Pretty good, but that is as far as it gets.

Since graduation on December 12 2008, I have been looking for a job. After weeks of looking my great sis-in-law Amy helped me get a job at Cottonwood Treatment Center in early March. After working there for a few weeks, I was offered a customer service job at Verizon Wireless. Six days after working at Verizon I was offered a job at Zions Bank and I took it. Things were really looking up.

With my recent luck my mind wandered back to an interview I had in November with the Federal Government. I interviewed and then applied for 14 positions to work at Hill Air Force Base. I was instructed I would be updated on these positions in April or May. I was beginning to think that I would be offered one of these jobs as well. But no; in my gmail account today were 14 messages saying thanks, but no thanks.

So yes, things are pretty good. I am working... in an office... at a desk.... in a bank... I have a foot in the door, but for now, that is as far as it gets.

Never Too Old

Hilary was in town last week and we had a lot of fun hanging out. To start off the fun Hilary, Amy, and I had a slumber party in my basement. We went to Target first to buy treats and ended up with too much. We stayed up late watching movies and slept in the next day, except for Amy who got up to be with her hubby, it was his birthday after all. I felt 10 years younger for the weekend. Aaron watched the girls a lot so I could spend time with my sisters. I guess you can never be too old to have a sleepover.

Parkin's Peak

This year we were lucky enough to be invited to spend New Year's Eve and Day up at Glade and Lynn's cabin. The cabin is part of a gated community that really likes to celebrate. Every year they stack up a ton of wood and light up a huge bonfire that lasts for hours. It was a lot of fun to see. Glade, Lynn, and I went to check it out while Emily stayed at the cabin with Kyle and the girls.

The next day the rest of the crew came up. We had a lot of fun snowmobiling, tubing, playing games, chatting, and watching the Running Utes kick Alabama's trash.

On the way home Jason's keys were locked in his Nissan with the engine running. It was a long ordeal but we eventually got through it. Todd and I were lucky enough to spend a good while in eight below weather waiting for the locksmith to come and save the day.

I had some fun with my camera and took a few fun pictures. Todd and I experimented with a HDR picture. HDR stands for high dynamic range. It is a method of capturing a more vivid picture by combining three or more pictures taken of the same image at different exposure levels. The first picture below shows my very first attempt.

This is Ashlyn back at home and happy to be in her own bed.

The girls enjoying the new carpet in the basement.

Christmas Day

Christmas was a lot of fun this year. Maddie got her Sleeping Beauty dress just like she asked for. Ashlyn received a Tinkerbell dress with wings. The girls were so excited. As Ashlyn was opening up her dress, I asked her what she got. She enthusiastically replied "a rag!" She was even happier when she realized it was a dress.

The girls also got some bubble wrap to pop. What kid wouldn't want that? The girls also received a few movies to add to their collection.

Emily was not spared. She also had a gift she was very excited to receive. She had the most excited face of all. She got a fancy mandoline from Costco. Too bad the thing did not work so good. Costco does have a great return policy and refunded our purchase even though we had opened and used it.

Christmas Party with Santa

Every Christmas season the Silotti family gets together to celebrate. We have a breakfast potluck and the kids under 12 get to sit on Santa's lap and tell him what they want for Christmas.

Maddie this year was all for it, but Ashlyn remained a little hesitant. I guess we will see what happens next year.

Ashlyn waiting for her breakfast.

Even though Ashlyn was terrified to sit on Santa's lap, she was still polite enough to thank him for the gift he brought her.

Maddie is telling Santa about the Sleeping Beauty Dress she wants for Christmas

This is a picture of the girls before church a few weeks ago.

Jason and Natalie's Wedding

Jason and Natalie were married on December 13th. As we were getting up in the morning in preparation for the day, Jason called me in a panic about not being able to get a video he had been preparing to work. He asked for help. There was little I could help him do over the phone and asked him to bring his laptop with him. After the ceremony and a few pictures I grabbed the laptop from his car, ran to Taco Bell for a quick snack (I do have priorities), and then home to see what I could do.

Long story short, I was able to copy Jason's file over to my computer and get it working so he had his video to play at the reception.

Another great thing about the day was that I was able to bring my new camera with me. For graduation, Emily and I decided that it would be appropriate to purchase a nice camera for us to be able to take some decent looking pictures with. We bought a Nikon D60 from Costco the day before Thanksgiving and I had to wait until I graduated to use it. How nice of Jason to get married the very next day and give me a wonderful opportunity to use the camera.

I did not take many pictures of the day but here are a few. The pictures have been reduced in quality as to save space. Unfortunately I did not get any good shots of the bride and the groom.

Emily and her Grandma Harker.

Hilary.

Amy being her creative and crafty self.

Jason with a Top Hat.

Grandpa Parkin dancing with Ashlyn.

Maddie giving her famous scowl.

Ashlyn's Second Birthday

On November 25th we celebrated Ashlyn's second birthday. Emily has noticed her take a big interest in dolls lately so we bought her a doll and a stroller to push it around it. We also got a variety of outfits for the doll so that Ashlyn could change her.


Several Months ago we purchased the straight to DVD movie "Tinkerbell." Ashlyn absolutely adores that movie and talks about it all of the time so Emily bought her a Tinkerbell Cake.


It was fun to meet with the family and have them wish Ashlyn a happy birthday.

Graduation

On December 12, 2008, I graduated with a Bachelor's Degree from Weber State University in Business Administration / Finance. It took me five semesters to achieve this goal after I decided to go back to school. My sweetheart Emily was a major support and I could not have done it without her. My parents, along with Glade and Lynn, did a fair amount of babysitting. I also have to thank the TV. I think it was my kids' favorite baby sitter of all. I couldn't have done it without you.

Holly Hall's Wedding

Emily's Aunt Sherry called and asked if I would be willing to take pictures of Holly and her groom on November 22, 2008 at the Bountiful Temple after they were wed. I was somewhat hesitant as I have had no real education or experience and I know how important weddings are. I told Sherry that if she promised to keep her expectations low, I would do it.

I spent the next few weeks learning everything I could about taking wedding pictures in an outdoor setting. I researched everything from library books to different internet sites. My sister Marci lent me her Nikon D60 to shoot the pictures with.

The day came and I did my best. Not every shot was a winner, but for my first wedding with a new camera, I think I did a pretty good job. Below are some of my favorites.

Things to come

I have had another busy week. Last Saturday I was given the opportunity to take pictures of Holli and her husband after their wedding at the Bountiful Temple. Tuesday I gave a presentation in school and later celebrated Ashlyn's second birthday. Emily purchased a Tinkerbell Cake and Ash just loved it. Thursday was of course Thanksgiving and it was a great day.

I intend to post pictures of Ash's birthday party when I find the camera and I also plan to post some of the pictures of Holly's wedding after she and Nate give me permission to do so. Check back soon.

I, like Amy, also took advantage of some black Friday sales though I missed out on the fabric. I bought an upconvert dvd player and Guitar Hero Aerosmith. I will probably take Guitar Hero back though.

A New Christmas List

Today, out of the blue, as we were getting ready for church, Maddie announced that for Christmas she wants a Sleeping Beauty dress and a light saber so that she can kill people. I had a good laugh after hearing her say that. She promptly told me that it was not nice to laugh. At times it amazes me at how attentive she is.

To my knowledge Maddie has not yet seen Star Wars, but has interacted with a few of her Jedi cousins during Halloween. I am not yet sure what Santa will bring Maddie, but I look forward to hearing more of her requests as time goes by.

Halloween

We had a good time on Halloween. The week was busy for me with school and all but it was nice to end it with a bit of fun. Emily had to work which was too bad. I took a few pictures of the kids though they were not too cooperative. Ashlyn sure made a good reaper though as evidenced through this photo.

Way too Busy

I am way too busy. Before Fall semester started, I was actually thinking that this semester should be pretty easy. I only have nine credit hours. Not too bad, right? Wrong! Two of my classes are killing me. I have both papers and presentations due every week. This does not include general homework or tests.

The study would be bad enough, but I am busy at home too. As most of you know, our basement flooded a few weeks ago. A lot has had to be be done so far to repair and there is still more to do. Emily and I decided we ought to get some painting and such done while the carpet is out. That has kept me busy.

The good news is that I did really well on my Investments test today. This particular test makes up 30 percent of my grade. I have been studying like crazy the last few days waking up at 5:30 and staying up late. My crazy teacher forgot to allow scratch paper to be made available to us during the computerized test. The testing center lady would not give in and give me paper, however, she eventually allowed me to write on the desk. I scored a 92 percent which, when compared to the class average in the 70's, is pretty good.

A funny thing happened at Weber State this week. As I was leaving class on Thursday I saw a lot of policemen around. I walked up to one and asked what was going on. He informed me that during the night somebody removed every toilet seat from every bathroom throughout the entire campus. I said "you have got to be kidding me. They stole all of them?" The policeman said "yep, and we have nothing to go on."

The summer has come to an end.

My three weeks off from school are about to end. It has been nice though. Emily and I got some more done in the kitchen. We put in the counter top, new range hood, painted some of the walls, and some of the cabinets. We still have a way to go but the end is in sight.


On Monday Glade was kind enough to take us to Pine View for some fun. Here are a few pictures from the occasion.

Summer Fun

This summer has been busy for our family. I have been in school for the last eleven weeks and have only one more to go before the summer semester ends. The best part of it is that I will have a three week break before the fall semester starts. Although this summer has been busy for me, we have still had some fun. Below are some pictures of the activities we have done.

Here Maddie and Ashlyn are playing with their cousin Aidan

Maddie and Ashlyn before we go to church

This is Maddie at the going away party for Hilary and Zeb.
Maddie sure misses them.

Here Ashlyn is trying to lull her grief with a tasty smore.
I think it is working.

This is Maddie at Mueller Park with her cousins. They found weeds and flowers and put them in their hair. It was really cute.
This is Maddie that same night. A parent can only keep their child clean so long when in the woods.
Ashlyn follows Maddie's example closely.
Ashlyn on the Frontrunner. We went to the Gateway for some fun.
Maddie and Grandpa came with us.
We did not bring swimsuits to play in the fountain, but that did not stop the girls.
We stopped at the moon and took a picture of Earth in the background. Isn't the Clarke Planitarium great?
Maddie got to ride a pony at the Days of 47 carnival in Bountiful City Park.
Ashlyn got a ride too. I asked the helper the cost of riding a pony. She told me I was too heavy. I told her it would be for the kids. She stated the price of four tickets for two times around. I agreed as long as we could switch riders halfway through. She went for it.
Maddie and Ashlyn sharing a cotton candy.
Ashlyn on the 24'th of July after face planting at the bottom of the water slide. She loved every second of it.
Maddie had some fun too, though after a couple of turns she was happy just to sit in the shade.