The first good storm of the season hit last weekend. Olivia and Harrison had fun playing in the backyard most of Sunday. It was perfect snow for packing ... heavy and wet. Their snow man is still standing guard over the yard.
Now that Maddie has completed her months of physical therapy for her injured Achilles, she wanted to do something active but the doctor said no soccer for at least 2 years or else she'd be in a cast because of the stress on her ankle. She recently joined a hip-hop dance class with her best friend Nikki and their dance studio had a Christmas Recital on Saturday. Here are Mad and Nikki modeling their fabulous 80's inspired dance costumes.
Despite the snowy roads, Mad got lots of family support from Denice and Eisley, Deb, Grandma, Mom, Olivia and Harrison. Ed was even able to sneak away from work long enough to see Maddie's class perform. Maddie did great, especially considering the only dance class she ever took prior to this was a little community ed class when she was 3.
My wonderfully talented and thoughtful cousin Nichole volunteered to set up a mini photo studio at the family Christmas party last weekend and did a mini-session for each family. She got a darling photo of each of our most precious gifts.
Harrison is the toughest to photograph because of his automatic camera smile that magically appears whenever the lens cap comes off. I stood next to Nichole and talked to him while she shot away. This is actually a fairly natural smile from him because he was laughing at his mom.
Sweet little Livi bug. She's always so photogenic. She really did just get a haircut last week. She is growing her hair out again so she can donate to Locks of Love for a second time. Olivia has a very good heart.
Maddie is so comfortable in front of a camera, Nichole was able to just shoot away as Maddie responded to the peanut gallery in the room. I laughed when I looked through her photos because the facial expressions are so varied. Mad has grown up so quickly - 13 1/2 already!
Visit www.thatcherstreehouse.blogspot.com for details. This tree is being auctioned off to help raise funds to keep our dear friends, the Nelsons, youngest son insured for another month. 
What fun at the extended Evans Family Christmas Party. I was a slacker and didn't get my camera out until we were all in the gym for games so I didn't get a wide variety of photos this year. Cousin Kurt and his sweet wife Michelle drove up from St. George for the weekend and it was wonderful to have them here for the party again. Maddie was happy to have her texting buddy, cousin Jackson, with her to hang out for a few hours. We haven't seen them since our visit to St. George last March.
Brit and Maddie
Cute cute cousins - Taylor, Austen and Charly
Sara and Ally
Rachel, enjoying the jumbo candy cane she got in the present game.
Deb and Eisley
Sweet mama Denice with her birdie girl
Keira was so cute all night. She was dressed in a darling red Christmas dress and was so talkative. Kurt and Michelle performed for everyone, donning elf hats for one of their songs. During the after party clean-up, Keira spotted the hats on the stage and had to model each hat for me. This was our favorite.
In light of the current economic situation, I remind myself each day to be grateful for the fact that I have a decent job. While I enjoy the challenge of managing labor, there are days when I would happily walk away from the stress and pressure of trying to keep up with everything. The past few weeks have been incredibly stressful as Acosta began the realignment of the labor structure. I have worked as the Intermountain West Unit Manager for the SuperValu banner for the past 2 years. There were 4 other Unit Managers in our region so everyone knew there would be job cuts as part of the restructuring. I hoped that my performance and success in managing the unique and rarely consistent piece that is SuperValu would help to secure me a place in the new plans.
The new assignments are being released and I have been given a new assignment to be the Area Manager for the Kroger banner. I will be the point person who interacts with the Kroger team for all reset and project work that needs to be done in the Western region. It's overwhelming as I survey all that I need to learn but I know I can do it. I will also be the point person for SuperValu for the first few weeks so if I seem a bit blurry eyed next time you see me, you'll know why. Besides the change in accounts, we will be switching to a geographic assignment for associates we manage. I will no longer be the direct supervisor for associates in Montana, which is, quite frankly, a relief! It's a beautiful place to visit - a nearly impossible place to find relatively sane employees in! I don't know my exact geographic assignment yet but I do know I'll be managing associates closer to home. It will be tough to say goodbye to some of my best employees in Idaho, Wyoming, Nevada, etc. but I am looking forward to taking on something new. I will also be the back-up for my supervisor in Denver so I will be working very closely with her over the next few months.
To my knowledge, there will be no pay increase to go with these changes, but I remind myself that I am fortunate to be one of the 3 managers that remain. In times like these, that has to be the reward in and of itself. I am still employed, I have new associates to train and grow with and I have no fear of being bored. The Kroger assignment also completes my banner trifecta - I will be the only IMW manager who has worked Associated Foods/Harmons, SuperValu and Kroger. I may not love every single minute of what I do, but I'm fortunate to have hours where I'm too busy to even worry about whether or not I love it!
