Better Late than never

I have gotten a little behind on updating and a lot has happened, so here it goes. We had a great Christmas. We were able to visit my family in Utah the week before. We had a great time and got to see my new baby nephew Kimball. The kids really enjoyed playing with their cousins. Zoe kept calling them her "new best friends." We really did try to teach our children the true meaning of Christmas and went over the story several times, but when you would ask Zoe who's birthday is on Christmas it was always the same answer... "Mine!"


Then of course we celebrated Zoe's 3rd birthday and my 27th birthday, which happens to be the same day. Zoe had been talking about her birthday for about a month before it came, telling every one who would listen that she is going to be 3 and that it is going to be a Hello Kitty birthday. It was really fun. I had to work the night before so I was pretty tired. I came home from work and we opened presents. Then we went to build a bear. Jaxton made a horse and Zoe made the "My Melody" bear which is Hello Kitty's sister. It is so cute, white with hot pink bunny ears. Of all the sounds she could choose, wouldn't you know, she puts in the theme song from Star Wars. It is actually pretty funny. Especially 'cause Jaxton hums along with it. Then we went to this indoor jumping place. The kids had a blast. I think Nate may have had more fun than the kids. We then stopped and got chinese food for lunch. My favorite!!! We were supposed to go to Nate's Aunt's house that evening and have appetizers and play games but the weather was horrible so we stayed home.



Nate started his last semester at school! YAY!!!!! He continues to amaze me daily. He is so smart and continues to blow his teachers away at how well he is doing. His instructor started laughing the other day while he was in the simulator. Nate got kinda nervous wondering what he did wrong. The teacher came up to him and said " I'm sorry, I just couldn't help but laugh". Nate said... " what, why?" The response... " if I didn't know better, I would have thought you were an experienced controller working in the field today." What a compliment. Way to go Nate! Nate has also started working. He does security for new eletrical power plants. He makes sure no one steals anything like the copper wiring. So he sits in his car for 12 hours at night, in the cold, by himself, with no one to talk to, and studies, watches movies or plays his ninetendo DSi. I have to give him props, his job is by far harder than mine since he has no one to talk to. Thanks for all your hard work hunny!
Our next highlight was Nate's 29th Birthday. It was on Sat the 12 and unfortunetely I had to work fri, sat, sun. So we ended up getting Texas Roadhouse takeout on friday night. Then when I got home on the morning of his birthday, he opened his presents and went to IHOP (his favorite) for breakfast.


For Valentine's I wanted to do something special so I decided to make homemade chocolates. It is something I have wanted to do for a while and valentine's was a great opportunity. So I made caramels, chocolate covered caramels, chocolate covered raisens (Nate's fav), orange truffles and almond flavored truffels both rolled in powdered sugar, butter creme filled, mint chocolate filled, cherry chocolate filled, and peanut butter cups. It was so fun. Well... kinda. My creme filling and caramels weren't turning out. Had to remake both, turns out in the higher altitude I was overcooking it by 12 degrees! Once I figured that out it was smooth sailing. Nate was very suprised and so was I at how it turned out.


And the biggest news is...! No, I'm not pregnant. The kids and I are going back to Arizona for 12 weeks. I have been working as a travel nurse and there are no contracts available in our area. So I am going to take a travel assignment at the hospital I worked at in Mesa. I am excited to see all my friends, and work in a familiar environment. Nate will end up staying in Colorado to finish school. The kids and I will stay with Nate's parents. This will be an adjustment for everyone, but we can do anything for 12 weeks!



Quick update on the kids. Zoe is amazing at putting the 24 piece puzzles together. She is completely 100% into anything princess. She loves dressing up in her costumes, wearing dresses, and is always asking for me to make her hair beautiful. She also likes to dress Jaxton up in all her jewelery, princess shoes and crowns. She has quickly moved on from hello Kitty and now loves strawberry shortcake. She loves to do our preschool lessons and is so smart. I don't think she ever stops talking (I wonder who she gets that from). She loves to sing and dance and is always making up new songs. She is so sweet and is always worring about others.
Jaxton will be 2 in march. He definitely has been testing his boundaries and is becoming more and more independent. He loves "Thomas the Train" and can spot a train anywhere. He also really likes dinosaurs and pretending to be a lion. He also likes to talk a lot and has the funniest personality. For instance he finds it extremely funny to throw dirty diapers at me. He will catch me around the corner and throw a wrapped up dirty (wet) diaper at me and bust into the most contagious gut laugh.
They both are so much fun and bring so much joy to our family. They make me laugh daily, and give the best snuggles.



We love you all and hope this message finds you well! We miss all of you we can't see as often as we would like. We think of you all often and you are all in our prayers! Have a wonderful day! Love, The Waters