Springtime in Texas

Spring has been a bit of a crazy time for our family. Joseph's work has been in a lockout for about six weeks now. This means the operator's union and Dow have not reached an agreement or a new contract. Until they do, the operators are locked out of Dow so Joseph is acting as an operator. He trained for this several months ago but due to the details of it, he is working a TON! He was stuck at work for ten days, working, eating, and sleeping there until it was safe for him to cross the picket lines. Now, he is working 5-6 shifts/week of 3am to 3pm. He normally gets Sundays and some Mondays off but when a co-worker takes a day off or has a vacation, Joseph works a lot more. We've been living in limbo as we hear good progress and then a relapse in the negotiations. We also are very limited in vacation days and times so we had to cancel some trips and adjust days off. We're hopeful there is an end in sight soon but it doesn't seem to be promising. Dow is prepared for this to last several months.

Tanner wanted his picture taken on the last day of school with Ashton. He is sad he can't go to school next year with Ashton. He does have speech therapy at the school so that helps a lot.

Ashton's last day of preschool. Her teachers, Mrs. Wallace and Mrs. Dunn were great for her! She learned a lot.

First pony tail!

We said goodbye to the Coon family as they move to CA. We first met them when our oldest kids were about 18 months old. Since then, we've both added two more kids and lots of memories made between the kids. Ashton and Collin are convinced they will get married one day.

Ashton's final preschool concert.

BYU Wind Symphony came to Clear Lake so Ashton and I went. She loved it!

Ashton's piano practice with her teacher. She is loving it!

One of our favorite pastimes is skyping with Nana and Papa. We buy the same books so we can read together.

Rough life. Napping on the grass during Ashton's soccer class.

Ashton did a little soccer class through the YMCA for a few weeks. It was alright. We felt it wasn't planned or organized as well as we would have liked. It was super cheap though so we didn't feel like a complete waste and it got the kids running around some.

We love visiting the Space Center.