First Day Of School...

Classes at BYU started today. And for the first time in a long time, I am missing out on the first day of school. I did take the semester that Zac and I got married off (Fall 2005), but aside from that, I have been going to school since September of 1989. Granted that was nursery school, but it was still school. But 1989? That's 20 years, people!!!!!

So how am I feeling? I thought perhaps I would be a little sad or feel the slightest tinge of jealousy when Zac headed out the door this morning. But do I? NOPE! I even went back and looked at this post that I wrote right after a favorite professor of mine informed me that I should eventually pursue a Master's degree. I'm still flattered, but there is NO WAY IN HECK I am considering any more school in the near future. I was also glad to read that post and realize that I have no regrets about my life so far. I'm glad I invested as much time into my education as I did, but I am also thrilled to be a stay-at-home mom with my two adorable children.

Now back to that "Zac going to school" thing. Some of you may have recalled this:

and are now thinking, "Um...didn't he graduate?"

Answer: Yes. Sort of. Let me explain.

BYU does this nifty thing where they allow you to "walk" even if you aren't done with school yet. We took advantage of this courtesy for a few reasons...mainly because both Savannah and I were graduating and we thought it would be easy on our families if they could attend one graduation instead of having to come back out here four months later for another. And I guess my biggest reason was to get a picture of Zac, Logan, and myself all in caps and gowns. True story: we didn't get that picture. I was a little sad. But I digress...

So Zac walked and still had to take 3 credits to get his diploma. And he took those credits this summer. So technically, he was finished with school 2 weeks ago. However, we are still here. "Why?" you ask?

Several reasons, actually. The main one being that Zac doesn't have a job or an internship with any major companies yet. And we don't feel comfortable just moving to LA or Seattle and HOPING he gets a job. So we thought about our options a prayed a lot and came to the conclusion that we need to be here still. So after that decision was made, things started clearing up even more for us. Zac's financial aid package covers his tuition...and then some. So we figured by staying here and Zac going to school (which isn't going to cost us anything), not only does Zac get to keep his current job, but he gets to keep his account and computer access at the animation lab. Which means he gets to keep building his portfolio and working with some great programs (that would cost us upwards of $5,000 if we got them at home). And the other bonus about Zac remaining a student is that recruiters will be coming to him for internship and job positions instead of the other way around.

So that's why we're still here and Zac is still in school. And I am not. And that is fantastic!!!

Sunday Snapshot...

Logan and Kaylee getting ready for bed. So precious.

Also, I'm trying to win a blog giveaway. It's for some high-value coupons at ThriftyNorthwestMom. I really love this site and all the free stuff she tells you about. I even got 24 free digital prints at Walgreens because of one of her posts. It was great...I sent them from my computer to a Walgreens in New York and had my parents pick them up so now they have some new hard copies of their favorite grandbabies :-)

Happy Accidents...

This weekend we had Stake Conference and while we didn't plan on attending the two-hour session this morning (with a million other people in an extremely uncomfortable place with a crazy two-year-old for two hours), I had every intention of attending the adult session last night with Zac. However, this is what went down...

3:19 p.m.- Texted wonderful sister-in-law, Rosie, who is in town visiting from New York and asked if she wanted to spend some quality time with her nephew while we went to church. She gladly obliged.

3:40 p.m.- While doing laundry, asked several neighbors where and when I could expect the session to be held since the only info on our RS calendar for August 29th was "Stake Conference.". The general consensus was 7-9 at the Provo Tabernacle.

6:00 p.m.- Made dinner and got dressed while Zac picked Rosie up from Liz's.

6:43 p.m.- Left Logan in the capable hands of his "Aunt Losie" and headed out the door with Kaylee.

6:58 p.m.- Parked in the parking garage we THOUGHT was the free one behind the tabernacle. Turns out it was neither free NOR behind the tabernacle.

7:09 p.m.- After circling the block and realizing we had no idea where the building was, headed back to the car and called best buddy Chris to confirm the location of the tabernacle. We were three block too far north.

7:11 p.m.- Realized neither one of us had the $2 cash it required to get out of the garage. Zac prepared to walk the 6 blocks to our bank to use the ATM. I was close to a breakdown. Then a very kind and wonderful gentleman overheard us talking about what to do to get out of the garage and gave us the $2. He said it was because our daughter was cute.

7:14 p.m.- Exited the garage and drove to the one that was in fact free and behind the tabernacle.

7:18 p.m.- Arrived at the tabernacle doors behind a family dressed in t-shirts and shorts (suspicious clue #1) and ahead of a good thirty other people (suspicious clue #2...18 minutes late is late even for Mormons).

7:19 p.m.- Zac forgot to leave his huge glass of diet Pepsi in the car, so he took it back. Meanwhile, I waited just inside the doors, surrounded by a lot of middle-aged men in black pants and white shirts with no ties (suspicious clue #3).

7:20 p.m.- A ton of middle-aged women came pouring out of the bathroom in all black. Something years of experience had taught me as "concert black." (Suspicious clue #4.)

7:21 p.m.- Finally asked one of the concert-attired guys, "So...funny question...what are you here for tonight?" He responded with a smile and, "What are YOU here for tonight?" I said, "The adult session of the Provo Stake conference?" And he chuckled while handing me two tickets (free tickets, but still...the gesture was appreciated) to the concert being performed at 7:30.

7:23 p.m.- Walked out to meet Zac on his way back from the car to inform him that the event being held at the tabernacle was, in fact, the Utah South Area adult choir's summer concert entitled "The Lullaby of Broadway," and not Stake Conference.

7:24 p.m.- Shrugged our shoulders and walked in to find our seats and proceeded to enjoy an hour and a half of Broadway numbers.

Sure, it wasn't Stake Conference, but we had a nice little spontaneous date night. Hooray for "Happy Accidents."

Rants and Raves...

Dear BYU Financial Aid department,
You suck. I have never experienced more problems with financial aid processing than I have with you over the last 4 months with Zac's stuff. First it was the incompetence of someone there who entered the aid year as 2006-2007 instead of 2008-2009. That delayed us getting loan money for THREE MONTHS. We had to take out a short-term loan form BYU that wasn't paid until 3 weeks AFTER it was due. Not our fault, YOURS. And now we have been presented with $5,000 of Stafford Loan money which we will gladly accept, but we are also entitled to receive $2,500 in Grant money (according to the FEDERAL WEBSITE!) and yet there is no mention of a Pell Grant anywhere on YOUR website. My frustrations with you do not end there, but since I find myself becoming increasingly agitated just writing about this, I am going to stop before I throw something.
-Sarah

Dear Costco,
Thanks for making shopping fun and economical. Even if you do take way more of my money than I intend to let you take every time I enter your glorious threshold.
-Sarah

Dear People that always park in our spot,
I know we don't have assigned parking spots in out complex, but I think it is generally assumed that you park in front of your own door. Not OUR door that is seven parking spots down from yours. I don't care if you have a huge truck that you find impossible to park in the right spot instead of the left spot and when all the other left spots are taken you feel entitled to ours. YOU AREN'T. IT'S OURS. And I'm only writing this to let off some steam so I don't key the side of your vehicle next time I have to park anywhere but MY spot in front of MY door.
-Sarah

Dear Cafe Rio,
Thank you for existing and making the thought of eating at your fine establishment tomorrow reason to make it through this last week.
-Sarah

Dear BYU College of Fine Arts and Communications,
Please hire Zac for the job he applied for. Our whole family would be eternally grateful if he had a job that did not require him to work until 1:00 a.m. every night of the week.
-The Steele Family

Dear Creator of our bodies who came up with the concept of breastfeeding,
Why? I'm soooo over it.
-Sarah

Dear Kaylee,
I love you. And I really appreciate the fact that you slept from midnight until 7:30 this morning...only to wake up and eat and go back to sleep until 9! And even though I know posting about it will cause it to never happen again, I just wanted to let you know that I enjoyed seven hours of uninterrupted sleep. I love you!
Love, Mommy

Dear Logan,
I love you. Thanks for collaborating with your sister and sleeping in until 8:30 this morning. And a BIG thank you for sleeping in your own bed the whole time! I "lu you much!"
Love, Mommy.

Dear Creators of High School Musicals 1 and 2,
I find your movies entertaining. And I really appreciate how much my son loves the numbers "Getcha Head in the Game" and "I Don't Dance." So thank you for airing both movies on Disney Channel the other night so I could record them and get good quality copies on DVD. We watch those two "music videos" about 10 times a day and they are catchy enough that I don't hate them :-)
-Sarah

Dear BYU Webmasters,
Why is your website in a continual state of retardedness? I swear it is next to impossible to navigate, not to mention full of broken links and script errors that have prevented me from being able to do a million things, such as waiving the INSANELY expensive student health plan. Please stop sucking.
-Sarah

Dear Spell-check,
"Retardedness" should be a word.
-"Srah"

Dear US Post Office,
Thank you for getting packages from my parents in a timely fashion this week. And for delivering Kaylee's birth announcements promptly last week. You have escaped a rant this time around. But beware...you've been known to screw up in the past and I will not hold back when you do so again.
-Sarah Steele
1115 E 1140 S #4

Dear Inventor of the Teleporter,
Hurry up and invent a teleporter already. I would very much like a device that would transport me and my children instantaneously to various parts of the country (i.e. New York, San Antonio, Disney Land, etc). Oh, and if you could make it free to use, that would be friggin' sweet. Thanks in advance.
-Sarah

Dear Zac,
I love you.
Love, Whife.

Dear Disney Channel,
Thanks for keeping Logan entertained so I could write this. But I feel your magic has worn off for now. See you again around nap time.
-Sarah

Fun In The Sun...

It is freaking hot today. Our outdoor thermometer says 96. And that's in the shade. So we decided our family activity for the day would be to wash the car. We have the car wash soap, so we took that and some other car washing supplies over to our old apartment complex that has a car wash area equipped with hoses and a vacuum. The water was nice and cold so it was a fun little family activity...and productive to boot!


Zac hosing down the Sube



Logan being such a good helper! (Before we started chasing him with the hose...)



And Kaylee watching all of the activities from the comfort of her car seat and a shady tree.

Sunday Snapshot and Stats...

First order of business, the pictures:




I tried to snap one of Logan kissing Kaylee, but I got the before and after.

Second order of business, Miss K's 2 week check-up. Babies are expected to be back to their birth weight by two weeks. This ensures they are eating enough and you're producing enough, etc. Well, if you recall, she was 7 lbs 4 oz. And at her doctor's appointment, she was a whopping 8 lbs 7 oz!!! That put her into the 55th percentile for weight. She also measured 21 inches in length which put her in the 70th percentile. And her head is 37.5 cm, in the 80th percentile. Whereas Logan's ginormous head was 41 cm at 2 weeks and put him above the 100th percentile.

In other baby news, I think Kaylee is having the same dairy issues Logan did. When I eat/drink dairy, she screams her head off after eating. Logan seemed most affected (effected? I don't remember...) after I would eat chocolate, but dairy did a number on his tummy, too. Knowing that, I gave up chocolate for the last three days, seeing if it would help Kaylee at all. It didn't. So now I'm off dairy for the next three days and we'll see how that goes. It won't be easy for me, I'll tell you that. I love cheese and yogurt. And recently, we've been having milkshakes for dessert. And though I can't have the shakes without a Lactaid pill, I will still miss them dearly. Oh well. I guess a happy baby will be worth it.

Sunday Snapshot...

I have a feeling this is what most of my Sunday Snapshots are going to look like for a while...