Statuesque

What a day! We were so lucky to be there at 1:30 today when the angel Moroni was placed on the top of our temple. I asked Kyler why he thought Moroni went on the top of the temple, he answered, "Because he is faithful and truthful." I had to chuckle at his terminology and wondered how he came up with this. We can't wait until Spring of 2008 when the temple is complete. (I think I will get the picture of Ky and Hal blown up poster-size - I LOVE IT!- be looking for it on the cover of your next primary program bulletin).

Hilary, CEO

So I had a little extra time on my hands....(actually, that is not true, I have never felt as though I have had extra time on my hands). Nonetheless, I decided to try my hand at being a business woman. Dan is always coming up with ideas for businesses; I decided to go one step further, and actually start my own. I have recently opened my own agency working with adults with disabilities. The name of my agency is Western Connections.

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I began the process in October. I had to put together policies and procedures, get the appropriate insurance, prove I knew what was going on, and be approved by Medicaid. This process ended the beginning of February when I was issued my official Idaho Medicaid Provider Number.

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My first job upon graduating from BYU was as a Targeted Service Coordinator. I worked full-time until I had Ky, and then worked a little here and there from home. The last lady that I worked for was tremendously helpful in getting me up and running. She was happy to share forms, hints, ideas, and encourage me.

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I tell people that a Targeted Service Coordinator is like a visiting teacher. I have one face-to-face visit a month with each client and ask them how things are running. I help with whatever problems they may have, make sure they are being treated well, and link them to any new services that would be appropriate. I have to write an annual plan detailing the services they are receiving and fight their case for Medicaid so they can get all of the services they need.

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My goal is to have 10 clients of my own, and then hire other people to work for me. I figured that my kids could handle being left ten hours a month - it might even be good for them.

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Things have actually been going really well - even picked up faster than I thought they would. I now have 7 clients and already have an employee lined up for when my caseload is full.

The start up phase has been quite busy. I will be grateful when everyone's plans are written and things slow down a bit.

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Dan will be doing the Medicaid billing and keep track of all of the books. We will make a great team. Heather has been willing to watch my kids - for which I have been very grateful.

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So wish me luck. If you happen to live in my town, and need a TSC, give me a call because "at Western Connections, we connect you to happiness."

A Temple in our Midst

We are so lucky to live where there is a Temple being built. The new Temple is only 3 miles from our house. Dan drives by it everyday on his way to work. We have taken a few pictures in front of the temple as it has been being built. I thought they would be neat for my kids to have when they are grown up. We have only lived here for one year -and are amazed at the progress. When we first came, the temple site was only a mound of dirt - now look how far it has come!

In August of 2006, before the foundation was started.

In March of 2007 with concrete on the steel frame - and no steeple. (Note - March is not very long ago).

In May of 2007- The white walls went on very quickly and the base of the steeple was done in one week. It has been so much fun to watch!

Kyler is Four!

It is actually quite convenient to have the kids' birthdays so close together. I am already in party mode, I can get by with the same gallon of ice cream for each of their cakes, and it was easy to console Kyler when he was jealous of Halle getting presents - since he knew his day was not far away.

We loved that Kyler's birthday was on Saturday so that Daddy could be home all day. Here are some of the highlights of our day:

Have you ever seen so much Spiderman paraphernalia in your whole life? I was very lucky that the dollar store shelves were stocked with Spiderman. Where else can you get a poster, sunglasses, web shooting Pez dispenser, puzzle, and place mat for a dollar a piece.

Ky's only request for the day was to go to Burger King and get Happy Meals - since they came with a Spiderman toy. I decided it was a good excuse to do it - since I am too cheap to buy one any other day of the year. We ate our happy meals in the park with the Jones' family.

A game of croquet compliments of Aunt Heather.

Tree climbing at the park.

Four candles on a Spiderman cake - the perfect ending to a Spiderman filled day.

Halle is Two!

Yesterday was Halle's second birthday and we had a wondeful celebration. We are now officially in the ranks of the terrible/teriffic two's.

Halle loves sunglasses. She calls them "eyes" and was so excited to get a pair for her birthday. Her darling dress is from Grandma and Grandpa Western. Doesn't she look like a two year-old Diva? Notice the high heels.

I have been planning for months to make Kyler a Lightning McQueen cake and Halle a Sally cake for their birthdays. However, Kyler has recently become addicted to Spiderman and lost his affinity for all things Cars. I didn't want to waste my hours of google searches for Cars cakes, so I followed through with Sally for Hal. It did my heart good that she could recognize who it was without me having to tell her.

We had a great party complete with Grandma and Grandpa Western. We were so happy that they could be here to celebrate with Halle.

Halle's favorite present was a FurReal Puppy from Aunt Heather. It barks, opens and closes its' eyes, and comes with a bottle. Halle wanted to feed her puppy "juice" as soon as it woke up this morning. Thanks Aunt Heather!

We can't wait to turn around and have the same festivities tomorrow for Ky's birthday (he has been incredibly jealous that Halle's birthday came before his).

PS

I am adding a PS to my recent post of "Why we love our town." We visited some of our favorite places last night and took the camera along.

Dan overlooking Shoshone Falls. The Bridge that you take to get into our town.

A view of the canyon from behind the Waterfall. There are two golf courses in the canyon. The view is breathtaking.

The white speck you see is Dan and Halle walking behind the waterfall. This is one of our favorite places.

Happy Anniversary

One Year. One Wonderful Year. We have lived in our town for one year now. Today was Dan's one year anniversary at the Bank. I can hardly believe it. There was a time that I didn't think I would ever make it out of San Francisco. Now I have already been gone for a year. Crazy! Here is a picture of us at a Giants game on our last day in San Fran. It is shocking how much the kids (and my hair) have grown since we left California.

Here are a few things that I love about living where we do.

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1. We are only a 2 1/2 hour drive from "Home." Close enough to go home for any important occasion, but far enough away to establish our own identity.

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2. The sun shines every month of the year.

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3. The LDS population is only 25%. Enough for everyone to know who the Mormons are, but leaving plenty of room for missionary work (which I would like to be better at).

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4. I have all the shopping I need in a 5 mile radius from my home - and the stores are seldom crowded.

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5. We get to watch a new temple being built.

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6. The term "traffic jam" is no longer a part of my vocabulary.

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7. There are a myriad of parks, one at the end of our block. .

8. We have a Winco.

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9. Dan's job is great and he loves the people he works with. .

10. My kids are happy here.

Logan Weekend

We had the pleasure of visiting Dan's brother Ben and his new wife Janae in Logan this weekend. They were very gracious hosts and took care of our every need by feeding us yummy meals and entertaining us.

One of the main reasons we went on a little getaway to Logan was so that Dan and Ben could play a round of golf together. Unfortunately it snowed all day Saturday, literally a blizzard. I don't know if I have ever seen Dan more disappointed in my life. We had a great time nonetheless.

We spent some time at the Logan temple which was very special. It makes me happy whenever I can take me kids to the temple grounds. I hope I can teach them from a young age how important the temple is to our family.

Thanks for a wonderful weekend Ben and Janae!

This Week in Pictures

Happy 28th Ladies!

Three of my very best friends are celebrating their 28th birthdays. Ellen and Josie both turned 28 today, and Emily has been among the ranks for a few weeks now (sorry Em, just remembered). Here area a few reasons why I love them so much! Ellen and I have been friends since High School - I was a bridesmaid at her wedding. We have had so many fun times together. Ellen was the first one of our high school friends to get married and have babies. We have all followed her example - got married, had a baby boy, then had a baby girl (she then had a another baby boy and another baby girl - so we have some catching up to do). Ellen is the epitome of a wonderful Mother. When we were together this summer she said something along the lines of, "I consider being a stay-at-home Mom my job. If I were to work for a company I would give 110% all day and would constantly try to do my best and come up with creative ideas. Since being with my kids is my job, I try to work as hard teaching them and taking care of them every minute of my day - just as if it were a paid full-time job." OK, so I didn't say that as eloquently as she surely did, but you get the picture of her wonderful attitude. Ellen is 100% proactive in everything she does. She is an analyzer who figures out the best way possible to do anything. When I was on the phone with her today I joked that I should call 1-800-D R. E L L E N to talk to her as she gives as good of advice at "doing the right thing" as Dr. Laura. Happy Birthday Ellen! You are amazing.

I met Josie at church on my first Sunday in San Francisco. I had prayed so hard that there would be someone in the huge city that would be like me and be my friend. Josie came walking up to me in her jazzy knee lengths boots and perfect accessories and was that answer to my prayer. It turns out that we were the very same age, were at BYU the same time, went to BYU Jerusalem just months apart from each other, and had little boys close to the same age. After meeting her, I knew I would be taken care of in San Francisco. Josie was so good at inviting us to do things and making sure I was surviving the city.

Josie is hilarious! I honestly don't know of a funnier person on the planet. She has a way with words that can cheer anybody's day. Josie makes everything fun and is the life of any party. I loved to be around her to hear what hilarious story she would tell next. She is a California girl who knows all about style - something a "country bumpkin" from Idaho could only admire. Meeting Josie has been such a blessing to me. Happy Birthday Josie!

I was blessed to have Emily as my roommate at BYU Jerusalem. I remember the first time I met her I thought, "Wow, I think I could be good friends with this girl." Little did I know that we would grow to be wonderful friends. We had an amazing time in Jerusalem and I was lucky enough to get to be her roommate during my senior year at BYU. The semester after Jerusalem was my first semester in Provo. I was living with my Aunt, had no connections to other college students, and was feeling totally insignificant. During my first minutes on campus, I ran into Emily at the bookstore. She immediately made me feel like everything was going to be OK. At the time, I was waiting for Dan on his mission and anxious to wish away the two years until he came home. Emily made me realize that life could be fun and that I needed to enjoy every moment of being a carefree single girl. Thanks Emily! Emily gives wonderful advice. She is genuinely interested in what is going on in your life and what she can do to make it better. Emily loves to learn and you feel smarter just by being around her. Happy Belated Birthday Emily!