Staying Put!

We have been worried since Jake passed his Journeyman Lineman test that we'd be moving or that Jake would have to take a job out of town and we'd never see him. Our worries are OVER, we are staying put! Jake bid on a High line job and it closed on April 6th. With Jake drawing the last number we were thinking it would be a long shot and someone with a better number would bid it and they would have to give it to them. We found out yesterday that no one else bid that job so Jake got it! This means we won't be moving and Jake will be working out of Salt Lake! Such great news! It is hard work and a lot of hours, but Jake is use to that and is excited to be starting his new adventure on Monday! I am so proud of Jake. He has made some tough decisions for our family. I am just so thankful that he takes such great care of us! I love my boy! =)

Four Years

The past four years Jake has been a lineman apprentice... I can't even begin to explain what he has been through, but I'll try. He has lead the apprentices on regular and overtime hours worked since year 1. This means working long days turned to nights and back to days again (and sometimes longer) with little to no sleep. Somehow he managed to excel on the lesson books followed by tests with no time to study. There have been countless hours away from his family. Holidays and celebrations have been almost nonexistent. Sore muscles have pretty much been a constant thing. Have I heard him complain? A little but not even a fraction of what he was entitled to and it was mostly because he was missing Ryker and me. When he started this journey we knew that it was going to be full of tests. It tested the strength of our marriage, our strength as parents and definitely our patients. We didn't realize the rewards through the journey were going to be so amazing though. I've always believed in this old saying "The Harder I Work, The Luckier I Get". Now more than ever this saying seems so true! Jake has worked so hard and we have been so lucky! We have an amazing family, awesome friends, an incredible little boy who means the world to us and a love for each other that even the hardest of times can't break.

Jake took the Journeyman Lineman test on March 20, 2011... He passed with flying colors! I am so proud of him! We're not quite out of the woods yet though. Jake has to bid on jobs and there are a bunch of different situations we could be put in. Will we be moving, will Jake have to work weeks somewhere living in a trailer and come home on weekends, or will we stay right where we are? Who knows what will happen, but we're more than capable to handle any trials that might come our way. BRING IT ON!

I wish I had pictures of real on the job stuff, but I don't. These pictures of the 2010 Lineman Rodeo will just have to do...