December 2009 Update

In November we started "park days" again twice a week since the weather is now bearable to be outside. Well, maybe not today...it's raining and only 42 degrees. But most days it's in the 60's and sunny, perfect park weather!

I was asked to speak in church on November 8th. I guess it was my turn, since it's been about 4 years since the last time. I was given the subject of the Sacrament, and thanks to a couple of good talks from some General Authorities I came up with a pretty good talk, or so I was told. Thank goodness that's over with for a few more years!

During that same weekend, my sis-in-law Melissa and I made my new kitchen curtains. They turned out marvelous...thanks to her sewing expertise!

Some friends and I decided that since there are so many "Twilight" fans in our ward, that we would make a big deal out of the "Twilight Saga: New Moon" movie coming out. I hosted a New Moon party on November 19th with lots of good food, complete with Bella's birthday cake from the movie (Thanks Morgan!)... Then it was off to the theater where we waited in line for 2 1/2 hours for the midnight showing (27 of us got our tickets 2 months in advance). It was fun and hectic at the same time, but definitely worth it. The movie was awesome!!! I've now seen it 3 times. And I'm still totally Team Edward!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Rhett's sister Melissa & family came from Austin on Wednesday. On Thanksgiving Day we went to Sea World. We had been told that it's pretty empty on Thanksgiving, so that makes it the perfect day to go. No crowds or waiting in line. It was awesome! We saw the 4 holiday shows, rode some rides, then had lunch at Whataburger on the way home. The rest of the afternoon we leisurely prepared our Thanksgiving meal. A fried turkey, potatoes & gravy, corn, a new recipe for sweet potatoes, stuffing, rolls, and of course pies! The only problem we encountered was forgetting the cranberry salad from the fridge. We ended up having it the next day. What a way to spend a day with family! Later that night Rhett's brother Robert & family came from Houston and we all had an enjoyable weekend full of shopping, movies, temple attendance, visiting with friends, and yummy food...well, the kids may think differently about the food part.

Austin is getting so big! When did he grow up? All of a sudden I have a grown up boy who is too big to pick up, generally kind to his brothers, and is a big help around the house. He is especially helpful with Jackson when I need an extra set of hands. He is thoroughly enjoying Cub Scouts and loves learning. Last month he earned several awards. We've been trying to work on things for Family Home Evening that will help him to accomplish certain requirements, especially his religious knot.

Logan is finally catching on to the concept of reading. It’s been a slow start (compared to Austin…which is what we have to compare with). He is enjoying school and you can tell he loves learning. He’s constantly saying “that’s a popcorn word” (words they are learning that “pop up” in daily reading). He loves to do projects and especially loves to draw. He’s very good at it too! This is a picture of Santa & his sleigh that Logan drew.

In November all the Kinder classes had “Nursery Rhyme Day” and the kids went to school dressed like their favorite Nursery Rhyme character. Logan picked Little Jack Horner. I dressed him in a pair of sweat pants that doubled as knickers, a white t-shirt that said “What a good boy am I” and then he had a pie tin and a fake plum that Rhett drilled a hole in so it would fit on his thumb. The Kindergarteners got to walk around the halls in a “parade” for all the other grades.

Carson is eager to learn about whatever Austin & Logan are doing. He likes to be involved in “homework” whenever possible. He is such a sweet boy and has been picking many flowers for me lately from our yard…mostly weeds, but occasionally a rose from the one bush that survived when we ripped out a bunch of old tangled bushes behind our house.

Jackson now has 5 teeth. He got a new one on Thanksgiving Day, just in time for turkey…and another one showed up just yesterday. I’m hopeful that these teeth are the reason for him not sleeping well lately and that it ends soon. We have caught him a handful of times standing on his own and definitely see signs that he’ll be walking soon. He’ll be 11 months old tomorrow…he’s growing up so fast! Where did my baby go? I finally finished painting the crib and Rhett got it set up in Carson’s room. Last week I bought the new bedding to match the color scheme I’m going for in there. One of these days I need to get some energy to paint in there.

We look forward to a wonderful holiday season and time spent with family and friends. My mom will be here from December 23rd until January 10th. My brother Brian & his family will be here from December 27th-31st. Can’t wait to have fun with them. Some of us are going to see “The Lion King” at the Majestic Theatre for Mom’s birthday on the 30th.

That’s all for this month. Have a marvelous holiday season!
Love – Rhett, Maren, Austin, Logan, Carson & Jackson

November 2009 Update

FINALLY we have a new family picture! Jackson is 10 months old now and wasn't even born in the last one...so enjoy!

With the help of an extra paycheck in October, we were finally able to purchase a new dining room set. Thanks to Sam's Club we got an awesome table for an awesome price. We were able to put away the plastic folding table that we've been using for the past several months, and are now enjoying enough room for everyone at the table PLUS food...what a concept! I also found a lazy susan at Target that matches almost perfectly. Love it!!!



Last week I participated in my first ever real live Pedicure/Manicure. As a Primary Presidency, we decided to treat ourselves after pulling off yet another marvelous Primary Sacrament Meeting Program. We went to a day spa and had such a great time relaxing and enjoying ourselves. What a treat!

Austin is doing great in school. He was picked by his teacher last year to be a "breakfast buddy" this year, which means he helps out in the cafeteria every morning helping the kids who eat breakfast at school. He has turned out to be quite responsible lately and it's fun seeing him "grow up" a bit. Austin is still having issues with piano lessons. Not sure if he really wants to do it or not. When he works at it he's really great! It's an ongoing struggle...

Logan, on the other hand, has been nothing but trouble at school since the beginning. He has had "folder marks" for bad behavior almost as often as "stamps" for good behavior. The problems are varied...hitting, calling names, not listening/paying attention, playing around, not participating, etc. You name it! We have talked with his teacher several times and can't figure out what's going on. Logan even had a chat with the Principal last week! We have talked with him extensively, taken favorite things away, bribed him, threatened him with other consequences, but nothing seems to work. Last week I tried just making him sit in a corner of my room by himself with the door closed...solitary confinement you could say. Well, he promptly fell asleep! He's definitely a "just leave me alone" kind of person. He would love to just sit & draw/color all day long (which he's VERY good at by the way). If only life would just leave him alone!!!

Carson is a ball of energy and wants to be involved in everything. I guess he picked up part of my personality where "I don't want to miss anything". He loves to play with anyone, anywhere, and hates going to bed at night. He is a big helper with Jackson...sometimes too helpful. Jackson will be playing with his toys in another room and Carson will pick him up, bring him to me and say "Jackson wants you". Lucky me! Not only do I have a baby crawling around after me all day long, but when he's not, he's under my feet anyway because Carson placed him there!

Jackson is getting to be pretty independent lately. He learned how to crawl up the stairs, and is very fast too! Thank goodness for the baby gate. He has also learned that there's lots of fun stuff in the kitchen and bathroom cabinets and loves to pull everything out. After he broke a glass vase the other day I decided it was time to buy the cabinet locks. What would we do without all these awesome baby-proof products??? He also surprised us on Halloween night by climbing up onto the chair in the family room. What fun is in store for me!

We ended up being over an hour late to our ward Trunk or Treat (due to some mis-communication), so the kids only got candy from 3 cars. We invited our friends (Clayton's) over afterward and Mike & Rhett took the kids Trick-or-Treating while Mindy & I hung out with the babies and handed out candy at our house. That's my kind of Halloween!

My friend took a bunch of new pictures of us in our front yard and I think they turned out great...thanks Maggie!!! I finally have pictures to put in the blank frames that are hanging on my living room wall...if only I could actually get them printed now.

Well, I guess that's all from us this month. We hope you all have a wonderful Holiday season...and we hope to hear from you!

Love - Rhett, Maren, Austin, Logan, Carson & Jackson

October 2009 Update

So, I was planning on having a brand new Zimmerman Family picture to post on here today, but then Mother Nature decided to send a little extreme weather our way and it ruined our outdoor photo session we were going to have with my friend Maggie. Hopefully next time…………..

Well, the painting has begun! The kitchen has been painted a beautiful butter-yellow, the ½ bath now has light lavender paint (in honor of my Mom's favorite color...purple) instead of nasty wallpaper, and the office, living and family rooms have the freshest coat of paint…a light buttercream ivory (very subtle, but beautiful). All of this painting is due to my wonderful sis-in-law Melissa for her nudging, persistence, and one heck of a talent with a paint roller! We slaved away over the last month whenever she would visit and were able to accomplish a lot this past weekend while listening to General Conference. I also bought a new mirror for the 1/2 bath and took out the old medicine cabinet...what an improvement! The only rooms left to paint on the main level now are the Master Bedroom/bathroom and the laundry room/pantry. It’s so nice to finally walk into a house with a little personality. It’s amazing what a coat of paint can do!

Rhett started playing Fall league softball on our ward team. He has adjusted his work schedule around the weekly games so that he can attend…and get a little exercise. We love to go watch him play, especially since he’s so good at it. The boys also like that there is a sand volleyball court to play in while we’re there. It’s definitely “bath time” when we get home from one of those.

I am keeping busy with life. I look around at all the projects I could work on, but a lot of days it just ends up that only the necessities (cook, clean, etc.) get done and I haven’t gotten very far with some things I’d like to do. One of these days I’ll just leave everything else in the dust (literally) and just do something because I want to! A couple of friends and I are planning a party for November 19th. All you “Twilight” fans out there know that “New Moon” comes out in theatres at midnight on 11/19-11/20. Well, we decided to party beforehand, then off to the midnight showing. We recently purchased tickets for 27 of us. Sounds like a lot of fun to me!

Austin started taking piano lessons again. He’s not sure if he likes it or not and he’s told me a few times since last year that he wants to quit. We keep telling him that it’s such a wonderful talent to have, but it doesn’t seem to help. I told him we’d try one more year with a new teacher this time. When we moved to our new house it just happened to be up the street from a friend of mine who teaches piano. How convenient! Austin just walks or hops on his bike for piano now. No more hauling all the kids into the car and then finding something to do with all of them for ½ hour. Thanks Camille!

Logan continues to enjoy Kindergarten. He has had a rough start however. The school’s projected numbers for Kinder classes ended up being lower than expected, so 2 weeks into school Logan’s class was dissolved and the kids were split up through the other 6 Kindergarten classes. He has also been getting multiple “folder marks” (various problems at school). The majority of them had to do with another boy in his class that was having problems with self-control. I guess he liked to hit and push people, and after so many times Logan just decided to take things into his own hands. However, since the parents of the other boy and the Principal have been involved, things have been much better.

Carson has been turned to the DARK SIDE!!! His oldest brother’s love for all things super-heroes has turned Carson into a superhero monster. He can’t go to bed at night or wake up without thinking which superhero he’s going to play first. Superman and Spiderman are the culprits most often. Although if it ended there it would be okay…but when he has to dress up like “Clark Klent” (as he says it) or Peter Parker it can get a little interesting. At that point it involves an extra layer of clothing, glasses, jackets, ties, cameras, having his cape tucked into his pants, etc. It’s quite a production. It drives me nuts (quite literally) some days, but kids will be kids, right? I hope it’s just a phase, and a short one at that…but I don’t think it will be. Austin started loving Superheroes when he was 3 and now that he’s 9 he loves them just as much.

Jackson is now 9 months old (20 lbs. 9 oz. and 28 inches) and is into everything!!! Paper is his most favorite thing to find lying around (thanks to his brothers who love to draw Superman badges all day long…aaahhh!!!!). He’s also a big fan of taking the books off our wall of built-in shelves. Jackson is a pro crawler now, even up on his hands and feet sometimes when he’s on the hard tile. This past Sunday (10/4) he finally figured out how to climb the stairs. NOOOOOO!!! Rhett found him just chillin’ on the 3rd step. Luckily since then he hasn’t been back to try again. Just yesterday he learned how to walk with the use of his push toy. I’m not ready for him to grow up so fast! He is just a bundle of fun and such a joy to have in our family…and soooo super CUTE!!!

We’re glad that the weather is cooling off a little bit. It was such a long, hot summer! Thank goodness our house has much better A/C and ducting than our old house. Our bills in this house over the summer were the same or less than our little house. Nice! We’re looking forward to fall and the holidays. It is such a wonderful time to reflect on the year and plan for the year to come. My mom will be visiting with us this year for Christmas and possibly my brother & his family also. It will be the first time in 5 years that we’ve spent Christmas with any of my family. My mom will be here from 12/23 until 1/10. We already have tickets to see Broadway’s “The Lion King” on her birthday, so that will be lots of fun.

That’s all from us this month. We hope all is well for you & your families…

Love – Rhett, Maren, Austin, Logan, Carson & Jackson

September 2009 Update

My how time flies…September is upon us and what have we accomplished this month? How does this sound?…

First of all I must mention that we are working on getting an updated family picture taken…since Jackson is still in utero in the last one. Patience is a virtue!

Austin started 4th grade and has the same teacher from last year…no he did not flunk!!! Mrs. Smith moved up to 4th grade, and Austin was hoping to get her again. His class is small (only 17) and they meet in one of the portables in back of the school. They had an exciting moment last week when one of the A/C units in their building decided to die and went out with a bang…and lots of smoke! They evacuated and spent the remainder of the day in the Speech classroom inside the main building.

Logan started Kindergarten and is LOVING IT!!! He was assigned the same class as his friend (and sometimes enemy) Alex Clayton. We warned the teacher that they are like siblings…they get along well, and they fight well too! Logan got Austin’s Kinder teacher, Mrs. Buell (except she was Ms. Jordan back then). Logan’s first day of school started with him crying, then being fine while I took him to class. He had a great day, until they tried putting him on the wrong bus in the afternoon. Luckily Austin was being a VERY good big brother and told the bus driver that Logan wasn’t on the bus. Together they went & found him (crying with a teacher) and between the 2 bus drivers, the Principal and Austin they got him onto the correct bus. What a crazy ending to the first day of Kindergarten!!!

Carson doesn’t quite know what to think about school starting again. Part of him wants to go to school, part of him loves not having to share any toys all day long, and part of him longs for his brothers to play with. Sometimes he’ll ask “Mom, where’s Logan & Austin?” I tell him they’re at school and he says “Oh”, and that’s the end of that. Last week he decided to try flying from the couch to the chair, and ended up landing on the corner of the coffee table with his eye instead. Thanks to our friend Alex (previously mentioned) and his recent multiple trips to the E.R., we followed their treatment regimen and after cleaning the cut very well (and waiting for the blood to stop oozing) we stuck it back together with some super glue gel. Don’t put anything on it & wait for the glue to come off on its own. Works like a charm!!!

Jackson has hit many milestones this past month…actually the last week! He is now crawling (more like an Army crawl), pulling himself up to standing, getting to a sitting position from crawling or laying down, and most recently started clapping. Jackson also decided that he didn’t like his binky anymore, so that was easy to get rid of. He is now 8 months old (on the 2nd), has 2 teeth and continues to be the best baby ever!!!

For anyone wondering, Addie (our dog) is completely recovered from being hit by a car in July. Her broken pelvis must have healed nicely, because she is running & jumping around like never before.

As for Rhett and I, we are plugging along. Rhett’s contract position at AT&T came to an end in July, but lucky for us he was given a 6-month extension. They are in a hiring freeze and are trying to be able to hire him permanently. Keep your fingers crossed! I am enjoying only having 2 kids at home now that school is in session. I am finally getting the last boxes unpacked (5 kitchen ones just yesterday) and getting pictures/clocks/décor hung on the walls. I am hoping to start painting this weekend, as I finally know what I want to do with some rooms. We have 3020 square feet of blank walls, so it’s quite overwhelming. I’m starting one room at a time though, so don’t expect any miracles!

We hope you all have a wonderful month & as always we love hearing from you!

Love – Rhett, Maren, Austin, Logan, Carson, Jackson & Addie

August 2009 Update

Here’s our month in a nutshell…or maybe something a bit bigger.

In early July we held the Zimmerman Reunion for the first time in Texas. It was decided since 3 of the Zimmerman kids live here it was the best place. We had a great week together of fun, sun and SHOPPING!!!

On July 12th Logan turned 5!!! We celebrated the day with family (Grandma & Grandpa Z. and Aunt Vicki & kids were still here). I made yet another “Thomas” cake. He had a great day! He is so excited to start school on August 24th. Kindergarten…look out!

On July 17th, Rhett and I celebrated our 11-year Wedding Anniversary. Has it really been that long? It seems just like yesterday…but then I look at all the places we’ve lived and 4 kids later and realize yes, it has been that long. We celebrated by going out on a date (which NEVER happens). We went to a matinee of “Harry Potter”, then to dinner. Jackson accompanied us, so it wasn’t as romantic as it could have been. Oh, well!

Austin finished up the swim team season in style by being awarded the 7-8 year old “Most Improved” trophy at the end-of-year party. He did very well at Championships…enough to make it to the “All Stars” meet on July 18th. He did awesome in both of his events. His medley relay team took 1st place (Austin swam the freestyle leg), Austin took 4th place in his individual Butterfly event, and our “Shockwaves” team took 2nd place overall out of 24 teams. Congrats!!! On July 21st Austin turned 9. We celebrated by going mini-golfing, then enjoying more cake & ice cream. “Spiderman” was the theme for his day. Austin will be in 4th grade this year…I can’t believe how grown up he is.

On July 22nd we noticed that our dog Addie was missing from our backyard. She had been escaping a lot since moving here, although we thought that problem was fixed when Rhett replaced the missing fence boards. This time she dug her way out! She was missing all day…and into the next day. We spent time driving around the neighborhood calling for her and asking neighbors about her. One neighbor said he saw a brown dog get hit by a car & killed at the intersection near our house... we were hoping it wasn’t her. On July 23rd about mid-day I had a “feeling” to check in her doghouse, and there she was! I could tell she was hurt, so I took her to the vet. He confirmed that her injuries were consistent with getting hit by a car. She must have been hit, then crawled back to our yard & into her doghouse where she knew she was safe. She has a broken pelvis and several scrapes & bruises. Poor dog! Her fracture is one that will heal on its own, so she’s just recuperating with the equivalent of dog Ibuprofen…and she’s doing really well. She now walks with almost no limp and seems to be pretty much back to normal. Thank goodness!!!

Carson’s newest accomplishment is…being potty trained!!! Hallelujuah! He just started a week ago, and is already a pro. Definitely the easiest one to train so far. What a big boy my 3-year old is becoming. I don’t know what I’m going to do when it’s just Carson & Jackson home with me when school starts…how will it be?

Jackson started “talking” this week. He started babbling a lot and pretty much only says “da-da-da”. I took him to the Dr. for his 6-month check up recently and he is now 26 ½ inches and 17 lbs. 10 oz. He is always so happy to just sit & play. He definitely lets me get a lot done. I’ve actually been getting some scrapbooking done since I’m further behind than ever!

That’s about all from us this month. Hopefully all our friends & family are doing as well. We love to hear from you!

Love – Rhett, Maren, Austin, Logan, Carson & Jackson

July 2009 Update

This month has flown by…let me see if I can remember the highlights.

We moved into our new house on June 1st…thanks to many helpers!!! I was actually sitting at a swim meet with the kids while Rhett and lots of friends were moving us in. We couldn’t have done it without all their help. Thanks!!!

On June 6th I got the surprise of a lifetime. My mom showed up at my door unannounced! It was the most marvelous birthday gift I could have ever received as I was turning the big 35 the next day. She was required to take 1 week off at work, so she decided it was a perfect time to come to Texas. She called my friend Mindy a couple of weeks before and let her in on the secret…also so that she could get a ride from the airport. I had been cleaning all morning (with no shower I might add) and looked less than desirable. It took me a few seconds of bewilderment before I realized that yes, it really was her and that she had come at a perfect time. That’s when I cried. I needed a lot of help to get my house put together. We had a wonderful week with her here.

The kids and I have been spending our time at the pool for swim team practice (every morning starting at 8am). Austin continues to improve and has been enjoying competing at the swim meets. He has been on the relay teams for both the medley and freestyle relays for each meet this season as well as competing in his individual events. Now it’s on to championships next week. He loves to swim!

Logan on the other hand never quite got to the point of being able to swim in a meet…although last week he finally got the confidence he needed and now knows that he can do it. He can successfully swim ½ the length of the pool without holding onto a lane rope or the side of the pool. Yay!!! We haven’t had him try the whole length yet. His coach agreed that he made marvelous progress this year and will be rarin’ to go next season.

Carson turned 3 on June 2nd. He has been playing “dress up” a lot lately. He loves to put on Rhett or Austin’s clothes, hats AND shoes and wander around the house. One of his favorite things since Austin became a Cub Scout is to “dress up” like a scout, carry Austin’s Wolf book around, and sing songs from Pack Meetings. His favorite is “I’ve got the Cub Scout Spirit up in my head…” Most of the time he improvises on the scout kerchief and usually ends up using my dish rags. Oh, to have the mind of a 3 year old again…

Jackson is now 6 months old. He just started sitting up unsupported a few days ago and is such a joy. He loves to be held, to roll around on the floor, play in the exersaucer, or just to sit and look out the window. I sometimes sit him in the Bumbo chair in front of the patio door and he just looks and looks. I recently started him on baby cereal, veggies and fruits and he loves to devour them. He’s growing up so quick! At Christmastime there were 6 pregnant ladies in our ward. We recently got together for a luncheon and took some cute pics of the babies...see below. Jackson is at the bottom and clockwise we have Luke, Austin, Ashton, Andelyn and Aliya. I obviously didn't get the memo about naming babies with an A!

We look forward to the next couple of weeks with Rhett’s family coming to town for the Zimmerman reunion. We have lots of fun activities planned and hope the weather lets us enjoy them all. It’s been in the 100’s already with a heat index up to 110. We are in a drought and can only water 1 day per week, so the lawn is looking pretty rough. Hopefully we’ll get a break in the heat and be able to enjoy all the fun we’ll have with Grandpa, Grandma, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, Brothers and Sisters.

Hope you all have a great month.
Love – Rhett, Maren, Austin, Logan, Carson & Jackson

June 2009 Update

Well…it’s over!!!

We closed on our house sale on Friday (5/29) and closed on Monday (6/1) on our new home. Thanks SOOOOOOO much to our wonderful friends the Clayton family who graciously took us in and gave us a roof over our heads for a few days. We also found a temporary home for our dog Addie with our friends the Peterson family, where she hung out with 2 Huskies for a few days. Thanks so much to them also!!!

Monday was a busy day with Rhett’s work, closing on our home, moving, and a swim meet! We split the responsibilities and I took the kids to the swim meet while Rhett and some friends from our ward moved us into our house. Thanks to all those who helped!!! Our friend Mike wondered how we fit that much stuff into our little house. I guess that just goes to show you what a good organizer I can be!

We are currently living in chaos, but adjusting to the change wonderfully. I put 12 boxes of food storage in my pantry and still had oodles of room. Yay!!! I didn’t have a pantry before. The boys LOVE the playroom (so do I) and now spend time enjoying all their toys that have been in storage for a few months. Austin is in Lego heaven.

Austin is once again enjoying the Shockwaves Swim Team and is becoming one of the top swimmers in his age group in Butterfly and Freestyle. He is excited for school to be out this week and looks forward to spending the summer in our new place.

I registered Logan for the Shockwaves this year also, thinking that I’d rather NOT have 3 non-swimmers at the pool this summer. He had second thoughts about it at first, but is now doing quite well. Not good enough yet to be entered in a meet, but hopefully soon.

Carson celebrated his 3rd Birthday on Tuesday 6/2. We bought him a house!…and a remote control car. He spent the day running around in the new house climbing on all the “mountains” of boxes. We had pizza (thanks to another wonderful friend, Tiffany) and cake & ice cream of course. I look forward to seeing "Wicked" for my birthday next week!

Jackson turned 5 months old on Tuesday also. He is rolling over back & forth now and can’t keep things out of his mouth no matter what it is…clothes, bibs, fingers, thumb, toys. He continues to be the best baby ever and is almost always happy & smiling. What a blessing he is to our family.

That’s about all from us. We are so glad that we were able to sell our home quickly and find something we love. I look forward to decorating the new place…and of course organizing! We are blessed to have wonderful friends & family and we love you all. Have a great month.

I'll post some pictures as soon as I can figure out how to do it on our new computer! Stay tuned...

Love – Rhett, Maren, Austin, Logan, Carson & Jackson

May 2009 Update

Exciting news!!! We sold our house! Yay!!! Also, our offer was accepted on the house we want to buy, so it's happening! We have already had both home inspections done and we're looking at closing on both at the end of May or first of June. It will be so nice to have some room to breathe! Our 1084 square feet has been good for us, but the 3020 square feet will be so nice...especially the playroom!!! It's officially my favorite room in the new house.

On 4/30 (Thursday) Austin was VICTORIOUS!!!...well, almost. It was his first ever Cub Scout Pinewood Derby. He has a "hot wheels" car that he wanted his to look like, so we ended up with a Dodge Challenger. It turned out looking great! Austin was 1st in ALL of his heats, even beating Jonathan's car 3 times...but alas, it was not meant to be, for in the final race to determine 1st & 2nd place, Austin & Jonathan's cars were neck and neck until the very end when Jonathan's car won by a nose. Austin was awarded a very special trophy made by Brother Christensen, who had helped the boys cut & shape their cars. Austin thinks his yellow Corvette trophy is pretty cool! In other news...Austin took the Math TAKS test last week & thinks he did pretty good. Also, he'll be starting swim team again in a couple of weeks. Fun!

Logan finally got his missing vaccinations and is ready to be a Kindergartener. He is especially excited to ride the bus with Austin. We just found out that when we move they will ride the same bus as their friends Aimee & Alex. I'm excited that the bus stop is practically in front of our new house. Here it is at the end of the street.

Carson is definitely in the "Terrible Two's". Lately I have found muddy footprints through most of the house, Vaseline smeared in too many places to count (including himself), the vacuum cord ripped out of the machine, toothbrushes used to clean the bathroom floor, juice box/candy & popsicle wrappers strewn about, Cricut keypad overlay cut with scissors (and it wasn't even mine!). This is just to name a few of his recent doings. He definitely keeps me on my toes...he's just too cute for his own good.

Jackson at 4 months now is growing up so fast! He smiles & laughs all the time now and is attempting to roll over. He is the best baby ever and I just can't get enough of him. He'll definitely have lots of friends as there have been 5 babies born since him in our ward.

We look forward to having the Zimmerman Family Reunion in Texas this year. Fun times ahead!

That's all for now. We hope y'all have a great month...we'll be busy packing!
Love - Rhett, Maren, Austin, Logan, Carson & Jackson

April 2009 Update

Well, the time has come. Our house has a "for sale" sign in the front yard, the pictures have been taken, and our house will officially be on MLS soon. How exciting!!! It's been the most stressful time of my whole life getting our house to this point, but now it's just a matter of keeping it clean with 4 boys in the house...wish me luck!

We have (or will have) all of our extra "stuff" in storage as of this weekend. Our storage unit is full, but thanks to a wonderful friend with an empty 24 foot trailer, we are making it happen. Our realtor said the #1 priority with getting the house ready to "show" is replacing all the sheetrock in the garage ceiling. It has pieces that are falling down, patches where Rhett fell through, etc. so it's got to go! I have a "before" picture below. Rod & Melissa (Rhett's sis) are coming this weekend (for General Conference really) and we're going to tear out the old ceiling & re-sheetrock the entire thing. This week we have concentrated on getting stuff to storage and I have been painting. We always had too much furniture in our office to paint in there, so now that we're moving out I finally got the opportunity to paint it. It's now Jackson's room/office. I think it turned out great! See picture below.

Some other exciting news is that we found a house we want to buy. It's still in our ward, and even Austin's school boundaries. It's 4 sides red brick, 3020 square feet, 4 spacious bedrooms (all with walk-in closets), 2.5 baths, 2 car garage, living AND family rooms, dining room AND eat-in kitchen, covered patio, and best of all a PLAY ROOM!!! I'm already in heaven. Hopefully the sale of our house will go quickly and the other seller will accept our offer. Wish us even more luck! Any of you who have been to our current house know that this would be a HUGE improvement.

Not much news on the boys. I registered Logan for Kindergarten the other day, only to find out he's missing 2 vaccinations!

Jackson is 3 months old today!!! We think he's following in Carson's footsteps and getting a tooth. Austin & Logan didn't get teeth until 10 and 9 months respectively. Carson on the other hand popped one out at 3 months. Jackson has all the classic signs of teething...drooling, runny nose, etc. so we'll see. I'm not fond of nursing babies with teeth. Ouch! A fun thing is that he has begun smiling a lot and even laughing. He's such a happy baby!

We were fortunate to be able to buy some much needed new appliances at the Sears "friends & family night" earlier this week (with Rhett's employee discount, plus 10% off). We needed a new dishwasher to complete the "new appliances" part of selling our house. We also bought a new dryer. We've had a new washer for a few years, but our dryer has been dying a slow death for awhile. We've had it for 10 years and it was at least 20 years old when we got it, so I think it's time for it to go.

That's about all the fun & exciting news from us. Hopefully we'll have great news on the sale of our house & purchase of the other to share next month!

Love- Rhett, Maren, Austin, Logan, Carson & Jackson

March 2009

Welcome Spring!!!

This past month for me has been full of Spring Cleaning (sort of). We are planning on putting our house up on the market soon, so I have been going through every nook & cranny of our little house packing up stuff to put in storage so our house doesn’t look so “full” when we show it. For those of you who have been to our house, you know how “full” it is…especially the office!!! The plan is that we’ll sell our house & be able to buy something bigger for our growing family. Right now we’re pretty much bursting at the seams in our 1086 square feet. We of course have a lot of projects that need to be done in the next few weeks, so it will be a busy time…especially with Rhett working 2 jobs. He will be buying new blinds for the office & bedroom windows tonight, so that’s a start.

Austin is nervous about the TAKS test tomorrow. They have been preparing for it in class though and I’m sure he’ll do great. This is the reading test…the math test is next month. For those of you who don’t know what this is, it is the Texas Assessment of Knowledge & Skills test that is required in our state to be passed in order to move on to the next grade level. Wish Austin luck!!! He is trying to decide whether he likes taking piano lessons or not. He likes learning, but doesn’t like the homework part. I hope he doesn’t get frustrated & want to quit. It would be a nice skill for him to have.

I ended up at the Emergency Room with Logan last month. He had what appeared to be a hernia (in his private area) and he was screaming out in pain. We had a friend of ours who is a Dr. look at it and he said it would probably require surgery. Well, he cried & cried the whole time getting to the E.R., the whole time we were waiting, the whole time the Admitting nurse was checking his vitals, then he stopped once we got settled into an exam room and said “Mom, it doesn’t hurt anymore!” I was just looking to see when the Dr. came in to examine him, and sure enough, it was gone!!! They determined that it must be what they call a reduceable hernia, which comes & goes on its own. So basically it resolved itself within a few hours. The only problem is that we don’t have insurance on the boys, so we ended up with a hospital bill of more than $2000!!! What is up with the cost of healthcare I say??? All we did was sit in the waiting room, get his temperature/blood pressure checked and then they did an ultrasound. Luckily we’ll be getting our tax refund back soon.

Carson hasn’t had as exciting a month. He just hangs out & plays with Logan all day. He has pretty much stopped taking naps, although he’ll fall asleep on his own once in awhile. It’s not as bad as I thought it would be though because it helps in getting him to bed at night. We’ve determined that Logan & Carson can’t be in the same room when going to bed. They just play, talk & laugh for hours, despite the threats we give them to be quiet. We decided that when we get a bigger house we’ll put Austin & Logan together, since they’ll both be getting up for school next year.

Jackson is 2 months old today and is growing so fast. He is getting chunky and is just so loveable. He is truly the best baby anyone could ask for and I’m loving spending my days with him. He continues to be the center of attention with his brothers and they can’t seem to leave him alone sometimes…especially in church!

Over the past couple of weeks we have been able to take the kids to some fun things. First of all the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo was in town and we went as a family to see the animals and have some fun. We watched pig racing, visited the petting zoo, bounced on the inflatables, and rode on the carousel, along with seeing some of the animals. The next day I was able to take the kids to a Train Show at a convention center downtown. We saw tons of model train layouts (including one made of Legos), rode on Thomas the Train, and bought some train souvenirs. We all had a great time!

I guess that’s all for us this month. Hopefully by this time next month we’ll have our house ready to put up for sale. We have lots to do between now & then, so wish us luck!

Love – Rhett, Maren, Austin, Logan, Carson & Jackson

February 2009

Happy Groundhog Day!!!

Life with 4 boys is fun and exciting…and not too much different from 3. We are settling into life with a newborn again…lack of sleep, lots of diapers, etc. Jackson is growing rapidly at 1 month old now and starting to wear size 1 diapers and grow out of some of the “Newborn” clothes. Rhett blessed him yesterday at church and we were grateful that Rhett’s brother Robert & sister Melissa and their families from Austin were able to be with us for Jackson’s special day. I ordered his blessing outfit online and ordered the XS (up to 8 lbs) specifically because he was born so little. Well, the outfit came and looked like it was made for a 12 pounder instead…it was sooo huge! Oh, well. We made it work and it turned out to be a great day. My mom was able to crochet his blessing afghan while she was here...thanks so much Mom!!!

Rhett continues working at AT&T as a contract worker (no word yet if & when this job will end). He is also plugging along working at Sears. We were able to get a new stove for our house this past week (thanks to Rhett’s insider info). We got an $1100 stove for $300. What a deal!!! Can’t wait to get it in & try it out. Rhett has been sick for the past couple of weeks. He missed a couple of days of work while he was in bed trying to feel better. He’s good now, except for a lingering cough. Rhett celebrated his 36th Birthday on 1/24. He had to work at Sears, so we went & ate lunch with him and took a birthday cake to share. Not much other celebrating, since he was sick!

Austin was selected to participate in his school Spelling Bee a couple of weeks ago. We helped him prepare some, but not a lot. He was so nervous!!! We told him that just being selected means he’s a good speller anyway, and to just do his best. There were 22 kids in the Bee and about 18 of them misspelled their first word…including Austin. His word was “maestro”. Austin was so glad for it to be over with.

One of Logan’s classmates at church & friend Emily Hammond passed away a couple of weeks ago. She had a syndrome called Ring Chromosome 18 and had multiple physical problems. She had such a sweet personality & will be missed.

Carson has recently shown some interest in potty training. We’ll have to get working on that. It would be nice to only have 1 in diapers!!!

All of the boys adore their new baby brother, and can’t help but want to be around him, hold him and kiss him constantly. What a loving family to be born into!

Hope you all have a great month!
Love – Rhett, Maren, Austin, Logan, Carson & Jackson

January 2009

Jackson has arrived!!!

We have a new family member to introduce. Jackson Wesley Zimmerman was born on Friday, January 2nd at 1:45pm. He weighed only 6 lbs. 10 oz. (a surprise to us all) and was 19 inches long. I had been measuring 3 weeks big for about a month, so we were expecting around an 8 pounder. What a petite little guy he turned out to be! The boys couldn't wait to come to the hospital to visit, but were especially excited today when we came home from the hospital. Austin called us wondering "when will you be here?" They love taking turns holding him, although Carson's turn lasts only about 5 seconds until he's ready for something else. We love him so much already!!! Here are a few of the best pictures. Enjoy!

Love-
Rhett, Maren, Austin, Logan, Carson & Jackson