The Crockett Family

Wednesday, May 5

DISNEYLAND!!!

This year's trip to Disneyland was much anticipated, but stressful with Kenny loosing his job the week before. We debated on canceling the trip, but since most of it was already paid for and the rest of the money was already set aside, we decided to go. Besides, we didn't know when the next opportunity would be to take a trip. It was hard to relax, but it was nice to finally spend some time with Kenny.
Just before we leaving we found out it was supposed to be cold and rainy most of the week in California. I was concerned the boys hoodies wouldn't be waterproof and they would be cold and wet, so Kenny ran to savers and bought a couple windbreaker jackets for the boys. Ryan's just happened to be glow-in-the-dark-orange... and he wore it most of the trip since he forgot his hoody, not my favorite look.

This trip was the first time McKay was (almost) tall enough to ride Indiana Jones. He LOVES everything about Indiana Jones and has been waiting for so long to finally go on the ride at Disneyland, only to find out he was less than an inch too short. So I pulled him off to the side and stuffed a stack of napkins into his shoes, just to make up the difference. Good thing he was wearing skater shoes and long pants because they checked to see if he was standing on the ground and not on his tip toes, and sent us on our way! He was so excited!! McKay is a bit of a dare-devil and loves all the other roller-coasters in the park, but this ride was a little too much for him. Afterward he said "It was fun, but kind of too fast and jerky. I think I will wait until I'm 6 to ride it again." Maybe next year he will be more ready.

Also, Brayden became obsessed with Monstro the whale on this trip. While walking past Storybook Land, I stopped to show him that Monstro's eye opened and closed, and how he would eat the boat as it floated past. He was FASCINATED and convinced Monstro is real. Monstro comes up daily in conversation now. He LOVES watching Pinocchio ever since, and was concerned when Krissy and Taylor went to Disneyland that Monstro would eat Julia and her boat.

A little glimpse into the future about 5 years! Look at that grin!

Our only family picture of the trip.

The older boys stayed late with me on our last night. Before heading out of town, we stopped off at the beach.

Ryan's Wolf Award!

Last month Ryan received his Wolf Advancement in Cub Scouts and moved up to the Bears Den.

But first, he had to search for a 'Slim Jim' Jerky stick with his wolf pack howling along to guide him. HILARIOUS to have Ryan search for ANYTHING! Koa finally had to come help him out. He was standing next to it SEVERAL times before he finally saw it.

His new den was assigned the skit. Since there are only 3 of them now, it was pretty short!

He earned 3 belt loops, and was given his Den Doodle name tag since he had advanced to Bears. Sure will miss Sister Hawks!!

He also earned one gold arrow point and 3 silver arrow points, requiring him to complete 10 electives for each arrow point (the first 10 are gold). Way to go Ryan!

Ryan's Birthday!

We were leaving for our post-tax-season Disneyland trip on Ryan's 9th birthday, so we did some celebrating the day before. Ryan got cards and $$ from both sets of grandparents. We were able to get a GREAT deal on a new bike for Ryan for his birthday. It was completely unexpected for him - and a great surprise! We gave it to him before school, so he took a quick test drive. He also took cookies into school to celebrate with his class that day. HAPPY BIRTHDAY RYAN!!

Our 12th Wedding Anniversary!

We celebrated our 12th Wedding Anniversary April 18th. It was on a Sunday, which is always hard to celebrate and a busy day too. We had planned to go out to dinner and a movie on Saturday, but being laid off from work the day before, neither of us was much in the mood to go out. Instead, we ended up making a nice dinner for two at home (the kids ate cereal instead) on Sunday before my Cub Scout Meeting. We were able to go on our date later when Kenny received a job offer and we were a little less stressed.

I'm so grateful for my husband. We have really gone through a lot in our 12 years, more than many couple twice that long. From the beginning we have felt it was us against the world. But it has made us closer together. We really rely on each other to get through things. I really wouldn't want to go through all of life's ups and downs with anyone else! The best is yet to come!

Laid Off - Again!

After such a long difficult tax season, we were looking forward to a break, but didn't expect one like this. The day after tax season ended, April 16, Dave (his boss) called Kenny in and told him 'it wasn't working out.' How convenient.

He was told he wasn't social enough because he came into work each day and went to his office and worked. Then went to lunch and back to his office to work. Then at the end of the day, he wanted to go home to his family. Apparently, the other co-workers stand around and visit during the day and at lunch. Sometimes in the evenings, they go to the bar and get a drink together. Kenny just goes home, so he doesn't fit in. So basically he got fired for working hard and not goofing off enough, during the BUSIEST season of the year.

He was also told he didn't stay late enough with Dave at night. Kenny is a morning person, he thinks best early in the morning and is twice as productive in the morning than in the evening. Most days Kenny was the FIRST one in the office, usually by 6:00 am or earlier and leave around 7 or 8. Everyone else would come in around 7 or 8 am. Dave would show up around 9 or 10, sometimes after noon. At 5 pm most of his co-workers left car-pooling together, Brent stayed until 8, 9 or 10. Several times, when Kenny said goodbye for the day (after 12-14 hours!!), Brent would question him leaving already. Kenny told him he would stay, but knew his quality would be better if he waited until the morning. Dave agreed and would send him home. Kenny consistently had the MOST hours per week and month, the ENTIRE tax season. When he left, he had over 180 hours of overtime worked in just 3 months - the most of ANYBODY in the office - including Dave. If you consider working 40 hours/week for 4 weeks (1 month) that's 160 hours in an average month. Kenny did 4 and a half months work in 3 months time (not to mention his own personal clients at home)! So, basically he got fired for working harder than ANYONE else in the office.

Dave went on to say how great Kenny's quality of work was and how hard of a worker he was and he would be happy to give him a great reference for future work!

WHAT?!?! WHY WOULD YOU FIRE ME THEN?

We believe, Kenny was hired only for tax season, but was told it was a full time position (and anything else he needed to hear) to make him pass up other offers he was given, and take the job. In the accounting world, people working part-time or seasonal, won't be your best quality trained people. But you can mislead someone that is into working hard all season long, then let them go the day after. An employee earns the company enough to cover their entire YEARS salary within the first quarter of the year. So if they fire you at the end of tax season, they save the money for your salary when business is slower. Then rehire someone again before tax season. It's not common, but not unheard of among small firms. Dave denied doing so. But, he never ordered business cards for Kenny (after 3 months). Dave didn't introduce Kenny to a SINGLE client. When Kenny asked about vacation time after tax season, Dave said to schedule ANYTHING he wanted (because he wouldn't be working there anymore). Kenny said as time went by, he could feel that Dave wouldn't keep him long after tax season, but didn't think it would be the DAY AFTER!

So FRUSTRATING to trust people to do what they say and they don't!!!

Kenny's Birthday and END of Tax Season!!!

This year was one of the worst tax season's yet! Kenny was working really hard, putting in lots of hours in the office - wanting to make a good impression at the new job - while also taking on more of his own clients at home, working over 80 hours a week. Not to mention his calling in YM/Scouts, trying to spend time with the family and help out with school projects, pinewood derby. There just weren't enough hours in the day. April 15th was the best day!! It's so great to celebrate Kenny's birthday and the end of tax season on the same day! His office closed early, and he came home and fell asleep. When he woke up he opened his gifts - Beatles Rockband and Just Dance for the Wii, and a new shirt. Later we went out to dinner and then ice cream with the Chaffee's. It was so nice to talk with them, it had been way too long. Megan and Monica dropped by after we got home that night and played Just Dance with us. It was a great end to a great day!! (Little did we know at the time it was also Kenny's last day of employment at Dave Preston, CPA.)

Skinny Dipping!

During tax season, my car needed some maintenance, and my brother Dave kindly volunteered to help me out! While we were at his house working on the car, the little boys were playing in the back yard with their cousins. At one point I went out to check on them and found Brayden naked. They had turned on the hose, and his diaper had gotten wet and heavy, so he took it off! He's so funny and cute!!

Jewelry Night

The 2nd Friday every month is Jewelry Night! A group of ladies from my old ward get together at Michele Gangon's to create amazing jewelry until the wee hours of the night. Michele makes and sells jewelry at boutiques and also teaches classes at Jo-Anne's. She has an incredible selection of beads and jewelry supplies. She offers up all her stuff, only charging us what it costs her to replace it. It is addicting. I love being able to make exactly what I want to go with a certain outfit, and for less than it would cost at any store. I love getting compliments on my jewelry and being able to say, "Thanks, I made it!"

Here is one of my latest creations, a bracelet watch, with interchangeable bands. LOVE IT!

Saturday, April 10

Easter Pageant, Conference, and Easter!

Easter is such a wonderful time of year! I love the spring weather and activities. But, in our house it is also Tax Season so it's difficult to do all the things we would like to do. We started a tradition of going to the Easter Pageant at the Mesa Temple each year. I thought it was important for the boys to get a better understanding of our Savior and his life and the meaning of Easter. Unfortunately, it's also within days of the April 15th deadline so Kenny is pressed for time and under a lot of stress. Last year, he met us there and ate dinner with us, but I could tell he was so overwhelmed, tired and stressed about work waiting for him at home I sent him home to finish the return and go to bed. This year he was able to pick up some Sonic for dinner and meet us at the temple just before it started, and stay for the whole thing - even if he was pretty tired! It was nice to be there as a family. We even ran into the Chaffee's after and had a great visit with some old friends.

Brayden fell asleep in the car on the way, so his hair was super crazy!

It was so incredible to have Conference and Easter on the same weekend this year! It was a great feeling! I appreciate all the talks about parenting and faith and hope. I think the boys loved eating all the candy from their Easter baskets during conference too. :) It was also an end of an era for me. I realized this was my LAST priesthood session with all 4 of my boys with ME! Next conference, Tyler will be turning 12 and going to priesthood with his dad. It's exciting and sad at the same time. How can he be that old already? Someday, they will all go to Priesthood and I'll be alone - that could be good or bad. We will see.

We didn't get a chance to dye Easter Eggs until Easter Sunday, which was also fun to do during conference. This is a tradition I never get tired of, and hope my boys don't either.

Pinewood Derby!

Ryan got to do his first official pinewood derby (Kenny helped him make a couple in years past with Tyler, but he didn't get to race them). Kenny was working late most nights and weekends, so Uncle Taylor helped Ryan cut it out. Then Ryan had to work on sanding it down smooth. He was very excited about it! We haven't had very good luck with the spray paint before. It always comes out sticky or bubbly. This year we wanted to try the skins you can buy at the scout shop and hobby stores. It works like a giant sticker tattoo, but it is very thin and rips easily. Kenny helped him with the wheels and I helped him finish his car.

As cub committee chair, I was the one to count down and start each race. Ryan did a great job and we think came in 4th place. Maybe by the time Brayden's in scouts we will be experts and he will win?