A Celebration

I have lost all the baby weight (all 40 pounds) and an additional 5 pounds.  Five to 10 more is my goal by end of summer. Ten-15 more is my overall goal.

A Day Out

A couple of Saturdays ago we decided to just spend a relaxing day out.  We didn't have any real plans, we just went with the flow.  I suggested we go check out a walking park by our first apartment that Ray and I use to go to all the time before we moved out here.  It had ducks and a playgound and a nice walking/jogging trail.

Ray played with the kids at the playgound while Kimberly and I walked the loop.  We did 3 loops and each is half a mile.

After the kids got bored with the playground we went over to the pond to check out the turtles.  The ducks were gone.

In the first picture the whole bank was lined with turtles but they got scared off when we went over to them.

After we got done with the park we decided to go to Red Robin for lunch and Sheila was excited to meet the Red Robin.

Then we headed over to Pier Park to go to the candy store.  They now have some rides out there so we got some cash out to let the kids take a ride.  It was $4 per ticket, OUCH!  And Ray had to have his own ticket to ride with the kids so Timmy couldn't ride the horses since we didn't have a ticket for Ray. 

I was really annoyed that they wouldn't let Ray ride with the kids.  The fair always let us ride even if we didn't have a ticket.  We just stand there and hold the kids on.  They had a Ferris Wheel (which was $8 to ride) and two other small rides.  It was $15 for an all day pass. Maybe one of these days when Timmy is big enough to ride just with Sheila we will take them over and let them ride all the rides.

We had a good day though.  It was very relaxing and enjoyable.  Just goes to show you don't always have to have a plan.

Oh no he didn't!

Two funny (in a not so funny way) things happened to me yesterday.  The one has something to do with the title of this post but I will get to that in a minute.

First one...
I stood in front of the fridge, door open, eyes searching for the sour cream.  One container sat right in front in the over crowded second shelf.  Picking it up I contemplated if it was the new one or the open one.  I reached behind it and picked up the other.  They felt about the same.  I put the one that had been in front up on the top shelf and looked at the one that had been behind it.  Yup, the open one.  I put the new one back on the shelf and turned to shut the door.  Now this is where it gets a little fuzzy.  I am unsure if I hit the sour cream on something or if I just dropped it.  I looked down and the container of sour cream laid on the floor on its side without it's lid.  Sheila ran to the other side of the room.  I slowly shut the door to the fridge as my eyes started at the container and slowly swept up the scene.  Sour cream splattered all over the floor, the oven, the cupboards, and my three year old son that had been playing on the floor on the other side of the door.  He was frozen in the act of pushing his car away from the scene of the crime.  His feet, back of his legs, and back splattered with sour cream.  Sheila and Timmy both look at me anxiously.  Is she going to lose it?  Is she going to explode?  Yup.  With laughter.  Then began the clean up.  Striping down the boy to his pull up and dumping the clothes in the laundry room.  Washing off his feet and then the floor.  Drying the floor before the kids could slip on the wet floor.  Oops, too late.  Down goes Timmy.  Then washing up the cupboards.  Finally the cupboards and oven are washed up and dinner making is resumed.

And finally...
My husband has wanted to switch cell phone services for awhile.  We have two dead spots, one that we drive regularly but it won't drop a call in that area but you can't make a call from that spot.  The other we only drive on occassion.  But he is convinced that we could get better service. I am happy with ours.  We have a good plan with roll over minutes (which is about 3000 right now because most months we don't use all our minutes.)  We also have a tower right by our house so we get great coverage here.  Our contract is not up until June or July so he agreed about a month ago that we could keep our current service until after our trip back to Idaho/Utah so we can use those roll over minutes.

Well, Tuesday Ray was able to leave after his promotion ceremony and since it was beautiful we decided to take a walk with Timmy and Kimberly before Sheila got home.  As we were walking he asked me again when our contract was up.  I told him but reminded him that he promised we wouldn't switch until we got back from Idaho.

Yesterday Ray asked me, "How would you feel about keeping our cell phone service?"

"I thought you wanted to switch?" I replied.

Then he showed me.  He had told his phone, "You have failed me for the final time."  And he killed it.  He punched it and the screen had broken.  I asked when he did that and he said a few days ago. He dropped his phone on the concrete a few months after we got it and since then it has had a lot of issues.  It would turn off sporadically.

So needless to say we have to get him a new phone this weekend.  I will probably keep mine (unless we get a buy one get one free) because we can't afford to replace them right now.  But at least I get to keep my phone service and my 3000 rollover minutes.

Happy St. Patty's Day

Hope you all have a very green day (ours is shaping up to be a wet one) and don't get pinched.

Gotta Have Faith

That is what I have been telling myself for months.  Ray learned he received one of two promotions at the right time.  I was about to have our third baby.  We were planning on paying off the credit cards (done) and going to Idaho/Utah this coming summer.  Plus now that our house is 5 almost 6 years old it is starting to need repairs and upkeeps.  We knew that it would take a couple of months to actually receive the promotion so we didn't worry when it hadn't come by the time Kimberly was born.  We were hoping it would be here before my parents came the first part of November but knew that might be a little far fetched.  It didn't come.  Then we hoped to have it by the Holidays (Thanksgiving and/or Christmas.)  Nope.  For sure it would be here by the end of the year.  Nope again.  Finally Ray began asking about it weekly.  Found out the position he was given was having some major paperwork issues.  Three or four more slots came open.  I told Ray that they should just give him one of those since he was already told he would get the promotion and then when the paperwork cleared than they could refill the original slot he got.  That is what they decided to do but now came more paperwork.  Surely we would find out by the end of the month.  Nope.  Frustation and discouragement set in.  I wanted to be angry at someone but who was the question.  A ray of hope.  Ray learned last week that the people that approve the paperwork are just weekend warriors and drill weekend was this last weekend so surely we would hear something this week.

Friday I checked the pay website and his pay stub for the 15th had already posted (10 days early.)  No change.  I wept.  But still the weekend hadn't come so maybe.  Monday Ray's shop is called in for an announcement.  Ray crossed his fingers hoping it would be about his promotion.  Nope.  Someone else was getting a promotion.  Ray asked, "Does this mean I have to wait for another month to get my promotion?"  "No we should be hearing something this week," was the answer.

Okay, so it seems like they make announcements on Monday and Friday.  I will hope until Friday and then if we don't hear anything we will have to wait until next month and hope.  Each month we wait is a month worth of money I can't save for the trip home.

Yesterday Ray calls like he always does on the way home from work.  He said, "I have some good news."  Thinking he was going to tell me that he is almost home (that would be a little early and always calls and says that to me for little things) I ask half interested, "What?"  "I got my promotion today."  Bing, my attention is now focused.  "Are you serious?"  "Yes."  "ARE You SERIOUS?"  "Yup."  Wahoo!!  It was dated for the 9th so we should get a little back pay next payday since they already posted the old amount.  His ceremony is Tuesday.  A weight lifted from our shoulders.  We went out to celebrate last night.  (Sheila had a major meltdown at the restaurant so it wasn't much of a celebration.)  I know Heavenly Father hears our prayers.  Sometimes we don't understand the timing of everything and maybe there was something Ray and I needed to learn (like Patience, ugh I dislike that word sometimes.)  But I am so glad we finally got it.

St. Augustine trip

I had the privilege of accompanying Ray on his last TDY to St. Augustine.  He was the supervisor of the Airman that won Airman of the Year for their sector and so Ray got to attend most of the award banquets too and so did I.  Timothy and Sheila stayed with their grandparents and Kimberly came with us.

This was the view from the front door of our room.  It looked down at the atrium six floors below.

Kimberly enjoyed the big bed.

Here we are at the banquet.

The next day we checked out of the hotel early and went over to St. Augustine to see some of the sites.  It is the oldest city in the United States.  It was raining so we didn't get to see much.  We visited the Castillo de San Marcos, which is the oldest fort still in existence in the USA.  It was started in the 1600s and through the years and wars had different parts added to it.

The different flags that the fort has flown under.

What the fort looks like from above.

Views from the top of the fort.

Then we drove by the lighthouse.  Kimberly had fallen asleep and since it was still raining we just drove by the lighthouse.  I hope we can go another time and climb to the top.  (The kids have to be 44 inches before they can go so we will probably wait a few years before we go again.)

Goal update

10 things I look forward to:

1. trip to Idaho-planning away.
2. Winter olympics-watched and enjoyed.
3. Ray's raise-still waiting but really should be this month.  I know I keep saying that but I keep hoping.
4. "Tower of Midnight"- unfortunately that is not being released until December but I am now reading Percy Jackson and the Olympians among other books.
5. Kimberly's firsts-rolled over a few more times and is trying to sit up.
6. new van-well, we got a SUV instead. We got a 2009 Kia Borrego EX Limited. It was used but only had 7000 miles on it so we got it for a really good deal.
7. beach-will start to go this month once the weather warms up a little more.
8. Sheila going to kindergarten-in the fall.
9. temple-probably not until the summer since Kimberly is so little and the temple is so far away.  Will also try to start going quarterly.
10. moving-that may not happen this year but I would like to start fixing up the little things in our house at least. Plan on painting this fall.

10 Goals for 2010

1. learn to use my serger-will get it out next month.  This month will be scrapbooking again.
2. finish Old Testament-figured out I need to read 2-3 chapter a day to finish in a year.  Have been reading about 2 most of February.  I am now in First Chronicles.  The first chapters are geneaology with some fun names to try to pronounce.
3. catch up on one scrapbook-my cousin gave me a good idea to start current and then work to catch up.  Since I only have to Halloween pictures printed out I have been working on those pictures for all the books. 
4. paint the inside of the house-plan to start that this fall but may do one small room before then.
5. finish the "Work and the Glory," "Harry Potter," and "Twilight" series again. I am almost done with the 8th book of the "Work and the Glory."
6. make my own cookbook-started typing up favorite recipes.  I also got a cricut cartridge to add embellishments as I print them out.  I will wait until I get a few more recipes to start printing since I just barely started going through my cooking recipes.
7. lost 1-2 more pounds. I am walking about 5000-7000 steps most day.  Have gotten up to almost 10000.  Since the weather has been cold I have started jogging/marching in place while I do chores around the house for at least 20 minutes.  I am also leaving two bites at most meals still.  I wish the pounds were coming off faster but I am still breast feeding and it has seemed like I will hit a plateau and then suddenly will have a big lost again and then another plateau so I am not too worried.
8. make over $200 at the fair-have a few projects done and working away.
9. get a fence and new shed-hopefully this spring or fall.
10. start writing again-focusing on the cookbook but have a story formulating in my head plus want to finish some others.