Long time, No see!

Welcome Back Shultis Family!

So... it has been so long that I forgot I had a blog until last week when something reminded me. People have been talking about blogging a lot more lately and it must have jogged my memory!  Also, it could have been the fact that I remembered the story about the evil emperor flooding our last house.  Well, at the very least I have a lot of catching up to do!  I guess a good way to start back up to is to give you the big picture first and then fill in the blanks!

Tristan, who turns 15 in a couple of weeks, is a freshman in high school and is already talking about driving.  Yikes!  In junior high he decided he wanted to play the clarinet and did so for three years.  However, the magnet high school he picked did not have a music program, so he is not playing anymore.  He did very well in junior high, made honor band and also received the student of the year award in 8th grade!  He is a very good citizen, helpful and almost always in a good mood.  He decided long ago he wanted to be a fire fighter and tried to get into that program at his magnet high school.  Unfortunately, the program ended up being full.  Maybe his dream won't start quite yet, but I'm sure he won't give up that easily!  Tristan is also in the scouting program and attends early morning seminary.  With all the traveling to his school that is in a land far-far-away, his schedule is pretty much full when you factor in scouts and mutual!  He is a busy guy, but happy doing it!

Jake turns 14 next Tuesday and is in 8th grade this year.  At 5 foot 11 inches tall he is the second tallest in our house hold now and towers over most kids his age.  He started playing the saxophone 3 years ago and is doing amazing!  He received Superior ratings at his solo/ensemble competitions two years in a row, is currently playing in band, jazz band, and drum line.  He loves music and also auditioned to get into the Las Vegas Academy of Music and Arts (LVA High School)!  We hope he gets accepted!  Jake is funny, loves his friends and is up for most any adventure!  He is still a straight A student (since Kindergarten) and we are very proud of him in that department!  Jake is also in scouts and enjoy attending mutual weekly with his friends from church.  He and Tristan completed a super difficult backpacking trip in 110 degree heat a couple of years ago in AZ and we are so proud of both of them for toughing it out.  They learned a great lesson by being the only ones who were 100% prepared (thanks Dad and Uncle Steve for all your years of beating that into my head).

Talon is 9 and in 4th grade this year!  He has grown so much and enjoys school and creating things with his Knex toys.  He is very imaginative and is always coming up with interesting stories and games.  The previous "unicorn" comment rings true, although he doesn't make up stories about unicorns anymore!  He loves to draw, drum, play outside and try new things!  I can honestly say he rarely, if ever, complains, which is an amazing feat for any child!  Well, unless he's fighting with DJ!  Talon also loves to cook and will gladly help in the kitchen! He watches dozens of cooking shows and is getting quite proficient at the cooking "lingo"!  I expect great things from him in the kitchen as he gets older!  Talon is has also been in scouts for a year and loves it!  I am so glad that all of our boys are interested in scouting!  Too bad boy scouts don't sell cookies though - or maybe that is a blessing!

DJ is in 2nd grade and doing amazing!  He was a little wild at the beginning of the year, but due to his amazing teacher he has found his groove and is excelling!  He reads several levels above his grade and still wants to read every night before bed!  He is funny, witty, and silly and we all enjoy his personality - he can even make most adults laugh!  He genuinely understands and "gets" adults and surprises us all the time!  He is loving and sweet and loves our dogs to death!  He also loves stuffed animals and takes great care of the hundreds he has collected, although, I'm a little worried this has become an obsession!  DJ started playing the electric guitar last year at School of Rock and is doing so great!  He loves his teacher and doesn't want let him down, which is good thing since sometimes practicing doesn't sound so fun!  His silly personality is perfect to be onstage, once he gets over the stage fright!  In just two months he will also be joining scouts - and he is so excited that his friend Aiden from school has decided to join our troop!

Now on to us:

David is doing amazing owning and running his own IT Consulting business here in Las Vegas, with some help from me to keep the paperwork moving!  His clients are happy and he hasn't lost a client since he opened his business two years ago!  This year he also became certified in computer forensics and looks forward to working that into his business.  David has found a new appreciation for working out, since Lifetime Fitness is such an amazing place!  He like his trainer and is doing great!   He even tried that crazy hot yoga that almost killed me!  One of David's passions is food and cooking and a week doesn't go by that we don't watch the food channel and end up ordering some amazing treat from somewhere around the country!  He loves adventures and comes up with amazing ideas for our yearly family vacations!  Looking forward to Washington D.C. this July!

As for me, last, but not least, I have enjoyed helping Dave set up and run his business and now work full-time at one of our client's offices, who is also a long-time friend of David's!  Additionally, I have continued to tinker with my guitar playing over the years and also own an electric guitar so DJ and I can jam together!  I rarely have time to spare, but somehow I inch along with my writing, taught myself to create websites, bucket-drummed with my boys at the ward talent show, and picked up my old love of skiing again this year from almost a decade ago!  I enjoy being busy and there is never a lack of that with a family of 6!  This year I am looking forward to getting more involved in scouting, preparing DJ for his baptism in a couple of months and spending time with family near and far!  I love keeping in touch with new and old friends and look forward to keeping this blog going!  Not only to update you on our family, but to notice the funny and joyous side of life daily and to share that with you!

his must all sound like a lot, but this is just an update on the family over the last few years.  Quite a few years that is!  The kids have changed so much, but our zaniness and love the the unusual, new, and fun have not changed!

PS:  I noticed a lone shoe in the desert the other day and I still wonder:  how does one lone shoe get all the way out there...?

Unicorns...

Quote of the day:  (Talon while taking a bath)

"I love to swim with my unicorns"

There you have it ladies and gentlemen.  Talon is our highest quote producer at the moment and we will keep you updated when there is more material :)

New Year!

The holiday's are over and it's time for another update.  I have found I like reading my own blog, since I don't even visit it that much; I guess it's my on-line journal.

Dave finally found a job and is happy to be back in the grind.  Except on days like today, when he's sick and would rather be in bed, but he is doing great and loving learning new things.

I'm trucking along at my job, reigning in my domain, as I am the Office Manager and only employee :)  I enjoy it and know everything there is to know about Las Vegas now, in a business sense...

Tristan got more art supplies for Christmas and was happier than a clam.  He produces numerous drawings in one sitting and wants to explain each one in detail when he is done.  Thanks to having lived with an artist growing up (Schmeel) I can totally appreciate his zanyness.  He loves his brothers and is always willing to help.  The latest is folding the dinner napkins in interesting and fancy ways!

Jake is loving music as always; playing guitar hero on the Wii whenever we allow it.  He is also in the chess club at school and on the jump rope team, for the second year in a row.  He is almost always happy, unless he thinks he has done something wrong, which is hardly ever.  He is a great big brother and loves making DJ laugh his head off.

Talon is quite the builder and brings us lego or Knex concauctions daily as gifts.  Dj wants to join in, but it usually turns into baby godzilla and Talon slamming the door to his room so that his latest buildings won't get destroyed.  He is very sweet, but is trying to get used to someone younger than him being around.

Dj is the ham.  He loves to be free, from restraint in public, and run away into the wild.  He definitely has "the call of the wild" in him.  If we put him down in a shopping mall he would run away, talk to everyone, and not even miss us.  Last night at McDonald's he was "flirting" with another dad, in hopes of charming his cell phone away from him.  The funniest was the other day in the cell phone store Dave was holding him and he was literally shaking with want of playing with the show cell phones.  Anything electronic that flips, clicks, makes noise, or in anyway shows life, is a MUST to have for him.  Flip cell phones especially.

We love you all and appreciate everyone's support and connections to our family!!  We hope you have a prosperous New Year and we wish you lots of love and happiness!

Dave & Suz (aka Schwooz, Sus, S, Suse liebe Suse, usw.)

The Flood!

So, I wish we would have been commanded to build an ark! Last week we had a flood... in our house... The magic toilet fairy came in the middle of the night to deliver a magically delicious toilet water flood in our upstairs bedrooms, hallway, and bath. Of course the lower floors were sadly mistaken if they thought they could get away without damage, so it happened that the "cut downers" visited our house, after I had my panic attack.  They cut out anything that got wet, including the garage ceiling and walls. Our raincoats were safe though, I mean, they are rain coats, and were hanging in the closet downstairs; they probably enjoyed being useful for once.

Well, after it was all said and done and we withstood the Spanish inquisition from the insurance company as to why we had the flood in the first place, the house dried rather quickly (thank you desert) and now we are ready to begin reconstruction.

BUT first, I will unveil the culprit of the entire affair.... Yes, it was the evil emperor from Star Wars! He spun to his watery death and is now decapitated due to  this horrible fate.  I found him on my kitchen counter when I got home, and incase you are wondering, NO, I really don't know who would put him on my kitchen counter after where he had been (I won't name names).  Either way, at least the kids could laugh about the fact that we can blame the flood on him.

To spare innocent readers, I will not reveal the grueling details of how the Emperor got there in the first place, and it will remain....well... a mystery!

Sidewalk Sale!

So, I'm driving out of my neighborhood on a lovely Saturday morning and notice that an entire bag of raw chicken is scattered all over the streets. First of course the gag reflex set in and then I thought: "How does that happen?". How do you loose an entire Costco size bag of raw chicken and then not notice it when you drive in and out of your neighborhood. Disgusting, and .... well unsanitary.

But that's not all! Within the next two weeks I found more "store bought kill" on the road. On the on-ramp to the freeway there was a large roll of raw hamburger. In addition to this I saw meat on the road at another location, it escapes me at the moment where, but nevertheless, are Las Vegans looking for alternative cooking methods?

I mean really, who doesn't notice they are missing a large quantity of meat they just bought?

Comments are welcome....

Happy Fall!

"Don't you just love New York in the fall?  It makes me want to buy boquets of freshly sharpened pencils" (You've Got Mail).

I love fall and now that the weather is finally cooling off I am happy to be able to wear something long sleeved.  My husband loves fall and FOOTBALL.  It even rained this weekend and our dog had no idea what to do with herself; a bathroom break in the rain was quite disconcerting for her.

For a quick update:  I must say, DJ is a pretty funny little guy.  He loves to do anything to make himself laugh, for example, force feeding me his toys, or lotion bottles.  He will giggle forever, while I'm trying not to gag on the GIANT bottle of lotion that is being forced down my throat.  He is running all over and loves his shoes.  He unloads the entire shoe rack everyday and is even beginning to try ours on for fun!

Tristan is cultivating his artistic abilities and draws up a storm when he gets the chance.  The subjects are Pokeman and Ben 10 characters... 100% of the time.  Then he just has to keep the papers save from Talon's wandering pen, or DJ's slobbering mouth.

Jake just survived strep throat and scarlet fever!  Poor guy.  He was brave and took the GIANT shot in the backside, but he was better within 24-hrs.  Jake loves to read and do good in school. He just finished his first Harry Potter book, with help, but is getting better and tackling the second one already.

Talon is busting out of his clothes and growing like a weed; luckily we kept all of the older boys' clothes.  He loves to build things for us out of legos and presents new and interesting objects to us every day.  He likes to color and paint with the big boys, but we are running out of green, which is his favorite color!

Happy fall, go for a walk in the brisk fall air for me  and collect a leaf or two for me (as we don't get many of those here).

With Love,

Susie

Super Models

So it turns out that boys can be super models! Our good friend, who is a photographer, asked us over for a photo shoot so she could practice and ten minutes later these are the pictures we had. She is amazing, isn't she?