Parent Job Description

I saw this on another blog and thought it was so funny!!

POSITION :
Mom, Mommy, Mama, Ma
Dad, Daddy, Dada, Pa, Pop
JOB DESCRIPTION : Long term, team players needed, for challenging, permanent work in an often chaotic environment. Candidates must possess excellent communication and organizational skills and be willing to work variable hours, which will include evenings and weekends and frequent 24 hour shifts on call. Some overnight travel required, including trips to primitive camping sites on rainy weekends and endless sports tournaments in far away cities! Travel expenses not reimbursed. Extensive courier duties also required.
RESPONSIBILITIES :The rest of your life. Must be willing to be hated, at least temporarily, until someone needs $5. Must be willing to bite tongue repeatedly. Also, must possess the physical stamina of a pack mule and be able to go from zero to 60 mph in three seconds flat in case, this time, the screams from the backyard are not someone just crying wolf. Must be willing to face stimulating technical challenges, such as small gadget repair, mysteriously sluggish toilets and stuck zippers. Must screen phone calls, maintain calendars and coordinate production of multiple homework projects. Must have ability to plan and organize social gatherings for clients of all ages and mental outlooks. Must be willing to be indispensable one minute, an embarrassment the next. Must handle assembly and product safety testing of a half million cheap, plastic toys, and battery operated devices. Must always hope for the best but be prepared for the worst. Must assume final, complete accountability for the quality of the end product. Responsibilities also include floor maintenance and janitorial work throughout the facility.
POSSIBILITY FOR ADVANCEMENT & PROMOTION : None. Your job is to remain in the same position for years, without complaining, constantly retraining and updating your skills, so that those in your charge can ultimately surpass you.
PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE :None required unfortunately. On-the-job training offered on a continually exhausting basis.
WAGES AND COMPENSATION :Get this! You pay them! Offering frequent raises and bonuses. When you die, you give them whatever is left. The oddest thing about this reverse-salary scheme is that you actually enjoy it and wish you could only do more.
BENEFITS :While no health or dental insurance, no pension, no tuition reimbursement, no paid holidays and no stock options are offered; thisjob supplies limitless opportunities for personal growth, unconditional love, and free hugs and kisses for life if you play your cards right.

Memory Lane!

I got this from another blog and thought it would be fun! I hope you will play along. Here are the directions:

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you.

It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. Have fun!

Erika Rudolph Stephens

Erika Rudolph Stephens Beloved Wife, Mother and Grandmother HENEFER- Erika Rudolph Stephens, 82, passed away Friday, July 18, 2008, at her home surrounded by her family. She was born in Silesia, Germany, on June 26, 1926 to Herrmann and Martha Gunther Rudolph. She had a wonderful childhood sharing it with her younger brother, Manfred. She and her mother became refugees near the end of World War II and endured a long period of much suffering and sacrifice, including the loss of her beloved father. She married Manfred Fiedel in Coburg, Germany, and immigrated to America in 1955. They had three children, Angelika, Ursula, and Roland. She married Albert Johansson and they had one son, Pete. She married Edison J. Stephens in 1985 and has had 22 happy years living in Henefer. She worked for the Utah Department of Agriculture for many years where she met her husband, Edison. She loved music, gardening, stamp collecting, cooking, and spending time with her children and grandchildren. Erika was an active member of the LDS Church and served as ward organist for many years. From 1990 to 1991 she served a mission with her husband, Edison, to the San Antonio, Texas mission, where they were assigned to the German area of Fredericksburg. Her life was an example of hard work, charity, and always putting others before herself. One of her legacies was to always remember every family member's birthday with a card and a special note. She will be greatly missed. She is survived by her husband, Edison, children: Angelika (Richard-deceased) Hoyt, Ursula (Ron) Witzel, Roland (Danielle) Fiedel, and Pete Johansson. She is also survived by the Stephens sons and daughters: Marsha (Ralph) Crittenden, Saundra- deceased (Doug) Toole, Dee (Kathryn) Stephens, Kyle (Joanne) Stephens, Launa (Blaine) Blonquist, Lori (Tim) Gines, Becky (Todd) Thurston. She has 34 grandchildren, 48 great-grandchildren (three on the way), and five great-great-grandchildren (one on the way). Also surviving is a sister-in-law, Anne Rudolph. She was preceded in death by her parents; brother, Manfred; Edison's daughter, Saundra and one great-great-grandson Brigg Gines. The family would like to thank hospice nurses Marcene, Lynne, and Corey Ann (granddaughter and CNA) for their loving care of Erika during her last few weeks. Funeral services will be held Fri., July 25, 2008, at the Henefer Chapel in Henefer, UT at 1 p.m. A viewing will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. prior to the services. Interment will be at the Henefer Cemetery. In lieu of flowers please make donations to the LDS Church Missionary fund. Send condolences to the family at www.walker-mortuary.com

My Great- grandma Erika passed away Friday morning due to cancer. She was a great woman. I always loved going to visit her growing up because she spoke German to me- I took German in middle school and high school- it gave us something in common. She sent every one of us (even Bryan) a birthday card on our birthdays, you could always count on getting a card from her. Grandma Erika is actually my step-great- grandma. She married my great-grandpa Edison when I was only 3 or 4 so she is the one I remember being there. My thoughts are with Grandpa Edison, he lost his daughter (my grandma) 2 1/2 months ago and now his beloved wife. Our thoughts and prayers are with him. We love you and will miss you Grandma Erika!

Wipe Out!

One of Niah and Chloe's favorite things to do is jump on our couch (which we no longer have- I sold it on an impulse this weekend so we are couchless for now!). Chloe likes us to count for her. If you watch her fingers closely you can see her trying to count with her fingers. I happened to get Chloe hitting the back of the couch. She didn't get hurt badly, I think it mostly scared her. I think she is pretty brave for a 17 month old!

Swimming Hole

Yesterday, Bryan found this great swimming hole online so we went and tried it out. It was so great! It's in Bristol, Vermont and this place was gorgeous. The river was great for the girls to play in and there was even a few cliffs to jump off of. After swimming, we found a really good pizza place in town that had great food and a fun atmosphere. We had an awesome time. It was so much fun, we want to go back really soon!



Here's a video of Bryan jumping off of the cliff!

NYC

It's official, I just booked our hotel for our trip to NYC over Thanksgiving!! I am so excited. We are going to go to the Macy's Day Thanksgiving Parade, visit Rockefeller Center and see the big Christmas tree, go to the Statue of Liberty, and lots of other fun things! We will probably eat Thanksgiving dinner at Wendy's or McDonald's- somewhere very casual like that. I think it will be fun to try something different this year. Who knows, maybe if I save some money Bryan will let me do some shopping on Black Friday in NEW YORK CITY- how lucky is that!?! I cannot wait. This will be the first real trip (more than one night!) that we have been on with just the four of us. Now, if I can just figure out the train maps and bus routes to get us into NYC from New Jersey...

Disneyworld Trip

We had an awesome vacation!! The girls had so much fun and even Chloe loved it. It was great to go with my family. Niah loved Magic Kingdom and she met a lot of characters. The parades were so fun to watch. We took Niah on Pirates of the Carribean and I think we traumatized her, she was pretty scared of the pirates for some reason. Both girls loved the rides. We also went to Typhoon Lagoon, a Disney waterpark, I think this was Chloe and Bryan's favorite. We went to a park every day so we are all pretty worn out, but it was worth it! We watched Fourth of July fireworks at the castle and also at Hollywood Studios. It was a wonderful fireworks show! The last night on the bus back to the hotel, Niah got pretty hyper. She had the whole bus cheering with her. She'd say, "On the count of three say Hooray! One, two, three go!" The whole bus joined in. We were laughing so hard at her. She loved all the attention. We had a wonderful trip and it was sad to leave. Thanks Mom and Dad for a great time.