The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Part II

The GOOD:
Remember this? I think it was an April blog. Yeah, it has been that long. It's the rubbish from our old shed. Well after today, it looks like this!!!!!

Wooohoo!!!!!!

The BAD: We have a stinky ugly dumpster in our driveway possibly until tomorrow but more likely until Monday. I am willing to sacrifice though. It was worth it to get rid of all that stuff. We are getting rid of the ugly thrashed swings on our front porch and replacing them with one nice one. That will be nice. We can dispose of the old ones in the dumpster too.

The UGLY:
Now we have an ugly dead patch of grass in the place of where all the refuse was. Hopefully it grows back.

Life in a Cat House

No not that kind!

So here it is a week of living with cats. I guess it has been longer, but since we got our second set. I thought I better report for anyone who doesn't have pets and is wondering what my experience is as a new pet owner. I often remember, wait. . . I don't like cats. . why am I living with them? I keep having half dreams at night and waking up to thinking the cats are in my room, other than that it is fine. This is what I like about having cats:

The Pros:

1. Keeping the litter box clean is super easy (get the kids to do it. When they complain remind them they are the ones that wanted a pet so much).

2. I appreciate a lot that cats like to keep themselves clean and have a litter box that is clean. I can live with an animal that shares my goals of having a clean house, body and toilet.

3. I appreciate also that they use their litter box. I really don't want to potty train anymore individuals than I have to.

4. The pet aisle has taken on the same level of excitement and fulfillment that the baby aisle used to. Weird. . I didn't realize it but the idea of visiting the pet store has the same fun feeling as shopping for new baby stuff used to. I can see how pets can be a good fill in for kids

5. I like that they like to fall asleep on our laps. It makes me realize how good it feels to cuddle my kids too. I am glad I still have a 3 year old cuddle on my lap.

6. It is fun to see them just come in the room just another individual to keep me company.

7. It is fun to watch them play and sleep.

8. Seeing how happy the family is, including Tim and I, for have these cute and fuzzy friends arond.

The cons

1. They are always play fighting. Drives me nuts. I wonder. . ."Am I being a bad owner for not splitting them up? I wouldn't let my kids do that!

2. I am constantly worried about them getting sick like the others did.

3. I want to let them go out to the rest of the house. Right now they are just in the basement. There are two reasons: 1. We don't want them to come in contact with the upstairs bathroom where the sick kitties were until they have recieved their shots. and 2. we don't know if kids or grown-ups can be trusted not to just leave doors to the outside just hanging open. They could run away and be more easily hurt or come in contact with sick animals, at least until they get all their shots. I feel bad keeping them in the dark basement all the time. Granted there are windows but it is only bright in the morning.

4. Disciplining kids-One of our kids doesn't seem to understand if the kittnens don't want to play to leave them alone. Not to pick them up, not to run after them when they want to be alone. I can't tell you how many times we have banished him to the upstairs because after countless times of reprimanding he JUST DOES NOT GET IT! When we came down stairs today another one of the kids had the kittens face close up to the tv screen. The cat was not happy. So three kids got sent upstairs.

5. Dread of destruction: I know cats scratch. I am preparing myself now for the consequences of that.

6. I am worried about getting nipped and scratched or even the kids getting bitten or scratched

7. I feel really guilty that some of my friends or their kids are allergic to cats. I wonder how inconsiderate it was of me to do that and make them feel in any way less comfortable in my home. I know how I feel about pets in general so I don't want make others uncomfortable because of the animals I have.

8, What do we do with our cats when we are out of town?

So all in all, I am pleased so far with the cat experience. My concerns are mostly due to getting used to the idea and not knowing how everything works yet. All in all it is more fun than I thought it would be, and easier too.

Experimental Eye Surgery and other great deals.

Sounds like fun huh? Tim jumped on the chance to get Lasik for cheaper because he agreed to be part of a study at the Moran Eye Center (Highly Reputable Eye clinic, part of Uof U) . OK. . . so "Jump" may be the wrong word. He actually went into it quite cautiously. . . if it is possible to be part of a research study and be cautious at the same time. Anyway, he got half off for being in the study and the study is to have one eye corrected with Lasik and the other with PRK. The doctors wanted to see how the healing differs etc.

He had the surgery on Monday afternoon. He has interesting stories about suction cups on his Lasik eye and ice water being poured into the other. The PRK is described as getting a "really nasty rug burn on your eye" That is the one that is causing him more discomfort in his recovery. The upside of the PRK is that it is supposed to produce more satisfactory results. . . in about 5 weeks. Right now his PRK eye is sore and blurry.

He is being a good sport and I am having fun nursing him to health. He isn't one of those husbands that whines and complains a lot thankfully. If anyone wants to know what it is like to have either surgery and what the pros and cons are be sure to ask Tim. He is one of the few who can give you a first hand description of both kinds of surgery. You might want to wait five weeks if you want to get a report of his satisfaction.

Here's another song I like

Ok...so I know I wont get any comments on this one because I never do when I post songs I like and that is . . . ok. . .because it's good enough, It's smart enough and doggonit, I like it !!!!

Our new kittens

Meet the new kittens. I know I said they were named Merry and Pippin but we [Tim] saw problems we hadn't though of. We have now decided they are Clouseau (orange and white) and Cato, in honor of the old classic Pink Panther movies. They are always "fighting" and sneaking up on eachother and it made us think of their classic fight scenes. This time it should stick, but with Tim. . .no promises. He has way too much fun picking out names and he doesn't have the permancance of a birth certificate to tie him down.

August Rush

I saw the movie "August Rush" last night with my friends. A musical and emotional banquet. Interesting ethereal mood to the whole thing. Here is one of my favorite songs and scenes.

Twice Smitten

Ok. so maybe we are crazy and cruel. We got new kittens. Why did I do this? I guess I am sold on cats. I really missed the other kittens. I am already addicted to their calming effets.
We are taking a lot of precautions to avoid exposing these kittnes to the others germs. The last kittens were in our top floor bathroom and a little in the upstairs hallway. These kittens are in the basement, in the sewing room. The other cats traveled in our laps on the way home, these ones traveled in a new carrier the other ones never came close to. I disinfected the bathroom with bleach and the car with disinfectant spray. We aren't using the dishes and blankets the others used until they are all immuned. Can you tell I feel a little nervous and guilty for taking the chance of exposing these ones?

We didn't get these ones from the shelter, I didn't want to take that particular risk again. We went through classifieds (KSL). They come from someone that seemed to be taking very good care of them and they still hung out with their mom a little. This time when we left with our kitties, we felt more like we were being mean rather than merciful. Not to mention we took them straight to the vet to get shots before we took them home. I am sure they loved that. They have to get 3 rounds of shots before they are completely immune to the thing the others got (a.k.a Distemper) so we are going to be overly careful this time not letting little kids from the neighborhood pet them in case they could spread this disease after petting other animals and always washing our hands before we play with them. Have I convinced you yet that we are going to be VERY careful? I am not sure I have convinced myself.

These two are boys and one is orange and white and the other a tuxedo cat (black with white tummy and paws) As of now they are named Merry and Pippin. That is subject to change though. Tim is having WAY too much fun coming up with names and probably wont give up this easy. They love to wrestle with eachother. Very cute little guys! Lets hope everything goes ok this time. We will take some pictures later today and post them later.

My kids dealt with the loss very well. I am sure it didn't hurt that they didn't get a chance to get too attached in one and a half days.

The cats have "it" indeed!

Unfortunatly the "it" the cats have (had) is called Panleukopenia. An illness often deadly and very contagious among cats. I am sad to announce that we found the white cat had passed away in the night. We noticed it didn't seem to be eating when we brought it home. We did one last way to see if he was eating at all and the next morning he was dead and now his sister wasn't eating either. We brought them both back to the shelter. Now the bathroom that was perfect for starting the cats off is contaminated too. Of course we will clean and disinfect it but if we get other cats they will have to start in a different room and that is where we would want to put the upstairs litterbox. Now I have to convince myself I want cats AGAIN. They almost had me convinced until this morning. I will probably do it again though. Wish us luck this time. A friend tells me that shelter kittens are notorious for dying. Perhaps we will have to try another rout next time. Perhaps we will be gluttons for punishment and try a shelter again. At least they died feeling loved and cared for.

And the Cats have it!

Today we adopted two very cute little kittens from the animal shelter. One is a white male and the other a tabby female. They are about 2 1/2 months old. Very adorable. When I saw them I was immedietly smitten. We will update you on the names.

Cats vs Dogs

We are looking into buying a cat or dog. Tim grew up with both and I grew up with neither. We are having a hard time deciding. I am having a hard time being convinced I really want either. They are a lot of work and I am not used to having animals in the house. What little experience we have had (rats) did not endear me to the idea of a pet either. I could see myself warming up more to a cat than a rat though.

Tim and many other sources tell me pets are very good for children's emotional health. I know my kids would benefit from having a pet too. I wanted to wait 'til my kids were a little older but we have been told that now is the time to get a pet so they can grow up with the kids and die about the time they move out. I know there are going to be people of many opinions on the subject and passionnate opinions for that matter. I know it is a matter of personal taste. But what are the benefits and disadvantages to each kind? Can anyone tell me anything that will actually make me exited about the prospect of animals in the house. Pets seem like just a hassle to me.

I am leaning toward a cat, possibly two if anything because they seem to be much less work. That doesn't seem like a good reason to get a pet but it isn't just me getting it. A smaller dog would be fun too...but I am not sure we are up for the work they take. . . yet. . if you know Lincoln, you know he would do great and maybe better with a dog. I believe I could be converted to life with a pet and some day when I am a lonely widow I am pretty sure I would want a pet but I am hesitant about getting one while I still have small kids in the house.

Decisions Decisions

My Heart is still in Forks

I got a nice sunburn today. I was looking up Sunburn treatment on Google and clicked on the first one I saw that looked like what I wanted. I was quite ammused when I looked at the top of the page and saw what it was a website for. I swear I didn't know what it was when I clicked on it.
http://www.forkshospital.org/healthlinks/sunburn.html
Tim says it probably doesn't apply to me, and is sunburn care for vampires.

The Other Side of Elisabeth

Tonight we had an Enrichment night about beauty and modesty. It reminded me of one of Elisabeth's great strengths. I thought after picking on her I should praise her a little. Although as some of you argued, she should be praised for her intelligence too . When we took her to a developmental specialilst because she was still scooting on her bum instead of walking at 18 months he said not to worry about her. She was way ahead in her problem solving and linguistic skills. We certainly witness that now doen't we?

The meeting tonight reminded me of something that I think is really neat about her. She is very concerned about modesty. I hear all the time from her "Her dress is immodest" She seems to have a modesty radar built right in. She even points that a Disney Princess is "Pretty but immodest." When I see this I think I really should take heart. She is smart and can use it to her advantage, but she also seems to care about what is right and wrong too. She will go far. Ok so she is wearing a bathing suit in the picture above. Ironic, but she was swimming.

My little angel?

This morning I listened in on some master manipulation from my daughter. I sent Elisabeth to tell Joseph to come upstairs and empty the trash cans . A few minutes later I heard her tell Lincoln

"Lincoln, go tell Joe he has to empty the trash, then he will have to get off the computer and you can play on it" Not only was she getting Lincoln to do her bidding, she was teaching Lincoln how to get what he wanted too. GREAAT!

On our trip Elisabeth showed her talent to patronize as well. We were crossing the driftwood to get to the water part of the beach and Tim was hopping over the logs with Sam in his arms leaving me in the dust. I was envying him outloud for his surefootedness as apposed to my ackwardness. Elisabeth then says. "Mom, I don't think I am going to be a Mom like you but that's ok, its good to be careful." On the way back from the beach she kept telling me how good I was doing getting over the wood!!!!!!!!!!

Granted it is still kind of cute right now and it didn't bug me that much, it actually made me laugh . . but when she is a teenager?. . .I am afraid.

Back again

We left Tacoma Tuesday morning. Before we left Washington, however, it was time to humor Tim and his interests. Tim is a life long Dungeons and Dragons enthusiast. I am too, but not to the degree he is. We stopped in Renton to see the "Wizards of the Coast" headquarters. He felt a little sheepish just going into this big business building, so he brought Joe. Joe wasn't half as giddy and excited as Tim though so I think everyone saw right through his decoy. They actually had a museum and gift bag for visitors so it payed off for him in the end. They also had a huge dragon in the lobby. Elisabeth was bummed when they came out with a "goodies" bag, but that would have just meant more game cards sitting around the house.

We drove to Meridean Idaho and spent the night with Tim's brother Peter and his wife Eileen. They took good care of us too. Thanks Peter, Eileen, and Eileen's Grandpa! It felt so good to be in a house again. The kids were happy with toys and we got to have a little more space. I am amazed by how well I slept the entire vacation. Usually it takes me a night to get used to a new bed but I didn't have one single uncomfortable night. I was probably just so worn out all the time. We had breakfast at IHOP the next morning and drove home.

I am glad to be home for many reasons, but it was a fun vacation. Usually I come home so relieved it is over but not this time. It took me a day of "back to the grind" blues but I am enjoying having free laundry, kids spread out in a house instead of a car or 1 hotel room (right now we are all in the same room, probably smaller than a hotel room, go figure), living out of drawers instead of a suitcases, and homemade food. I acutally enjoyed cleaning my kitchen today. Usually I put that off until Monday morming. You can only clean a hotel room so much when there is no where to put things. I like the sunshine of Utah. It didn't rain until the day we left but we got a lot of grey. Nice to see a lot of bright blue.

I guess it is good to come home from a vacation wanting more right? I can see that as my kids are getting older trips are getting to be more fun. I am glad to say that I love Washington just as much after my second trip as I did after my first. Maybe more!

Tacoma- Point Defiance Zoo& Aquarium

We spent the 2nd 1/2 of our first day in Tacoma in our hotel room. It was Sunday so we didn't want to do anything too exciting. We watched cartoons and "Hook" and I did laundry at the hotel laundry facility. That was VERY nice to have. Weird observance of the sabbath huh? Getting Cartoon Network, Nickleodean and Disney channels again did nothing but make me very glad we don't have cable anymore. We aren't missing much. The kids were watching a cartoon Network show and Sam's reaction to their weird cartoon was priceless. I feel the same way about most Cartoon Network shows. We went to Tacoma for one reason. The Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium. I went to the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium when I went to Washington last time. In the two week time we were there, we went to the Zoo twice. We also went to the Seattle Zoo and my mom and I agreed the PDZA had it beat for really seeing the animals close up and them looking healthy, and more "at home." Puffins are so cute and fun loving. It is smaller than a lot of zoos but it has most zoos beat in quality. The aquarium seemed to have more interesting sea animals than most. They had sharks, Seahorses, Sea Dragons, Jelly fish and a lot more. They also had an area where we were aloud to tough star fish etc. The kids also enjoyed the kids play zone. This was called the "Tired kid" exhibit. Unfortunatly. he was sleeping when we were there. The kids were quite exsausted by the time we left.

The "Twilight" Tour-Forks and Olympic National Park-

As we drove to Forks, the timing of reading "Twilight" continued to be perferct as we read the chapter where Edward drove Bella back to Forks from Port Angeles as we took the exact same rout. I promise this wasn't planned either. We did a little touring of the town. The next day we saw some more of the Hoh National Forest and 1st and 2nd Beach in La Push. Here are some pictures of the sights mentioned in the book.

The School The Thriftway where she shopped The Hospital the Police Station where her Dad worked. La Push, 1st Beach, and 2nd Beach. I think if she had actually visited the place she probably would have staged the scene on 2nd Beach, it was quite a bit more remarkable.Hoh Rain Forest,

On the way out of 2nd Beach I found this silver Volvo parked next to our van and HAD to take a picture. It was actually pretty beat up and I don't see Edward driving a beat up Volvo, or this model or year either. It was also on the Quileute reservation and if I am correct. . .Edward isn't allowed anywhere near there.

While in Forks I ate a "Bella" Burger (meat patty on bun with swiss chesse and pinapple) at Sully's Burgers and the Subway there had it's own tribute to Twilight as well. I am not big on chicken sandwiches so I didn't get that one. It was really fun being in the town of Forks, but at the same time there was that empty feeling that none of it actually happned and the writer had never even seen the town when she wrote the book. Not empty enough to keep me from buying a "Forks Washington" hooded sweatshirt though, just for bragging rights.
Here is one more picture of my boys to finish off my Forks entry.

Port Angeles- British Columbia

The same day we left Seattle we headed up to Port Angeles. Our "Twilight" tour began there. I read "Twilight" much of the trip up to Seattle and it just so turned out timing wise that we read the chapter called "Port Angeles" as we headed to the city itself. When we got there we ate at no other than the resturaunt featured in "Twilight", "Bella Italia".

I had a handsome guy sitting across from me like the scene in the book, but the kids on either side of both of us kind of killed the romance. Good food! To our dissapointment they didn't have mushroom stuffed ravioli however. That sounded yummy. Tim asked the waitress if the book has brought more patrons to the resturaunt and she said they are just getting more people from far away. She said it was fun because lots of 12 year olds came and got their picture taken in front of the resturaunt. I kind of resented that, but I got the picture taken anyway.

The next morning we took the COHO Ferry to Victoria, British Columbia. The ferry ride was fun and very comfortable. Victoria is a beautiful city. The buildings definitely remind me of Europe. The main reason I wanted to come to B.C. was for the Royal British Columbia Museum. When I was 18 my parents and I took a trip to Washington and we spent a day in B.C. then too. We went to this museum and I was enchanted. I was enchanted again this time and so were my kids as I guessed they would be. The highlights were the Natural History exhibit and Modern History exhibit. There were a lot of neat realistic diaramas that made you feel you were in the great outdoors in the natural history exhibit. There was also an ocean room which made you feel like you were in a submarine with a periscope and portholes. There were also drawers full of ocean life specimens that you could look at under a magnifying glass.
My all time favorite, and the kids', was a life size diarama of Victoria at the turn of the century. You could look in the windows, walk into and upstairs of an old hotel,watch a silent movie in a little old time theater. There was also an old train station, that every so often had a sound and light effects that made it seem a train was passing outside.
We spent the rest of the day touring the rest of the city (the modern one, not the museum version.) It was a perfect warm, sunshiny day. It couldn't have gone better.
The next day we went to Hurricane Ridge in the Olympic National Park. It was absoluletly beautiful. The ride to the top was very dramatic with all the fog. The ranger said that the clouds that filled the whole valley to the very top were a rare sight. Many of the rangers who worked there had never seen it like this in all their years working there.
We went back to Port Angeles for Indian food for lunch. It was good but it wasn't as good as India Palace in Provo. On our way to Forks we stopped to take a hike to Marymere falls. It was a great hike for our kids too. Not difficult at all. Unfortunatly Sam did the same thing here as he did in much of B.C. Cry to be carried, but insisting only I carry him. He didn't win that battle. It was either walk or be carried by Dad. I carried him once in a great while though. It made things kind of hard the whole vacation.

A-Z

A- Attached or Single: Attached
B- Best friend: Tim is who I would rather be with than anyone one else...sorry kids...they like to use that fact to give me guilt. . . because they know it is true.
C- Cake or Pie: Cake I like it all
D- Day of choice: Friday beccause it is our date night AND we have the whole weekend still ahead of us.
E- Essential item:Cell Phone I have become way dependent on it.
F- Favorite Color: AquaG- Gummy bears or worms: Bears
H- Hometown: San Jose California,(ages birth to 7) and Breckenheim, Wiesbaden, Germany(7 to 18.
I- Indulgence: Dark Chocolate with Tim. Every night we have two little squares to compare brands.
J- January or July: Until this year I would have said January but this was a crazy winter and I chose July.
K- Kids: Joseph- 9, Elisabeth-7, Lincoln-5, Samuel-3
L- Life is incomplete without: Family and Friends
M- Marriage Date: May 11, 1996
N- Number of siblings: 2
O- Oranges or Apples: Navel oranges, or clementines.
P- Phobias or fears: merging on the freeway freaks me out, home invasion
Q- Quotes:
I think I am lactose intolerant because the other day I had 3 milkshakes and I felt like crap afterwards- Jim Gaffigan
R- Reason to smile: A job well done, the gospel, friends and family
S- Season of choice: Spring. Until last fall, fall was my favorite, but our new house has A LOT Of leaves to rake...I am not looking forward to that again.
T- Tag 3 times: Robin, Lis and Trooly
U- Unknown fact about me: I have a fascination with black history and have read and loved a lot of books about it-
V- Very favorite store: IKEA
W- Worst habit: stressing about insignificant things
X- X-ray or Ultrasound: Well since I had ultrasounds to see my babys and x-rays to see broken bones I choose Ultrasounds
Y- Your favorite food: yogurt
Z- Zodiac Sign: Cancer

There and back again- Seattle

We drove the rest of our way to Seattle the next day. The view was soooo beautiful. Waterfalls coming down on the side of the road, and many more shades of dark green than I thought possible. That plus the mist made for a breathtaking welcome into Seattle.

I was breathless in a whole different way when we had to take all our luggage from a seperate parking garage, the long way around to the hotel (hey we didn't know the quick way until later that day) and had to wait half an hour in the lobby of the Sheraton. Even though it was past check in time they didn't have our room clean for us yet. It wasn't that long but it seemed like it with our kids climbing the walls after a long car ride for the past two days and lots of business travelers eying our children.

Nice hotel! Thank goodness we didn't have to pay for it. Tim had a AIR (Association of Institutional Research) conference there so we were payed for. We spent that evening looking for a place to eat, first on foot, and then by car. We finally found a pizza place and it was good. We also stopped at a convenience store to get breakfast and lunch foods for me and the kids as we didn't want to eat expensive room service or have to march around town looking for food again.

I spent the next day in the hotel room with the kids. You may ask "Kristin, why did you do that?" and I really can't say. I have no idea what I was thinking. The city kind of overwhelmed me ok. I saw how hectic it was walking around the city with the kids AND Tim. I couldn't imagine trying it without him. I really don't need to describe that day do I? Lets just say when Tim got home that evening I answered the door with "Tim, will you please beat the children for me?" No beatings were actually administered of course. Honestly, considering the circumstances, the kids weren't really that bad and I told Tim to beat the kids with a smile on my face. I do have to add that I did take the kids out for a half hour walk so the maid could clean our room. We went to a little food store and hung out in the lounge. The concierge guy gave my kids free apple juice and put them in front of the TV. He was being nice to me and the kids but even more he was being nice to the other adults trying to enjoy the lounge.

We took the monorail to the City Center and walked around the Northwest Folklife Festival (hippy festival really) Later that night we saw on the news that there was a shooting at the festival the day before. Warm fuzzies all over. I felt like I had been living in Utah too long.

We got some food at a grossly overpriced and not that good a restaraunt. It was one of the most expensive things we did on the whole trip, only comparable to the ferry ride, round trip. After dinner which we spent with two of Tim's coworkers Andrea and Abby, the girls took me with them to get a Starbucks shake, mint chocolate chip. Yum. It was so kind of them to take me away from my children after spending the day in the room with them. I REALLY needed that

break.

The next day, since I had taken the Monorail and saw how it all worked I ventured out with my children and took them on the monorail and to the Children's Museum. I really had wanted to go to the Science Fiction Museum to be honest but it was a lot more expensive and I realized that kids were far more likely to drive me nuts at a museum they weren't excited by. The Children's Museum turned out to be a lot of fun and all went very smoothly. They had a lot of great exhibits and the kids were very occupied the whole time. I felt quite proud of myself for going out into the big city with the kids and without Tim.

That afternoon, when we returned, we went to Pikes Place Market with Tim. It was pretty fun, but I was distracted a lot by grumpy and tired kids. We didn't spend a lot of time there because we had an appointment to meet all of Tim's co-workers at the Cheesecake Factory for dinner. It was great food. The kids were a little crazy but thanks to Abby they were pretty well occupied by her. . .and her drink. You are awesome Abby! After dinner we drove around and Tim took some pictures of the city across the water.

The next day we checked out and I took the kids to McDonalds at the mall while Tim finished his conference. Seattle was beautiful but I decided I am not meant to live in the big city. Way too hectic and definitely not for a family of 6!

There and Back again- Getting there

We are back from our vacation to Washington at long last. It was a lot of fun. One of the best things about it was the huge variety of scenery and activities we enjoyed. I will spread out my blog travel log so it isn't too long trying to cover it all in one.

A few hours into our trip I pulled out my phone and saw that the screen was totally screwed up. I had just bought the phone two weeks ago exactly. We stopped in Boise to eat lunch with Tim's brother Peter and his wife Eileen. We stopped at a T-mobil store on the way out and asked them if there was anything they could do. They saw that it was the very last day of my "buyers remorse" period and asked if I had a receipt and the box. Yeah RIGHT! We asked if they could call the T-mobil store we got it at and get a receipt from them. . .they said they could. . .if their fax machine wasn't broken. They sent us 10 minutes up the road to another T-mobile store. When we got there they said they usually wouldn't do it since I didn't have the box and receipt but since the other store sent me all that way they would do it for me. They gave me the box and everything. I was pleased with their service.

Saturday night, the first night, we stopped in Irrigon, Oregon and spent the night at my highschool buddy Cori's house. We have been friends since the rocky highschool years. Even though she had been to my house a time or two I had never been to hers, or met her husband and her youngest boy. It was so fun to see where she lived and meet the family. She took good care of us with yummy homemade food, something we came to miss greatly in the next week and a half. It was fun to watch our sons bond instantly. Her oldest and my oldest seemed to be kindrid spirits. It was reat to see Cori and chat with her. I remember our dreaming about being wives and moms some day and here we were. I felt like we were playing house or something.