More Updates

So I finally have pics! I am sorry it took so long. The girls have changed alot since I last posted. Tyler got called to be a Seminary Teacher, I guess that's what you get for saying you'll speak at Youth Conference. He's nervous, but excited to work with the youth. We are both learning the scripture mastery all over again. It was funny, we memorized them by listening to the songs, we looked like nerds in the car on our trip as we listened to them over and over again. Anyways, next year will be interesting.

A Long Time Comin'...

Since I last wrote we've had alot happen. Tyler and I celebrated our 5th Aniversary on May 3rd. We hiked up to a waterfall and Allie has been talking about it ever since. It has been a great five years. We went to Washington for Tyler's graduation; that was a great feeling. He got his Master's in School Psychology. We've signed on for another year here in Nevada, yes...we still like it. People ask that alot. If you've ever driven to California from Salt Lake, you know why they do. There isn't much out here, but we are happy. Tyler's parents are serving a mission in Spokane, so we got to visit them. My Aunt Tammy and Uncle Jim were also there. We got to see so many great friends, I'm glad we had the opportunity to go back. This last week I went on a mother/daughter getaway in Salt Lake and we ate at The Melting Pot. We were all in heaven, the food was so good. We stayed at the Plaza while our husbands took the kids. It was a fun night. Tyler and I went on to Blanding for his family's reunion. It was alot of traveling, but well worth it. I love Tyler's family. I think that was our last big trip of the summer considering gas prices. We may make one more trip to Idaho Falls, I guess we'll have to see.

Spring has Sprung!

Hey all. We had a great Spring Break. We just relaxed mostly and finished some odd projects. This last week Tyler went back to work and my Aunt stayed with us for her Spring Break. It was great to have her. It was like having two of me to do all of the work! We had a Pride and Prejudice marathon. 6 hours of Jane Austen, gotta' love it. Tyler was just grateful he didn't have to watch it with me. Allie is looking so big to me these days. She counts to 12 now, smartest girl ever I tell ya' (all parents think that about their kids, right?) Bria is so smiley and still sleeps through the night. Such a blessing.... Tyler and I are toying with the idea of starting a Dutch-Oven catering business. Just something to do while Tyler has the summers off. We don't expect to really make money off of it, but it would be something the family could do together. Tyler and I have had fun coming up with menu ideas and combinations. We'll see how it goes. We are going to Idaho Falls at the end of the month to visit my family. I'm nervous for the long trip with two kids, but I guess we have to do it at some point.

Out of the blue!

I was so excited to see so many friends find our blog. I wasn't good about getting e-mail addresses before we moved from place to place, so hopefully this will be a great way to stay in touch. (Just a side note for the Dial Fam: We've been looking for you guys, with no success. I'm glad you found us. I've been trying to post on your blog, but my computer has issues. Can you send me your e-mail? Ours is tylermandyjack@hotmail.com) I have to go to the library in order to post pictures, so that doesn't happen as often as I'd like it to. We are looking forward to a spring break this week. Tyler has the whole week off! We plan on doing a few random projects, but mostly just kickin' back. We have enjoyed a few visits from my family, first my Aunt Tammy and Uncle Jim from Washington came for a surprise visit, and then my parents and two of my brothers came for Bria's blessing. Jim helped us finish our bathroom before my parents came, it was sure nice to have a pro working on the house for a change, since Tyler and I are extreme amatures. The girls have been sick, so even thought we've had some good weather, we've been cooped up. Hopefully we can get healthy again. I need some fresh air and so does the two-year old. Taking Allie to the store can be quite the circus. Some times she will be so good, and then other times I only get half of my shopping done because the 2 year old, Wal-mart melt-down begins. Gotta' love those moments. Well, that's life as a mommy. I just celebrated my 24th B-Day. It was fun to spend it with family, but I gotta' say. 24 is not an exciting Birthday. Funny how life doesn't turn out quite how you "plan" it. It's a good life though, I'm sure I couldn't have planned it better. Have a happy Easter!

Our Family

Man oh man is it good to be us right now. We are enjoying our life with little Bria. Allie is adjusting so well to the changes, she has to know where the baby is at all times, and is ready with a binki or a diaper whenever we need one for Bria. Tyler was able to take a week off from work to be Mr. Mommy while I recovered. He has been so great. Laundry is always done, dishes are put away. He even mops, changes bedding, and makes some mean breadsticks. I think I've got a good one. I have been feeling pretty darn good. I'm adjusting to the late night feeding, it's amazing how you forget everything so quickly. I have some major spring fever with the nice weather we've been having. I'm ready to plant a garden and get a yard whipped into shape. Tyler and I have all of these great projects in mind for the house and yard, but they will just have to wait until we can save up to do them. It's hard to not fall into the whole buy now pay later thing, but we don't want any regrets. I guess the house will just have to stay green for another year:) Until next time...The Jack pack

Happy Holidays!

I haven't been so good about the up-dates, but I have plenty of excuses:) My biggest excuse is that we recently bought a house! It was the one we have been wanting, but we didn't think we had a chance at it. Through some divine intervention (it's a long story) we were able to move in after Thanksgiving. We have been working hard to make it our home and recently finished remodeling the kitchen. When I say recently, I mean Saturday. We are just taking one room at a time as we can afford to do it, but it was fun to get the biggest room out of the way. The kitchen really is the biggest room in the house, that was the selling feature for me. We just love it, and have felt extremely blessed. I have never lived in a place quite like Winnemucca, the people are amazing here. Rather than just offering service, they don't waste time asking, they just show up at the door to help so you can't refuse. I feel like I have lived here forever. I have been humbled by all the service that has been given to us. Tyler and I are usually pretty proud and have a hard time asking for help, so this has been good for us. With the baby coming in 7 weeks, I'm feeling anxious! We've been so busy, I don't feel quite as prepared as I did with Allie, but we are getting there. It's nice to have Tyler on a school district's schedule, because he has a long break for Christmas. My sister Tara and her family came to visit for a couple of days as they were traveling to Fallon to visit Kevin's parents. It was fun to have company. Then we spent Christmas with just our little family, it was so much fun to have a quite holiday after all of our crazy moves. Tyler's parents are now serivng in Spokane, Washington on a mission. Ironic that they were called there right after we left. They have met some of the people we know there, that has been a fun thing. Well best wishes and happy New Year!

A day in the life of the Jack Family...

I guess not much has changed since I last wrote. We were excited to have Tyler's parents come for a visit this month. We had a great time showing them around our little town, even though it didn't take much time to do. Our days are filled mostly with me cooking (I've been on a little baking binge) and then cleaning up my mess after I'm done. Allie is learning to play on her own better now, she was pretty needy after we first moved in, so it's nice to see her adjusting so well. The weather has been a little crazy, either it's cold, windy, and wet, or it's sunny and beautiful. Everywhere we have lived has been so differen't. From Utah, to Washington, and now Nevada. We have had quite the adventures. Tyler has to go to Las Vegas for a training this weekend, it's just over night, so it won't be very long, thank goodness. Tyler has been blessed with a great boss, and we have become very close to their family. We are still looking into homes around here. We have found one we really want, but we will see what happens. I'm perfectly content with where we are at right now, but it would be fun to have some walls of my own to paint.:) I'm trying to get pictures posted, but it hasn't been letting me, I'll keep trying, love you all!

New News

It's a girl! We had an ultra sound and we are almost 100% positive our little baby-to-be is another little girl. Now we will really have Tyler outnumbered! These girls are going to have to learn to share their daddy. Allie is pretty territorial with him and doesn't even like me to hug on him too much. He is pretty irresistible... It is comforting to know that I won't have to buy anything this time around. I feel so prepared now:) The due date is February 10th. Which means 19 weeks to go. We think her name will be Bria Jack, pronounced Breea. It is something we both like and I think we will stick with it. We are still loving it here in our new home. Tyler is enjoying his job and we both feel like this is just where we are supposed to be.
It seems just like yesterday that we moved in, but at the same time, I feel like I've always been here. Allie and I walk/workout with a group of ladies each morning and Tyler plays basketball with a group of guys, so our days really have a good kick-start. Mom Jack sent me home from Blanding with a load of tomatos, peppers, and jalepenos and a canner so I could learn how to make salsa. From there I have done, peaches, applesauce, pickled beets, and plum jam. Tyler is a good help to me, his momma taught him well. I guess that's it, we are a pretty happy little family.

The beginning of "Real Life"

Here we are at the start of a new life! I say "new" only because everything is new. We moved to Winnemucca Nevada, which is a nice little town in northern Nevada about two hours from Reno. With the move came many changes, we are in a house now, an actual house! We have never had this kind of space before, it is awesome, we were really blessed to find this place, considering it was our only option. Rentals are hard to come by in Winnemucca. We don't have enough "stuff" for every room, so we look a little empty in spots, but I'm sure we will slowly acquire a few things here and there, I'm not in a hurry. Tyler started a new job on Monday and loves it so far. He loves the people and he is excited to finally be doing the work he's been in school six years for. He is the Psychologist of Humboldt School District here, and I love it because we are finally on a schedule! He works from 8am to 4pm and gets to come home for an hour lunch. The best part...no home work!! Allie is warming up to the place, she has a whole back yard she can run around in, but she's still a little hesitant to go out by herself. We also got a new car, we traded in the corolla for something a little better for our growing family, we decided we weren't quite ready to join the "van clan" and got a hatch back instead. The school district gave Tyler a car, so that serves as "his" car, that was another blessing because they pay for insurance, gas and everything. We also have the new baby who still remains a mystery as far as gender goes. I haven't been to the doctor here yet, so I guess I'll find out here in the next couple of weeks. Hopefully we will have a better idea of a due date also. Well, we are excited for all of the changes, and have felt extremely welcomed by everyone here.

Summer Livin'

This summer has been a hot one for us! We are looking forward to an air-conditioned home, even if it means moving to Winnemucca NV! We've stayed busy with our Manager job at the apartments we live in, and although it keeps us from being able to up and go whenever we want to, it has been a blessing to not have to pay rent for the last year. The "move" is absorbing most of our summer, so we are trying to get in our fun wherever we can. Washington has been good to us, but I think we are ready for a change. Most of our friends are moving on, so it just feels right to move-on ourselves. Tyler is working for the university this summer, and Allie and I try to brave the heat at the park and have fun with all of our neighborhood friends. Allie particularly loves our neighbors next door who are from Azerbaijan (a little country near Turkey) they have a little boy who is two and just loves Allie, all three spoil her rotten. I'm just now 10 weeks pregnant, and trying to make it past the "sick phase". We are really excited about this pregnancy, and are grateful for the timing, even if it is in the middle of another move. We really wanted Allie to have a sibling that wasn't too much younger than her, and these two will be almost exactly two years apart.
I was recently just released from my calling as a counselor in the Primary, and am now filling in with the Sunbeams until we leave. Tyler is still serving as Young Men's President/Scout Master, and I don't think they are going to let him out of it until we are gone and they have no choice! This last year was a little crazy for him with the calling, school, and practicum, but he did a good job of balancing everything. Life is good, and we are happy and healthy!