Wah wah wah...

I am sorry to be lame, but I won't have time to post anything real until after finals end...maybe if you beg Jeff we might get something up before then

like a visit from Grandpa, or Thanksgiving, or even more business trips!

We love you all!

A Very Utah Vacation

We had the opportunity to go up to Utah for about 5 days last week. There were lots of fun things to take part in.

The first fun thing we got to do was attend the wedding of Mary and Michael. Mary was my roommate for several years at BYU-Idaho (or Rick's while we were there!) It was a beautiful ceremony, and they were both lovely. It was a gorgeous day outside as well--I was glad since I wasn't sure we would tolerate the cold very well. We were able to go the the reception which was later that evening, fun was had by all :)

We were also lucky enough to be able to spend a lot of time with Janine, Nick, Reid, and Gage. There was lots of gaming, junk food eating, and playing....There was a lot less sleeping :) Gage was getting a new tooth and Reid was just being silly. I have decided that it is a good thing that little kids are so cute, otherwise there would be a lot more child fatalities. We sure love those boys! We were able to help out with the packing that was going on at the Clayson home--they are moving into their first home! Yay for them!!! I (Michelle) was especially sorry to leave knowing that there was so much left to do on that....but school was calling my name.

We got to play a few new games together--some we brought, and some the Clayson's had. Nick and I decided that it was a good thing that we were cheap dates--both couples love to play games. I can't imagine how much money we have saved since we don't go out to dinner often, or even to the movies together, plus, we get to have exciting debates about things. Jeff and I are sure lucky to have them as friends.

We were able to visit with Sarah a few times as well while we were in Utah. I miss having her close. We are glad to report that Sarah has found a job, but sad to say that it will keep her from coming for Thanksgiving. We love her lots too!!

Some of our favorite parts of the trip:

• Frosty Run, eggnog ice cream run, licorice run :)


• Cities and Knights


• Babies climbing into everything they can reach


• Red Box movies


• A visit to Sigfried's Delicatessen


• German chocolates...See's Chocolates


• Temple Square walks


• Gage and Reid honing their couch climbing skills (I don't know if Janine will agree with that!)


• Waking up to two happy babies climbing all over us--and trying to eat any chords in site :)


• A visit to Bountiful Temple


• Picky eaters


• Two little boys learning to walk


• Good friends and family


• Babies eating weird stuff....


• Ticket to Ride


• Swapping book titles with people that you can trust :)


• Weather in the 60's


• Trying to talk friends into moving closer to you
  
• Reading Books with Reid and Gage

I am sure there are some other things, but that's what I have now :) We came home EARLY Tuesday morning and were able to spend the rest of the week with my Grandpa, but that is another post entirely :) (I was going to post a little video, but Blogger seems to be having problems...I will try to get it up later!)

Clowning around on Halloween

Well, Michelle has been on me for a while that I need to make a post. I think she does a much better job than me since the only writing I excel at is technical. So if you find this post too drab and boring just say so and Michelle will give you an exciting post to make up for it.



Our ward has a traditional Halloween party where they block off one of the cul-d-sacs in the ward and have games and a dinner. We have a new bishopric this year and one of them (who is also new to the ward) decided that it is not good for the church to be sponsoring Halloween activities. This caused a big uproar with many the established members of the ward so one of the families just decided they were going to through a party to upstage the ward. It ended up being an unofficial ward party, and I have a hunch that next year it will be back to being sponsored by the ward again.



I volunteered to make balloon animals for the kids, and so dressed up as a clown. Michelle and I had been clowns last year when we had gone to the ward party and were a big hit with the kids. It seems only a few people remembered though because during one of the planning meetings when it was announced that I would be doing balloon animals everyone was surprised that I knew how. Anyway below is a picture of Michelle and I right before we went. Michelle decided that instead of being a clown like last year she would be a witch assistant instead.


The party turned out to be a lot of fun even though we didn't get any food since we were so busy. I think we made about 150 balloon animals, and by the end of the night my hands were very tired, and not working very efficiently anymore.

Gecko Pics

I totally forgot about adding gecko pictures until today, so here they are.

The one in the hallway was much bigger than my thumb...

Gecko attack, the third

This is totally crazy! We have never had a gecko in our house before and now all of a sudden we are a gecko motel! Sunday night I went back to our bedroom to get something and on my way out I noticed movement from the corner of my eye. Low and behold this little gecko is hanging out on the floor in my hallway. My first thought is how the heck did it get right there...all of our other visitors have been in the bathroom sink. Then I think, I don't really want to know how it got there...what if there is another entrance point? Anyway, I ran to the kitchen and got a plastic cup and trapped Mr. Gecko under it then I made a panicked call to Jeff, who of course didn't answer his phone. I am NOT going to touch that thing, so I am trying to decide what to do. I could just leave the thing under the cup until Jeff gets back, but what if it dies, then I have a rotting gecko in my hallway. Another terrifying thought comes to me--what if I accidentally tip the cup over and it escapes...or what if it just escapes...By about this time Jeff calls and we discuss my options. I can call someone to see if they will remove the beast for me, but I don't know who our home teachers are, it seems a little too silly to call the Elders quorum president about, besides, it is getting late (9:30 ish). Finally I decide I am going to call my visiting teacher and see if her husband can come and remove the gecko. They don't answer, so I call Jeff back and it takes him 20 minutes to talk me into getting rid of the gecko myself. I put on some latex gloves (did I tell you I am NOT touching the gecko?!?), get a file folder, open the front door so I am ready for a quick escape, and go to work. Somehow I got the gecko on the first try, so I head outside. I hadn't really thought the release through, so I stand on the front porch for a moment pondering, but I can feel the gecko scrabbling around, which is really grossing me out. I come to a quick decision. I chucked everything out into the yard as far as I could throw it, waited 30 seconds so the lizard could get away from the spot, and then carefully crept over to the cup and folder, kicked at it, picked it up and tossed everything into the outside trash can. Jeff was on the phone the whole time this was happening, so I am trying not to shriek, or anything because I know he already thinks I am pretty ridiculous....luckily I was able to do it pretty quietly :)

So, I am proud to say that I have evicted my first gecko, and I hope never to do it again!

P.s. As soon as blogger fixes itself, I will upload a picture of a gecko :)

It's friday, it's friday, hurray!

I am super happy it is Friday, can you tell? It has been a really long week. I had a midterm on Tuesday, and a big test today, plus a couple of big assignments. I am really happy that I get to do some light homework this weekend :) My house is happy too--it is a DISASTER area! A "No drop by visitors, please" sort of mess. Lucky for me there is lots of time tomorrow to work on it, and as an added bonus, it will be cool--only 85! I might even get out and clean my car...it would love it too!

Yesterday was a sad day. We had a flat tire--this Malibu is a flat tire magnet! Anyway, we found it on Saturday but Costco didn't have the tire so they ordered it. Yesterday they called and said that they got the tire in, so I took it in at 12:30 thinking I had plenty of time before my 3:15 class. After an hour and forty-five minutes they called me to say that they had ordered the wrong tire, but a nearby Costco had 22 of the correct one. One has to wonder why they didn't tell me this on Saturday, but what can you do. So after my class I went to the other Costco and had to wait another 2 hours to get the tire. Mostly I was sad because I was having a hard time studying with all the people. Thankfully, I am pretty sure I did very well on my test today.

For those wondering, Jeff is out of town again this weekend, we will be gone until next Friday. This time I made sure to find some winter cloths so he shouldn't freeze if it snows on him again. I am sure that he will have lots of fun visiting with some of our friends there. I am trying really hard not to be too jealous...

Have you seen Jeff Henry?

So, it seems like I should have something fun to post, but I'll admit that my nose has been hard to the grindstone this week, so there hasn't been that much fun to be had...except for the phone call I get from Jeff on the days he is supposed to come home. Jeff has been in Utah since last Monday (the 24th of September), I am now hoping that he will make it home Thursday night, but my faith is waxing cold :) I have been guaranteed that he will be home twice now, and both times he has had to stay several more days. My only hope is that if he gets delayed again for some reason, he will be home for this weekend...but that may be wishful thinking. He should have some fun things to post when he gets home--I know there was a visit with Janine, Nick, Reid, Gage, and Sarah and I think some snow....I guess we will find out more later :)

Graduate School Woes...

Today one of my professors did an entire class on graduate school-- how to apply, what to expect, trying to forestall all the students who will end up in her office to ask about it. I hope that it turns out OK for her :) Seems like she still might get tons of students asking the same questions....

Anyway, we found out the 60 students applied to the AuD program last year and they only accepted 15...which is apparently a lot. Dr. Pittman said that they usually like to accept closer to 10. I guess I should be thankful that hearing is the route I want to take--200 students applied last year to the Speech program and they accept between 25 and 30. Either way, they aren't great odds. I wouldn't really worry about it except I don't have another plan--as in, I don't have another school I can go to without Jeff having to get a new job, and, what will I do with my very expensive education if I don't get into the program. So! I guess I better do REALLY well on the GRE and hope for the best...

On another note, Jeff has been out of town since Monday morning. I pretend like I am going to party while he is gone, when in reality I am in bed by 9. So much for the party animal in me :) Sounds like things are going OK for them--they get a little frustrated with ATK, last night Jeff told me he knows more about their protocols than some of the techs that work there. I think as long as Jeff really gets to come home Friday night, life isn't too bad. Just as long as no more lizards get in between now and then...

A Science and Society Update

For those of you who don't remember, my Science and Society class is one that is supposed to make me a more responsible scientist. I think that is a great goal...although I have to say I don't consider myself a scientist, but that is a little off topic....We have finally started talking about a science related subject, global warming, a heated topic to be sure. I just got out of that class and I am pondering some things--none of which we talked about in class, but I think are interesting/relevant to any "science" discussion.

The first thing that is driving me a little crazy about these discussions is that there seems to be only one right answer--how often is that actually true in real life? I have found very few things to actually be completely polarized and yet we don't even consider that global warming might be more than humans are bad and causing the world to start on fire...we seem to gloss over the fact that the earth seems to have natural cycles of warming and cooling and that maybe we are not the sole cause, but a contributing factor. It also seems that people are either for or against doing something about it. Again, why not some moderation? Regardless of whether or not the earth is warming, can't we work to lessen our impact on the earth--recycle more, turn out lights, walk/ride bikes more often etc?

My other pet peeve about this class is that if you are religious in any way, your opinion doesn't count. Obviously, you are nuts, don't you know? I am religious (you guys are surprised, aren't you!)...I think that I can still reason through things without letting it make my opinion out of this world. Let's take evolution for an example. I believe that God created the world, and the people that inhabit it. I also believe that evolution exists--I don't buy that we came from apes, but, I think that I am higher on the evolutionary chain than some of you--I didn't have any wisdom teeth :) Ok, I'm just kidding about being higher on the chain, but I think you get my point--religion and science aren't mutually exclusive, and it is silly to pretend that they are.

So, that's what I have been thinking about...I don't think that these things make me a "crazy right wing nut" but, maybe it does...

Monday Morning Madness

Today was one of those horrible Monday mornings where nothing seems to go right...the sad thing is it is only 10:30 and I already know it :)

Poor Jeff got woken up like 50 times last night as I tried to fall asleep. It was my worst sleepless night in a long time...I have to get up to go to school between 6:30 and 7:00 but didn't fall asleep this morning until about 5. Needless to say I was not happy when the alarm went off! I was super slow getting ready so I missed the bus. Not a big deal, but $10 bucks to park for the day flushed...that is a little sad. Anyway, on the way I stopped to get a breakfast burrito because I was starving and we didn't have anything grab- and- eat at home. I had literally been dressed for 30 minutes when I spilled on myself...a white shirt no less...I was very grumpy. I didn't have time to run back home and change, then I heard this joke on the radio (it's a political joke, so don't be offended...): a man is in a bar in a small town in Texas and he looks up at the television and sees Hilary Clinton giving a speech. He says to the bar man (this is my "clean" version) "She is a horses butt." The bar man reaches under the bar, grabs a baseball bat and whacks the guy upside the head. After shaking the hit off for a second the man says to the bartender "Sorry, I didn't know this was Hilary country." The bar man says "It isn't, it's horse country." I laughed so hard! Probably because I was so tired, but it made me a little less grumpy about the day. Then, to make the day a little happier, I ran into an off campus book store to buy myself a new t-shirt and the owner was super nice. He helped me pick a t-shirt out, cut the tag off, and let me use the non-public bathroom to change my shirt. I guess the world isn't all bad :)

School Spirit

So, the other day Jeff and I were walking through Home Depot looking for a part for the weed whacker (weeds are taking over the lots!!) and we saw some door mats that were maroon and gold with a big Sparky on them and I said to Jeff "Sweet! I think we should get one!" and he said "No way! We should get a Utah State one, where has your loyalty gone!" That got me to thinking about school spirit/loyalty to a school.

I have a love of Utah State, my sweet hubby graduated from there and I love Logan. However, BYU has a special spot in my heart as well, mostly because my Dad graduated from there and I can remember a few fun things from living there. When I started going to ASU I didn't have a love of the school--it was way too big and way to a-moral. However, I have come to love certain aspects of the school--the most important being I will have a degree from there, so I have started cheering for their football team (which stinks a lot of the time...although they have won their first two games so their might be some hope this year!) I have also started desiring to have things that have Sparky's on them. He is a cute little devil after all :) So what's the answer here? Can you have loyalty to more than one school? Can you get along with others that don't cheer for "the right" school? It is all a funny thing anyway considering most of us never set foot on the campus after graduation again. The answer for us is a Utah State door mat for one door and an ASU one for the other...or we just stick with the ones that we have now :)

On another note...when I got on the bus the other day the driver was chatting on his cell phone. I don't think that Arizona has any cell phone driving laws at the moment, but that seems a little iffy to me. If more accidents occur due to talking on the phone, surely the city of Tempe should have rules about its drivers talking on the phone, I mean, those things weigh like 4 times more than a car, just think how much more damage it could do! Luckily he didn't stay on for too long after I got on, but I thought it was highly suspect...

Creatures from the Henry's bathroom...

So! I had an adventure the other night...in the bathroom...with a creature that didn't belong in my house. I actually thought I would post this story, and my cockroach incident since it too occurred in the bathroom. Mostly they are just silly :)

Saturday night I got up a couple of hours after we had gone to bed to use the bathroom. I don't usually turn the light on in the bathroom if I get up because I don't want to wake up too much. However, on Saturday I was already pretty awake...trouble sleeping (not a big surprise to some of you, I am a terrible sleeper!)...anyway, I happened to turn the light on. So I did my business and I went to the sink to wash my hands--soap, a little more water, lather lather lather, hands under the water, movement, rinse--movement!! I look again and their is this gecko hanging out in my sink! I'd like to say I handled it calmly, but I didn't. I let out a giant shriek and ran out of the bathroom, leaving the water on and everything. Jeff didn't come running (we had a little chat about that and he will be moving much more quickly in the future :)) so I ran down the hall yelling that he better get in the bathroom now and take care of the thing in the sink. Jeff was very brave--grabbed the gecko and threw it out the back door. Pretty much he thought it was funny that I was so upset about it because we have several little lizards that live around the outside of the house, and about three geckos that live by our front door. What he didn't understand was, they are fun to see when they are outside, but definitely not inside. We know how he got in...the window in the bathroom doesn't close right...Jeff will be fixing that later on today :)

My other creature encounter also occurred in the bathroom, but with an even more unwelcome creature than a gecko--a cockroach. I should preface this by saying we had a cockroach problem when we moved in. I am sure that we still do since the darn things can live through just about anything, but we are sprayed regularly and haven't seen any lately (YAY!!). So one morning not long after we had moved in I was getting ready for school and went into the bathroom to dry my hair. I turned on the blow dryer and flipped my hair and started drying. I started to notice a weird smell coming from the dryer--at first I just thought some hair had been sucked in and was burning, but as I dried a little longer I realized that it was not the right smell. I flip my hair back and look into the dryer to see if I can see the problem. A shriek and thrown blow dryer later revealed a cooked cockroach inside the dryer. I made Jeff by my a new blow dryer and for a couple of weeks it was his job to go into the bathroom in the morning and check for roaches. I am much less lax now, but if I have left the dryer out on the counter for a few days it gets a tap before being turned on.

Oh, for those of you wondering what a cooked roach smells like....tuna.

Ribs!

First of all, we hope you all had a nice Labor Day weekend. I (Michelle) was sick for most of it, which is why we didn't have any friends over. Sorry people, we still love you! Anyway, I had decided that I would attempt to make ribs for Labor day. I have never actually tried to make them before, they are one of the foods that scare me. Usually, we just order them at a restaurant! Anyway, I searched several recipe databases to try come up with the best way to cook them, as well as the best recipe. In the end, I was totally disoriented, so I called my Dad. After talking to him, going to the grocery store to see what looked good (I actually bought both baby back and spare ribs!), and printing a couple of recipes, I decided to attempt the baby backs. I used a dry rub and baked them for a couple of hours and then we finished them on the grill. They turned out really well, I was so proud of myself! If you want the recipe, let me know...I will give you the actual one, and then my improved one :)

The ribs did turn out really well, although I (Jeff) did the rubbing and the grilling, but I will give Michelle (most of) the credit for such good cooking!

Below you can see the finished product and that Michelle enjoyed them ... I did too, just didn't get in a picture.

Yummy!!!!

Next Blog Button Note

My poor Grandma clicked on the "Next Blog" button and had quite a shock. We just wanted to make it known that we have nothing to do with that button. I think it takes you to the next blog in its alphabetical index. If you want to see our past posts, then you should check out the Archived Blogs feature. Sorry Grandma!

Bus Indignation

So, instead of doing something useful right now like make dinner, or catch up on reading for my classes (only one week of school has gone by and I am already behind..poo!) I am going to complain about the bus system. I just had a terrible ride home, and I know from past experience, I will have several more.

I ride the bus to ASU. It is cheaper than buying a parking pass and it is supposed to be easier. My top reasons for hating the bus right now:

• I missed the bus the first Tuesday of class because it was 10 minutes early. I made sure to be out extra early on Thursday and the bus came at the same time it did Tuesday...early. Bus drivers should have to sit and wait at major intersections if they are more than 5 minutes ahead of schedule. *Grump*
• The extra long buses should be the only buses out during peak hours. I am particularly grumpy right now because I just had to be shoved out of the bus, literally. For some reason, the long buses aren't run during peak times of the day on University. So, people have to be jammed in to the shorter buses and it takes 4 minutes at each stop because people have to try to hurdle a hundred others. I guess that is only if you are lucky. Sometimes the driver won't even let you on! Plus, you have a whole bunch of people touching you, sometimes in places you don't want to be touched by a stranger (that happened to me last Wednesday a couple of times) *Grump*
• The bus drivers feel bad for homeless people and let them on free of charge so that they can ride around in the air conditioning. I feel sorry for homeless people, and I don't know how you don't die of heat stroke being homeless in the Phoenix area, but that doesn't mean they should be allowed to take up more than one seat on the bus because they have to bring everything they own on the bus. Worse for me is when they are OBVIOUSLY drunk and reek of alcohol. I somehow always end up down wind when that happens. Most of you know that I am really susceptible to motion sickness (see our San Diego post to find out more!). Those bus drivers are lucky I haven't tossed my cookies on the bus yet. (and I think they should pay for the several fizzy sodas it takes to calm my stomach after that!) *Grump*
• I know that it is expensive, but I also think that they should have covered seating at all of the major stops. I'd like it at all the stops, but I am reasonable :) It is too stinking hot here to make people stand out in the sun for 20 minutes while they wait for the bus. I was really happy to see that they finally covered the area where I wait on campus, it wasn't last year. Keep up the good work bus seating cover builders! *half-hearted Grump*
• Finally, bus drivers should be given a personality test. I know that there are idiots out in the world, but that doesn't give drivers the license to treat all of their customers as idiots. They should be kind and helpful! The other day I was on a bus where the driver berated this old man because he didn't stand up to flag the bus down fast enough. It just wasn't necessary. *Grump*

So, I think that's about it for now. It's at least all of the time I can justifiably spend on this :) Love and better bus rides in the future to everyone!

Henry Reunion

Well since Michelle said I would be putting up some of the videos and pictures from out trip to Idaho and Utah, I thought I had better get started. Here is a description of the Henry Reunion.

The theme for the reunion was the Henry Olympics. Every family created a flag, and we had a bunch of different activities.

Here is a picture of me with our flag.

Some of the activies included cross cut sawing (following is a video of Rob (my older brother) and I and one of my grandparents sawing),

Caber toss (here is a picture of my sister Rachel just after she tossed the caber),

Stick pull,

leg wrestling,


and pie eating.

I think everyone had a good time and it was a lot of fun. Michelle enjoyed getting to know some of my cousins that she didn't know very well. We both enjoyed seeing and playing with our nieces and nephews.

I am depressed

I just finished the first reading assignment for my Science and Society class. This class is supposed to teach me how to be a better thinker so that I can be a better scientist--I will be able to better get grant money for research and I won't tell lies to the American people.

The first reading assignment was the first chapter of an Ann Coulter book and the first chapter of an Al Franken book. I now know for sure that I am going to hate this class. I have suspected something about myself for quite some time, but I wasn't sure about it until today. I am not a politician, and oddly enough, I don't care about politics. I want to know what the issues are so that I can vote well, but I am uninterested in the left side, or the right side, or the nasty things they have to say about one another.

The moral of the story? I will not be leaving either of these readings on my coffee table, and don't try to talk to me about them :)

Class Schedule

MWF Physiological and Physical Basis of Hearing 8:40-9:30 am
MWF Anatomy of the Speech Mechanism 9:40-10:30
MW Science and Society 1:40-2:55 pm
MW Indians of the Southwest 3:40-4:55
TTH Developmental Speech and Language Disorders 3:15-4:30

I am available most of the time between the classes, so let me know if you need something!

A Quick Update...more to come later

Well, even though we posted that silly video, I am feeling a little bit guilty about not posting anything for almost a month. I need to cool down from running around school before I get sweaty doing some chores around the house, so I thought I'd throw something up here quickly. We had a great time in Idaho/Utah a couple of weeks ago. I was totally thrilled by the launch. I am hoping that Jeff will be able to put up a picture or something of it. It was amazing! I was so proud of those guys--Jeff and his team--I know they worked really hard and it went really well. I had no idea how big it would be, nor how loud! It was totally cool...I am going to let Jeff write more about our trip since there are some funny videos I think he should put up. Suffice it to say we had a lovely visit with the family, lots of fun with some friends, and a good opportunity to see some people we haven't in a LONG time!

Once we got back, we had to scramble to get some things taken care of. Our freezer died for a little while, while we were in Utah (thanks to Becky and Sarah for cleaning it up!), so we had to take care of that. We also had to cut back the jungle that some might call the lawn. It was crazy tall! There had been a bunch of monsoon rain while we were gone, and the grass was really tall. It took Jeff several days to get it taken care of. We also bought a new fridge because ours was going a little crazy--oozing green sticky stuff on the floor from an unknown place and growing mold from inside the seals, that was extra special! Becky moved out while we were gone, she found an apartment not too far from us and then Sarah headed back up to school this past weekend. She and I spent last week doing a lot of goofing around. I was really sad that both of the girls moved out, I know that it is good, but I have lost my built in friends! We are still getting used to being "empty nesters" but I am sure that we will find it easy to slip back in to.

School stated for me yesterday (Monday) and all in all it was a better first day back than last fall, so I can't complain too much. I have two classes I am really bummed I have to take, one of them is called Science and Society. It fulfills some liberal arts general ed requirements...my teacher is quite liberal. I think that it is going to be a lot of pointless work, but I guess we will see. The other class I am taking is also to fulfill general ed requirements, but they are university ones. It is called Indians of the Southwest, I wasn't as bummed about this class because I figured it at least had the potential of being interesting. Too bad my teacher is boring to the extreme (the first day he read us the syllabus, and every one of his power point slides!). My other problem, that may or may not be serious, we shall see, is that it is an upper division anthropology class so our teacher uses a lot of specialized terminology. I haven't had any other anthro classes, and we have no book...makes it hard to read supplementary material to make sure I understand. Only time will tell how that will go....I plan to put up my class schedule so anyone that needs to get a hold of me knows when I won't answer the phone :)

I know that there are other things to say, but I need to go and make dinner...boo hiss :)

Video Test

Testing to see if we can upload a video. Thanks Nick for teaching us, and I hope you all enjoy one of our favorite videos!

The Unknown Danger

I had a very interesting experience today! I was doing some housework in preparation for our jaunt to Idaho/Utah and the kitchen garbage was full. I usually leave that chore for Jeff, but it stank, and had about 20 pounds of yucky melon in it, so I thought what the heck, I'll take it out. It was heavy, so my big plan to get it to the trash can was to carry it off the back porch and then drag it through the grass and around the house, thus lessening the amount of hard labor I had to do :) As I picked up the bag to step over some stuff on the porch, something in my shoulder freaked out and I had to drop the bag. I was pretty stunned at the amount of pain, but figured it was some freak accident and not serious--you know, like getting a crick in your neck? So I got to the garbage can and tossed the bag in with my left arm and noticed that it tweaked my right shoulder. At this point I was a little worried that it was worse than I had initially thought, so I went in and put an ice pack on it and called Jeff to tell him that I had hurt myself. He was very gracious and hurried home to make sure I was ok. By that time I was pretty sure that I wasn't, but I didn't want to go to the doctor and have them tell me to stop being a baby. Jeff talked me into it though. We went to the Urgent Care and they did a few x-rays to make sure nothing was broken...nothing was, but some of the poses they had me in were quite painful! The doctor told me things were too swollen to make any definitive diagnosis, so she sent me home with a prescription and told me to come back in a week if it was still hurting since it could be a strained ligament, soft tissue damage, or torn rotator cuff. Right now I don't care what it is as long as the drugs kick in soon. It has gotten distinctly more painful as the evening has gone on. Who knew that taking out the trash could be so dangerous?

Midnight needs to come faster!

So, the last couple of days have been filled with an unnatural hush at our house as people are frantically reading or listening to the sixth Harry Potter book. We have all been getting ready for tonight when we will be joining hoards of other people lining up to get the last book tonight at midnight. I have actually never been to one of these shindigs, so I am excited and a little apprehensive. I have been checking out all of the bookstores to see which one seems to be having the best "party" and I think I have settled on Borders...partly because there is one really close to us :) I am hoping that we can get in, get our book, glow in the dark wand, and poster, and get out so that I don't accidentally hear anything about the book that I don't want to! Sara has threatened to read the last page of the book out loud in the car on the way home, I told her she would have to walk home if she did. She also keeps saying she is going to stay up all night to read it, but I don't know that I will have the ability to do that (come to think of it, I don't think Sarah will either as she is at work most mornings by 5!)

On another Harry Potter note, we saw the movie last weekend. I know some people haven't been impressed, but I think that it is one of my favorites, I definitely liked it better than 3 or 4. I was a little sad that they ignored the Percy story line, and I hate the new Dementors, but I think that I can live with most of the other story line changes. Before I saw it, someone said that there was something in it from Book 6 and they were upset about it. So naturally I watched to see if I could pick it out. I am proud to say that I did notice it--when the DA is practicing someone uses the levicorpus spell. I have to say that it didn't bother me. I know that it is kind of a big thing in the sixth book, but I think that there are enough other spells that come from the Prince to make its loss negligible. Plus, I am sure that lots of people didn't notice it, so if they decide that it should still be a big part of the 6th movie, they can do it without too much squawking from movie goers.

So, I am now going to try to do some other things patiently, without looking at the Internet too much so I don't see what someone who has the book already says....

Rain, Rain Come Again!

Last night we had our first summer rain storm. I don't know if it was an official monsoon storm, but we were thankful for the water. Unfortunately, rain didn't fall for a long time, but the lightening lasted for a couple of hours. The plus side is that the dirt in the lots got wet and so we don't make quite as big of a dust plume when entering or exiting the lot...the minus side...it rained mud. It is a unique experience. Because it is so dry in the valley, we have a lot of dust storms leaving large amounts of dust in the air, so when it rains for a short period of time, the dust gets wet and falls. This morning I went out to my car and it was even dirtier than it was yesterday :)


(and between you and me, that is saying something!)

A traumatizing afternoon...

Well, I think that I can now discuss this subject without breaking into tears every time I think about it...yep, no tears :)

Yesterday Jeff got a new calling. We were pretty sure he would when a member of our bishopric called to see if he could come in for an interview at 12:30 (we have church at 1). So off he went, but before leaving I made him swear that he wouldn't let them release him as a primary worker. After all, when we were first called to be primary teachers they only asked Jeff...over the phone...so I figured they couldn't only release him since he agreed to be the teacher. Plus, there are 8 six year olds in our class! So, Jeff promised, went, and came home about 15 minutes later. He is now the Assistant Scout Master, but he wasn't to be released as a teacher, he made sure to ask (what a good guy!). Too bad someone forgot to tell the Bishop that. We are sitting in Sacrament Meeting and they released him! I'm not gonna lie, I had a major heart attack. Did I mention that there are 8 six year olds in the class? ...I am only one woman. He is allowed to come and sit with me during class time, but I will be left alone in Sharing Time. I was totally upset, and yesterday I literally cried every time someone mentioned it. I am still really worried about how I am going to juggle all those kids...we have a hard time when there are two of us! However, I know that Jeff is totally excited about being in Scouts. Now he will have a whole bunch of buddies to do manly sorts of things :)

One more sad thing...tomorrow is my birthday...28. Sadly, Jeff is in Utah. He had to leave this morning and won't be back until Friday (and then he'll be gone again for the next two weeks!) So, I am pretty bummed. On the plus side, I got a Wii today, and I expect to get 3 games for it in the mail tomorrow. I took the Wii out of the box, but I haven't tried it yet...maybe tomorrow :) I also got a sweet new phone today, but not for my birthday, just because mine is being freaky. It is a mint green Chocolate. I am having a few issues figuring out what buttons do what, but overall, I am really enjoying it! (Don't be sad if I accidentally hang up on you!)

Well, I feel much better about life! I am glad that I have this thing :) Hope that you are all having a lovely day!

A major freeze has come our way! Ok, not really...we are just enjoying that it is only 105 today. We have been baking in 110+ weather the last week, and the swamp cooler has a hard time keeping things comfortable at that rate. When it is 105 and below, the swamp cooler runs at about 78 degrees, which is bearable (as long as you aren't working too hard!) but when it is hotter, the swamp cooler gets it down somewhere between 85-90 degree. We have all been spending a lot of time laying around in the lightest cloths that we own, or at the pool. We have learned a trick for the night, which is when the heat is the worst since it is hard to fall asleep. Anyway, some of us have been taking cold showers at night, making sure that our hair is damp so that the fans that we have going can blow on us and help make things cool. We also get the top sheet of the bed damp which helps cool too. Mini evaporative coolers I guess...funny that it works!

(If I could type a title in...another problem we have to check out...this would be titled "Five degrees makes a big difference")

A side note

For some reason we can't make paragraphs anymore, so we apologize that things just seem to run on and on and on...and on! Hopefully we can figure out what the problem is and fix it!

Happy Fourth!

Happy Fourth of July to our friends and family! We hope that you all had an enjoyable day. We were able to do a couple of fun things. We have passes to the wave pools near us and we really enjoy going. However, sometimes we are a little sad because it is harder to actually swim, so we decided today that we would go to the city pool. It was really fun. Sarah and I both have sunburned faces--not too bad though. I fully expect for mine to be gone tomorrow morning. Jeff however, got it good on his back. I put the sunscreen on him, so I think it might be my fault. He was wearing waterproof SPF 50 though--I don't know how he still got burned! Anyway, even with the extra hot sun (it was somewhere between 115-118 yesterday!) it was nice to be at the pool. I made dinner when we got home--pulled pork sandwiches (thanks Janine for a great recipe!), German potato salad, and some veggies. We also had a flag cake. We played a game of Settlers of Catan and then Whonu (I think that's how you spell it--it is a game by Cranium. It is pretty fun.)

The City of Mesa Fireworks were at Mesa Community College's stadium (which happens to be right across the street from the hospital that Jeff had his surgeries) so we were pretty sure that we would be able to see the fireworks from our back yard. It turns out we couldn't very well. There are a few tall things in the way. I think that if we had sat on the roof we could have, but that seemed a little fool hardy, so we jumped in the car and raced a little closer. We only really saw about 5 minutes worth, the show wasn't very long, so we decided to try to see the ones in Tempe. They were being held at Tempe Town Lake, and a local radio station was playing music that was supposed to be choreographed to the light show. There wasn't a good place to pull off the freeway, all the exits around the show were closed off, so we just drove slowly past, turned around at the airport, and then drove slowly past on our way back. We ended up trying to stop at a shopping center to watch the show, but we couldn't see very well. We were glad that we were able to see some of the show though!

Well, it is now time for me to go to bed so that I can get up in the morning and do all the dishes that are dirty....it is times like this that I really miss a dishwasher!

A major primary hurdle....

Jeff and I were called as primary teachers in January. We are the teachers of 10 very rambunctious kindergartners (5 turning 6 year olds). We are constantly trying to come up with ways to keep them interested in what we are saying...and staying in their seats :) We usually do OK in class--mostly due to coloring and candy bribes. Sharing time is a whole different ball game. We have a couple of kids who are always mysteriously getting sick at the beginning, and some that come in and go to sleep and some that just like to climb on anything that they can get their little mitts on. The kids all want to sit next to Brother Henry because he is nice and lets them get away with stuff until Sister Henry makes him tell kids to knock it off. The kids unfortunate enough to have to sit in the same row as Sister Henry just try to get into as little trouble as possible :)


So two weeks ago we were in charge of sharing time. Sister Henry will admit to being terrified. This meant that the kids in her class would have a little more freedom as she tried to help get the other kids in primary involved. We finally decided on playing a game. It was a weird mix of Jeopardy and that pyramid game show. Basically, we had the teachers choose two kids from their class (the reverent ones of course!) and they were each given a bike horn. The kids then chose a question from 4 different categories. Our kids then read a question and the questionees squeezed their horns when they knew the answer. Our kids were really excited when we practiced the questions in class, and then they couldn't wait for singing time to end so they could get up to the front and talk into the microphone. I was really amazed at how well they did. I will admit that their excitement wained as they didn't get to ask their questions as quickly as they thought they should be able to, but you can't blame them, right?



Brother and Sister Henry were filled with trepidation prior to sharing time, a little flustered as they shuffled kids/asked questions, and then filled with excitement at the prospect of not having to do this again for a year :)

Well, Jeff has been after me for a few days now to get on here and tell you about the rest of our San Diego trip. I guess he figures that if he has to go back to work, I can write a couple of paragraphs :)

So, Monday we arrived in San Diego, and Tuesday we went to the zoo. Wednesday was Sea World day. This was our favorite place. We ended up seeing the Shamu show, dolphin show, and sea otter/seal show. We always sat in the soak zone so that we could see, but ended up picking good seats---we never got more than a splash. It sounds like that would be sad, but it was kind of a cool day. Some of our favorite things to see other than the shows were the shark exhibit, the dolphin exhibit, arctic animals exhibit, and the rides.

The shark exhibit was great--you got to go through a tunnel with the sharks swimming all around you. It was a really neat way to see them. I was surprised at how big some of the sharks were. We have a short video clip, but I don't know how to upload it, maybe Jeff can do that later...

The dolphin exhibit was really fun because you are right up next to them. If you were brave enough, you could pet and feed them. I wasn't brave enough. Jeff tried to touch one, but there were a couple of people next to him that had food--that was apparently more exciting than just getting touched--I know, hard to imagine!

The arctic animal exhibit was fun as well. We went on the simulated helicopter ride to get in to see the animals. I was a little leery of it, there were signs all over the place saying if you get motion sick, don't get on. For those who don't know this fancy little tid bit about me, I get motion sick VERY easily. In fact, I have all my life, hence the nickname Baby Barf-a-lot. Anyway, it was the first place we stopped and I figured I could deal with it. Ha! I ended up having to close my eyes for most of it and concentrate really hard on not loosing my breakfast. It was a good thing that the beluga whales, polar bears, and giant walrus were really cool to see :)

Jeff was dying to go on the couple of rides that Sea World sports, so after letting my stomach settle for several hours, I finally consented. The first ride we went on was on a big inner tube rafting down a little river. It was OK, mostly for the kids to get wet in. We also went on their Atlantis ride. Another interesting tid bit about me, I don't like to be scared out of my wits. So, I don't enjoy really scary movies, and I have to talk myself into roller coasters. Atlantis is a series of small coasters. The worst part for me was the initial incline, you get to the top and think that you are going to drop, but then you don't. You go around a corner and then drop. So, I had been preparing myself for the drop and thenthere wasn't a drop...just as I was getting comfortable we hit the drop. I don't know if Jeff will take me on another roller coaster any time soon! Jeff thought it was great though. I will admit that now that I know I can live through it, I might have enjoyed myself too.

On Thursday we ended up back at the zoo. We hadn't been able to see everything on Tuesday because Jeff wasn't feeling well. (Luckily we got it taken care of!) We ended up being able to take the Skyfari to get to part of the zoo we hadn't seen. I thought it was great! It created a nice breeze--it was a lot warmer that day than it had been on others. It was a really fun way to see some of the zoo, and also some of the city. We got to see some cool animals that day too. We saw the hippo, a bunch of gorillas, the giraffes again (they are Jeff's favorite!), and the polar bears because they were right at exit of the Skyfari. Somehow it still took most of the day to see the last bit of the zoo, in fact, we ended up walking about 5 miles everyday we went out.

Friday was our anniversary and it found us at the Wild Animal Park. It is run by the San Diego Zoo, but is about 35 miles further inland. They pride themselves on having really big enclosures. The park is huge. We did the African Safari, I have to say I was highly disappointed not to have the official safari hat on when we went. The zoo has a tour that takes you to see the different habitats of Africa and the animals that live in them. It was a guided tour, and was really interesting. It was neat to see some of the animals up close, and to see some that were basically extinct. My favorite part of that tour was seeing the Norther White Rhino. The WAP has two and another zoo has 6, but they don't think there are any in the wild. I am always amazed at how big some of those animals are! After the tour we got a closer look at some cheetahs, lions and both African and Asian elephants. There were a couple of baby elephants, both born in the last year. They were so cute! They seemed so tiny next to the adults, pretty ironic since they were over 200 pounds when they were born :) We got to see an elephant training show, which was interesting. I always think things like that are interesting. At Utah State I had to take a behavior modification class where we trained rats to do stuff. I like to pretend like I know what the trainers are doing :) We also went on the balloon ride in the park. It was a helium filled balloon that was tethered. It was pretty exciting! The only other things around the park were a couple of wineries, which made for a breathtaking view.

Even though we were able to do lots of cool things at the WAP, I think this was our least favorite place. Mostly because the enclosures were so big. I am sure that it is great for the animals, but it makes seeing them a lot harder. We hiked about half a mile to the tiger area, and then you couldn't see them. Kind of disappointing. But, that's life I guess.

Since it was our anniversary, we went out for a nice dinner. We decided to try a place I had read about in a magazine, the article listed the top ten steakhouses in the nation. We happened to be really close to one of them, so off we went after getting cleaned up. I have to say that we both had a heart attack when we opened the menus. The first thing I saw was $270...luckily it turned out to be the caviar. It was a really nice little restaurant, very cozy. The food was excellent as well. (This picture is us back at the hotel after dinner) Sadly, we got lost on the way home. It took us about 10 minutes to get there and then an hour to get back after dinner! Someone didn't bring their GPS unit to make sure they knew where they were going, and wouldn't stop for directions... On the bright side, we got to see the airport, and some of the bays around down town.

Saturday found us sleeping in and packing. I was sad to have to go back to normal life. In fact, I tried to get Jeff to turn around and go back for one more night, but he missed the 105 temperatures of Mesa too much to be persuaded. We got back into town around 6 pm and have been catching up on things ever since. Our primary class was crazy--too much Father's Day candy or something. I am still working on getting the laundry done. It seems like we use so much more while on vacation! (We even ended up having to drive over to the beehive clothing to buy some garments while in San Diego! Jeff forgot the camera though, so we don't have any pictures...) I did get the shower room cleaned out again. It filled with stuff when we cleaned the add on room...funny how that happens! Speaking of laundry...the dryer just beeped. Off I go!

Sea World Pictures

More pictures from our trip, this time from Sea World.

San Diego Zoo Wild Animal Park Pictures

I have uploaded an album of pictures we took at the San Diego Zoo Wild Animal Park. Link: http://picasaweb.google.com/henry8minus1

Or Slideshow:

(Some of the) Photos from our San Diego Trip.

I have found a place to post pictures on the web. I have upload some of the photos we took at the San Diego Zoo. I will be uploading more in the next few days.

Here is the link:

http://picasaweb.google.com/henry8minus1

It also lets you create slideshows, so if you are too lazy to click on the link above just sit there and watch all the pictures below!!!

Sunny San Diego

Michelle and I are in San Diego enjoying our vacation. We drove here on Monday. I was able to use my new toy, my GPS unit, on the way here. I had plotted the route we were going to take, and it was fun to see how far we had left to go, average speed, and elevation as we drove. Michelle made fun of me because of my ingenious contraption to hold my GPS above the dash of the car. They sell holders for around $40, but with imagination, a shower caddy, paint stir stick, and three rubber bands you can make your own!

Yesterday we went to the San Diego Zoo. We had a lot of fun. Some of my favorites were the polar bears, giraffes, and the sea lion show. Again I took my new toy to track our course. Below is the "track" we took through the zoo with some of the pictures we took. We hiked 4 miles as we walked around the zoo. Michelle and I are going to try to publish a bunch of the pictures we took to a website, and will update you when we do. (If anyone knows of a good photo publishing website let us know in the comments.)

After the zoo we went to the beach to watch the sun set. We also found a little Greek/American restaurant on by the beach and had dinner. It was a good day!!!

A Step in the Right Direction

Since moving in to Michelle's grandfather's house we have be doing and putting off a lot of different projects. One project I had started back before Christmas was putting a new threshold board between the living room and the add-on room. There had been one when we moved in, but it was cracked and quite a little bit disgusting. Here is a picture of the opening with no board.

You can see that the bottom of the opening is just concrete. So the new board wouldn't crack like the old one did I cut a piece of carpet to use as padding between the board and concrete. When I was cutting the board I was extra careful to cut it square, however when I tried to test fit the board I found it didn't fit. It turns out the opening is not square, so I had to do a little trimming and got it to fit good. After a trip to Woodcrafter's for some oak plugs to cover the screw heads and then a trip to Home Depot to get the right length of screws I was able to finish the project.

I think it turned out really well! I think I will get a board to go under it to cover the step and it will look really good. We wil just have to see how long it takes me to get around to it!!!

A Few Silly Things...

So, I have been awake for a few hours now for no apparent reason so I thought I would jot down a few of the funny things that have happened while I wait for someone else to wake up. It is no fun working by yourself in the wee hours of the morning...sorry Dad for making you do it for so long!

On Wednesday evening, Becky, Jeff, and I decided to go swimming at the local wave pool as we have season passes and it is June. It was a cool day (for Phoenix in June anyway) topping out at 92 degrees. It was also a blustery sort of day, but I figured we would do fine. I am loathe to admit that we weren't. We got to the pool, jumped in, swam through two wave cycles and had to get out due to being Popsicles. That totals about 22 minutes. I can hear those of you living in winter wonderlands laughing your brains out! All I could think the whole time I was trying to stop shivering was how much my family would make fun of me if they only knew. I am ready for a few jabs :)

On Thursday I decided it was time to stop waiting for Jeff to start cleaning out the add on room. I thought for sure that he would be quick to get working on it since it will the rocket room--at least until it is the sewing room :) Alas, having a rocket room wasn't enough of a motivation. So, I got in there and put the Christmas decoration boxes back onto the shelves, broke down a million boxes, and got a ton of trash out of there. It didn't seem to be making a dent. I started to look around for something else I could do--there was no way I was going to try to get the tools organized!--when I noticed that there were a bunch of half finished projects from around the house just taking up space in the room. One of those projects were the already painted doors to the built in shelves in the bedrooms. They had been painted for months and months (and months!) but hadn't been put back up since we needed some new hardware for them. Jeff said he checked at Home Depot, but they didn't have the right kind and the only place that had the correct hinges was the Woodcraft Store. Luckily for me, I had found one on an adventure to get a new tire for the car a few weeks back. So, when Jeff got home I packed him back into the car as soon as he put his lunch box down and off we went to get some hinges, another shelving unit for the add on room and some water. I would just like to mention here that we already knew what we needed and where it was, so I was thinking that this would be an hour trip at most and then we would be able to get a bunch of stuff done when we got home. How wrong I was.

We got to the Woodcraft store and found the hinges, but they only had gold hinges. All of the other hardware on the units was silver so we stood there for a long time debating what we should do. Buy it and replace all of the hardware, or let the doors sit on the floor for another month while we order the correct color from the catalogue. I finally decided that I just wanted them put up, so we picked up the packages and headed for the register--but wait! Jeff needed to just check a couple of things. You see, he and my Dad get along grandly. I am very thankful for that most of the time...except when it comes to woodworking and electronic toys :) While we were home Jeff and Dad made a couple of bows, they also made bows and pens the last time we were home. I am now well versed in the things Jeff needs to make those things...too bad we don't have a place or the money for a home wood shop. If we ever fall into massive amounts of money, I'll know just where to go to spend it :) Finally I dragged Jeff out of the store, and we made a quick stop at Costco for the shelves and water...we ended up with a car washing kit and tool bucket as well. Not a bad day for the handyman so far. We ended up at Home Depot so that we could get some handles for the drawers of the built in, and low and behold they have the correct hinges! Jeff apparently never looked down :) We had another debate about what to do. This one was shorter--we are taking the gold hinges back.

Once we got home and ate dinner it was getting late, so we thought we will just put the doors up. That was a quick job, everything just had to go back into holes that were already there. Ha! Jeff and his huge muscles broke the head off of a screw as he was putting the handle back onto one of the doors, the hinges weren't exactly the same and so things were crooked as we tried to use the old holes and a magnetic closure has magically disappeared. Luckily we have a billion screws and nails from things, so that was a pretty easy fix (I really thought we might have to head back to Home Depot for a minute. We have found that rarely does a job take only one trip...) New holes were drilled where necessary, and the closure will have to be replaced if it doesn't turn up, but the door closes. You can't ask for too much more than that!

This fine morning finds the add on room still not done, a pile of cardboard in the back yard, and I am still the only one awake! I think that I might have to go jump on Jeff so something gets done!

Pomp and Circumstance

Last Thursday my sister Sarah and I flew to Michigan for a major event in the family: our baby sister graduated from high school. (Don't worry, Jeff was there too, but he came a day later.) Now, there are still three brothers left who need to graduate, but the last Coons girl graduating was a big deal. We got to attend her graduation party on Saturday evening. There was a pirate ship moon walk and a cotton candy machine--what more could you ask for?

The actual graduation was on Monday. This one was just as steeped in boring tradition as all the others I have attended...it seems that it is time to make them less painful! It should be a celebration, not a nap time. Not to worry though, we all made it through without too many drool spots on our cloths. As an interesting side note, Ashley's graduation was exactly 10 years after my own.

It was freakishly humid while we were there, so my hair was lovely the whole time. It's a sad life. On the whole, it was a much too short visit. There was so much going on from the very first day that it seems like I didn't get enough time to just hang out with everyone. I got the feeling that my family felt the same way, since our brother Spencer sent a text message after we had all landed asking if Sarah, Jeff, and I could just turn around and return to Michigan. If only it were so easy!

Scrubbing bubbles part 2

So, yesterday I wrote my post in a break I was taking from scrubbing. It ended up that I just took the IBprofin and didn't finish the scrubbing because the Goof off was eating through my latex gloves and irritating my skin. I had to go and get some super-duper chemical resistant gloves last night. So today I tackled the griddle with renewed vigor...however, after a couple of applications I ran out of Goof Off. I was too bummed out to go and get some more to finish the job completly, but that's ok. The pan looks a million times better, and in general, I got the stove to look almost new. Incidently, I also finally got all of the greasy goop off of the back splash, which makes me very happy, even though no one else will probably notice :)

Here is the (almost) finished product, not too shabby, huh?
I am hoping that this weekend I can get Jeff to help me to clear out the add on room again. At one point it was cleaned and organized, but has since had a bomb dropped in it. There is a very tricky path through all of the stuff to the back door, but otherwise completly unusable. Once we get it cleaned out, I am going to move the kitchen table into it so that I can start taking off the old paint in the dining room...and just maybe the kitchen and laundry area will get painted! Happy thoughts :) So, here are some pictures of my handiwork for the day. I am hoping that I will be able to post some other pictures of the house in the next little while so that those who have never been here can see what it looks like...and so that those of you who have worked so hard on it can be impressed with how nice the inside looks now!

Here is a picture of the stove, just in case you couldn't get a picture of what I was trying to say in yesterday's post...

Scrubbing Bubbles....

As most of you know, we are renting a house from my Grandpa that was built by his father. It has been quite an adventure as the previous renters really did a number on it, or maybe they didn't, since it was a huge mess when we got here. Thankfully, after we did as much as we knew how to, some of my family has come to do a lot of work on the house--twice. The house's interior is looking MUCH better, there are still some places that need some love, but it isn't scary to touch anything :) I decided that since I wasn't going to be in school this summer, I was going to work on some of the bigger projects that we haven't had time to take care of since the last visit. Today I was working in the kitchen, getting the dishes done and thought that it was about time to clean the fridge, and the stove...two of my favorite jobs... (not!) I finished the fridge pretty quickly and then moved onto the stove. Now you have to understand something about this stove. It is the original stove's replacement. If you have watched the cooking show on Food Network called 30 Minute Meals, it is the stove Rachel uses to broil stuff--however I can gaurantee that mine is older. Anyway, the broiler on this stove is on the stove top, with a griddle on the top...I hope you get the picture. The broiler doesn't work, so when the oven had its first cleaning from my Grandpa, it didn't get cleaned, and neither did the griddle. I will be honest, I have been avoiding the job of cleaning them. They are caked with grease, and who knows what else. But today was going to be the day that I finally tackled the project. I started with cleanser, but that didn't even make a dent...not even on the grease. The pieces are made from aluminum, so I couldn't use oven cleaner on them. Luckily for me, I had worked on getting some other grime off of things with my Dad, so I decided to go for broke and try Goof Off. Between the 100 degree temperatures and the natural tendencies of Goof Off to flash off quickly my test pour didn't last long enough to do anything, so I tried again with a more vigourous amount. I scrubbed for all I was worth, and it seemed that all I got for my attempt was a hole in my latex glove where the Goof Off had eaten through. I was thoroughly discouraged. I rinsed off the griddle, and too my surprise gunk just started to run off! I renewed my efforts to get it clean! It took a lot longer to get done than I thought, but clean it is! Unfortunatly, I didn't think to take a picture before I started, but I did take one after the first application of the Goof Off. I figured that at least those who had seen it before would be impressed with my skills. So, hope that you enjoy the before and after pictures and I am going to take some IB Profin as arthritis has taken a hold of a few of my scrubbing fingers :)

The before picture...it was worse than this, I promise!

Isn't time funny?

I was pondering how funny time is this morning. I suppose partly because my baby sister is about to graduate from high school, my oldest brother was just ordained a priest, and Jeff and I are about to celebrate our five year anniversary. Isn't it interesting how some parts of our lives continue on, making it seem as though time doesn't pass, while other events make you wonder where the time has gone, and even others make time seem to crawl by?

I tell you what, Ashley graduating makes me think 'Good grief! Where has the time gone?' It doesn't seem that long ago that I was graduating from high school. (Although, Jeff will be happy to tell you that this year is my 10 year high school reunion.) Spencer turning 16 has had the same effect. I know that I am getting older, and I know that means my sibs are getting older as well, but somewhere in my brain they will always be little kids. It shocks me to go home and see how tall my brothers are, or how mature my sisters look.

Our anniversary has a different affect on my perception of time. In so many ways I can't really remember what it was like not to be married to Jeff (I think that is a good thing!). It seems like five isn't a big enough number...on the other hand, I don't feel old enough to have been married five years! It doesn't seem like it should be allowed. (I think my parents might feel that way too...) I haven't accomplished any of the "normal" things that people my age have: I am still attending college (I am getting closer to the end though! There is a light...), and we don't have any kids/pets (I am arguing that they are about the same amount of work and money to take care of, although I guess you don't have to send your pet to college). As we continue to avoid those two mileposts of time, we will continue to think that we are 22. I can't even count on Jeff to help remind me that time is passing--he has as much hair as ever :) I suppose it's OK that we have done lots of things that others our age haven't. We have been able to do different things because our family situation has allowed it, and because we apparently like to do things the hard way. I blame that all on Jeff, something about being a tough guy :) We are enjoying the time that we have together, and I guess that is all that counts.

So, that's what I was thinking this morning. To my siblings: stop growing up so that I have to think about such things!

Stalagmite or Stalagtite?

This past weekend we were able to go to Tucson with Sarah and Becky. We went to The Colossal Cave National Park and took the tour of the cave. We also checked out a couple of the other attractions mentioned on their website, but those were a little bit of a bust. The cave was pretty interesting though. We learned that the 362 stairs, the railings, and the lights were added by workers during the Great Depression. They were hired by the government to do the work and made about a dollar a day. We also learned that there are seven species of bats that make their home there. It is also a constant temperature in the cave--a balmy 70! We thought that was pretty crazy considering it was 101 yesterday!

Sarah, Becky, and Jeff in The Colossal Cave.

After visiting the park, we headed to the hotel for a quick swim and shower before heading to The Gaslight Theater (you can check out their website at http://www.thegaslighttheatre.com/) It is a really fun little theater that does old time melodramas. We saw "Buccaneers of the Caribbean." We enjoyed the show immensely, and also enjoyed bee-bopping around before the show started!

Becky (Jeff's sister) and Sarah (Michelle's sister) enjoying a stage coach ride at the theater.

Jeff and Michelle....Nice legs Jeff!

On the way down to Tucson, we were able to stop and do a couple of fun things. We stopped at Roger Cogburn's Ostrich Farm to feed the ostrich, deer, and larikeets. We also got to stop at one of the places Sarah delivers ice cream. Here are a few pictures from that:




Sarah and the scary ostrich!

Jeff and the larikeet

The Girl's by the buffalo!

We are home now--which is good since we are all a little sunburned, and really tired from our really fun weekend