Moving along

I finished data collection for the dissertation yesterday. I finished analyzing data today and it feels good to have that part done. Now lots of writing ahead of me. So happy to have headphones!
In other news J has what he hopes to be his final assessment for his next level as a referee. As long as he gets a pass tonight he is good to move on and take the test - classes, etc. I am very happy for him. Hopefully we get to go out and celebrate Thursday when we plan to have a date!
In other news, we are having a family day tomorrow at a local amusement park. We are very excited to have a day away from our normal (think crazy) schedule. I hope the kids have a blast!

Big D update

I already have 47 pages of my dissertation drafted (10,007 words to be exact)....plus I still have 2 more chapters to go. This is going to be a long one!

Attn all sports fans

Youth conference is in just a couple of days. It promises to be a tiring event for leaders and youth. Just thought some of my sports fan brothers might want to know that Dale Murphy (baseball superstar) will be at youth conference as a speaker. Turns out he is the father in law of my Laurel advisor at church - random but true. Just wondering if Matt has a baseball card he wishes he could get autographed?!

In other sports/church news Cael Sanderson - Olympic Gold Medalist in wrestling in 2004, who is also the head coach of the Penn State wrestling team is in our neighboring ward. His brother, the assistant coach at PSU, is in our ward.

If you want autographs you have to come visit us first!

:)

family visit

Around H's baptism and the fourth of July we had lots of family around. Nana,Papa, Uncle D, Antonio, Aunt L, and Uncle J all came for avisit. During that time we enjoyed a lot offun.Here are some ofthehighlights:

-Uncle D taught C how to

pump on a swing

-Picked wild raspberries with Aunt L & Papa

-H rode his motorcycle

-We went to music in the park

-We did an incredibly hard puzzle

-Papa turned 60 and we threw him a party with lots of fireworks

-Nana tested out aerobics with me

-Some of us went to movies

-We ate and ate and ate and ate!

H's baptism

H was baptized on July 2, 2011.It was a great day. We had Nana, Papa, Uncle D, Antonio, Aunt L, & Uncle J all there! We also had some of H's friends and ward family there. Nana played the piano, Papa gave a talk about baptism, Uncle D gave a talk about the gift of the Holy Ghost, C and I sang the song Baptism, and J performed the baptismal ordinance and confirmation. It was fantastic! H was dunked 2x - just like J and he said "I think it is so cool that I was dunked twice just like dad." Honestly I thought it was kind of cool too - a little family tradition by accident!

We are so proud of H. He is a great example. After he was baptized J asked him how he felt

and he shouted out "AMAZING!"What a great way to describe his feelings. About a week after his baptism during sacrament H leaned over to me with a big grin

and said "Mom I feel clean!" See what I mean - what an example he is to all of us. He is a great big brother, helper, and son. We are so happy to have Big H in our family!

Writing goal

I will be done with data collection for my dissertation in about a week, so things are heating up for me to get the writing done. The past few weeks have kept me so busy with family stuff, kids, data collection, etc. I realized that I needed to set a goal to get myself back on target and make sure I am making enough progress each week.

Here are my goals:

-Write for 20 hours a week - I don't include other work I do such as coding data, emailing, prepping for Fall, etc. I only count writing or research that relates to something I need to write. This week I logged 20.5 hours in 5 days - not too shabby! Plus I feel more relaxed today (my do not work day) since I can see how much I worked this week.

- Turn in Comp 2 to committee by August 1st.

- Turn in draft of dissertation to advisor August 22. I will probably turn in some parts earlier than that.

The list goes on but basically I am trying to get it all done for the December graduation deadlines which means I will likely have an early October defense.

My oh my, C is 5!

I can't believe this much time has passed. How is my baby 5 years old??? Seems like a few years got skipped or something. Her birthday was a bit interesting this year. I had girls camp, but skipped the day activities since J was in Dallas and it has her bday. J was supposed to arrive home at noon, but flight issues brought him home around dinner time instead. I returned to camp that night so we only had about an hour and a half together to celebrate. Seems like that is how my life runs right now. Here's what we did that day:

-C had gymnastics camp in the morning. We brought 40+ cupcakes to share with her friends.

-Looked at the downtown toy store (she always begs to go there)

-We had a pizza picnic

-Went to the library (one of her favorite activities)

-We played on the playground

-Picked up J from the airport

-Went home and opened presents

I went to camp and with dad that evening they:

-Went to pack meeting

-Went to DQ for dilly bars

-Caught fireflies

It was a long day and she had gym camp the next morning - so that was the end of the excitement. She got the following for her birthday:

-Polly pocket stuff

-gymnastics camp & gymnastics tuition and leotard (I'm telling you this could get expensive fast)

-a notebook I decorated at camp

Busy times

So this summer has been keeping us busy. I am a bit behind in my posts, but don't worry I will catch up eventually. Here is what we have been up to:

-Lots of church youth activities (a mutual BBQ, girls camp, with Youth conference this week and a canoe trip in August)

-C's 5th bday

-Family visits

-H's baptism

-Soccer & gymnastics (usually 2x a week)

-Dissertation

I even managed to get stung by a bee somewhere in there - good news: I am NOT allergic!