Tuesday 15 February 2011

First Day of Work & Valentines Day


This Friday Stan got a phone call from Bain that said his visa had come through and he could start work on Monday! ....Valentines Day!!! :-( Because we didn't know what to expect nor did we want him to leave work early we went out on Saturday night. In hindsight this was kind of funny because Stan was being interviewed to be the new Stake President at our church and then we played hookie during the Saturday Session of Stake conference so we could go out! (Seriously, who does that, obviously not Stake Presidents b/c he ultimately wasn't picked!) Thanks Stan, I had a wonderful time! We just went out to a Thai restaurant but were having so much fun we totally lost track of time and were almost an hour late picking up our kids from the babysitters (oops!)

On Monday, Valentines was more about my kids than my sweetheart. I got some heart balloons for each kid and taped it to their chair for breakfast. I made them breakfast and then got treats for their class (heart cupcakes) to share. Olivia was pretty excited about Valentines and made one love card for her secret crush. Stan kept telling her if she hands it out he will know she likes him but she didn't care.













Valentines morning I forgot the card was in my purse and when Olivia asked me for it after school her crush was gone! She was pretty sad and is now too embarrassed to give it to him b/c Valentines is over. The best card I got this year was from Olivia she thanked me for being a great mum and it really caught me off guard to get one from her! Also, thank you Granny Joanne for the shirts and great grandma/pa Tengelsen for the cards; my kids were elated to get mail!

Valentines is much bigger in the USA than Australia. At school there are no cards, in the stores there are no heart shaped candies but there are lots of roses and chocolates and the marketing is more targeted towards the young/ dating crowed. When Olivia brought in treats (which she cleverly masked as her show-and-tell (I forgot) the teachers were curious what the occasion was....she was like, "today is Valentines Day!"

(Side note: I think, due to the high Asian population, that Valentines is largely ignored as Chinese new year went from Feb 9--23rd (year of the rabbit, and Sydney has a very high Asian population!)

Monday night when Stan came home from work he was tired, excited, and overwhelmed. Bain is fantastic and he loves it. He really did land his dream job.
Here is his desk and view....yes, that is the opera house!

The first two weeks are training and then he will have two weeks to work on a case until he is flown to the USA for more training. I am sure he will keep up just fine but Stan insists that with training there is a lot of stuff to remember and the power point slides just aren't that exciting! I on the other hand, saw his training schedule and the final night he gets to go on a champagne/harbor cruise party....So yes, he will be drinking apple juice but I would sit through two weeks of power point slides any day to end it with a cruise by the opera house and harbor bridge! Seriously, Happy Valentines Stan

6 comments:

Jess, Andrew and Family said...

WAIT...WHAT??????!!!!!!!!!! Did I read that right????? Did you say that Stan is the new stake president???? Are you two freaking out? Seriously, how do you feel about this?? Congrats? We want to hear the details!

Eisha said...

Ha--no, just interviewed! Most the bishops out here are in their late 20's so yes he was interviewed for stake pres with everyone else. There is a huge dearth of leadership out here with the church. This would never happen in the USA. Also, we were an unlikely pick since our visa's are up in 2 years!

The Francis Family said...

I'm glad you guys got to go out for Valentine's day! It sounded like you had a good time! You are a good mom, Eish--I don't think Tyson would have even known it was a holiday had his friend not brought over cookies and a card!! I'm glad your girls got to celebrate, too!!

sue swinton said...

Love your blog! So glad that you are out of the really hot season and that you celebrated Valentines Day in style. As his mother, I think Stan would have made a great S.P. but know that being in the Bishopric at this time is more than enough. Love you all tons! XO

Harry and Suzanne said...

It is so much fun and uplifting reading your blog! What a great journal too. Keep all your blog info; one day in the future, after the kids are grown, it will bring you so much joy. Love you all lots and lots!

The Tengelsens said...

Congrats on NOT being the S.P. Man...that would be stressful. Looks like you guys had a great V-day! Wish you were closer!