For their first job, they (with help from Dave and I) took over my brothers lawn mowing business when he left for his mission. Our girls mow 3 residences in my parents old neighborhood, as well as an office complex, in Orem. We mow the neighborhood once a week, and the office every other week. Even though the girls are never excited to go mowing, as soon as we arrive, they are the best workers! We are so proud of them. Without any resistance whatsoever, they just dig in and get it done. We have developed quite a system. Everyone knows their duties and responsibilities, and it just seems to flow seamlessly. Like Dave, the girls are VERY particular. Mowing lines are always straight, edging is flawless, bushes are trimmed to perfection, and the properties look immaculate! Dave has taught them well. He says that I am just as picky. I have to agree. The four of us seem to make a pretty good team.
Unfortunately, we have come upon quite a few snakes slithering around on the office grounds. I HATE SNAKES!!!!! Even though they are small, to me they seem 15 feet long and 10 inches around. I just know that they are going to sink their fangs into my leg when I walk by them. Dave, on the other hand, likes to catch and show them to us. I think he's just trying to show me that they are very small, and that they are not going to harm me in any way, but it hasn't helped yet. For some strange reason, I don't anticipate my fear subsiding anytime soon!
This 'huge' snake (pictured below) slithered his way up onto my mower....WHILE I WAS PUSHING IT! Of course, I started yelling for Dave to get it off, while simultaneously sprinting across the parking lot, trying to seek whatever refuge I could. I'm sure that it was a sight to behold! Dave just laughed at me, but was quickly there to protect me from this monstrous, man-eating snake! I'm glad that he is so brave. When he brought the snake over towards me and the girls, allowing us to see that it couldn't possibly have us for lunch, thankfully, he was wise enough to maintain a healthy distance, and to NOT mess around with us!
I think that I may have taken this picture with my camera lens zoomed in as far as it could go! Notice the obvious, cautious distance that Berlyn maintained in the background. She's no dummy!
For their second summer job, Berlyn and Braxtyn worked the snack shacks at the Beehive Baseball Park, in American Fork. My friend is in charge of staffing the 2 snack shacks during each baseball season. She asked me if our girls would like to work them. Without any hesitation, they both jumped at the opportunity.
Prior to the school year ending, they worked Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays. Once school was out, they began working Fridays as well. They mostly worked the 'south shack', which is the smallest of the two. The snack shack on the south field doesn't have electricity, so they couldn't sell anything that had to be cooked. They did, however, sell lots and lots of candy and sodas.
On quite a few occasions, Berlyn and Braxtyn were also able to work the 'north shack'. The north shack, with its full electrical capabilities, offered a much funner (and oftentimes busier) experience. While working this shack, they had a blast cooking and selling hot dogs, corn dogs, nachos, soft pretzels, popcorn, pizza pockets, snow cones, ice cream bars, and lots of sodas, bottled water, Powerade, and candy of all sorts.
Unfortunately, the baseball season just ended for the year. Our girls are sure missing 'going to work' at the ballpark. They are hoping to be able to work the shacks again next season. It has been a tremendous opportunity for both of them, to not only earn some extra money, but to also gain a better understanding of the value of money, coupled with the responsibilities associated with organization and teamwork. They certainly made a lot of new friends, even while also enjoying the whole atmosphere of competitive boys baseball. Berlyn and Braxtyn also thought that it was neat to work in the snack shacks at the fields where Dave played competitive boys baseball during some of his younger years.
The 'South Shack'...........
Working hard and earning money DOES have its rewards..........
The girls really wanted their own i-Pod Touches. Dave and I told them that if they could save up enough money from working their two jobs, that they could each purchase one. Berlyn researched the different i-Pod Touches, and came up with the one that they thought would satisfy their needs. Together, they found out the prices at different stores, and they started saving their money. It only took them a couple months of working both jobs to finally have enough to purchase their own i-Pod Touches.....the 5th Generation, 8GB. Berlyn chose the black model, and Braxtyn chose the white.
Dave and I are so proud of our girls! Not only does their continued work ethic impress us, but also their understanding and grasp of teamwork, goal setting, and commitment to a desired end.
We love them more than anything in this world!!!!!
