Installing air conditioners

Today, the humidity was so bad that we decided to install our second air conditioner even though we haven't replaced the window yet. We waited until 6:30 so that the sun would be setting, and we wouldn't have to deal with the heat factor. Or at least that's what we thought. Let's just put it this way, Tanner just finished cleaning up and came inside with sweat dripping off of his face. It's 11:30 at night. Our air conditioner is set to come on when the temperature hits 80, and it's going full blast.

Even with all of this, I still love where we are living. I can still take walks with the girls just as long as I walk a little slower. We can still go to the park as long as we bring water. And of course there is always the backyard barbeque.

What do I title this entry? Exhaustion? Fatigue? Beyond Endurance? or perhaps Bring On the Cartoons? I sometimes wonder if I'm just a little psychic. At the beginning of this week I had a feeling that exhaustion would be the theme, and boy was I right.

It started Tuesday night with Georgianna waking up ever 30 minutes. Yes. I'm serious. I counted 12 sessions between the hours of 11:00 and 3:00. I quit counting at the point because I was just too tired. It continued Wednesday night with Reagan who woke up at around 2:00am with a high fever and an upset tummy. I'm not sure if she has a stomach bug or if she has heat exhaustion.

That's where the theme bring on the cartoons comes into play. I don't usually let the girls watch movies during the week. I read somewhere that the average child watches 2 hours of television a day. I shake my head when I think of all the time they waste when they can be imagining, playing, painting, drawing and building things, but today, I think I got an inkling of why this happens. I got out the Dora the Explorer disc which has almost 4 hours of cartoons and pressed play. Then I put Georgie in her play pen with some toys, and I crawled into bed. I didn't sleep, but I didn't have to be upright either.

On the upside, when Tanner got home, both Georgie and Reagan were ready for their naps, so Kate and I decided to walk to the store to get some crackers, 7up and chicken noodle soup. Reagan started to cry when I explained to her that she couldn't come with us, but palpably brightened when I asked her what kind of soda she wanted me to bring her. She smiled and said, "green soda, please." Okay. I guess I would have to find green soda.

We picked up the mail on our way to the store, and found a letter for Kate from my Auntie Caroline. So, since I had to pick up some espresso beans, we went to Starbucks. We ordered vanilla milk, a cappuccino and a 1/4lb of espresso. Then we sat down and Kate opened her letter. She brings me such joy at these times because she is so grown up. It makes me hope that when she's a young woman we will enjoy little coffee dates just like this one. She spread the letter on the table, and said, "Oh, look Mommy, she sent pictures." So, we studied the pictures of a very muddy cousin, and another cousin swinging on a rope. Kate was able to make out the salutation which made her very proud. Then we carefully folded the letter up and continued our walk.

I was actually able to find green soda for Reagan, crackers, soup and 7up. I had to make sure that we bought the smallest packages since I would have to carry it all. We had to take the walk very slowly since it was muggy and hot. I think the temperature reached almost 88 today and the humidity was very high. Luckily there was a breeze so that kept everything bearable. When Kate and I got home, I knocked on the door for Tanner to let us inside. No answer.

I started to laugh and leaned against the front door. I couldn't help but remember the story Sheri tells of Chuck sleeping soundly in the apartment in spite of the pounding the door took, the ringing of the phone and the shouting at the open window. I knocked again and again and again until finally I saw Reagan through the frosted glass sort of stagger up from the couch. I shouted to her, "Go wake up DADDY." She started to cry, "I can't see Daddy!" After about 20 minutes of trying to direct her to where I thought Daddy might be sleeping, I was so relieved to see Tanner stagger out of our room.

He frowned at me when he opened the door. "Why are you making so much noise?" he asked in a disgruntled tone of voice. I just smiled and gave him a kiss on the cheek. It was Kate that said, "How come you took so long?"

Hot 'n' muggy

This week has been our first real taste of mugginess. I have to admit, it's a little uncomfortable, but we're learning to walk slowly and exercise in the morning or the evening. The girls are consuming popsicles and ice cream like there is no tomorrow, and I'm having to remind myself that food is a necessity not an occassional occurence.

On the plus side, we've been able to wear shorts, tank tops and crocs, play outside without worrying about the weather forcast, walk, ride bikes, go to the park and splash in the pool. Yes, we are gearing up for the fun summer months. Hopefully, this weekend will see us visiting Uncle Howell in Austin, and we also are trying to get a trip to Galveston in one of these days. I think the girls will be thrilled that they can actually splash around in the ocean without freezing their toes. Also, one day, I think I'll take them to the Johnson Space Center, but probably not until Tanner's schedule eases up a bit.

I'm still praying for more violin students. So far, I have 6 slots filled, but I'm praying for 4 more in the middle of the afternoon that way I'll have 5 hours of work on Tuesday. The only catch is teaching Tanner how to make dinner while I'm busy with students, but I think that will only come with necessity. I'd love to have a full afternoon of work, but I'm content to wait on God's timing because He really does know what I can handle. I am always amazed at how well God is taking care of us. He has truly brought us to a good land. I'm thankful for all of the prayers that I know go up before the Lord on a daily basis.

Just a cutie

Well, Kate and I had a "girlie" night. We did each others hair. She is so determined to learn how to make a ponytail, so I let her practice on me. I think I counted 10 little hairbands in my hair. She wanted little tiny braids in her hair, so I tried to oblige. I also tried to trim her nails, and I partially succeeded. When I went to cut her finger nails, she said, "Oh, no, Mommy. I love my nails. They are just like Auntie Emmy's." What could I say to that? So, I let her keep her finger nails, but I drew the line at the toe nails. She begged, "Mommy, if you cut them, then I won't be just like Auntie Emmy. Auntie Emmy has long nails!" No. No. And again No.

The Children's Museum

I suppose the title says it all. Today we went to the Children's Museum and of course, I forgot the camera at home. So, what does one say about the Children's Museum? Let's see...it is not walkable. It's not even bikeable. At least not yet. I suppose once we start tandeming around town we'll build up our stamina, but that won't happen until Georgie is at least one. So, I actually used the car today. If I'm not careful, I'm going to forget how to drive.

What motivated this strange defection? Two days of rain. Yes, I'm going crazy. I'm not use to having it rain. It rained on Sunday. It rained on Monday, and it was sprinkling this morning, so I put my foot down. This was ridiculous. The girls couldn't even run around outside to blow off some steam. Also, this was the second day Tanner had tumbled into bed at around 6:30am. So, we ladies piled into the car and went for our first trip to the Children's Museum.

Now, here is where my Portlandese gets in the way. I expected a HUGE museum with at least 5 different rooms of activities, and I expected the price tag to be HUGE. The last time we went to CM2 in PDX, it cost us $50 for all of us to get inside. And we didn't think the year long membership was worth the hefty price tag. So, I made sure I had enough cash. Made a cup of coffee and away we went.

What a pleasant surprise. The Museum is about 4 miles up Texas Ave, and behind some county offices. There was plenty of parking, and lots of big trees shading the whole area. We went inside and there was a little gift shop on the left, and the reception/ticket area on the right. The staff was really helpful and suggested that we get a membership since there were so many of us. I groaned inwardly wondering how long it would take to convince them that I didn't have the money for a membership. The man behind the counter pointed out that it would cost me $20 to get all the kids into the Museum, but for just another $20 I could get into the museum for an entire year. I blinked. Sounded like a good idea to me. I started thinking of the unbearable hot July and August days, and the cool air-conditioned status of this building began to make me think it would be a good idea. So, for $40, I bought a family membership so that all the girls, Tanner and I could go any day we wanted to go.

It's a great museum. Most of the time the girls spent painting on these large art easels. Kate painted a princess throne. Reagan painted a hodgepodge of stuff...and then tripped and painted Mommy's pants a nice shade of green. Georgie crawled on the baby mats and pounded on the piano keys. We spent an enjoyable morning, and I brought them home for lunch, and just in time to clean up the house before I had to teach.

Woke up tired

Just how does one wake up in a good mood? I can't remember doing that ever. I hate waking up. There's always that slightly foggy feeling right before you're completely cognizant of your surroundings, and then the jolt of daylight that makes you very aware that you should be elsewhere. The inevitable dragging out of bed, the propping open of the eyes that don't seem to know how to stay open on their own. The waiting for the coffee to brew so that they will stay open. Then the headachy feeling down the back of your neck that just won't go away. Like I said, I hate waking up. It would be much better if we never had to sleep or we never had to wake. How does a person wake up not tired? I know it is possible. Georgie does it quite often. We can always tell when she's had enough sleep because she wakes up smiling and laughing. When is the last time that ever happened to me? I suppose I must have been Georgie's age.

The best part about waking up is my kids. My eyes usually open just a little bit before they start to stir, so while I'm lying in bed I listen to their beginnings. Reagan usually shouts, "Katie!" and then she starts to laugh. Kate on the other hand typically starts to jump on the bed so I hear a sproingy kind of sound coming through the wall, and then she starts to laugh too. Then Georgie stirs. She's usually right next to me since by the time morning rolls around I've been up about 5 or 6 times nursing her around the 3rd or 4th time she ends up in bed with me because I just don't have the energy to put her back in her crib. Sorry to all of you that are staunch opponents to kids in bed with parents, but I swear that if you were getting up ever 1 1/2 hours, you'd give up at around that time, too. Anyway...Georgie arches her neck back so that she can look me full in the face, and then her little hand wavers in the air as she tries to touch my cheek. Then a contented smile spreads across her face and she starts to kick her legs because, "hey mom! it's morning!" At which point I groan and wish that I could just have a couple more hours of sleep.

Today is one of those weird Texas Spring days. It's gray and cloudy out. Occasional drops of rain fall, and it's about 80 degrees. It's one of those days that I can't figure out if it will be safe to go for a walk or not. The clouds might decide to let loose all of their pent up rage, and hurl large pellets of water at us as the thunder and lighting crash and flash above our heads. What a scary thought. On the other hand it might just stay mild the entire time and then I will feel like I've missed a great opportunity. Perhaps I'll take the walk, but pack my rubber boots in the back of the stroller. That is a definite idea.

Yet another walk, but this time with pictures!

We made it to church today. It was the late-late service, but at least we made it. We got to sing a few songs, and hear a good sermon which is something that we've missed for almost 4 weeks. I think we're finally adjusting to Tanner's new schedule.

Most of you are getting sick of hearing this, but it was another warm, sunny day, so like good ex-Portlanders we had to take advantage of it and take another walk. This time we took a familiar route that we call the Wolf Creek Walk. This one rivals the River Walk in Vancouver that we use to take several times a week when we lived in our condo on the Columbia. Kate remembered the camera this time, so we took lots of pictures.

So the first picture is of Reagan, of course. She's in that cute phase where she has to try everything at least once. On the plus side, it makes dinner really easy. On the negative side, it makes getting ready very hard.

Kate begged for the next picture. She loves the paw print that is at the gates of the walk, and she was so pleased that we let her take the picture. So, now we have a rare picture that includes both Tanner and I, and I think Kate did an exceptional job. Please note that Georgie is in the stroller since this is the only picture that we have of her today.

And of course, here is another picture of Reagan, just because you can see the new apartments being built and you can also see the little creek that meanders through the walkways. It's amazing how steep the banks have to be in order to prevent massive flooding from occuring, and the huge drains that they have in order to wick the water away as fast as possible.

And this one is due to Tanner. He's always so sensitive, and really tries hard to make sure that I get into a few picture at least. Since I'm always the one taking pictures (I blame my Japanese ancestry), I rarely appear as an actual persona. I'm typically the "phantom" mommy. But here we are. Proof that I do go on these walks with the kids.

Georgie fell asleep in the stroller, and I wasn't going to wake her up for a few photographs, so that should explaine the dearth of cute pictures today.

We walked the kids until they were dropping, then we stopped at the park and let them run around some more, then we walked back towards our house visiting Sonic Burger and getting some ice cream to fortify them for the last leg of the journey. By the way, Sonic Burger is our new favorite place to eat fastfood. Awesome slushes, limeades and ice cream are of paramount importance here in Texas, so it's no wonder that these things dot the landscape more frequently than a Starbucks.

Exploring on foot

How crazy is that? Here I am, piling 3 kids into a tandem stroller and thinking, "Where should I go for a walk? Hmm...Hey, I know. I remember seeing a sign to a park. Let's see if we can find it..."

Yes, oh, Idahoans, Washingtonians and Oregonians today was yet another beatiful walking day. Warm and slightly breezy with generous cloud cover it beckoned me all day long, but I wasn't able to go for my walk until almost 5:00, at which point it was time to make dinner. I knew if I made dinner there would be the dishes to clean afterward and then baths and then teeth and then bed and no walk, so I took the risk and headed for the "park".

Down Texas Ave. Pass Krogers. Oh, there's the brown sign. I knew it was somewhere around there. I still don't know the name of the street we turned down since I cut across a parking lot, but the park was only about 2 miles from our house. There was the proverbial swimming pool, baseball diamonds, soccer courts, tennis courts and 2 great play structures, and lots of swings. Time to push the girls, push the girls, push the girls, watch me!, tag me!, run with me!, carry me!, and that was it. Put the girls back in the stroller and headed home. Made it to the Krogers and experienced that light, heady feeling that comes with a sugar low. Boy was I glad that Tanner was with us. He ran into the store and bought juice and peanut butter crackers and some bananas. Made it home.

We still have the windows open to cool the house down.

I love to sing

Who said music is food for the soul? What a silly thing to say. Maybe it is food for the the people that are listening, but for the people that are creating the music it's a real calorie burner. Boy are my vocal chords getting a much needed work out. Two months ago, I was straining to hit my e's on the soprano line, and now they are breezing by and hardly noticed. I feel ready to start training for a vocal marathon. I find that I'm careful about what I eat right before practice. No sense in eating an ice cream cone or drinking a latte on our way since that'll just clog the throat and make flexibility virtually impossible. No, for me, it's mint tea minus the sugar and honey, nothing fried that day, lots of water and raw vegetables. Slowly but surely perhaps the vocal flexibility will come back.

I like this church because it doesn't mandate pop vocals in order to participate in musical activities. I never was much of a pop singer. My voice just doesn't match that kind of style. I perfer the classical oratorios and stuff like that. It's nice to know that there are still places out there that will let me enjoy the old fashioned stuff.

It's only April?

That's the question I asked Tanner today as we sat on the grass in the shade of big mimosa tree and watched our girls run around and splash in the spray park at Tanglewood Park in Bryan. They were slathered in sunscreen and wearing bikinis and crocs. Crocs seem to be standard wear here during the spring.

Today was a glorious, sultry day. The type of day where you can imagine sitting on the front porch sipping ice cold lemonade. The updated version is dark green umbrellas and a caramel frappuccino, but you get my drift. The weather has us looking around for u-pick veggies and fruits and imagining a weekend at the beach.

The whole world is a rich dark green with splashes of orange and purple wildflowers. When the wind blows, the long grass undulates like a bed of seaweed, so that you think that if you were tilted just right you'd be able to see the wind. There is a faint smell of burning brush wafting from the surrounding farm land. The mornings see a curious rushing of people going to and from work and quickly running errands, and then there is this long lull until school lets out. That's when the world looks like high-speed film has suddenly become vogue and there's another rushing about that fades off at around 6:00 when you know everyone is home from school or work, and they are sitting down to dinner. 7:00 rolls around and the night life starts. Moms run to the store since they know that the ice cream won't melt before they get home. Dads water the lawn and play ball with their kids. College kids come out to the street to flirt or flaunt. Couples take their evening run or stroll. Then 10:00 rolls around and the whole city tries to settle down for sleep before the next morning comes.

These are long, luxurious days, and we're trying to enjoy them before the mayhem and madness of school sets in.

We're in! We're in! We're in!

The saga of missing transcripts, quarters vs. semesters and Oregon vs. Texas has finally come to a fruitful conclusion. We started out by applying at Blinn College for early admittance as in-state residents. We were elated when they said YES! Please, come on in!

And then...

We had 3 weeks to get an official school transcript sent over from MHCC. We had 3 weeks to take the THEA mandated tests. We had 3 weeks to apply for financial aid. We had 3 weeks to convince the math department to let Tanner into Calculus. We had 3 weeks to register for classes. We had 3 weeks to determine which classes to take. We had 3 weeks to work it all out with Tanner's new employers.

First bump in the road: the federal government decided to make us prove that we were indeed VERY poor. Twice.

Second bump in the road: the state of Texas decided to make us prove that we lived in Texas.

Third bump in the road: the transcript did not arrive. Twice.

Fourth bump in the road: the state of Texas decided to make us prove that Tanner could read. Seriously.

Roadblock: transcript from MHCC was sent to the wrong address, then resent to 2 addresses. Oops.

It's against state law for a college to accept any student without proof of education like a transcript or GED or high school diploma. So...Tanner spent hours and hours in the administration office trying to convince them that he really was qualified to attend college. Like the head of administration explained, "Look, I could call MHCC using the number in the phone book. They could notarize a transcript, fax it to me, and swear on the recorded telephone conversation that your information was accurate, and I still would be breaking the law if I admitted you...unless you retake your entrance exams as an Ability to Benefit Exam." So, with one day before registration began, Tanner spent hours in the examiners office explaining why he should be allowed to take the exam at such short notice. Finally, they agreed to let him take it the following morning.

So...he took the exam...AGAIN and passed it....AGAIN, and rushed down to the math department to beg them to admit him into Calculus I. He heard someone say, "Tanner, Tanner, Tanner..." and the pit of his stomach lurched, his heart sank. This was not a good sign. This is the sound of a car lot manager who doesn't want to pay your prices. This was the Chair of Mathematics talking.

He had heard that there was this crazy kid who had spent days trying to circumvent the rules and regulations governing the mathematics department and BEGGING to be allowed into Calculus I. Apparently, the former-assistant chair no longer had the power to "force" registration for a math class. The Chair of Mathematics told Tanner that the former-assistant didn't have the authority to agree to allow Tanner into the class, that they don't allow any forced classing from a school that has quarters instead of semesters and that they had grave concerns that there were holes in Tanner's mathematics education. So, the Chair of Mathematics prepared an impromptu test for Tanner....

So, Tanner took ANOTHER test. The math section was just a little more involved, but of course he passed it. The Chair was duly impressed and enrolled Tanner in Calculus 1, 2, and 3. Thank you mom and dad for teaching us how to self-educate. All the time we spent studying Trig Identities on our own really paid off, since that was the sticky point.

Dealing with a service department in C.S. Texas

Well, from a city girl's point of view the service department at C.S. Honda needs a major overhaul. I'm sure that in a small town like this, people consider it to have great customer service, but for me, it was frustrating.

We missed our 90K check up in PDX because of the snow storms that happened the last few weeks we were there, so when we got to C.S. and realized that we were awfully close to our 105K check up where they replace the timing belt, we decided to just combine the two instead of taking our car in twice. So, like all good Honda owners we toddled on over to the local Honda dealership and scheduled an appointment with them. At least, we thought we scheduled an appointment. When we arrived at our "appointment" no one could find us in the books even though we'd spent half an hour the week before giving them all sorts of information. To top it all off they were full that day, and wouldn't have time to work on our car.

Most of you at this point would have called an independent mechanic, but Tanner and I are softies. So, we filled out the paper work again and scheduled for another appointment. We stressed the fact that we wanted the AC checked, we wanted the timing belt replaced and our rear tail light and reverse light taken car of and that we needed a rental car. So, the next week we all got up very early, and went to the service department. Walked in, and they said, "how can we help?" We said, "we're here for our appointment. our 90K tune up and timing belt replacement." There was a slight scramble, a shuffling of papers and then a few cleared throats, "um, we don't have you listed for an appointment."

Most of you at this point would have walked out and called an independent mechanic, but Tanner and I are real tenacious, so we just stared in disbelief at them. The service tech that helped us said that they had time that morning to do our 90K check up. Yay, for us, I thought, and then we asked about the rental car. He said, Can do. So, we spent another 1/2 hour filling out the paper work AGAIN, and reminded them that we wanted the timing belt replaced so that we wouldn't have to come back in, and that the tail light and the reverse light needed to be replaced. Also, we asked about tinting the windows and checking the AC.

Everything seemd a go at this point, and we contendedly drove home in an 09 Honda Accord rental and got breakfast ready for the girls. Well, you all know the ins and outs of dealing with a tune up. They called because our rear brake pads were wearing down. Yes, fix them. They called to give an accurate quote on the window tinting. Yes, do it. All in all, I was pleased with how smoothly everything was going, and the next afternoon we picked up our car. I was so happy that everything had been taken care of. The tinting job was FAT and the tune up was surprisingly inexpensive especially for replacing a timing belt. As Tanner inspected th tint job, I looked through the receipt. Then I looked through it again. And then I looked through it one more time. There was no mention of a timing belt replacement or the tail lights or the reverse lights. Though they had checked the AC and it was blowing at a comfortable 40.65 degrees.

Most of you would have left the dealership and gone to an independent mechanic, but Tanner and I are tenacious softies and just a little lazy. So, Tanner had to schedule yet another appointment, but the offered to drop and pick us up so that we wouldn't need another rental vehichle. And the third time they got it right. By the way, if you ever get your windows tinted in C.S., use Aggieland Tinting. They did an awesome job. The windows are so black that when the dome light comes on when you unlock the doors with the remote, it's just a dull glow.

What a rainstorm in Texas does to our back yard

The photo speaks for itself, I think....

Feels like HOME

Today, started with a light drizzle. We oozed out of bed to greet a gray, heavy sky. Managed to somehow find the energy to give the girls their breakfast and make a cup of coffee while we tried to let Tanner sleep. Searched for some milk to make his breakfast and realized that we were out. Found some canned milk and used that. Decided to try out some of my homemade corned beef, so out came the crock pot. Cut up cabbage, potatos and realized that I was out of carrots. Tanner was awake with brushed teeth. He looked at the sky. Looked at me. Decided that it was time for the family to go to Target.

I wondered aloud if he should perhaps finish up the exterior wall when an ominous roll of thunder came to our ears. Turned off all electronics except for the crockpot and went to Target. For some reason it's such a happy place for me. The girls ate a pretzel with cheese dip while we downed tea and coffee. Then we browsed the dollar section and found great after-Easter deals, so we spent a whopping $3 on "stuff". Then we took a turn around the store and found milk and trash bags. No carrots. That was fine by me, so we went to the check out counter. I had to find out how much this little toy cost that Kate wanted to buy, so she and I went to find one of those price scanners. When I came back with her to Tanner, I asked, "Where's Reggie?" He said, "Isn't she with you?" I stayed remarkably calm as the missing child alarm was called, so calm in fact that several of the staff wondered if there really was a missing kid. The explanation is very easily explained though: I had Katie. She was wailing, and I knew that if I showed any signs of stress, I would have a basket case on my hands. It was all over in just a few minutes. Apparently two good natured college girls followed Reggie just to make sure that she was okay. They saw her go to the dollar section and then hear her say, "I have to show Mommy." And then Reggie walked down one of the aisles and then another. I'm glad I didn't panic, but I don't ever want that to happen again.

So, after we went through the check out line, we headed for the car, and got stopped by a sheet of rain. When I say sheet, I mean a sheet. Tanner ran to the car and brought up to the the exit so that we could pile in. It was less then 20 feet away. By the time I got into the car, my hair was dripping, my pants were soaked (I wringed out about a 1/4 cup of water) and I was thankful that I wasn't wearing makeup. We sat in the car and just looked at the rain, and didn't feel like getting out of the car again because we knew we would get a similar soaking. So...we went on a drive. Meandered down to Navasota and then out this highway and stumbled on the Sam Houston National Forest. And it was a good ol' fashioned pine forest. That's all I needed to complete my day. It had rolling hills, high reaching trees, gray skies and rain. I felt like at any moment I would see Mt. Hood or perhaps I'd crest the range and stumble onto the Pacific Ocean. So, now, when I get homesick, I can find a small bit of Oregon right in the heart of Texas.

Pictures

Pictures of a gorgeous morning in Texas

Early this morning Tanner shook me awake to remind me that we had to drop our car off at the nearest Honda service center for it's 90K check up. I rolled out of bed and threw on some clothes. We grabbed the kids and put them in the car not even bothering to get them dressed. We had to stop for coffee and a couple of muffins for the girls, and then we drove the short distance to the Honda dealership.

I'm still trying to mentally adjust to a semi-small town. I knew that they would be able to the service work by the end of the day, but we had forgotten to ask about window tinting. I thought we'd have to schedule it for another day, but the service advisor said that it would be no problem and they'd have that done by 5:00 tonight. I'm still shaking my head just a little bit. We did rent a car so that Tanner would have transportation to work.

Since we were all up and fed, we swung by the house and got the girls changed and then headed to Walmart to buy more window screening and then to the park so that the girls could run around and enjoy the warm morning weather. And that's where all the pictures start. It'll probably take a couple of posts to get them all in, but it was such a beautiful morning and the spray park was open, so we let the girls run around and get soaking wet before we came home. AND then on the way home we saw a field of blue bonnets, the Texas state flower, so of course we had to stop and take pictures of that as well. Next year, I'm going to take our family picutre in a field of blue bonnets.

A day off at last!

Training has finally ended for Tanner, and he is now officially on the schedule for both jobs. Whew! What a long haul that was. The girls haven't seen him for almost 2 weeks, so it was nice that he finally had a day off today. We got up this morning and picked up a bread machine that I had purchased on craigslist. On our way out, we stopped at the bank and then at McDonald's for breakfast. Pancakes, anyone? Then we drove over to Blinn and dropped Tanner off so that he could go talk to advising. So, we arranged to pick him up at around 2:00 and headed for the park. On the way to the park I decided to check out this new grocery store -- I'm still on the look out for a bulk foods distributor. Kate had to use the bathroom, and right next to the restroom was their discontined stuff. It was a basket filled with Enfamil for $1.75. That's right, you betcha, I stocked up like a mad-woman. THEN we went to the park.

What a perfect day for the park. It was warm and balmy, just a slight cooling breeze. The girls ran around in shorts and tank-tops. Georgie had her first swing ride, and we only decided to call it quits when the girls said they were thristy and I realized that I didn't have any water in the back of the car. So, we piled into the car and went to Sonic Burger and grabbed some slushies, 2 corndogs and 2 cherry-limeades. It was still only 1:00, but I decided to head back to Blinn anyway. Good thing,too, cuz Tanner was sitting on the lawn waiting for us.

So, we came home and I taught violin while Tanner watched the kids and got the jog stroller wheels fixed. They kept going flat on us which made trudging up some of the hills very difficult. Ate dinner, made a loaf of bread and now we're sitting at the computer planng our course of action. It looks like Tanner might apply for admissions to A&M in the fall for their spring term. Getting excited that we might be Texas Aggies in less than a year!

Mashed Potatoes for Easter

Well, we broke with our tradition of not doing anything for Easter, and we had an Easter egg hunt. Far from being a hedonistic, pagan ritual, we actually had a great deal of fun. Some wonderful grandma's and grandpa's sent us Easter money, so we were able to go to Walmart and buy some of those plastic eggs and a couple bags of candy, a two dozen eggs and a tie dye egg dying kit and a glitter egg dying kit. The girls had a lot of fun choosing their Easter baskets, and then the whole family came home and stuffed the plastic Easter eggs with all the candy. Reagan didn't quite get the idea and kept stuffing jelly beans in her mouth, but on the whole we had a great deal of fun. The next day, I learned how to boil eggs WITHOUT cracking the shells, and then Kate and I dyed eggs all day long. We just took our time, so whenever she got tired of painting, I let her go play and then when she was all done playing we'd go back to egg dying. The next day was Saturday, and someone from our church emailed me a recipe for Easter cookies. It was really fun to make, and after every step we read a scripture about Jesus' journey to the cross.

It went kind of like this: we took whole pecans and beat them and read the scripture about Jesus being flogged. Then we took vinegar and read the scripture about Jesus being given vinegar to drink. I never realized how mean that was until I sniffed the stuff while reading the scripture. Then we added salt and read about Jesus crying. Then we took egg whites and beat them until they were stiff and mixed everything together. The whiteness of the cookies represented the purity of Christ's sacrifice, the pecans looked like rocks for the rocky tomb that Jesus was buried in. Last of all we put the cookies in the oven that had been heating up this whole time. We turned the oven off, and put tape around the oven so that no one could get in to eat the cookies. The girls were sad to leave the cookies in the oven. They wanted to eat them right now, but they had to wait until Easter morning for the cookies to be done. Next morning we took the cookies out and bit into them. They were hollow! Just like the tomb on Easter morning.

Then we had the Easter egg hunt.

Reagan wasn't too interested in it until one of the plastic eggs cracked open and candy fell out.

THEN she started hyperventilating as she ran from place to place stuffing as many eggs as possible into her hands becaus she couldn't remember to put them in her basket. It was a lot of fun watching the kids walk by a brightly colored egg over and over again. Finally all the eggs were collected, I double checked and counted them all, so we went back inside. The girls of course opened the plastic eggs first and started gorging themselves on candy while I cracked one of the hardboiled eggs and started to eat it. Reagan saw me and frowned. She looked at her plastic egg filled with candy and then looked at mine. Then she came over to my chair and said, "Mommy, I want mashed potatoes, too!" I handed her my hardboiled egg and she said, "thank you," and stuffed it into her mouth. I didn't know her mouth was that big, but the whole egg fit into her mouth and there was still room for her to chew. It took her a few minutes, but she managed to swallow the egg, excuse me, mashed potatoes, and then she held up her plastic egg and said, "I like my egg, mommy," and then ate some more jelly beans.

Georgie's first word!

I'm on cloud nine! She said, "momma, momma, momma!" That's a first for me! I never rank number one with the kids. I'm usually the fourth or fifth word. Usually the first is dadda, then hi, then "angu" translated I love you, and then somewhere between four and five momma typically lands. Wow, I feel special today!

She's really crawling around now, so whenever I leave a room, I hear her say, "momma, momma!" and then it only takes a few minutes for her to follow me, unless she gets distracted by a toy.

The Stars are Shining Brightly!

Perhaps the most unnerving part about taking a walk after the sun goes down is the fact that the sky doesn't look at all the same. The big dipper is no longer near the center of the sky. Orion's belt sits far too low on the horizon and Tanner tells me that it's harder to find the little dipper. But I'm not sure about that because even in Oregon I was always asking people, "where is it?" I suspect the little dipper is a myth or a figment of the rest of the worlds imagination.

The weather has been amazing the last few days. It's been 84 during the afternoons and cools off in the evenings which makes for perfect walking weather. We discovered this walkway that wends its way over Wolf Pen Creek, and it's only a short walk from where we live. Restaraunts and little boutiques are scattered along the way, so it's a very pleasant way to spend a few hours in the evening. I think the one thing that I missed most about Portland was the River Walk, and now we've found one to replace it. The path is very wide, so Kate rides her bike in relative safety when we go there.

Spring is definitly upon us down here in Texas. It looks like this Easter weekend is going to be bright and sunny. I believe this will be the first Easter that I've celebrated in the warmth though my mom might say that I had a few warm Easters in Hawaii. I just can't remember them. We decided not to do the Easter services this time around. Tanner is working doubles all weekend long, plus he has the graveyard shift at his other job. I wonder when he's going to find time to sleep, but he insists that he can make through till Monday. I think I've married a crazy man, but then I guess most of you already knew that.

We're going crazy!

Exciting news! Tanner just got accepted as an IN STATE resident! That means our timeline has shrunk by an entire year. I guess buying a house did the trick! We're reeling from the shock, and at the same time we're trying to figure out which courses would be the best for him to take. They have this great summer program called the May-minimester and Summer 1 & 2. The May-minimester crams a subject into 12 days, so we've decided to take state and federal history. Summer 1 & 2 are 5 week courses, and we're going to attempt Calculus 1 and 2. It's going to be a little tough since Georgie isn't weaned, yet, so I don't feel comfortable getting a job. We're hoping that she'll be ready when September rolls around, so that Tanner can go to a part time position instead of the full time that he is right now.

So...hopefully the MHCC transcripts arrive before the end of the week. Hopefully our financial aid comes in. Then we wait until the 20th to register for the courses.

There are so many wonderful facets with this new development. We could make a push for it and finish up ahead of schedule, or we could take it easy and stretch the schooling out for an extra year. If we finish up early, it would mean that Kate would be able to settle into a new class environment during the first year of middle school, so during the time when she would normally "switch" schools, we could make the move. It would also mean the Reagan wouldn't have to switch school because she would start kindergarten the same year that we moved. All in all, I think God knows exactly what he's doing. I just hope we can figure it out and do the right thing.

Our First Visitor!

Our very first visitor came today for lunch. Uncle Howell drove over from Austin, and played with his great-grand nieces for a couple of hours. I was so happy to see that the girls felt comfortable with him, especially Reagan. Reggie decided that Uncle was the perfect person to serve tea and sandwiches to for about an hour and a half, and then he was inducted into the portals of her play world when she showed him her "rella" doll and her horse. For those of you not familiar with Reggie's speech patterns: rella = cinderella.

Even Kate, who is normally very reserved, warmed up to Uncle, and they teased each other, and ate grapes together. Georgie slept through the first part of the visit, but she woke up in time to delight her uncle with plenty of coo's and smiles. She even demonstrated her crawling skills and didn't spit spinach at me when I fed her.

Funny story

In response to Harmony's story about bra's. Kate put on one of her lovely princess gowns and started to dance. I stopped working and watched her twirl around the room, and I noticed that she had somehow grown overnight curves. I tilted my head. Huh? She saw my look and giggled. "I got boobs, mom!" she shouted, and then proudly thrust out her chest. It was tuffed with wads of newspaper. I smiled and said, "wow, why'd you do that?" She said, "I want to be a big girl princess." At that point, Reagan, who had been an interested listener, asked, "Where are my boobs, Kate?" Kate dragged her into the back room and showed her how to stuff her shirt, and then both girls proudly paraded around the house shouting, "look at me! I'm a big girl!"

Yesterday was hot. Very hot. So today, we replaced the broken ceiling fan in the living room. I had a lot of fun. I learned how to take the existing fan down, assemble the new one and then hook up the electricity and install the new fan. At least now I feel familiar with the process so that I could in a pinch do it myself. It will be really nice to get all of the lighting fixtures finally coordinated in this house.

I am amazed at how nice this house is beginning to feel. The first time I walked into the house, I couldn't even imagine allowing my babies to crawl on the floor. I scrubbed everything and it didn't seem to help. And now, I look at my house, and Georgie crawls everywhere, stuffing whatever is on the ground into her mouth, Kate and Reggie play for hours inside and outside the house, and we're all adjusting to a life involving lots of insects. I am constantly amazed at God's goodness towards us.

For instance, today I finally bought a dresser for Tanner and I. I didn't realize how stressful living out of a suitcase was until that dresser arrived. Now, I appreciate having drawers to put my clothes in. My clothes will actually stay folded. The kids won't be able to throw the clothes around the room. I have something on which to set my jewelry box, my brush, my books and hairbands. A dresser is such a wonderful blessing from the Lord. And then I begin to think of all the things that I have to put onto the dresser. Wow, how great is that?

On your mark, get ready, start?

Well, today we applied for Texas residency status and admission to Blinn College. So, we'll see what happens, right? We have to wait for MHCC to send a transcript, and then find out if Tanner has to take the THEA exams...

So, we are praying. We hope you are praying. We know that God is listening.

On a light, frothy note - we found a swingset for the girls. And yes, I found it on Craigslist. They were inside playing when Tanner pulled up to the house with it hanging out of the back of our car. Yes, it was a sight to see. Luckily, Georgie had just fallen asleep, so I was able to go outside and help with the assembly part. The girls didn't even notice that their parents weren't in the house. Hmm...kinda scary thought, huh? Of course, they had managed to pull almost every toy out of their toy box and pretty much wreck their bedroom by the time we had finished putting the swingset together.

So, when they saw me standing in the doorway of their room they thought they were in so much trouble. I shook my head, and told Kate that since she had wrecked her room, she had to take Reggie to the park. "By myself?" she wailed. "Yup, by your self." "Can I drive?" she asked. Can you believe it? She's not even 15 yet and she's asking to drive. I pointed to the door, and made her march outside to the backyard with Reggie following closely. She dragged her feet over to her daddy (for some reason she didn't notice the swingset). He asked her if she wanted to play on her new park and then pointed to the very noticeable equipment. Her eyes grew big and she started to laugh. She threw her arms around me, and gave me a kiss and then kissed her daddy.

All in all, a very successful, happy day.

We might be done sooner than we expected

Well, Tanner went to Blinn College yesterday to discover if taking CLEP exams would be counted as attending school before we reached residency status in Texas. We thought that it would be okay, but we knew it would be very important to double check since a mistake in that area would cost us over 75,000. So, he toddled on over to Blinn while I was teaching and talked with the administrative office of admissions. The long and shor of it is that they said as long as he doesn't take over 20 credits this year, it won't count as "going" to school. This might mean that we can take some of the iffy courses like Chemistry and Calculus before next January. This would speed our time up here incredibly and might mean we could indeed be done with his degree in 4 years.

I can't help feeling a little excited, but we've learned to be very cautious, so we are checking and re-checking and then before we apply for admission we're going to get the gaurantee in writing. So, if you would, if you think of it, if you have the time, please pray that we cover all the loop holes, cross all the t's and dot the i's so that this whole schooling process moves smoothly without any hiccups.