What's going on?

I haven't posted in forever but I am in the room with Nixon while he naps and I don't dare move so I decided I might as well journal what has been going on in our lives! Right now we are in Utah visiting family. I was able to come out a week and a half before Chris so I could spend time with my family before my parents left to Armenia. They are going there to be mission president/wife and will be gone three years! The first week we were here was a little bit tough because Nixon got crupe and an ear infection but now that he is feeling better there is no stopping him! He has had a lot of fun with all of his cousins! Yesterday we went to Lagoon with Chris's family. He did NOT like the first few rides we put him on but after a short nap and some lunch he warmed right up to them and even started enjoying them by the end! We had a blast too! I don't know whether I enjoyed going on the rides or watching Nixon on them more! 
We have been swimming, zooing, golfing, eating and playing like there is no tomorrow and it will be sad to go back home, but nice to get Nixon back to where he will sleep on some sort of schedule. 
I finished my first year of teaching in Wisconsin this year. I taught 5th grade math and science.  It is a totally different experience to teach in Wisconsin. I loved my kids and it is fun seeing them everywhere I go (literally, everywhere. Dinner, walks, buying feminine products at the store, you always see someone you know)  I have to say, though, I would teach in Utah any day over teaching in Wisconsin. I know unions get a bad rep, but they really do keep teachers from always getting the crappy end of the deal. 
While I have been teaching, Nixon has been at daycare. We started off having a friend watch him, but as he got older and a little more mobile it became a little too much for her, so we found Tammi. She is awesome! She just opened her daycare in September of 2015 and when we called her in February she only had a set of twins who are about 6 months younger than Nixon and so we started taking him there. She is constantly doing learning activities and has taught him some sign language, which is awesome since this kid refuses to talk! Just before Nixon went off for the summer she signed on two more kids that are just older than Nixon so I am looking forward to him getting more friends and being social with other kids a little more. 
Chris just moved in to the new hospital in May. It is such a beautiful building! A huge difference from the dungeon he was in before. It is open and bright with lots of windows! I keep joking that I am going to get really sick so I can spend some time there! (Am I really joking though?)  
Like I said earlier, my parents left for Armenia this past week. They are really busy but have taken time to write to us daily and let us know what they have been up to. The situation with the church in Armenia is a little tough right now. The stake was just disbanded and returned to a district status which means that my dad's job, in addition to directing the mission efforts there, is similar to that of a stake president. They seem to be pretty happy though, and are finding lots of positives between the trials. 
Speaking of callings, in the past few months, I was called to be the branch relief society and Chris was called to be the Elder's Quorum president. Fortunately, those callings aren't quite as time consuming as they would be in a ward! It has been kind of fun to take around little gifts to the sisters in the branch when they have their birthdays. I haven't been able to catch most of them but I have found a couple and had some good talks! I still don't feel like I have been doing as much as I should be doing but my thought was that once school got out and I got back from Utah then I would start getting things a little more organized. 
A couple months ago we had to put Jack down. He was getting old and having a hard time getting around. It was pretty tough but we knew he was in a lot of pain. Axl kind of became a different dog after that. He seems to be a lot more calm and obedient. Now if we could just take care of the shedding issue he would be the perfect animal! 
That is pretty much all we have been up to over the past two months!





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