It Came To Me while Driving My Car...

...That is when I realized what I want to do with my life. Besides the wife/mom business, I want to go into "I can make your yard beautiful" business. I have contacted a couple schools and am just waiting to hear back from them. Seeing as I am a stay-at-home mom, plus I work, that doesn't leave me a lot of time to leave my house and my family to go to school. BYU has a BS in Landscape Management, while I want to do the design aspect more then the management part, I think it's all ditto. I have found a school out of New Zeland which does everything online, BUT it doesn't qualify for Pell Grants. Because Andy did well on the MCAT, this time next year, we'll be moving to wherever we end up going to Med School...(Virginia! I hope!) It would be ideal to find something online, that way it doesn't matter when we move or where we end up. And then, while I am in school, I can get grant money, which will help us survive. Being in medical school, you don't get any grants because...it's a graduate school. If I can get grants, we won't be completely poor or swimming in debt up to our eyeballs. Andy's job will be to do well in school. Once I graduate, which will still be before Andy finishes everything for med school :P, I can do jobs here and there and make some money. It will be beneficial to our family and it is something I will love. Being outside, working with plants...that's right up my alley!

And it all came to me while driving my car.

Home Sweet Home

Last week was our wonderful week in Asheville. The greatest place on earth! We had such a great time! My grandparents are so amazing! We arrived at around 330 pm, and made the trek to Asheville (it's about a 2.5 hour drive from the airport) I had worn jeans and a long sleeve shirt for the plane ride. I always seem to freeze on the plane. Well, as soon as we stepped out of the airport, I regretted the choice to NOT wear a t-shirt under my long-sleeve shirt. It was HOT, and HUMID. I loved it. The drive from Charlotte to Asheville is amazing. You go from the lowlands to the highlands and the trees only get thicker. Many of my cousins had never seen so many trees before!
Saturday we spent the day getting ready for the big family BBQ. My grandmother went to the store and my Baca and my cousin, Evan, to the recycling yard to take out some boxes and such. I immediately put everyone else to work. We managed to get the house as clean as you can get a house that has 14 people staying in it! haha, Then, me, Andy, Donavan, and Tyler managed to get the patio cleaned and the yard mostly weeded. My grandpa has not been able to do as much this year because of an accident he had earlier this year with his leg. It felt great to get out there and help out as much as we could. My grandpa wants to fly Andy back out to help remodel the laundry/pantry room and their bedroom. He realized Andy is a lot like him when it comes to work...he doesn't stop until he has done all he can to do the job right. That night we had my brother, Donavan's, graduation. As graduations go....it was short and sweet, but mostly, it was "blah, blah blah"!
Sunday we had a big family BBQ after church. It was great. My Uncle Tim and Aunt Martha came from Gastonia. My Dad and step-mom were there with my Grandma Smith. It was wonderful. We played frisbee and bad mitten. And acted like a bunch of kids!
Monday, Andy had to leave back to SLC...LAME! The rest of us went to sliding rock!
(This is NOT any of us...we were lame and I forgot to bring the camera for the trip!!) It is seriously the best fun you can get for a dollar!

Tuesday we painted pottery. We didn't get to bring it home yet, it takes a week in the kiln. I painted a honey pot. It was so much fun!

Wednesday we went to Cherokee, NC. It's a Cherokee Indian Reservation. It was quite interesting and educational. I loved it. My grandma was telling us a story about her grandmother Queen, who swears we are Cherokee. Everyone thought she was crazy. My Mam Maws name was Janie Dorlaska, which is cherokee. To add to the suspicion of us being Cherokee, my cousin Tyler bought a walking stick made my a village member whose name was T. Queen. It will be hard to prove though. Like some other Native Americans, the Cherokee follow their lines through the mother. The fathers had nothing to do with the raising of their own children. Later, we had a picnic and played in the river with the ducks.

Thursday, we went swimming. Last year, Will LOVED playing in the pool, this year he didn't want to go where he couldn't touch. He clung to me like death! hahaha it was a lot of fun and we all got a little tan!

Friday was a realxing day because we had to fly home the next day. My grandma made her awesome Chicken n Dumplins and we made ice cream sundaes! It was a great night!


Being back in Asheville made me realize how much I miss being in the South. Life is just simpler there. I no longer am going to feel self-conscious about my southern accent, or about the fact that I use "Yes ma'am, No ma'am. Yes sir, No sir" or that I prefer blue grass music over every other kind of music. I prefer not to wear shoes most of the time, and I would rather walk out my door and see nothing but trees and green grass. I have accepted the fact that I am different from people here in Utah. And I am going to embrace it. I have realized that I am who I am.

"I feel no shame, I'm proud of where I came from. I was born and raised in the boondocks"

I can feel that muddy water runnin through my veins.

Andy loved it there. and I want to raise our kids there. I will live in Utah as long as I have to, but eventually, we'll be back in the boondocks.

Memorial Day...and the count down begins!

This weekend was Memorial Day. We were able to get lots of things done this weekend! Andy was able to make a new pop tab sorter for the house. RMC collects pop tabs and recycles them for $. We have to sort through them because we can only recycle the aluminum ones. He made a new sorter so when we slide the tabs down the magnet, they don't fly all over the place! Sunday we had church and got to finally do something with our calling! We had combined Relief Society/Priesthood where our group talked about the New FamilySearch site. Starting this Sunday, we will be teaching an interactive family history class. Andy and I have week 1! It'll be crazy for the first time we do the 8 week class because Will is still attached to our hip! I wonder if they'll let him go to nursery early :P On Memorial Day, we went to eat at our favorite place...MOOCHIES! We go there for all days off. Andy had the Philly Cheese Steak, as usual. I mixed things up a bit though. I got their new Hot Wing sandwich. It was like heaven, on a hoagie bun! Then we went to Babies R Us and got Will the rest of his summer clothes. We have tons of clothes for the first year...then TONS for years 2-4...but the whole 18 mo sizes we got nada. After wards, we went to Fitts Park because Andy remembered going there with his Grandma Fraser to feed the ducks...except it wasn't quite what he remembers it being. The poor ducks and muskrats lived in a creek that had the thickest film of gunk on top that I have ever seen. You couldn't go 30 feet without walking into a giant cloud of smoke. If you smoke, fine, but don't make me breathe your nasty left-overs, thanks. It was fun. Will kept saying "Uck!" (that's duck in Will tongue) It was cute, but we'll stick to Liberty Park for all our adventures.
The countdown is on for our trip to the prettiest place on the planet! 8 days to go and we'll be sittin pretty in Asheville!
Look at all that green! I miss it so much. I can't wait until we will live in a place like this. It's just...well...it's home. People are just friendlier there. It's a genuine nice too. Not a "I'll be polite to you" nice. It's green and moist and fresh. It is home to me.

We always talk about these things..

We always talk about how things will be when we get to medical school, or when we buy our house, or when Andy will just graduate stinking college!

Well, enough with the talk already! This past weekend, we made the 5-6 hour drive to Las Vegas, sans Will, and Saturday, Andy took the MCAT! I can't believe he actually has taken it! This is the test which tells us if he can get into med school or if he should take it again and wait another year. (I am praying it's the former of the two) I have never been to Southern Utah/Las Vegas. I have to be honest, I was not impressed. It's all the same three colors, brown, red and tan. Yuck. Oh, with some tumble weed and joshua trees thrown in the mix. I could never live there. Yuck! I can't imagine sending my kids to play in the back yard and there is no grass, or trees, or water. It's a fun place to visit, but I sympathize for those who must live there. I think you end up there, you don't choose to live there. And if you do, I think you should go talk to someone. We made it to Vegas around 6 and went to Wally World to get some dinner. Our room had a kitchenette, which I am pretty sure was bigger then our old kitchen at the village. (Man, I don't miss living there!) Saturday was the big day. Andy had to leave about noon to take his 4 hour test! I stayed at the hotel and chilled by the pool until I was quite crispy on the edges. Bad idea! That night we went to eat at the Planet Hollywood Buffet and walked around the strip. It was fun, but Vegas is dirty. Most people there are dirty and I was glad to get home! It was a great trip with just the two of us though! Andy's mom watched Will for the weekend. He is now spoiled rotten and will not take a nap to save his life, or mine for that matter. He grew while we were gone. I am pretty sure he's an actual toddler now! What happened to my little baby!?

Now it's back to life, and work. And crying babies who will not sleep. But, boy, am I glad I am not one of those adults who got sucked into the playground they call Vegas!

Mother's Day

Yesterday was Mother's Day. It was fabulous! Will has been a sicky this weekend. I was woken up by him cuddling with me. He's not as big into cuddling as he was when he was little. I like to take it when I can get it. We have early Church, at 9 am. I am NOT a fan. haha. But because Will has been sick, we stayed home until Sacrament (we have it last in our ward). We didn't think it was the best idea to have him playing with the other kids. While Will was taking a catnap before Church, Andy made us some Rhodes cinnamon rolls. They were divine! We had a wonderful sacrament, with great talks on mothers. I am so grateful to be a mother. I am so grateful to have Will as a son. Each night we read a page out of his "My First New Testament" book. He loves it. I always say "Ok, where is Jesus?" and he points at Jesus in the picture. After wards, we say a prayer. I make it short and sweet, he doesn't have patience for much more then that. It's very humbling to realize the innocence of a child. I pray I am being a good mother to him. I pray that he not only hears me talk of the gospel, but sees me live it. Heavenly Father trusts me with his children. I could not ask for a greater responsibility. I pray that I am loving and nurturing in the ways which Will needs. I am excited to add more children to my role of motherhood, but for now, I am just enjoying Will. This is the only time I'll have one baby around, and I am just drinking it up. I could not have asked for a better, more laid back child. I could not have asked for a better husband. He always makes me want to do better. He works so hard for us. I am excited for Father's Day!

(p.s. I am also the new owner of The Remarkable Soul of a Woman by President Uchtdorf. Andy ordered it, (over a week ago) it's just not here yet. I can't wait to read it though!)

It's actually nice at 645 am

I've started running. Yes, I know what you are all thinking? Running? Mycah? Do those words even belong together in a sentence? I have been waking up at 645 and I run. Not far. And I am usually completely out of breath about 5 seconds after I start, but it's all good. I have my earbuds in, so I can't hear people snicker as I huff by. I am thinking about starting a training program for a 5k. It's an 8 week training, but I think I will do it for like 10 weeks and do one in August. I have such a love/hate relationship with running. I have been really focusing on clearing my mind while I run. That way, the whole time I am not thinking. "I hate this. I can't breathe. This SUCKS!" haha I only think that about half the time now! I would love to do a 5k with someone, but I donno. We'll see. If you are interested, I am going to be looking at races today, so comment and let me know.

It's getting to be gardening season! I am SO excited! Green thumb over here!

It only took 6 months...

and we FINALLY have callings! Yes, that's right. We hung under the radar for 6 months before getting called in our new ward as Family History Consultants. CRAZY! I was totally not expecting that calling! I am super excited about it though. For our wedding, my Aunt Maureen and Uncle Jack gave us a Book of Remembrance. She is the family history person on the Workman side of the family. She has gotten family history done down through about the late 1300's. My grandma is a convert and we don't have a lot of history on her family, so I am excited to head down to the Family History Library downtown (I'll walk since it's SO close!) and find information on the Mullis side of the family. I also can't wait to learn more about Andy's family. His side of the family is a little bit easier because he comes from two long lines of Saints. Lucky dog! I have always been really interested in history in general. And I know this is something I am supposed to be doing!

Will is a crazy little bugger. He is running all over the place and getting into everything. Yesterday was such a gorgeous day, after nap and Church, we played outside and all he wanted was to play in the dirt and carry rocks around! Such a little boy. I love it.

In other news, I have lost 15 pounds! That's right! I did it! I am now at a reasonable weight that I am not so intimidated by saying, I need to loose 25 pounds! Talk about scary! I have developed a habit of choosing good foods and it is really sticking. When I eat junk, I get a tummy ache. I learned over the last three weeks that I LOVE CARBS! I just LOVE bread and pasta. Oh, yum! I got a new recipe for Honey Banana Bread and I can't wait to try it!