D&D Update ~ Acura, Pebble, Hula & 529?

 Hey Family, 

Here's a very brief update:

• So sorry for all your pain Mom! We are praying that you can find relief soon!
• We bought Scott and Amy's Acura MDX last night. :) I don't think they were expecting to get a new car, but they went to the dealership for some work on the MDX, and one thing led to another... :) We weren't expecting to buy a new car either, but it really worked out well, and this is exactly what we were looking for. Danielle has loved our MDX, and this is just a newer version of our car. Now to sell ours! I listed it on KSL and posted it to Facebook so we have some interested parties coming to see it later.
• I mentioned that my reward for losing my 20 lb goal was a Pebble Watch. Well, I'm really liking it and it looks very professional and executive (which is what I was going for), but it doesn't sync my steps with MyFitnessPal (which I use religiously), and it doesn't give me as many steps as Fitbit. I miss the Fitbit more than I expected, but I don't want to use two devices! 
• I was SO determined to not let reaching my 20 lb goal stop my healthy eating and exercise, but something just happens in my mind and my motivation that once a goal is reached, my body just takes a break and falls back into old eating habits! I'm playing soccer once a week and trying to run still, but I really need to start eating right again and working towards a new goal. I might have to find a 1/2 marathon or something this Fall so I have something to work towards!
• Noe is getting more smiley and fun (very rarely laughs - she is still figuring that out). She is still such a hard baby though. She cries so much during the day and needs to be held almost constantly. 
• Layla is a happy little kid. We often joke that she is like a puppy - completely adorable, but so mischievous. Lately she has been taking her diaper off at random times during that day. Danielle will come across a diaper on the ground and then have to run to find it's owner before she pees somewhere! A couple of times this week Danielle has walked into a room to find Layla completely nude, playing with toys, like it's the most normal thing. :) 
• Danielle has signed Ani up for some fun Summer activities. She starts some private swimming lessons soon, and she has been doing Hula lessons at a Hawaiian neighbors house. I'll try to attach a little video here. Aniston turns 6 next week and she is SO excited. 

 

We had a good "life lesson" with Ani this week. I was telling the kids that I was expression some frustration because someone had broken the needle off of the bicycle pump and I needed to pump up a ball. About an hour later, Aniston marched up to me and said "Daddy, we need to have a little talk. I don't want you to be upset, but I need to tell you the truth. I'm the one who broke the pump, and I didn't know what to do or how to tell you." I told her that I was so proud of her for telling me, and that it was okay. She was really happy and said "I guess 6 year-olds tell the truth lots better than 5 year olds." Haha - I guess so!

Question for you Dad's out there with UESP 529 accounts: Hypothetically, let's say I have three kids. Let's say I want to put money into a 529 account for each of them monthly. Do I need three separate accounts, or can I just have one and deposit the amount for all three kids into that one? I have one for Ani, but not for the other two yet, and it would be easier to just up the contribution than to setup new accounts - just seeing if one of you knew!

Hope all is well for all ya'll.

From Scott ~

I have set up one account for each child. The primary reason was to qualify for an expanded award for the Regent's scholarship that was available if the candidate had a UESP account established before a certain age or grade. However, as I am now disbursing funds from the accounts, I think it would be a problem to pay Alyssa's tuition out of a Kellen account (for example). It is preferable from a tax audit perspective to make payments from the 529 accounts directly to the educational institution, as opposed to paying for it and then getting reimbursed from the 529 account.

I also have different investment profiles for accounts that will need to be accessed sooner (Lyss, Kellen. Kem) vs accounts that won't need to be accessed for several years (Taylee). The latter having a more aggressive asset allocation profile (higher equity).

It is super easy to transfer funds between the siblings accounts and to close them when they are no longer needed (Mckenna - YAY!)

I have one automated payroll distribution to UESP and then within UESP.org I can change the allocation of the distribution whenever I want.