Job Hunt - BYU Interview

Chris' post-doc position here ends this summer and so we've been on the job hunt.  It actually started back in October.  Chris found a few websites that had academic job listings across the US and Canada.  Also, BYU sent an email out to alumni advertising an open position for the next year and invited people to send them names for candidates   A couple of friends and brothers put forth Chris' name and we had contacted them ourselves saying we would like to apply for the job and attached all of Chris' job search stuff: a CV, letter of intent, research statement, etc... At the end of October, Chris got a random call from a guy at BYU just wanting to chat with Chris for a bit.  Turns out that was sort of a phone interview and in November (actually the day we were in the ER all day with our miscarriage) BYU called to tell Chris that out of the 100+ applications they got, they've picked 4 or 5 candidates to come interview and Chris was one of them!  It was such great news since BYU was pretty much our dream job. It was a nice mix of research and teaching, and a serious but not 60hr week serious institution where Chris could do exciting research and share his testimony of the Gospel, AND we could live near a lot of family.

The date for the interview was set for late January and spanned half of a week. We made a family trip out of it since I can never pass up a chance to see family. It was fast and busy and sorta stressful but I'm so glad we  all went.

The interview started on Wednesday afternoon with an General Authority interview up at the Church Office Building in Salt Lake. Chris' spouse was requested to accompany him if she was in town too, so... I got to go! This was really a highlight for me.  It was an amazing experience to be in the Church Office building, meet Elder Eduardo Gavarret, and see the kind of people that worked there.  My belief that this LDS Church is actually Christ's true restored church was strengthened. That building is a special place, full of good people. We ended up with a flat tire and still needed to be back in Provo for another interview. Some very nice and helpful parking garage cleaners in the underground parking at Temple Square saw our predicament and insisted on changing the tire for us since we were 'in our nice clothes' and they were 'in their work clothes.' They were some of the most respectful, polite, soft spoken, laid back, 'real' people I've ever met.

From Wednesday night thru Friday late afternoon Chris had meetings and interviews and dinners/lunches all the days. He gave a colloquium talk on Thursday and Dixie and James, myself, and Jared, Jordan, Tiff, Todd, Sarah, Bryce, Leland, (and two other HS friends I can't recall their names) and a RM from our Stanford ward all were able to attend his talk. So fun to hear him speak. He did a really good job and got a lot of compliments from BYU professors about his teaching/explaining skills and technically deep subject.  That night I was invited to join Chris and two other professors and their wives for dinner. We went to the Bombay house at our request and had a very nice evening full of laughter, jokes and general getting-to-know-you-ness.  I felt we had made a good impression overall and Chris felt like he was able to really be himself during everything.

Throughout ALLLL of this, starting on Wednesday, Chris was sick. Like fever, chills, constant nose blowing sick. Poor guy. He had to suck it up and wake up early and talk all day at interviews, and then stay up and talk all night to us telling about his interviews. By Friday his voice was shot and we were all exhausted and ready to drive home the next day.

No regrets. We gave it our best shot, felt a lot of positive vibes and yet still couldn't even bring ourselves to look into houses/neighborhoods even once since it was BY NO MEANS a sure thing. One phrase that one of the professors Chris spoke with kept us humble and unsure.  He said that because all the candidates were so good "we could spin a spinner and be happy with the choice."

While we waited to hear back (people said it could be 3 months but the department head said he would try to tell us in 4 weeks) we would CONSTANTLY think about it. We looked up and watched some of the other candidate colloquium talks, Chris checked the website every day just in case it posted something, we'd go over our thoughts and feelings on how it went and decide, again and again, that we just didn't know.

In the meantime we were getting excited for Chris to fly out for his next interview at Mississippi State, but mostly thinking about BYU.

Just over 24 hours before he left for Mississippi he got a call from BYU from the Department Head explaining that while they were very impressed with Chris they decided to go in a different direction. I don't really know how the conversation went (Chris needs to chime in here and frankly everywhere in this post) but I believe Chris was encouraged  to re-apply in the future.

You know the feeling of a slammed door, an inch away from your face? That's what it felt like, for me. We hold no malice towards BYU. Chris, especially  is so forgiving, understanding and non-assuming. He would still love to teach there, still holds it and the CS department and professors in high regard. We both still LOVE BYU. He had a phone conversation with the guy that was his 'host' for the interview a week after we were told "no" and got some valuable feedback. Valuable feedback is kind of hard to hear sometimes but that doesn't make it less meaningful or less appreciated.

It will be interesting to find out who they hired, but we're less concerned about that now that we have a job lined up for the future. Spoiler Alert, yes we did get a job, somewhere. Next up is a detailed report of Chris' interview and experience at Mississippi State.

Valentines Day

 We all love to celebrate Valentines day around here.  Alec, Charlie and Gwen liked making valentines for their class / playgroup.  Alec asked us the night before if we were going to have any surprises for them on the table in the morning. I told him he was probably thinking of Easter and he emphatically insisted that we did it for Valentines last year.  I placated him with a noncommittal answer (I hadn't planned to do anything for them and hadn't bought any surprises).  After thinking about it, I realized we did have some stamps and bubbles for them last year. Luckily I found some extra bottles of bubbles and Chris and I made them each a valentine and sprinkled the table with mini marshmallows.  They love marshmallows.

Chris surprised me with little heart notes around the house and flowers and a treat.  I loved finding them throughout the day and was smiling all day long because of it.  I want to recognize the fact that he got out of bed early to hide the notes for me.  I noticed this sacrifice and know how hard that is for him!

I took Chris out on a fun date.  Last November my good friend Christy and I signed up for the city's "Sweetheart Snowshoe" to be held on Valentines day, as a surprise to our husbands.  We planned on getting smoothies, going snowshoeing, eating out, then coming back to one of our places for dessert.  Christy ended up getting sick last minute and they were forced to not join us.  If we didn't already have a sitter and already paid for the snowshoeing outing, it would have been SO tempting to not go and just watch a movie at home.

I'm so glad we went! We had a lot of fun even by ourselves and not knowing anyone else there.  It was dark by the time we got snowshoes on and started off and we were grateful for the headlamps we keep in the car for emergencies. The guides took us (a group of about 20 people, mostly couples) along the trials in the ravine where I go running with my friends in the spring/summer/fall.  Then they cut off the main trail and we walked across the river/stream up through the hills and trees.   At one point the guides pointed to the super steep hill behind them and told us we could try to scale up this old tow-rope path and then bushwack our way down if any of us wanted to really see what snowshoes can offer or continue along the valley trail for a bit.

Chris and I chose to scale up the huge hill (I was planning on getting some exercise during this!) with one other couple and had a lot of fun, even sweating a little! I loved tromping through the knee deep snow on the steep hill and half sliding half falling down. I finished the last bit of the descent sliding on my bum.

They had a campfire waiting for us with hot chocolate and poles ready to roast 'Bannock' a First Nations traditional bread. It was basically biscuit dough roasted on a stick over the fire.  It was kinda bland but tasted better with cinnamon and sugar sprinkled inside it.

It was a really fun evening and it makes me want to take the kids snowshoeing and go hike in some place more removed from civilization.  I've got a little family trip forming in my mind...

Quiet time

Gwen has basically not had a nap since before Christmas. She's also thrown some pretty awesome tantrums since then and been quick to fall apart. Genius me just put it together recently when I thought about how she's fallen asleep on the couch, in my arms or in the car within 5 min of being still and quiet 4 times this week....she's tired!

So today I made a big effort to have quiet time (the first attempt since before Christmas).

It went not very well. For various reasons including: poopy underwear, drawing on the coffee table, falling off a stool placed on top of another stool, repeated repeated repeated repeated requests for rope so Alec could make a lasso, Gwen needing to go potty 3 times, demands for candy, a request for jammies because Gwen is cold etc. I was interrupted in my silly attempt to read scriptures and take a quick nap myself every 4 min for over an hour.

I give up trying to maintain "quiet time" when Gwen comes into my room for the 10th time complaining of hunger and thirst. (She ate a good lunch only a few hours ago). I hold her in my arms for 1 minute trying to muster up energy to get out of bed to finish the afternoon and ...... She falls asleep.

I knew it! Now how can I get her to do it by herself in her room well before 4:00pm?

I hope she doesn't give me grief in 3 hours at bedtime. It's my night to put the kids to bed by myself.

Still pretty cute though, hey?

picture dump

I'm taking baby steps to get my life organized after a quick, stressful, and fun trip to UT for Chris' interview.  So while I feel like I should write a post detailing the trip and our thoughts/feelings about the whole experience, or unpack our suitcases and start the laundry, or unclog the sink from gross moldy leftovers I emptied out this morning (I miss disposals/garborators so much!) ...I just don't feel quite up to doing any of those things right now. I know the fever and aches and sneezing and coughing are playing a major part in my decision.  But I'll take baby steps and plug in my phone and post a bunch of cute snow pictures from the past month and then take a nap (if the kids will let me...maybe I'll put a movie on for them)

Enjoy -
Shoveling our walk back in early December after a huge snowfall.

One day we went to the hill by Alec's school to sled and at the bottom we found a cool snow tunnel someone built/dug out.

This is the field we cross to pick up Alec from school every day. Also you may notice the poor lighting/long shadows in so many of these pictures...its because daylight here in the winter is so short! Like the following picture of Alec in the field was taken at noon yet it seems more like 4 or 5pm when you think about the long shadow. Crazy.

This is the big pile of snow created by the trucks that clear the asphalt right by the school building.  The kids love to slide down on their bums after school every day.

This is proof of one of Charlie's cute fashion statements. He loves to wear his hockey helmet even if we're just going for a ride in the car.  Also he loves to wear costumes, at home and in public...doesn't matter to him  if its Halloween or not or who may see him.

Canadian Post Card

I'm sitting here trying to think of what I could post about because its been a while since I've posted.  Truth is, I haven't taken pictures of anything recently and most of our days are exactly the same. A lot of snow, a lot of messy toys, a lot of dishes, a lot of potty training and a lot of healthy eating. Well, two things stand out in my mind as noteworthy besides normal life. A night in with friends and a night out with friends.

One of my running buddies recently finished a cabin on the nearby Wizard Lake -- recently as in almost a year ago.  I haven't had a chance to see it so we were all so excited to get invited over for a little Family Home Evening party with a couple of other families.  The cabin was beautiful and sat at the edge of the water, frozen solid.  Just after Christmas they made an ice rink in front of their cabin.  He cleared the ice of snow and used an auger and pump to flood it, getting a nice smooth finish.   We all had ice skates and the scene was like a Canadian post card: 15 + people and kids skating around on a home made rink in the dark with hockey sticks, pucks, and no net; flood lights casting long shadows in the dark....a nice adult skating backward holding a hockey stick horizontally, pulling a little boy (my Alec) so he could learn how to skate ....a few little kids pushing chairs around the ice to help with stabilization giving even littler kids a ride....the littlest kids sitting on mounds of snow around the rink throwing snowballs at the skaters.  It was beautiful and surprisingly not too cold. It was warm enough to have a hot dog roast over an open fire and after warming up inside for a small stretch we ended the night with a dip in their awesome hot tub.

Wow, right? It was a pretty wonderful night and a memory I won't ever forget.  I wish I would've taken pictures but it was a little crazy getting out there before too late and I forgot my camera. Oh well, it let me just enjoy the evening.

The other fun evening we had was just this past weekend. Another good friend had some extra tickets to West Edmonton Mall's water park and had a brilliant idea to let the husbands take the sons out to the water park while the moms and the daughters (plus 1 sickish little boy) had a girls night.  We made a yummy stir-fry then painted nails and gave each other pedicures while we watched Cinderella 2 and a bit of Mary Poppins.  We treated ourselves to an all fruit smoothie....what? no chocolate at a girls night-in party?  Can this be happening? Yes and it was hard and saddening at times when I noticed the lack of it but this particular friend is not eating any junk food for 6 months (!! I think she's crazy) and that night happened to be a Hyper Healthy day for Chris and I (that means we're not eating meats, sugar, or non-whole grain) so yeah, no chocolate    The Hyper Healthy thing is part of Chris's and my New Year Resolutions.  We're going 'double H' every other day in hopes of establishing legume/vegi/fruit/whole grain heavy diet habits...and I think my friend thinks we're crazy.

Ugh, sorry....this post has way too much text and no pictures. Lame I'll try to fix that later...

Back to the Cold - Potty Training!

We enjoyed our stay in good old U.P. and the nice break from the cold.  It was fun to see cousins, family and friends.  I even got to go out to dinner with my good friend Sandra and her husband Jordan for dinner!  We ate as much Mexican food as we could stand and went to two movies in the movie theater!

Now we're back to the cold, cold, North. It is beautiful.  The kids on the drive home got so excited when we saw our first bit of snow. Its like they hadn't seen it for a whole year, instead of 2 1/2 weeks. We went sledding and ice skating before it got really cold this week. 

I love new starts and getting organized with life goals and dreaming about the year. This could be a pretty big year for us.

We've taken advantage of the inside time and started on some goals:

- Potty Training Gwen! She's doing fantastic. I think she's pretty much got the hang of it, and then she has an accident or two or three in a row and reminds me she's not superhuman, shes only 2.  She's an amazing 2 year old.  She gets to open little potty prizes on her successes and really enjoys that.

 

- Chris and I are working on forming habits. We're focusing on eating whole grains, fruits and vegetables (no sugar, refined flours, or meats) every other day. We're waking up early to exercise 5 days a week and adding in other 'focuses' every two weeks.  There's a little friendly competition going between us where the 'loser' of the week gets to plan date night the next week and put the kids to bed.

- Our 18 hours starts to finish from WA to AB gave us time to put together a new job system for the kids so they can earn money and have incentive to take responsibility to take care of themselves and help around house.  We love the time in the car to talk. I think its worth the trip back to our parents' homes for Christmas every year just so we can have the long drive talk time.

(BTW, I've back posted a bit about Christmas and Alec's birthday)

Happy Birthday, Alec!

Alec turned 6 after Christmas.  For some reason now he seems old.  Its like 5 easily rounds down to toddler behavior but 6 is like...old. Its definitely in the 'kid' category with 8 and 9 year olds. In two year he reaches the age of accountability. Man oh man, I've really got to be careful with this guy and try be the best example of everything I want him to be because pretty much from now on he can remember something for the rest of his life.  Alright, enough about me and my fears...on to the birthday boy!

We started the day off right with breakfast in bed. He was kind to us this year and requested a muffin and fruit loops! Grandma helped make his day special by getting some balloons and Angry Bird party supplies.  We invited over my Aunt and Uncle and their kids (who are fairly close to my kids ages being between 12-1) for opening presents and eating perfectly chocolate chocolate cake rainbow race car cake.

Then Grandma and Grandpa joined us for Zoo lights! Luckily the rainy weather stopped just long enough for us to enjoy a walk through the zoo at night without getting wet. Alec turned on his 'nice brother' button (it was getting kind of rusty) and used his birthday money from Grandma and Grandpa to buy lighty-up toys for him and his siblings on the way out of the zoo. Alec is a good boy and usually very kind, playful and patient with Charlie and Gwen.

 

 

 

 

The next day we met up with EV friends, the Talbots and Lewis' for some birthday fun. We met in Seattle, did lunch at a seaside bakery, and rode the Ferris Wheel! The sun peeked out at us at just the right moment on the Ferris Wheel.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Alec requested some golf for his birthday so we got a little put-putting in with friends before having a pizza, games and cupcake dinner party.

 

 

 

 

 

Its not every day you get to celebrate your birthday with your best buds... especially when you don't even live in the same country!

Alec lost his first tooth on Monday, December 17. His kindergarten teacher says she wishes she could have 60 kids just like him.  He's a good problem solver, enjoys puzzles and coloring, catches on quick at the piano, can practice any sport for hours at a time, builds awesome lego and duplo buildings, is very giving to his siblings and always shares a bite of any food with me.  He mastered keeping his head under water while kicking for 12 feet or so in November and loves to tease his siblings and parents and make people laugh.

We love you, Alec!