Changes

So it is finally sinking in... I officially gave my two weeks notice today and it was accepted graciously by my sister-in-law/boss. It is so crazy to think that in two weeks I will be starting as a Director for UBS Financial Services. I am so excited and I am learning so much through this experience! I am realizing that our value is ultimately established by ourselves and we can easily let other people under value us but it is up to us to determine our true worth - in every aspect of our lives! I am realizing how much time you spend with the people you work with and how they truly become friends and influence your life in a way that offers so much great value and worth and adds to your character to improve yourself if you let them. I am realizing how lucky I am to have been surrounded by such great people and only hope to have the same opportunity with this new position. I am also realizing how lucky I am to have such a wonderfully supportive husband and family. I wouldn't be able to realize my dreams without them! Thanks to everyone who has made me the person I am today! :)

Summer craziness

This has been a crazy couple of weeks, Abbi and Whitney and Chris had a softball tournament over the weekend of June 25th and they did awesome! They took 2nd place and got a really cool trophy and each of the girls got a medal! The girls played well and had fun and then they played in another tournament this weekend and took 2nd place again! There is a Bountiful team that is really good and beats everyone by a lot of runs, but our girls are really giving them a run for their money and this last game they almost won it but weren't quite able to pull it off. But I'm sure they'll beat them this week at their tournament this weekend!
They also got to ride in the parade and I got to watch the parade with Sammie and Justice and Amoree and Mike and their cute kids and my parents and my in-laws and it was one of the funnest parades I have ever watched!
I went to girls camp this week and had such a great time! It was so fun to spend some time with the girls and get to know them better! We have so many great girls in our ward and they are amazing and it is wonderful how our Heavenly Father helps us to be in the places we need to when we need to! We had a couple of girls in a car accident that could have been horrible for them but they were protected and watched over and walked away with only minimal scrapes and bruises!
Chris and I had our 10th anniversary yesterday! It's great that we made it 10 years and I can't wait for the next 10 plus years! I love my husband so much and am very lucky to have him in my life! I love my kids and am grateful that they are in my life and are blessed with a great dad as well!

I love summer!

So we took the kids camping this weekend and it was so fun! We had debated about going but I had some rough days on Thursday and Friday at work and really needed to get away for a little bit so when I got home and Chris and Mike had everything ready for all of us to go it was so great! We went to a place that was so pretty and we found a place that no one was very close to us and I bought some hula hoops for the kids that I found on sale at Peterson's on Friday morning and everyone had a great time! I didn't take any pictures because is couldn't remember where the camera was until I cleaned out the truck and found it but my goal this summer is to use it more and post more because I really do have cute kids and it is fun to show them off!

Sammie's Birthday and Kentucky

So for Sammie's birthday we has planned to go to Chuck-e-cheese but when we got there it was so busy that we couldn't get in so we went to plan B, we had dinner at Carl's Jr. and let the kids play at the play place then we went to Build A Bear where the workers the accomadated the unexpected Birthday party amazingly well and the kids had a great time! They really enjoyed making the bears and especially washing them and the party turned out to be a success, which was great for me!
My husband is wonderful! For my birthday he gave me the greatest present ever! He sent me to Kentucky to visit one of my best friends from High School, the wonderful Angela Bylund! We had such a great time, her kids are darling and it was so pretty there! I couldn't believe how green it was and it was great to just get away from everything and to just enjoy hanging out with such a great friend! Thanks so much to the hospitable Bylund family with some of the cutest girls in the world! I am really hoping Justice will be a good enough man that some day he could marry a Bylund girl because they truly are amazing and will be deserving of the best men ever! But what else can be expected with the mother and father they have! Thanks again Bylunds for a great time!

Perspective and my soapbox.

I know two posts in less than two months, I am on a roll! Okay not really great, but improvement from last time... So I went to "tool day" at school for the girls and I explained to 5 different classes of kids what I do and they were most excited that I get unlimited soda pop and a treat cart every day at 2:00 at my work. The whole concept of a mortgage/loan and anything to do with really went way over their cute little heads. It was kind of fun for me and brought some good perspective on my job that I have been lacking the last little while. I have been struggling a bit lately with why I do what I do and having a bit of a pity party, but having to explain it on a level that they understood made me realize that helping people get mortgages is a pretty important job and I will say this at one point I contemplated being a teacher and after today I realize it was really a good thing I didn't go that direction. I am very impressed with anyone who can handle 25-30 kids asking them a million questions and expecting 100% attention all the time. I struggle with the 4 I have all the time and I Love them! So to all teachers out there you are wonderful for doing what you do and for those of us that can't do that job thank you for doing it for us!!

Also in a side note we are heading into softball season and Chris is coaching Abbi and Whitney and it is kind of fun to have them play this year and know what they are doing! They are very cute! Sammie turns 6 next week, I can't believe my little girl is already that old! Justice is still a monster and spoiled as all get out, but that's not anything new. Love the kids!

Finally an update 6 months later...

If anyone is still out there checking our blog I am very, very sorry that I haven't updated for 6 months. I was looking at a few friends blogs and realized how pathetic I am at this but figured better to try once in a while than not at all... so here's the updates. In October we went to Disneyland and to the beach with Chris's family and I am posting some pictures of that. We had a great Christmas and all got spoiled, the kids all got bikes and webkins and life was good. Justice got balloons that stayed afloat for over a month after Christmas and he was happy because the little boy is obsessed with balloons. That was Christmas in a nut shell....
I should mention that on Halloween after we got back from Disneyland Abbi was able to get baptized by Chris! She is getting so old and I can't believe how grown up all the girls are getting!
Whitney has been playing Jr. Jazz and is on a team with all boys and has only played against 5 or 6 girls on the other teams, but she has done really well playing and holding her own with the boys! Abbi and Whitney are getting ready to start softball in the next few weeks and we are really going to put Sammie in dance starting the beginning of March. The girls are all doing really well and are keeping us busy, they are doing great in school and had a great time on Friday at their Valentine parties and I took the day off to go help in Abbi's class and clean up around the house. Justice and the girls went to Grandma Connie's house for the weekend and Chris and I went to St. George and helped my parents set up their new condo that they bought and to start lobbying for weekend and although it was a lot of work it was really nice to have some time without the kids. Otherwise we are just enjoying life here in Riverton and loving the ages of the kids, they are so fun and funny and keep us laughing all the time. I am hoping to be updating more often with what we are doing, but let's be honest I said that in August too.. I will try! And thank you to any and all of you that might still be checking on us via the blog once in a while. :)

10 years out of High School... crazy how time flies

So I just have to say that I am so glad for the blogging world and for living in Riverton. I never thought that I would say that, but living here has given me the great blessing of keeping in touch with a lot of really awesome high school friends! I also love running into people in Peterson's and Walmart, we can never go into those two places without seeing someone I know or knew from high school or grew up with! I am sort of sad to say that I didn't go to the reunion because I am sure there would have been a few people there that I would have enjoyed seeing, but mostly I am glad that I didn't pay for the expensive tickets and did just get on to the blog and update it to see my awesome friends still love and care about me! Thank you to all of those friends that made High School good and that have continued to make my life good! You are wonderful!

We are still alive!

I apologize for being such a huge slacker in updating and I do appreciate all of you who have been so kind in letting me be a slacker, but I will work on getting better!
We are finally finished with Softball for the summer and the girls did wonderful! They played really well and learned a lot. Chris has finished a good summer with his older girls, but has decided that he is ready to focus on our girls and is a great dad and has helped a lot of girls improve in their softball experiences.
Abbi just turned 8 and we are planning her baptism for late September and Whitney is turning 7 in 2 days, which she is constantly reminding me of! The girls started school in July, Sammie started Kindergarten, Whitney is in 2nd grade and Abbi is in 3rd grade! They are on C track so they are now off again for 3 weeks and they have loved the first 3 weeks, but it will be kind of nice for them to get a few more weeks of summer and we are headed to Lake Powell in 2 weeks so that will be really fun! They are doing well in school and they never cease to amaze me with how smart they are! Justice is growing up and we are working on potty training, but it is a slower process than I would like, but he is starting to get it! He is a smart kid and sometimes I think he is too smart for his own good!
We went to a barbeque with some friends from High school yesterday and it was wonderful to see everyone and catch up and remember some good times! We also went to a family reunion and it was so great to see how wonderful family is and realize that heaven will be filled with so many wonderful people! Life is good at the Opheikens household and we are continually blessed and loved and it is a great thing! Thanks again to all who have and do check our blog! We love you all!

Quick update!

I again am trying to update a little bit, sorry that I am not posting any pictures, but I figure a quick update may be better than nothing at all. I recently got a promotion at work and am now working about 60-80 hours a week, literally. I know this is so crazy right now and I am hoping to cut back but we are so busy at work right now and my biggest fear is that I don't succeed as a team lead so I am hoping that the hours will pay off at some point. My other fear is that I my kids grow up thinking that all I ever do is work so while I am working a million hours I am doing everything I can to focus on my kids when I am at home, my other reason blogging has been lowered on the list significantly.
Anyway, Abbi and Whitney are going crazy with Softball and Chris has pretty much turned his life over to softball, he is practicing or playing games almost every night. They are doing great in school and just growing up way too fast for my liking! Abbi is getting baptized in August and will be eight in July, while Whitney will be 7 in August and in 2nd grade!!! Both are amazing little girls and I am so proud of them! Sammie went to Kindergarten orientation last Friday and I can't believe that she will be in school everyday at the end of July! She is adorable and fiesty as ever, I don't worry about her going to kindergarten, I just worry about the other kids and her teacher! :)
Justice is two going on 10 and he keeps us on our toes all the time! He talks really well and lines us out right away whenever he thinks that we are out of line... we are working to correct him and let him know that he is really not the boss, but seriously, is that really possible with any spoiled 2 year old?
That is our life right now and all of our craziness! I am trying to check everyone's blogs so keep blogging and thanks to everyone who checks ours! :)

Valentine's Day by: queen of the slackers!

So I again apologize, Sunday came and went and so did we and I completely lost track of what I was supposed to be doing and I missed my brief 5 minute chance to update this beautiful blog... I do sincerely apologize and will do a good post now with some cute pictures of my funny little people! We had a good Valentine's Day and week, I was able to slip out of work for an hour on Wednesday and go to Sammie's preschool and help with her Valentine's party. It was so much fun! She has two amazing teachers that do such a great job and have amazing patience and creativity. I got to be in charge of the Valentine's bingo and the kids were so cute! Abbi and Whitney made some very cute Valentine's boxes too and had a great time at their school parties and came home with a good load of candy from their friends. Justice is finally back to being the cute little wild boy that we love and adore! He and I had a terrible bout of Strep throat last weekend and while the girls have had a mild cough that they have passed around they are all doing better too! Chris is getting into softball pretty heavy and has challenged his softball team to a contest for their fundraiser of selling braided bread and if he loses he will be having his hair colored (of their choice) for a week... if they lose he gets to choose the color of their uniforms! If anyone wants any braided bread to take pity on him please let us know!! :)
I am adding a few pictures from January of the kids when they built a snowman and in their winter gear just to add a few catching up pictures as well!
That is the latest and greatest of exciting times at the Opheikens household! Thank you all for supporting me even though I am truly a slacker! I do love looking at all of your updates and keeping up with your cute families! Take care and love you all! :)

I'm sorry I'm a slacker!

To all faithful bloggers I am apologizing for my lack of updating. I am hoping to provide a quick update and then I will really try and get on this Sunday and actually update with all of our recent events.... We had a great Christmas and were very spoiled all the way around! The kids all got scooters and clothes and webkins, their favorite pass times... Abbi and Whitney have been off track since Christmas break and just started back to school today, finally! They have been hanging out with their cousins, Allie and Kelson who have been over for babysitting and entertaining the girls and Justice in wonderful ways! I have been working an average of 20 hours of overtime in the last several weeks because of the interest rate drops and am hoping to see some money from all of my hours of labor at some point in the near future, this is also the excuse I am using for my lack of updates but I am resolving to get better again! Chris is getting back into softball and is playing Mr. Mom very well with all the OT that I have been putting in. Well, that's my quick update, as I mentioned I will try to be better. :)

Happy Birthday Justice!

Okay so I know that I have been a complete slacker on updating our Blog so I am going to take a few minutes and do it now.... so here goes. Justice turned two on Tuesday, which is so crazy and I can't believe that my baby is already so big! Chris and I filled up 30 balloons for him on the night before his birthday and when he woke up he was so excited! He loved it so much that he didn't want to open his other present of a big boy cars bed and after he opened it and realized it wasn't so exciting he tried to put the wrapping paper back on! It was pretty funny! The girls loved the balloons too! We had a great evening later on with dinner at Carl's Jr. and then came back here for cake and ice cream with the family and Justice didn't want to open presents then either but after a few minutes he finally got to the toys and thought that would be okay so he got some fun cars and trucks! I loved the clothes he got and he looks so big and adorable in them! He is so funny! I am so happy that he is part of our family and I had such a great time watching him grow up! Happy Birthday Justice!

Crazy Halloween & November is flying by!

I have to apologize that I haven't updated in over a month! Halloween was crazy at our house, Abbi was a cute little Hermione Granger (a witch from Harry Potter), Whitney was an adorable pink Cheetah, Sammie was a beautiful Ariel and Justice was a funny, cute Blue Dinosaur! They had so much fun and we got a ton of candy! I have it loaded up and probably next week I'll take one of the two huge bags to work so that my kids teeth don't completely rot out! Our camera is out of batteries at this particular moment so I will update with pictures shortly, hopefully this weekend! I am busy at work, which is good considering the economy, but I try to stay positive and Chris is being an awesome dad and husband and taking good care of us all! We are healthy for a minute, (knock on wood) and just enjoying the fall season, Football and we are abitiously going to attempt having Thanksgiving at our house with Chris's mom and step-dad and sister and her boyfriend so hopefully it will be good! I am also going to attempt to run a 5k or maybe a 2k race on Thanksgiving and I have been busy trying to run when I can. That is the current update on the Opheikens!

Fall is beautiful!

Last weekend Abbi and Chris went camping up to Monte Cristo, above Ogden canyon and Abbi took the camera and took manygeorgious pictures, these are just a few. They had a great time and had a lot of fun! Chris and I went up to the same place this weekend to go Elk Hunting and unfortunately we didn't see any Elk and we were driven out by the terrible weather and came home a day early. It is kind of nice to have a day off to be able to relax at home. Happy Hunting to all who attempt it and good luck!