jbam life: November 2008

Monday, November 10, 2008

SYTYCD Workshop

A little while ago I went to a "So You Think You Can Dance" Workshop where the 4 Utah dancers taught dance combinations and performed. I am posting the hip hop dance that Gev taught--so Adro or anyone else can learn it if they'd like. The girl to the left is Kelly, and she made it to Vegas before she was cut.

And if you're really up for a challenge...you can learn Gev's solo.

Matt taught a modern combination, and Chelsea barely taught anything. My favorite combination was a lyrical piece that Thayne taught to "When a Man Loves a Woman", although I didn't get it recorded, because I was busy dancing!!

HAPPY 30th BIRTHDAY JES!!!!

I don't know if you view this blog, but we are thinking of you, missing you, and hope that you move back soon. We hope you get minutes on your phone soon, too. We love you!!!

"Little Mya"

We have welcomed "Little Mya" into our family as an effort to help give Mya more control in her life. As you can see, she looks just like her mom, Mya! (who chose her baby's name, of course)

Mya is being an excellent mother as she teaches Little Mya the rules that will keep her healthy and safe. She also encourages Little Mya to obey, so she will feel happy and have more fun. I am hoping this will satisfy her need to be in charge of something. So far it is working wonders!

Riding the Front Runner Train

Brian has been studying a lot for his upcoming LSAT, so I thought it would be fun to have a family outing. We rode the Front Runner train downtown, transferred to the Trax train, and walked a block to Trolley Square for some activities they were having to celebrate their 100th Anniversary. It was cold and dark by the time we got there, and most of the activities were over, so I guess we just spent 3 hours of travel time to go to Macaroni Grill and back. Oh well, it was still nice to all be together.

Classic Fun Center 11/6

On "Family Night" we went skating with Mya and Ana. Mya hasn't skated for awhile, and is usually a little scared to go out by herself, but this time she did excellent! Check out the video of Mya holding her balance even with her hands in her pockets. :)

The skating rink allows strollers on the floor, so we pushed Ana for awhile. She LOVES the blackouts, and bright lights.

When she became bored of sitting, she rode on the horse merry go round at least 10 times. She would start on one horse, go around a few times and then say, "All done!". This meant that she was ready to switch to the next horse. She made sure that she alternated through the yellow, white, and black horses before the time was up. When another kid tried to get on with her, she started yelling, "No, no, no, no--Off!". I guess the kid was not aware that Ana required all 3 horses.

Mya really enjoyed playing air hockey against Brian. She is actually really coordinated, and pretty good at it!

Monday, November 3, 2008

Castleheights Playground

There is a huge castle playground in Fruit Heights where we took the girls. We played on the swings, slides, tire swing (which brought back lots of bric-a-brac memories, Jes), went exploring through the forest by the creek, and played a few tetherball games until we were worn out. It was lots of fun, and the most beautiful day!

Happy Halloween!

Since it was too warm for the girl's to wear their lion (Mya) and Unicorn (Ana) costumes, they decided on fairy and ballerina. We went trick or treating through the neighborhood, and ended with a trunk or treat. The girls have TONS of candy, and it was lots of fun!

Congrats Brian!

Way to go on finishing up your first semester with excellent grades, while still being a terrific husband and father. We are proud of you for all of your determination and hard work. Keep it up!

You are doing excellent! Way to go on writing some awesome legal papers and for making lots of intelligent comments to get the professors' eyes on you. Keep studying hard. We are proud of you!

We are on our way! We have rented out the house, sold the Neon, and are ready to leave the morning of Aug 14th. Thank you Adrienne for agreeing to take the journey with us. We plan to arrive the night of 8/15.

Brian's last day of work is Aug. 12th and his co-workers are sure going to miss him! Thank you for being such a hard-working provider for our family. We are VERY grateful. Our plan is to start driving to WI on the weekend of 8/15.

Brian's plan is to excell at Marquette so he can transfer after year one to a better ranked school like- Cornell, Georgetown, Northwestern, UW Madison, etc. He'd still like to go study with Marquette in Germany for a month before he transfers. We'll see!

Cornell is full for this year's class, but they encouraged Brian to re-apply next year as a transfer student. We are proud of you Brian!!

FYI- Seat deposits for those accepted to various law schools are due the first week of June, so the waitlisters are hoping to hear something during the second week of June.

for making the "Wait List" at SMU and the "Reserve List" at Cornell. Yes, Cornell is an IVY LEAGUE school in New York, and the #7 Law School in the nation. Way to go Brian!

for making the "Wait List" at the U of UT. We should have a decision by mid May from them.

We received word from SMU today that they are extending their acceptance decisions (instead of 4/30) to May 11th. Ugh! Since Brian hasn't been accepted or rejected yet-- this just extends the wait!!

Also, a deposit has been made to hold Brian's scholarship and "spot" at Marquette, just in case!

Marquette wants you and they are offering an $11k scholarship per year if you say yes!

...on getting your first acceptance to law school! Brian was offered a $15k scholarship per year to Florida Coastal--but we don't think we will end up there! We are proud of you!

..on completing your law school applications. I know it was tons of work, and your Personal Statement was awesome!! Now we just wait a couple months, so--no need to be stressed anymore!

...on being such a wonderful and loving husband. I appreciate all that you do for us, and I couldn't make it without you. Thank you and know that I love you so much!

...on an exceptional LSAT score! The studying paid off, and you are on your way.We are hoping to move within the next 6 months (we just have no idea where that will be!).

...for studying so hard, and completing the LSAT without running out of time. We know you did great and we are so proud of you! Scores should be in by January 5th.

...on getting the prestigious position as Deputy Clerk at the UT Federal Courthouse. Way to go smarty pants!

BS Healthcare Administration

We are so proud of you!

The Latest

12/10 Mya and Ana were sealed to us in the Salt Lake Temple which allows them to be a part of our family through the eternities. Thank you to those who were there with us, to witness such a special blessing.
12/8 Mya and Ana officially became Waymans as we swore in and officially accepted the responsibility of being their parents. Thank you to all those who attended the ceremony!
Mya and Ana will be sealed to us in the SLC temple on 12/10 at 7:20pm. Hope you can make it!
11/3 was the pre-trial to enter any success of the mediation to the judge. Grandma withdrew her petition as promised, and the final adoption date was set. BOTH GIRLS WILL BE OFFICIALLY (LEGALLY) ADOPTED AT 11:30AM ON MONDAY 12/8. I should know the sealing date shortly. You are all invited to the adoption at the courthouse, and to the eternal sealing!
The 10/30 mediation went well. Grandma agreed to withdraw her petition for a promise of visitation if agreed upon by us and Mya's counselor. Since Utah is a closed adoption state, the visitation cannot be court ordered, and therefore any visitation that we allow post adoption is considered "good will".
I have completed 2 meetings with very different types of Post Adoption Specialists. The first was with a DCFS therapist who gave me tips on how to develop the skills I need to better help Mya with her PTS and her permanency, attachment, and control issues. I learned that most of this needs to be resolved before the child turns 5 because of the personality traits and brain functions that children will have in place by then. I have my work cut out for me, but I know that it will benefit us so much in the long run! The second meeting was regarding programs available after adoption and paperwork. I found out that both girls will receive new birth certificates and Social Security Cards with their new names, etc. on them. I had no idea, but that's pretty neat. For those of you who don't know this already, we have chosen the names Mya Grace and Ana Elise. Although Mya prefers Mya Papaya--we already had to turn in their new names for the adoption petition, so it's too late now!
10/6 Despite our petition, the judge called for another mediation because grandma's attorney said he was confident we could figure everything out in mediation, and not need to go to trial. Mediation was scheduled for 10/30. Then we will report at a pre-trial AGAIN on 11/3.
10/2 Our petition for adoption was submitted to the court
9/29 This was supposed to be the Pre-trial to discuss how the mediation went. Since there was no mediation to report on, judge scheduled pre-trial again for 10/6. GAL requested that we go ahead and petition for the adoption before 9/6. She said that if there are 2 petitions regarding the same thing, the judge only has to respond to one. We are hoping she will choose our adoption petition over Grandma's guardianship petition, so that way we can proceed and have this finalized ASAP. We are hoping to have an adoption date within a week or so.
9/24 Mediation Scheduled. Neither Grandma nor her Attny show up.
9/15 The girls are now legally free. Almost there!

jbam life