Papa's Pumpkin Patch

It's hard to believe we have been in Bismarck long enough to be posting our second round of Bismarck posts, but I guess the truth is--we have.  And it is likely that you will all see a repeat of this post every year from here on out.  Visiting the pumpkin patch is just a Hoskins Family Tradition, whatever city we are in, and Papa's is right up there with the best.  We didn't get to spend a lot of time there this year, but we did take a few pictures,

 

pick a few pumpkins, and play in the corn swimming pool with the Anderson children.

We planned to go back on another day to enjoy the many other out door attractions, but our plans were all foiled by rain and mud.  I was pretty bummed each time we planned to go and then had to cancel, but I guess there is always next year.  And the year after that.  And the year after that.

Girls' Play Group

Since Emma is such an out-going, friendly child, I think staying at home for school has been the very hardest on her.  Maddi and Spencer have always seemed content to just hang out with each other.  Emma, on the other hand, seems to always be the odd man out.  Much of the time it is of her own making; she resists their efforts to include her and often time causes contention for no good reason.  She just seems to prefer the company of those who aren't family, or immediate family anyway.  Consequently, I thought it would be a good idea to find a few little girls her age--those who had just missed the cut-off for going to kindergarten--and set up a weekly play time for her.  This has been a great idea!  And even though the group has now grown to include many younger girls, I think this play time has been a blessing for our little socialite.

Here are a few pictures of the girls in the play group having a mini picnic in Delys Tyler's backyard.

 

Spencer Soccer 2013

St Alexius to Sanford

   Today I made the big job move, and I am officially a Sanford employee.  For those who don't know, several months ago I was approached by one of my friends at church, who is the chair of Anesthesia at Sanford, and was offered a job if I was ever interested.  At first I wasn't interested.  I was very happy at my job at St Alexius.  I liked what I was doing there, I liked the people there, and they liked me.  I was starting to get quite a few request cases, and I felt at home.  However, one night while we were having dinner together with our friends from Sanford, we got to talking about our respective jobs and the differences between the two.  I realized there wasn't a lot different- except a huge discrepancy in reimbursement.  The way the group at Sanford is set up as a hybrid private group/hospital employee allows for the best of both worlds.  The base pay and benefits are similar between the two jobs, but Sanford allows for production bonuses and student loan repayment which amounts to a significant difference.  Plus, they get 10 weeks of paid vacation!

Over the past year Jamie and I have tried to be financially responsible and follow the prophet's counsel to get out of debt.  We have saved every cent and put all of our extra money into paying off student loans and toward saving for our house.  We had plans to get into a reasonable house and pay it off quickly, but the reality of housing in Bismarck saw the price of our house expand, and we had become increasingly worried about how we were going to stay on track with our plan to get out of debt.  It was almost like this job offer was a heaven send, and I felt like I couldn't pass it up.  It allowed me to basically do the same thing- only to get paid more for doing it.  After all, we did come to North Dakota to make me as much money as we could, before Obamacare ruins us all, and to get out of debt- right?  I addition, I think the landscape for healthcare in Bismarck is different now than it was when I signed on with St A's.  Medcenter One was bought out by Sanford last year and promised hundreds of millions of dollars in capital investment.  The plan is eventually to build a new hospital on the North side of town which I think could be devastating to St A's.  I just think the competitive edge has shifted to Sanford's favor, and the opportunity to jump ship is now.

So, although it has been an extremely difficult decision and transition, I feel like it is the right thing to do.  I left St A's on good terms and expressed my appreciation to them for all they have done for me.  Last week on my last day, the VP over physicians gave me a big hug and told me if I ever changed my mind, that there would always be a job for me.  I told him I came as an employee, and even though it is just one year later, I am leaving as a friend.  

I will miss all of my colleagues across the street, but I am looking forward to new aquaintences and friendships that will be made at Sanford.

Here is my official photo that will run in the paper this week for my promotional launch.

Housing Update 6: Windows and Roof

The two arched, custom windows on the main floor are still coming, but all of the rest of the windows are finally in and the shingles are on!

Grandparents Day at Highland Acres

A few days ago, our friends the Andersons had kind of an ingenious little idea.  Their children were having Grandparent's Day/Special Friend Day at school, and since they, like us, don't have a grandparent in over a thousand miles, they decided to hone in on the "special friend" part of the celebration.  In other words, they took the special friend business literally and got permission for our children to fill that role!  I'm not sure what the school teachers thought of a few extra students, but our kids sure thought their day at public school with their best friends was a blast!  Actually, I'm sure I'll hear about it from little Emma for weeks!  It's more hard on her than the others to have to stay home instead of "going and playing all day with Kelly!" And if I'm a hundred percent honest, a was a bit hard on me too.  Even though I love homeschooling, and feel certain this year it is what we are supposed to be doing, there is that little twinge of...I don't know...sadness when I remember my own public schooling experience growing up. I just don't want my kids to miss out on any quintessential life experience!  Plus, it's kind of strange to take my kids to the school they would be attending, to the very classrooms that would sit in, (Its actually kind of an exclusive little public school with only one classroom per grade.) and hang out for the day.  I shed a few tears when we got home.  Then, the next day, it was back to school in our world. 

Getting to Know You Day

At school today we incorporated a bit of a public school practice into our private school environment.  In other words, I borrowed an idea from Maddi's public school experience: the Getting to Know You Poster.  The kids and I all know each other, so in previous years this has been unnecessary, but since I decided to hire some home schooling help this year, I thought it would be a fun idea and a fun project for the kids to complete.  I also thought it would be good for them to stand up and give a little presentation on themselves--the closest thing to a public speaking assignment they have got so far.  We intended to do it a little earlier in the year, but we finally got to it today.  Here are all of the kids with their posters.

And here is a shot of the kiddos with their much beloved tutor.  Her name is Becky Geitzen and she is recently home from BYI-Idaho.  On December 18th--right on my birthday--she will leave on a mission to Mexico for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  Until then; however, she is everything from my kids tutor to my personal assistant.  And I don't know how I would be doing it without her.  It is so wonderful to just say, "I'm going to run Mason to preschool and a few other errands.  Can you just finish up reading with Emma and then give the older kids their spelling tests!"  Beautiful!  It is especially nice because little Emma is such a challenge to work with.  She would rather work with Becky than with me any day, so its a good arrangement.  I will be lost when she leaves in December, but we are so excited for her.  

Oh, one more thing I forgot to mention--the kids are simply loving the Spanish lessons she is giving them while she is here! She is a Spanish Education Major and has got my little ninos running around saying all sorts of things I don't understand!

Sunday Clothes II

Field Trip to the Zoo

Thought we would invite some friends and take a field trip today to the zoo animal feeding.  As part of the experience the zoo worker also let the kids pet some of the animals.  Score!

Well, as you can see, our zoo pass has been a good investment.

Housing Progress 5: Intial Walk Through

A few days ago we met onsite at our home with all of our sub contractors and did what our builder calls the initial walk through.  We went over all of the cabinetry, all of the plumbing, and all of the electrical.  It was overwhelming in some ways, but also completely awesome!  There's just something very custom indeed about being able to put outlets and recessed lights any where your heart desires!  And believe me, we did.  Nick put in at least five outlets that were strictly for Christmas lights, and I went a little overboard adding in- cabinet lighting in my butler's pantry and library, not to mention the sconces--up the stairwells, around our master suite, on either side of the mantels!  So much fun!  I think the laugh of the day came when we got to the issue of my panic room/HHOM though.  (That's Hoskins Hall of Memories for anyone who doesn't know.)  They all think we're a little...errr....eccentric as it is, but when I told the security company that I wanted a panic button installed in that room, we all had a good chuckle.  I don't care though.  I want this house to be ours from top to bottom, quirks and paranoia and all. I've always said I'm not building this house for anyone else (what builders call the re-sale factor).  It is ours, and I want it to be ours.  C-U-S-T-O-M.  That's what building is all about.

As such, here are a few shots of the house on our walk through day.

And here is how the kids entertained themselves for the three hours we were meeting with the subs.  For once I told them to just have a ball, clothes and all, and they didn't need to be asked twice!