Austin, TX Power Up

Nate and I attended the power up conference with our management team in Austin Texas. It was a great opportunity to connect with our team and learn some great things from Alarm.com, one of our most important vendors. We got to network and learn and we have a lot of information to take back to the staff. Our flights home were kind of a fiasco with delay after delay and a change of airline and a change of flight. But we made it home before midnight. A great conference to remember!

Happy Birthday Jax!

Jaxton turns 19! Now truly, where did the time go! Here are some great things about Jaxton at 19 years old:

1. Jaxton’s closest friends these days are still his high school crew. Sami is by far his closest buddy. He really enjoyed the Simplx technician crew including Caleb and Kayden over the summer. At Purdue he is still finding his niche and meeting new people and will hopefully develop friendships there in his town.

2.  Jaxton’s greatest passion is real estate. He is in the middle of trying to secure a job within the real estate industry. He has applied to 21 places, 14 of which were apartment complex offices or property management groups in Lafayette. There are so many in the college town. He really wants to buy property at some point, have renters and tenants, Manage leases and build a real estate portfolio. Is this something he plans to go after!

3. Jaxton has major marketing skills. He has hosted multiple dropship products and created websites for them all.  His latest product brought in about $20,000 in revenue before expenses. He has learned how to manage ads with Facebook and Instagram and TikTok and how to drive the clicks to his page. He researches a product and he has Contacts in China that supply his products. He has the whole thing figured out and it’s way above my head. So proud of him for these business ventures.

4. Jaxton is a true musician. When he plays music on the piano, he transforms into something else.  He feels the music and the emotions with his whole body. It is incredible to watch him play. This semester at Purdue he has not done any music classes, and he only had his keyboard for half the semester. He found a few pianos to play in empty music building rooms, but he has not had music in his life as much as he’s had the last four years. I know it and he knows it, that he needs music in his life. It brings him joy and satisfaction, and he plans to bring it back into his life next semester.

5. Jaxton has ventured to Purdue university. This is a big move and it is exciting and scary all at the same time. Meeting new people is hard, navigating a new schedule and early classes in an unknown massive school is difficult. Jaxton has silent confidence. He has so much capacity to do anything he puts his mind to. Navigating this new world has been difficult for him, but he is doing it. He is doing the adult things and he is figuring out his way. As he has run into roadblocks, be them emotional or educational or financial or social, he is learning how to navigate through all of that as an adult. We are proud of him as he navigate these things and keeps pushing forward. And of course, we are always here to give him that boost he might need From time to time. 

Owen's Birthday Party

 Owen had his party at his TaeKwonDo studio with Mr. Cabeen and Ms. Johnson.  He invited 11 friends and had a blast!!  Happy Birthday Buddy!

Happy Birthday Owen!

Owen is nine. My baby is nine! How can that be! Here are some fun things about Owen at nine years old.

1. Owen’s closest friends these days include Alex, Parker S, Javi, and Cameron. He loves these kids and it’s been fun getting to know their parents. Owen is very sensitive about social situations. He is always thinking about what other kids are feeling and he always wants to help them. He notices Social cues and act on them. He is a very good friend.

2. Owen’s favorite thing to do these days is Taekwondo. He absolutely loves it. It is his passion and he wants to attend almost every class they offer. I’m glad he’s found this niche.

3. Owen‘s favorite food these days is probably granola bars. He pack several in his backpack for school snack. He also goes to grandpa‘s in the mornings And Grandpa knows exactly what Owen likes to eat for breakfast. He will have eggs and bacon already prepped before Owen even arrives because he knows that’s his favorite.

4. Owen is learning piano from Mary Todd. But when the school offered a piano class with Aaron with multiple kids Owen wanted to join. He’s not super excited about learning piano, because I think it is difficult for him, but he is excited about spending time with friends early in the morning before school starts. Someday he may appreciate all the music he’s learning.

5. Some of Owen‘s other hobbies include rollerskating and Legos. He loves fidgets and got several for his birthday. He loves to build with Legos and follow directions. He loves slime and creating things with Kaylee. And he absolutely loves to rollerskate!

TaeKwonDo Tourney

Owen got to participate in his first ever national competition for Taekwondo. It was held at the Grand Wayne center downtown Fort Wayne. He did five events, including forms, weapons, and sparring. In those events, he did not do as well as he had hoped. It was tough competition. He had been preparing a creative, extreme event, which is a form with double nunchucks that he makes up on his own. He added tricks and cartwheels and somersaults and fancy throws and he put it all to music. He won first place in that event and was thrilled. Great job Owen! Keep it up!

Happy Birthday Nate

Happy birthday, Nate! Nate received a Komets jacket to wear to the Komets games this season for his birthday from Simplx. We got him some warm stuff for winter, a heated vest, heated socks, a heated beanie :-). Nate is our rock and we all love him so much. We celebrated at Culver’s that evening. Here are some fun things about Nate at 45 years old:

1. Nate is the high school basketball coach. This is his six or seven year coaching basketball at Oak Farm and it is surely his passion. He is motivated to mentor the players and teach them life skills for on the court and off the court. He loves them with all his heart and would do anything for any of those kids. Coaching basketball has filled a piece of his heart.

2. Nate’s real estate ventures are taking off! We counted 15 properties he owns now, one active Airbnb. Two Airbnb‘s that are almost ready to put out online for rent. He has multiple rental properties, commercial and residential that bring in rental income. He loves these projects. They are one of his greatest hobbies, and he is really good at finding Properties and creating amazing things out of them.

3. Nate’s closest friends these days are probably his basketball coaches team. Colton and Matt and Mike Snyder. Colton recently had a baby and Nate has been like a father figure helping him navigate this new chapter. These friends of his are very important to him.

4. Nate is a handyman. He can fix anything and everything. Our water heater goes out, he’s working on it. Our fridge leaks or our garbage disposal fails. He’s got it. The washer went bad? Problem solved. He is a problem solver, and I love that about him. He is always taking care of us!

5. Nate loves his Simplx team. They are like his family. He feels responsible for each and every one of them and their families. He takes that load with honor and commitment. His business decisions, often weigh heavier on the side of kindness and compassion rather than making an extra buck. This is what he is known for.