Ben’s Desire to Learn to Read

November 19, 2008 by Scott in Family, Work

When I get home from work, Ben almost always asks me, “how was your day, Daddy?” And I respond, “Good”, “Long”, “Busy”, etc. He sometimes follows up the question with, “what did you do at work?” I mostly respond, “I looked at numbers all day and made changes to our marketing campaigns.”

Somtimes on Wednesday’s Heidi and I go to lunch together before her afternoon meetings at the school she teaches at. Today we went to Joe Bandido’s near my office. We had a great conversation about Heidi’s class and about the boys. Heidi said that Ben asked her the other day, “Daddy looks at numbers all day at work. Mommy, what do you do at work?” Heidi told him that she taught little boys and girls how to read. Ben’s eyes got real wide and he said, “Can you teach me how to read, Mommy?”

Now, a while ago I apparently told Heidi that I didn’t want her to teach Ben how to read because I didn’t want him to be forced to learn to read or write and hate school as much as I did. So, Heidi, remembering what I had said, told Ben, “no” but that he would learn to read when he went to school. She said that she would teach him other things and they could have “school” at our house. Well, my point of view has changed since I had made that comment, because Ben is so smart already. He knows all his letters and letter sounds. He memorizes the books that Heidi and I read to him every night. And he thirsts for knowledge and really shows interest in learning to read. So, I think we’re going to try it out and see if he really wants to learn to read or not. I think he will love it.

Home again

February 24, 2008 by Scott in Family, Work

Yesterday was a long day. We slept in at the hotel and got ready and packed to go home. We dropped the rental car off and rode the bus back to the airport. We got through security pretty quickly and had a lot of time before we needed to board our plane. We ate at the Macaroni Grill in the airport. Our flight was delayed about 45 minutes or so because of bad weather in Salt Lake City. It was a beautiful day in Chicago, the best of all the days we were there. The flight was really “bumpy”, but we got to see the “Bee Movie” during it. It was alright. We flew on Delta. We got to SLC and left for Kemmerer.

The boys were excited to see us. Holly and Kasey gave us a tour of their house and Ben showed us where he slept, played and ate while he was there. Ben didn’t want to go home. He had been spoiled by his aunt and uncle and had a lot of fun. He didn’t want it to end. We drove home and got home really late.

It was a great trip / vacation. We’re going to plan another trip to Chicago soon.

Chicago, Work and Wicked

February 23, 2008 by Scott in Family, Work

Friday I went to the office to work with my co-workers. It was fun to be in an office again. Since I work from home, the only communication that I have with my work is through email, chat or telephone. We spent a lot of time getting familiar with all the tools, services and products that we offer. We got a lot of questions answered and a lot of brainstorming done. It was very productive and I hope that my boss feels that it was money well spent.

Heidi and I went to the John Hancock building (Big John) to go to the Hancock Observatory. Since we didn’t have a lot of time to spend in Chicago, it seemed like the best place to go to see all of it. It’s on the 94th floor and has windows all the way around. Heidi got some really good pictures of the beautiful views. We went downstairs and ate at the Cheesecake Factory.

Then we went to the Oriental Theatre to see Wicked. The theater was beautiful, with ornate carvings covering almost every square inch of the walls and ceiling. The play itself was so much better than I ever expected. I was entertained the entire time. The cast was amazing and their voices were superb. It was a great evening and I really enjoyed myself, as did Heidi.

We’re back at the hotel now and it’s very late.

Chicago, Day 1 and 2

February 21, 2008 by Scott in Family, Work

The flight was pretty good. Nothing exciting happened, anyways. I hate going through security at airports. You practically have to get completely undressed. I guess it’s okay since we’re “safe” knowing everyone had to do the same thing, I guess. Anyways, Heidi is the driver of the rental car, so she got to see what driving in the big city is all about. Cafe Ba Ba Reeba was delicious! We ordered chorizo, salchichon, jamon serrano, bread with tomato spread, manchego cheese, patatas alioli, chicken paella and flan and chocolate mousse for dessert. Heidi really enjoyed it and so did I. It brought back a lot of memories of my two years in Spain.

Today I met my boss and co-workers. It was really nice to see faces to go along with the names and voices. I also enjoyed seeing their mannerisms and personalities. We spent some time discussing our business then went to meet with one of our partner businesses. We visited their offices, then we went to visit the data center where our servers are. I was really surprised and excited to find that the data center is the same that Google uses as one of theirs. It was like Fort Knox. It was this huge concrete building covered with air conditioners, about the size of a few football fields. There was an entrance to get our name badges and hand over our IDs. There were two glass tubes with biometric scanners that allowed one person in or out at a time. The sound inside was like an airport. Thousands upon thousands of servers. The huge area in the middle was Google’s. It was awesome. Our servers were in a secure area in a remote corner of the building. It looked pretty insignificant compared to Google’s thousands of servers, but still very impressive. We went back to our partner’s offices and spent some more time discussing things that we would like to happen.

We then went to Giordano’s for some Chicago-style pizza. Heidi met us there and we were all impressed that she was able to find it without a map. The pizza was delicious! The best I’ve ever had. We’re now back at the hotel getting ready for bed.

Chicago, Here we come!

February 20, 2008 by Scott in Family, Work

Heidi has been packing for several days. Holly and Kasey volunteered to watch Ben and Tyler at their house in Kemmerer, Wyoming. Thank you Kasey and Holly! We’re going to meet Holly in Park City so we can get to the airport and she can drive the boys to WY. We’re flying on American Airlines to Chicago O’Hare. Heidi made reservations for dinner at Cafe Ba Ba Reeba in Chicago. I’m excited because it’s a Spanish Tapas and Paella restaurant. Yummy. We’ll see if it’s any good.

Chicago Trip Cancelled

February 7, 2008 by Scott in Work

I was supposed to go to Chicago today, for some company meetings at Braintree headquarters, but because of the snow storms and the airport being closed all day yesterday, it was cancelled. So, I’ll find out soon when I will be going.

I have a new job!

January 8, 2008 by Scott in Family, Work

Hey everybody. You can all stop worrying about us. I was extended a job offer this evening as the Director of Marketing at Braintree Payment Solutions in Chicago, Illinois (www.BraintreePaymentSolutions.com). Before you start thinking that we’re packing up and moving off to Chicago, let me explain. I will be telecommuting, or rather, working from our home. I am very excited to be working with a company that provides very unique and important services and products. Check out the website to learn more about what we do. Thank you for all of your prayers and fasting.

Problem or Blessing?

December 17, 2007 by Scott in Family, Work

Well, last Wednesday I was surprised to find out that I was being laid off from my job at NO MORE Mortgage. They no longer will be pursuing any Internet marketing due to the success of their national radio campaign. This presents a big problem, I no longer have an income. With two kids, a mortgage, car payments and other bills, I see this as a major set back. OR, could it be a great opportunity to find something better? As I have started my job search and have started sending out my resume to potential employers, I can’t help but think that this will actually turn out to be a blessing in our lives. There are many opportunities all over the United States for my line of work, Internet/Online Marketing.

Although I have been able to find some available jobs in Utah already, I’m asking all of you, my friends and family, to let me know if you know of any opportunities available at your place of work or elsewhere. We’d prefer to stay in Utah where we are, but if something here doesn’t work out in the next few weeks, I’ll have to start looking out of state. Thanks.