  It wasn't very long later before they offered him the job.

Honestly, we would have loved to be somewhat closer to our families after being in Switzerland for five years.  For a while, there was a slim chance that Brett might get a job in Colorado, and oh my gosh how I wished and wished for that.  But it was not to be (mostly because it was to do with laser ablation of brain tumors and Brett has no experience at all with lasers).  But we feel good about Pittsburgh and I am getting excited thinking about moving somewhere with a REAL permanent-ish job for the first time.

He will be working for a company called Blue Belt Technology, a company that works on medical devices for knee replacements.  Here is the website: http://www.bluebelttech.com/  Now you know as much as I do about them.  :)

Very happily for me, we have a couple friends in Pittsburgh.  One is a family that we knew from Purdue, Mark and Kelli Kimber, who have six kids similar ages to ours.  I am super excited to get to see them (although we probably won't be in their ward or very near them).  They are the nicest and best family!  And the other people we know are Seth and Kristen- Seth worked with Brett in the same lab at Purdue, and Seth is the nicest guy ever (Remember how he helped us replace the windows in our house in Lafayette?) and Kristen is his girlfriend.

So what I know about Pittsburgh and Pennsylvania is very little.  I've never been there.  Kelli told me that Mr. Rogers was from Pittsburgh, so there's that.  Also, apparently we'll have to all learn another language again.

And when I told my brother Ethan that I was moving to Pittsburgh he told me all about how their hockey team has one of the best players on it?  My other brother Derek told me that the Steelers won the night before, and I said, "Yeah, now whenever the Steelers play you can think of me," and he said, "I kind of already do."

So Brett is in Switzerland (he's been gone from me for SOOOO LOOONGGG!  sob sob), but on the 11th he flies to Nashville where he'll present at a conference, and then he'll be totally finished with the University of Bern- and then he'll fly to Pittsburgh, and I'll fly there and meet him and we'll search for a house to buy.  Exciting stuff!  A-because it will be like a honeymoon trip! and B-we're going to buy a house!  Brett is supposed to start working on Jan. 5, so we'll have to see how soon we can get into a house to know when exactly the kids and I will go out.

So, good, happy news.  I am very excited.

But in case you ever wondered, Colorado has WAAAAAY cooler posters than Pennsylvania:

:)

Thanksgiving and other stuff

Thanksgiving Dinner!  Pretty happy about being in America where they celebrate Thanksgiving, and extra happy about being with my family!

Playing some Lightning.

The highlight of the day for Wyatt- getting a ride while Dad vacuumed.

And some pictures from other days- Hazel and Kiersten being matchy-matchy.

Orrin and Wyatt watching Grandma make fudge.

Wyatt wondering why I am his mother.

At the Bean museum in Provo at the live animal show.  I was let down--I have pictures of myself with a big huge boa constrictor around my neck at the Bean museum when we lived in Provo when I was in Kindergarten, and at this show there was a tiny snake, one lizard, and one turtle.  And you could only pet them with two fingers, no holding.  Oh well.

Other things I have done that have no photographic evidence include going to a rodeo in Ogden with my mom and dad and my four oldest kids--I loved it, going to the temple and doing sealings with Megan and Amy and Kam and Andre and Tim and Wyatt and Lindsay Ann and Mom and Dad; going to the play 'A Christmas Carol' with Megan and Amy and some of my kids (while Jethro went to a Jazz game with some other people), going to Crystal Hot Springs with Grandma and the cousins which was a ton of fun.  Wyatt loved it-- Uncle Wyatt even took him down the huge slide and I thought for sure he would be screaming when he got to the bottom, but he wasn't!  He even managed an uncertain 'wheee' and I took him the next time.  I was super impressed that he liked it.  What else?  Jethro went to the temple with Uncle Jared, Danica, Myles, and Lynnaea and did baptisms.  I went to Andrea's house for a weekend.  I played the piano while mom led the choir in church.  Mom is teaching Hazel and Ethne piano lessons.  I miss Brett soooooooo much.  He misses me too--he even sent me a dozen red roses!!!  I can't wait to see him.  The end.

Ooops, I just posted this but now I DO have photographic evidence of some of the above outings because my sister just posted them.  So here we are at Crystal Hot Springs:

After the play with the Spirit of Christmas Present:

And at the Ogden temple:

 

Ice Skating

The kids loved the fountains, but Wyatt did not love sitting in front of them.  :)

See Hazel skate.

Hazel, Kiersten, Talmage.

Jethro

Anders and Talmage.

My gorgeous mother and her favorite grandchild.

Megan, Devaney, and Orrin.  But I didn't get Orrin any skates.

Garrett and Myles.

Kam and Amy

All the grandkids that were there (minus a couple).

Proof- I was there, but the other picture my Mom took was totally fuzzy.  Oh well.

Halloween

So one of the reasons the kids and I were SUPER excited about moving on October 23rd was that we would be in the US for Halloween!!!  And my sister Megan had one of her awesome Halloween parties that I am always so sad to miss.  I love Halloween!

Here are the kids in their costumes.  I always love a good cowboy costume, and I thought Orrin was the cutest little Indian chief ever!  My goodness my kids are so cute.

 My brother Wyatt, the mad scientist.

Cousins playing games.

 

We had a good showing of cowboys!

Orrin at the tomahawk-throwing game.  I mean beanbag.  :)

Wyatt throwing his beanbag.

After dinner and games, we took our enormous group of kids trick-or-treating.  It was a nice warm night and it was so much fun!!!  Andrea, Lindsay Ann, and I had our youngest - Oskar and Wyatt only 1-year-old and Natalia and Jack Jack who are 2 and 3 with us while Uncle Wyatt took ALL the rest who were waaayyy too fast for us.  Those littles though were ADORABLE.  Wyatt wouldn't let me hold his bag for him for anything.  It was just so cute and fun.  Thanks Megan if you ever read this!  You're my favorite sister who puts on awesome Halloween parties!!!