The 4th!

What a Fourth we had!  Started the morning with a ward breakfast.  Piled into the van, turned the key to hear a nice machine gun clicking.  Car wouldn't start (not the thing you want when your minus one job).  Mike called his brother for some ideas while I piled all the kids in Pop-pops car and then we were all off the breakfast (Mike and I still a bit worried about the van). 

Here's the kids on the playground after "eating."

Ali was off with friends.

Side note:  We really like our ward.  Taken a bit to get used to being in a ward with people our own age (most younger, actually).  But man, there's lots of good people down here. 

We've had multiple couples flat out "ask" to be our friends.  We're trying to break out of ourselves and make that happen. 

One gal sitting in front of us turned around before sacrament and told us how she has been wanting to ask us to play Rook with her and her husband.  I mentioned that if she liked Rook, she'd love Hand and Foot.  She took that as a sign from Heaven that is was meant to be (she and her husband we're complaining the night before that they had no one to play Hand and Foot with).  Ha :) 

After that.  The couple behind us asked Mike, "So, do you guys go out with other couples to dinner and stuff like that?  Would you guys want to do that?"  Too funny.  So maybe the whole purpose of moving here is to get us out of our shells. :)

Back to the Fourth

Got home from the breakfast and took the battery to AutoZone to see (to hope... to pray) that the battery was just dead and that that was all that was wrong with the van.

Sure enough, it was dead and thanks to my bigger than average paycheck, buying the new battery was no problem (we have learned to not get excited when my paychecks are bigger than average or when extra money shows up.  We now ask, "So...what's going to break now?"  Ha.

Got home and I took a nap because my stupid new crown is killing me (4 advil every 3-4 hours to make it ache instead of hurt).  I haven't felt pain like this since recovering from my C-Section. 

After my nap everything seemed hunky doory with the van.  Had the hamburgers and hot dogs for dinner and tried to think of what we could do with our bored kids, since it was 100+ degrees outside and fireworks are banned in our city and all of Austin (didn't feel like driving an hour to see the nearest firework show). 

So we opted to let the kids get a new movie.  Loaded up the kids in the van, turned the key (it started... pheew) and drove off to Target.  Got the movie, some treats and got back in the van, turned the key and.... it wouldn't start.  Luckily we had bought jumper cables earlier that day and got a lady to jump our car.  I anbesoled my tooth (which did nothing) while the car got jumped.

It started up, but kept dying slightly when we turned corners and stuff.  So we said a prayer that we'd make it home without the car dying (did not like the idea of sitting in a car on the side of the road  in 100+ degrees with 4 kids, melting ice cream bars and no air conditioning when the rest of the world is off BBQing and doing fireworks.  Would not be fun). 

After a white knuckle car ride, we made the 10 minute (mostly on 50 mile an hour plus roads) drive home with only a few scares.  During all of this, Mike had the thought, Maybe one of the connections is loose on the battery.    Sure enough that's all it was. 

Mike gave me a blessing for my tooth, and we had a good time watching the Boston Pops and the fireworks, followed by a little Diary of a Wimpy Kids; Rodrick Rules.

So...the car is fine, my tooth will likely be fine in a few weeks, just very tender/swollen from the procedure (doc said no root canal needed).  And the kids enjoyed their first firework-less fourth.

Happy Independence Day!

THAT'S your Loaner?

Mike took his parents car into the shop to get some repairs done and they gave him a loaner for a few days.  I passed the line of loaner cars on the way off the lot and wondered which one Mike would get (the only slightly scratched1993 royal blue beamer or the hunter green Chrysler boat.)  He got neither.  This is what he drove off the lot in:

Convertible BMW Z4

It was Family Home Evening that night, so for "activity" Mike tooks to kids each for a ride with the top down (only seats 2).

My pictures are lame, I was hiding from the nice neighbor across the street who was building a fence and keptlooking over at the commotion in our driveway.    These were taken with me hiding in the corner of the garage.  Ha.

Jane was scared to go near the car.  Said it was "too bumpy" and refused to get in.  Still wanted to go for a ride though :)

THUMBS UP!  from Jane

S'More?

Mike an I were bored.  So we tried making S'Mores over the stove (thank goodness none of them fell off and made a gooey mess to clean up) :)

Thank heavens! It's an answering machine!

Talking on the phone makes me nervous.

I'm a grown woman, I know.  But I still hate doing it.  Never my best showing.  I stumble over my words, ramble to point that I wish I could tell myself to shut up and I pace.

No matter if I start the phone call in a chair or not, I end up pacing back and forth in the room I'm in. I might even spread it out over a few rooms, just to spice it up a bit.

My new calling requires me to make lots of phone calls, and I'm honestly never more happy then when I hear that answering machine *beep* (strike that... I ramble there too... shoot.)



Ali's Purse

The Young Women in our ward hold classes for young children (or not so young children, in Ali's case) through out the summer.  I signed Ali up for this sewing class.  Here's what she made....

Lookin' Good, Girl!!!

La-la-Lubbock

We just got back from Lubbock.  Had a great time.  Here's some of the highlights:

-Slip and slides work better when the ground in sloped.
-Kids don't care if the ground is sloped.
-Spencer is the most perfect, mild-mannered baby ever.
-Becky's italian sandwiches are yummy... so is her lemonade.. and pie.. dang, it was all good.
-The Lubbock McD's playland smells like urine.
-Stuie likes M&Ms and fears for his M&Ms when uncle Mike's around.
-Netflix is awesome.
-There's a super cute house for sale on 36th street... tell your friends.
-Going to the temple is nice and wow is the Lubbock Celestial room pretty.
-There IS a nice side of town in Lubbock, it is NOT where the wanna-be miniature golf place is. 
-Texas LOVES their Dairy Queens (for the food not just the ice cream).  I don't get it.
-Windmills CAN entertain a two year old for a seven hour drive.
-Redbox and long car rides are a match made in heaven.

The Hunt is (still) On.

Mike, as many (hopefully all) of you know, was let go from his teaching job due to state-wide budget cuts in education (last one in means first one out, right?).  So we are on the hunt for a new teaching job.

With hundreds (literally hundreds) of teachers applying for the open positions, the competition is beyond steep.  Mike was blessed enough to get to interview for one position because our Young Women's president teaches at the school, saw Mike teach Sunday school and suggested to her principal that she interview him.  My visiting teaching companion also worked at the same school and threw in her good word for Mike too.  So, he was one of 4 people (from the hundreds of applicants) to interview for a fourth grade position.  He knew going into the interview (thanks to the YW president) that they really wanted to hire one of the ladies that they had already interviewed.  So she gave him pointers on what cover, etc.  But Mike knew that with having most of his experience in 6th grade and none in 4th grade that it was a long shot that he get the job.

He interviewed very well (was his normal, playful self who said all the right things) and although they did give the position to the other gal, the principal told Mike directly that she was very impressed, loved his energy and wants him at their campus.  She urged him to keep an eye for other positions that open up and call her right away if he sees one come up that interests him.

Since we live in a fast growing development area, their is a very high likelihood that this Elementary school's enrollment will be higher than expected and that they'll have to hire more teachers (hopefully Mike).

We aren't putting all of eggs in one basket.  Mike is sending out resumes to other schools, and soon to other non-teaching jobs as well.  Mike still has his part-time teaching job with Stevens Henager and me, with my part-time job.  But we'd still love to have a "real" job as soon as possible.  :)