Wednesday, July 30, 2008
22 July
The past few days have been very interesting. I got a call late last week from Mentor Graphics. They have opened up a new Application Engineer position that covers the North West areas of the US. This is the kind of job that I have always liked to pursue. Kelli and I fasted Sunday and have been praying to know what to do about the job. We decided to pursue talking with them about the job. I told the recruiter today in a voice mail that I would be interested in talking further. Then this afternoon, we receive a call from Harmon Music. They have a senior level design/manager position open that they want me to apply to. I talked with the recruiter for a little while and decided that I’d like to talk with them a bit more as well. I have an interview with Harmon next Monday at 4:30. Another interesting tidbit, L3 announced today that they are going to a 4/10 work week. I am really excited about that. Working with Harmon or mentor would mean I’d loose that 4/10 or even the 9/80 work schedules that I have right now. L3 also initiated a Work At Home policy that will end up being a huge benefit. I know that the Lord is looking out for us I pray that we will be in-tune to the promptings of the spirit to do the right thing.
14 July
For several months we have been saving to take our family on vacation to southern California to Disneyland. The kids have been excited about it and have been saving money for the trip. Then about 3 weeks ago, there was a motor home in our neighborhood that was for sale. Kelli and I both starting thinking, independently of each other, about buying the motor home instead of going to California. When I brought it up with Kelli one day, she said that she had been thinking about that as well. We decided to go and look at it for fun but it had been sold. At that point we re-evaluated and decided that we’d ask the kids if they would like to by a camper instead of go to Disneyland. When we asked them, they all said they wanted a camper instead. They then spent the next several days drawing pictures of campers and designing floor plans for what they wanted the camper to look like inside. Kelli and I went and looked at one other old beater camp trailer that would have worked but was not really in that good of shape. We then waffled a bit on the decision between a motor home, a trailer or a popup tent trailer. We decided what we really needed was a tent trailer and decided to look in the paper every day and pray about finding the right one. The first day we prayed, Kelli saw a popup in the paper and went to look at it. It was perfect. It was owned by a little old couple that took excellent care of it. It also included an awning and bug screen which was an 
extra bonus. It was a bit small but otherwise exactly what we needed. Kelli bought it from then right then and we went that evening and picked it up.
extra bonus. It was a bit small but otherwise exactly what we needed. Kelli bought it from then right then and we went that evening and picked it up. The kids were so excited and we put it up right away in our side yard. The kids slept in the trailer for the next 3 nights.
That all happened on Monday July 7. The next day, early Tuesday morning, Kelli went to girl’s camp for the week. The kids continued to play in the camper every day for several days, I finally had to kick them all out because they were making a mess and getting the trailer all dirty. We decided that as soon as Kelli got back from Girls camp, we’d take the trailer up to a local canyon close by and try it out for a night. We spent some time during the next week going through our camping stuff and getting the trailer ready to go. Kelli arrived home Friday afternoon and we took off up Big Cottonwood Canyon. By the time we arrived at the campground, they were already full so we continued up the canyon and eventually ended up at 
Wasatch Sate Park in Midway (near Heber). We set up camp and had a very nice evening together. It got cold during the night so we were able to learn how the heater worked and everything. The next morning we got up, broke camp and went fishing. Rebekah was the lucky one and caught a fish that was 14 inches ling. She was so excited she talked about it all day and all day Sunday. All in all it was a great weekend and we are very glad that we got the trailer instead of Disneyland.
One other thing really cool event (7/11); as Kelli was driving home with the girls from girls camp, they saw that the construction crew was putting the temple spire with the angle Moroni statue in place on the Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple. Kelli called us as they realized what was going on and we hopped on our bikes and rode over to the temple. We missed the actual placement by half an hour or so but it was still neat to see the spire in place. Kelli took the kids over for pictures later on that afternoon while I finished getting the trailer ready to go.On another note, this past week there were a few developments at work that promise to make life easier. L3 officially announced a new work at home policy. After someone has been at L-3 for a year, they will have the option of working at home. Since I was able to do that for a long time with Intel, I am relay excited about being able to do that in the future. I’ll have to wait 6 more months but I am hoping that they will let me start at my contract hire date instead of my actual start date. Either way, it’s not to fare way that I’ll be able to WAH part of the time. Gas price continue to rise and reached $4.00 a gallon this week. High fuel prices are taking a toll on our budget along with lots of other areas of our economy. Everything is getting more expensive. To help employees cut costs, the State of Utah announced that they are going to a 4-10 work week. There has been a lot of speculation is other companies, especially L-3 will follow suit. Last Wednesday, an unofficial email came around that said L-3 will make an official announcement soon that they will give employees an option of 4-10 to keep our current schedule. I am very excited about a 4-10 work week, especially if I can WAH part of the time. I could work home and come in to the office one or two days a week and everything would be awesome. I’d get my time in and still have every Friday off. Kelli is really excited about this schedule as well. The unofficial time line states the program will start in October. (7/30 addendum: The official word for a 4/10 work week came on 7/21 that L-3 will begin the schedule in September - we are really excited).
Today is Abby’s 5th birthday. It’s amazing to realize that she has been with us that long and that the time has gone by so fast. She wanted a baby doll and an MP3 player for her birthday. She ended up getting a kids camera that takes digital pictures and an MP3 player. Last night we had a little party, ate come cake and let her open her presents. She was really excited. Dad helped her get some music on her MP3 player. She wanted Disney tunes, The Chipmunks, Hanna Montana and the theme song from Pirates of the Caribbean (that her brothers have been listening to). She was very cute.
26 June
Sent: Thursday, June 26, 2008 9:50 PM
To: 'Leona Olsen'
Mom and Dad, Thanks for your letter. It’s great to hear how you are doing and what you are up to. Kelli and Isaac are at youth conference the next couple of days – so it’s just me and the kids. We fixed up the bikes again, and went for a bike ride. I got a new calling this past week. I was called to work in the young men’s organization with the deacons and with the scouts. I’m excited. I had been doing the PFR job for 2 years. It was time for a change. Have a great week.
To: 'Leona Olsen'
Mom and Dad, Thanks for your letter. It’s great to hear how you are doing and what you are up to. Kelli and Isaac are at youth conference the next couple of days – so it’s just me and the kids. We fixed up the bikes again, and went for a bike ride. I got a new calling this past week. I was called to work in the young men’s organization with the deacons and with the scouts. I’m excited. I had been doing the PFR job for 2 years. It was time for a change. Have a great week.
16 June
Monday, June 16, 2008 6:27:42 AM,
Subject: Happy Fathers Day
Hello Mom and Dad,
This week Isaac leaves for his first summer activity. He will be gone for 5 weeks this summer. He has 2 week long camps, Youth Conference, a week at education week and a week at EFY. He has been working part time at the elementary school as a custodian for the past month and a half in the evenings and has been enjoying that a lot. Last week they offered him a full time job for the summer. He gladly accepted and will work when he is not at camp.
The week after Isaac gets back, he will be going with Kelli to youth conference. They will be going to do temple work and the up to the hot springs by where dad used to frolic as a youth.
Later in the summer, Zachary will be going to scout camp for the first time. He is excited about that. In the meantime he will be working with several people in the ward mowing lawns and pulling weeds.
Rachel has several activities planned with her activity days group and is looking forward to starting in young women’s in the fall.
Matthew has Cub Scout day camp in a few weeks and he is excited to be able to go to that. He is enjoying riding his bike now that the weather is warmer.
Rebekah is excited for us to get our pool up again this summer. She keeps asking when we are going to get it put up.
Abby is doing great and really liked riding 4 wheelers with Isaac. She was able to hike part of the way up to the cave and then she rode with dad the rest of the way up.
Kelli is wonderful as always. She has been struggling with her heart and has been taking tests with her doctor. We are worried about her health that way. We have not heard back from any of the tests yet but hope to hear back soon. Kelli will be gone four weeks this summer, youth conference, girls camp, laurel high adventure camp and education week.
We love and miss you and are happy that you are enjoying your mission. Thank you for your example and for taking the time to include us in your thoughts. Dad, thank you for your many years of love and example. I’m relay glad that you were chosen to be my father and I love and appreciate you greatly. I’m really happy that you are finally living your dream of serving together on a mission.
Have a great week.
Love Shaun, Kelli, Isaac, Zachary, Rachel, Matthew, Rebekah and Abby.
Subject: Happy Fathers Day
Hello Mom and Dad,
Happy fathers day! We missed being with you today and hope that you have enjoyed yourselves. Things are finally starting to slow down a bit for me and starting to get busier with the kids. I finished up working for the Florida Company this past week. It’s been a great job and we have been blessed by them. My regular job is going really well and I have been able to contribute in several ways to the success of our group. 3 weeks ago I picked up a contract with my old group at Intel. It has been really nice to work with those people again and I have enjoyed doing their work.
This week Isaac leaves for his first summer activity. He will be gone for 5 weeks this summer. He has 2 week long camps, Youth Conference, a week at education week and a week at EFY. He has been working part time at the elementary school as a custodian for the past month and a half in the evenings and has been enjoying that a lot. Last week they offered him a full time job for the summer. He gladly accepted and will work when he is not at camp.
The week after Isaac gets back, he will be going with Kelli to youth conference. They will be going to do temple work and the up to the hot springs by where dad used to frolic as a youth.
Later in the summer, Zachary will be going to scout camp for the first time. He is excited about that. In the meantime he will be working with several people in the ward mowing lawns and pulling weeds.
Rachel has several activities planned with her activity days group and is looking forward to starting in young women’s in the fall.
Matthew has Cub Scout day camp in a few weeks and he is excited to be able to go to that. He is enjoying riding his bike now that the weather is warmer.
Rebekah is excited for us to get our pool up again this summer. She keeps asking when we are going to get it put up.
Abby is doing great and really liked riding 4 wheelers with Isaac. She was able to hike part of the way up to the cave and then she rode with dad the rest of the way up.
Kelli is wonderful as always. She has been struggling with her heart and has been taking tests with her doctor. We are worried about her health that way. We have not heard back from any of the tests yet but hope to hear back soon. Kelli will be gone four weeks this summer, youth conference, girls camp, laurel high adventure camp and education week.
We love and miss you and are happy that you are enjoying your mission. Thank you for your example and for taking the time to include us in your thoughts. Dad, thank you for your many years of love and example. I’m relay glad that you were chosen to be my father and I love and appreciate you greatly. I’m really happy that you are finally living your dream of serving together on a mission.
Have a great week.
Love Shaun, Kelli, Isaac, Zachary, Rachel, Matthew, Rebekah and Abby.
30 May
Isaac and I went out to Antelope Island in the Great Salt Lake and rode bikes with the Teachers Quorum. It was a lot of fun and we both had a great time. I was very out of shape and felt it the whole time. I was sore for 5 days afterwards but it was still worth it. The lake on the other side is astonishingly beautiful.
23 May
Moab with the guys
Last summer we had my 20 year High School reunion. During the reunion planning process and afterwards, several of us decided that we really needed to get together more often. Back in February, Vallen Blackburn suggested that we get together and do something. Several ideas were bantered around and we finally decided to meet in Moab for a week to ride bikes, golf, and to play around. So in May, I went down to Moab and met the guys there Tuesday evening. They had already been there 2 days and had ridden bikes, gone golfing and drove jeeps up the rocks. I went with them to dinner that evening and the next day, we got on the 4 wheelers and went riding all day. What a fantastic time: I had not really driven 4 wheelers before and it was such a great time I was ready to go buy some wheelers the next day. That evening we ate and then hit the hot tub. The next day we hiked to delicate arch in Arches National Park which was great as well. We came home that afternoon having had a marvelous time. I’m very grateful that Kelli supported me in attending that event and look forward to doing it again with the guys next year.
George Thompson, Vallen Blackburn, Rick Mayo, Shaun Olsen, Raymond Roberts and Zane Bennett
25 March
Now it’s March and I have been direct with L3 for 6 weeks. So far so good! The work is a bit boring because it goes so slow. It takes forever for a design to go through the process. I’ve been working with the team to develop process improvements but it’s going slow. That is OK. It has been nice being back here and everyone has been great.
On the home front, I am finally wrapping up the Florida work. Who would have known that that job would last 5 months? The last few weeks I’ve only had to put in 8 hours a week or so. That has left me time to work on the yard, to spend time with Kelli and the kids etc. That has been fantastic. I’ve greatly enjoyed having time with my family. On the other hand however, the money we have been making on these extra jobs has helped us – we put in central air-conditioning last week and will be updating a bathroom. Thus it’s been helpful in that sense. I went to the temple early this morning – which was nice. I have not been regularly and am looking forward to that as well. I have neglected my scripture study and exercise because of all the extra work. Kelli and I decided that we’d get together and exercise and help each other out. I’m excited to do that because I am very much out of shape.
Other cool news, Mom and Dad Olsen were called on a mission to Texas and left last week. They have always wanted to go on a mission and are very excited about being able to go. We got them a cell phone so they could communicate with everyone and they are having fun with that. We had to hire an accountant to help us through the business things and getting out of Intel. We are also going to be sending the kids to a virtual academy next year. It’s a state run home school of sorts. The kids will stay home but have regular contact with at teacher and regular curriculum provided by the state. It’s exciting to us because we get the benefits if the kids at home with the benefits of the kids being taught by someone else. It will be interesting to see how it turns out.
On the home front, I am finally wrapping up the Florida work. Who would have known that that job would last 5 months? The last few weeks I’ve only had to put in 8 hours a week or so. That has left me time to work on the yard, to spend time with Kelli and the kids etc. That has been fantastic. I’ve greatly enjoyed having time with my family. On the other hand however, the money we have been making on these extra jobs has helped us – we put in central air-conditioning last week and will be updating a bathroom. Thus it’s been helpful in that sense. I went to the temple early this morning – which was nice. I have not been regularly and am looking forward to that as well. I have neglected my scripture study and exercise because of all the extra work. Kelli and I decided that we’d get together and exercise and help each other out. I’m excited to do that because I am very much out of shape.
Other cool news, Mom and Dad Olsen were called on a mission to Texas and left last week. They have always wanted to go on a mission and are very excited about being able to go. We got them a cell phone so they could communicate with everyone and they are having fun with that. We had to hire an accountant to help us through the business things and getting out of Intel. We are also going to be sending the kids to a virtual academy next year. It’s a state run home school of sorts. The kids will stay home but have regular contact with at teacher and regular curriculum provided by the state. It’s exciting to us because we get the benefits if the kids at home with the benefits of the kids being taught by someone else. It will be interesting to see how it turns out.
5 March
So it’s been a long time since I have written. A lot has happened and we have been very blessed. I’ll try to high light the things that have happened and then go back in and fill in the spaces with more details.
As I have written I was laid off from Intel last year. I found out about it around March, worked until May, had June, July and most of August off and finally ended my career at Intel at the end of September. During that time I worked to build up a company with Kelli's dad, Jim to serve primarily Intel as their PCB design company. In October, Intel came back to us and said that the project they were ramping and wanted us to work on had been canceled corporate wide. Our prospect to have plenty of work diminished to nothing. At that pint I was running out of money and needed to do something. I started looking for jobs, sending out resumes etc. In the middle of October, I was in negotiations with a company back east when I received a call on Monday the 22, from a guy in Florida asking me if I know enough of Cadence (a PB design tool) to come to Florida and by the way could I be there in 2 days. It sounded like something I could do. I told him yes and on Wednesday I flew out to Florida for a job that was supposed to last 4-6 weeks. While in Florida I worked 60 hours a week 14-16 hours a day. It was very interesting work and I enjoyed the work a lot. Because of the schedule, I did not get out much. I did however take the time to go to the temple twice (the first time I drove in, I could not find the temple). I attended church meetings in the local chapel which was nice and I was able to drive out to the coast to the Kennedy Space Center (which was truly the best part of my time in Florida and a fantastic experience). I was also able to see the launch of a rocket (which was really cool). I really wanted to see the space shuttle take off but I missed it by 2 days. I was there when it landed but that was not a bid deal. I heard the sonic booms a longs ways off. We could not see the shuttle as it came in. After almost 5 weeks in Florida, I came home for Thanksgiving. Towards the end of my time in Florida, I got a call from my old work associates at L3 Communications in SLC. They wanted me to start a contract with them for a few weeks ASAP. I told them I was in Florida and would be coming home after Thanksgiving. They were disappointed but they wanted me as soon as I could get there. So I made arrangements to start working with L3 as soon as I got back into Utah. In the mean time things were wrapping up with Florida and then suddenly there was a huge problem. The customer did not provide the specifications that were required to get the boards done right and the boards were bad. I needed to fix them but was leaving for Utah. We agreed that I would continue to work for Florida from home in Utah while I was working for L3. Thus, all of December was a huge whirlwind. Working 30 to 40 hours a week for L3 and another 30-40 hours with Florida, I was exhausted. I was able to survive – regularly working until 10:00 pm and getting up at 2 or 3 in the morning and continuing work for Florida. I didn’t see much of my family at all in December and took one day off on Christmas and another 2 days off for the New Year. Other than that I worked. This schedule continued all thought January and started to ease off a bit in February. Kelli and the kids were great – and Kelli totally made this possible by running everything else in our household while I was working. Toward the middle of January, L3 came to me and said that they wanted to make an offer for me to work permanently. I had also still been looking for another direct job in other places and had talked to the Mentor Graphics Corporation in California and NVIDEA Corporation in Santa Clara California. In January, NVIDEA asked me to come down to CA for an onsite interview. I agreed and in the middle of January, I went down to Santa Clara for an interview. I arrived Thursday evening late, got up at 3:00am and did some work on a board from Florida and went to my interview at 10:00. The interview went great. It was the best interview I’ve done. I was calm and was able to answer all the questions quite well (I thought). I think that being busy right up to the time before the interview helped. I did not have time to stress over it. NVIDEA said that they would get back to me in a week. I finally heard from them 4 weeks later and they had decided not to hire anyone at that time. In the meantime, L3 continued talking about an offer. The first week of February, L3 came back with an offer. I was blown away. They offered me the same rate, I was making with Intel which was totally unexpected. I was so grateful and humbled. We accepted right away and my first official start date was February 11. I am 100% certain that the Lord made all of this happen. This was his plan and I know that we have been very blessed.
As I have written I was laid off from Intel last year. I found out about it around March, worked until May, had June, July and most of August off and finally ended my career at Intel at the end of September. During that time I worked to build up a company with Kelli's dad, Jim to serve primarily Intel as their PCB design company. In October, Intel came back to us and said that the project they were ramping and wanted us to work on had been canceled corporate wide. Our prospect to have plenty of work diminished to nothing. At that pint I was running out of money and needed to do something. I started looking for jobs, sending out resumes etc. In the middle of October, I was in negotiations with a company back east when I received a call on Monday the 22, from a guy in Florida asking me if I know enough of Cadence (a PB design tool) to come to Florida and by the way could I be there in 2 days. It sounded like something I could do. I told him yes and on Wednesday I flew out to Florida for a job that was supposed to last 4-6 weeks. While in Florida I worked 60 hours a week 14-16 hours a day. It was very interesting work and I enjoyed the work a lot. Because of the schedule, I did not get out much. I did however take the time to go to the temple twice (the first time I drove in, I could not find the temple). I attended church meetings in the local chapel which was nice and I was able to drive out to the coast to the Kennedy Space Center (which was truly the best part of my time in Florida and a fantastic experience). I was also able to see the launch of a rocket (which was really cool). I really wanted to see the space shuttle take off but I missed it by 2 days. I was there when it landed but that was not a bid deal. I heard the sonic booms a longs ways off. We could not see the shuttle as it came in. After almost 5 weeks in Florida, I came home for Thanksgiving. Towards the end of my time in Florida, I got a call from my old work associates at L3 Communications in SLC. They wanted me to start a contract with them for a few weeks ASAP. I told them I was in Florida and would be coming home after Thanksgiving. They were disappointed but they wanted me as soon as I could get there. So I made arrangements to start working with L3 as soon as I got back into Utah. In the mean time things were wrapping up with Florida and then suddenly there was a huge problem. The customer did not provide the specifications that were required to get the boards done right and the boards were bad. I needed to fix them but was leaving for Utah. We agreed that I would continue to work for Florida from home in Utah while I was working for L3. Thus, all of December was a huge whirlwind. Working 30 to 40 hours a week for L3 and another 30-40 hours with Florida, I was exhausted. I was able to survive – regularly working until 10:00 pm and getting up at 2 or 3 in the morning and continuing work for Florida. I didn’t see much of my family at all in December and took one day off on Christmas and another 2 days off for the New Year. Other than that I worked. This schedule continued all thought January and started to ease off a bit in February. Kelli and the kids were great – and Kelli totally made this possible by running everything else in our household while I was working. Toward the middle of January, L3 came to me and said that they wanted to make an offer for me to work permanently. I had also still been looking for another direct job in other places and had talked to the Mentor Graphics Corporation in California and NVIDEA Corporation in Santa Clara California. In January, NVIDEA asked me to come down to CA for an onsite interview. I agreed and in the middle of January, I went down to Santa Clara for an interview. I arrived Thursday evening late, got up at 3:00am and did some work on a board from Florida and went to my interview at 10:00. The interview went great. It was the best interview I’ve done. I was calm and was able to answer all the questions quite well (I thought). I think that being busy right up to the time before the interview helped. I did not have time to stress over it. NVIDEA said that they would get back to me in a week. I finally heard from them 4 weeks later and they had decided not to hire anyone at that time. In the meantime, L3 continued talking about an offer. The first week of February, L3 came back with an offer. I was blown away. They offered me the same rate, I was making with Intel which was totally unexpected. I was so grateful and humbled. We accepted right away and my first official start date was February 11. I am 100% certain that the Lord made all of this happen. This was his plan and I know that we have been very blessed.
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