I have been really thinking the past week or so about all the things in our lives that we thought were trials and ended up becoming such blessings. It's amazing at how when you put your life in the Lords hands things don't turn out how you planned or expected, they turn out even better!
One of these unexpected blessings is Kelvin's school. His academic adviser told him a couple years ago that he didn't need to take a certain class that was normally required because of his internship with Lockheed Martin. The next semester we found out that she was WRONG and now it was going to take an extra year for him to graduate because you have to take the classes in a certain order and they are only offered one semester a year. We were very frustrated by this news and him having to be in school for another year. Especially when that last year he would only be taking 1 class. Two of his classes this year are with the group that would have graduated the year after he did and he has gotten to know them pretty well, he is doing his senior project with them. After talking with a few of them he found out that the normal schedule to graduate on time requires them to take 5 mechanical engineering classes. Not only that but ALL the classes have a 5 hour lab along with them and a tremendous amount of homework. Now, Kelvin is really smart and he took 3 of those classes last spring semester and they were horrendous!! Very difficult classes, and so add on top of that the 2 more engineering classes they are taking with him this semester and you have yourself a perfect storm. He feels so bad for the people taking all 5 at the same time because he knows what they are against and it's not going to be a good semester for them. (For those who don't realize, Mechanical Engineering is a very difficult major. It's not just putting pieces of things together to make a mechanical object. I have been surprised at just how many people don't realize how difficult his major and classes are. A lot of people drop out or can't pass the beginning classes.) But because of this lady's careless mistake (that she claims she never made), he has been spared. Either way, he would have done poorly in his classes or gotten burned out by the end of that semester. The way it has played out has become such a blessing in our lives. Not only with him being able to be keep a reasonable work load and keep up his GPA, but his last year he will be able to work almost full time. With the work study job he has now, his boss knows the vice president of ATK (an engineering firm here in Utah) very well and has offered to introduce Kelvin to him. This could put another internship opportunity for a different company right in our laps! And we wouldn't have to move anywhere for the summer. (We are getting very tired of that.) Things are falling into place left and right and opportunities are coming our way we never thought possible because of one mistake. There are many many different examples I could give you of how the Lord has blessed our lives through these so called "trials". He has been so good to us and has taught us both so much about relying on Him, our faith, and each other. We may not have the worldly goods right now, or the high paying jobs and a house. But I wouldn't trade what we have experienced for anything. We are both being prepared for what life will bring down the road and what the Lord has planned for us both to accomplish here. So here's to those blessings in disguise! You never know what the Lord will throw at you, but you can be sure you will be the better for it.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Ahh, the Memories!!
A while back I went to my parents and brought back all the copies of my pictures from over the years. We are scanning them into the computer so we can have them digitally as well as the hard copy. As I have been going through them, I have found some precious photos of Matt when he was little. He and I have been buddies most of his life. There are a lot of pictures taken with the family that he is holding my hand or next to me. One time, when he came over to my very first apartment, we had a little photo shoot. The pictures are to die for they are so dang cute!!!!! So sit back and enjoy the product of about 10 years ago..........
These are the only ones that we have scanned in the computer thus far of him. But believe me, there are more to come of my little brother who is growing up so fast!
These are the only ones that we have scanned in the computer thus far of him. But believe me, there are more to come of my little brother who is growing up so fast!
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Summer's Birthday and My Graduation Party!
Monday night we celebrated Summer's birthday and my Graduation. Everyone got together for dinner and fun. I didn't feel like I could pay the money to walk for Graduation (it was $100) and didn't want to sit though the ceremony either. Kelvin and I both don't like graduation ceremonies (too long), and so we both decided that neither one of us would walk and we are happy with that decision. I was surprised though by how many cards and presents I got! I am the first in my family to graduate from college and it's a big accomplishment, I guess I didn't realize how proud everyone was. It feels good though to be recognized for how hard you have worked to get to where you are. And the great part is, now I have enough money to buy my very own sewing machine!!! I have wanted one for years and never felt like I could justify buying one, even though we had a little savings left over for things like that. But now I have the means to do so and ordered one online today! I also went and looked at patterns for table cloths and for the fabric. I have 3 fabrics picked out already and I can't wait to start.
Summer and the beginnings of her birthday stash!!
Even Grandma and Grandpa came out for the celebration!
Kelvin's random picture of me all excited!
The kids all love grandpa and beg to sit on his lap.
So we got them all up there, minus one. Jayce was sleeping. Even Lucy joined the fun. Sorry it's a blurry picture, but with kids you have to take pictures fast or you don't get one.
Summer and the beginnings of her birthday stash!!
Even Grandma and Grandpa came out for the celebration!
Kelvin's random picture of me all excited!
The kids all love grandpa and beg to sit on his lap.
So we got them all up there, minus one. Jayce was sleeping. Even Lucy joined the fun. Sorry it's a blurry picture, but with kids you have to take pictures fast or you don't get one.
The Week of Crazy!
I mentioned in the last post that we had a crazy week and hadn't had time to rest. Here is the run down of the happenings.....
When we got back from four wheeling, we were so tired and pictured out that we forgot to take our camera with us all week, so that's why there are no pictures.
Kelvin's mom and dad drove Krystal up for school while Lisa and Isabella flew down on Saturday. Just a few hours after we got back from camping, a friend called and we went to pick him up from Draper and he spent the weekend with us. Sunday morning we went to get our temple recommend interviews for Aaron's wedding in the morning. Kelvin's had expired and we were afraid that they wouldn't let us in for the sealing, but our Bishop was so cool and took care of it all for us. He even gave us his cell phone number for the temple to call in case there was a problem. When we got back from that, I made breakfast for the boys and then we went to church. When we came back we changed and went to Marta's to visit all the family and say goodbye to Kelvin's dad. He was flying home the next day (Lisa and Maritza were flying home the next Friday). It was about 8:30pm when we left and went to Aaron's house. I helped him pick out music for the reception while Kelvin taught him a simpler way to waltz. We left about 9:30 and Kelvin dropped me off and drove Jeffrey down to Provo, his ride had bailed on him. He got back late and went right to bed (I was already in bed).
Monday morning we wake up early and get ready for the wedding. We went to the sealing and got in the temple without any problems. It was such a wonderful sealing. There have been only a few sealings I have attended where the spirit was really strong almost confirming to everyone present that this is the right match! This sealing had this feeling the entire time we were there. It was a pleasure and honor to be a part of it. After it was all said and done, we waited around for a while and took a picture with everyone per request from Aaron's family. We then went to the University of Utah. I had to turn in a hard copy of my last paper and Kelvin had some things that had to get done that day also. There was so much construction everywhere, it took us almost 20 minutes to find somewhere to park! We decided to split up and get things done faster. When we met back up we had just enough time to stop off at our apartment, grab the present and head on out again. We made it to the lunchin late, but the bride and groom were later than us, so we didn't feel that bad. The food was great and it was fun to talk with Aaron's family and Adrian's family. After the lunchin we went over the waltz they were going to do that night and then decided to go to my parents house for a little bit. It was 4:30pm by then and we talked with my mom and then when my dad came home we all went to MiRanchito for dinner. We went straight from dinner to the recpetion at 7:30 for the last hour. We saw them dance, which was perfect, and saw some old friends. When the reception was done, we took Aaron to get their car he was hiding and dropped him back off. We then decided it was time to go home, about 9:30pm. It was 10pm when we arrived and we went straight to bed.
Tuesday I got really sick. There was a cousin party planned for that night for Kelvin's family and I sent him without me because I was so miserable and stayed in bed all day! He came home at 10:30pm.
Wednesday I finally got some laundry done and we did a little cleaning. Kelvin's mom and sisters came over for lunch and Lisa got to see our place for the first time. It was really nice to have them over. That night we went to get our Temple Recommend interviews by the stake and then went home and changed for Chilean night at Martas. We had Chilean food, desserts, and music. It was fun and everyone was there again. We got home a little late again.
Thursday I applied for jobs, we took care of a bunch of errands and Kelvin went to clean the church. I was still sick and not feeling up to going. It didn't take them long though because one couple went ahead of everyone and cleaned most of it by themselves. When he got back we went to our friends new apartment and talked with them until late again.
Friday we took our time getting ready and then went to say goodbye to Maritza and Lisa at Marta's at about 11am. We ended up satying a while and taking them to the airport and then went right to a doctors appointment for me afterwards because I was still feeling sick. Come to find out that I have not been eating enough Protein! Amazing what will happen when you are deficient in something so crucial. I don't eat meat a lot and usually choose water over milk, don't eat much peanut butter either or eggs. This diet of mine has obviously changed and I feel a lot better. We got home about 5:30pm and ate dinner. We had plans for some friends to come over at 8 and we didn't feel like we could break the date! Our friend that had come over the last weekend invited them over thinking we would want to get to know them better. Little did he know, we already knew who they were and had plans to invite them over when things settled down. We did have a good time, but didn't get to bed until 11:30pm.
Saturday I had a Primary activity from 11-1pm, Kelvin was donating blood and doing some other errands during this time. When he came to pick me up we grabbed some food and met our good friend Shae at the park for a picnic. We hung out with here until 3:30 when she said it was time to go because I was falling asleep. We came home and rested for a couple hours and then went to an Elders Quroum BBQ. It was from 6-8 but we stayed until 8:30 to help clean up and such. When we got home we collapsed! We were both so tired and drained. Kelivn watched a movie while I took a bath and went ot bed early.
Sunday we got up early and went to the temple dedication. When we got home I had a little time to change and then I headed off to a Presidency meeting. It started at noon and I got home at 3:30. We stayed home the rest of the day without visitors!!!!!
I'm tired after writing all of that. We survived though and are here to tell the tale. Kelvin wished he would have had a little more time to relax before school started, but that's life sometimes unfortunatly. He will have a little time this week since school isn't too bad the first week back.
When we got back from four wheeling, we were so tired and pictured out that we forgot to take our camera with us all week, so that's why there are no pictures.
Kelvin's mom and dad drove Krystal up for school while Lisa and Isabella flew down on Saturday. Just a few hours after we got back from camping, a friend called and we went to pick him up from Draper and he spent the weekend with us. Sunday morning we went to get our temple recommend interviews for Aaron's wedding in the morning. Kelvin's had expired and we were afraid that they wouldn't let us in for the sealing, but our Bishop was so cool and took care of it all for us. He even gave us his cell phone number for the temple to call in case there was a problem. When we got back from that, I made breakfast for the boys and then we went to church. When we came back we changed and went to Marta's to visit all the family and say goodbye to Kelvin's dad. He was flying home the next day (Lisa and Maritza were flying home the next Friday). It was about 8:30pm when we left and went to Aaron's house. I helped him pick out music for the reception while Kelvin taught him a simpler way to waltz. We left about 9:30 and Kelvin dropped me off and drove Jeffrey down to Provo, his ride had bailed on him. He got back late and went right to bed (I was already in bed).
Monday morning we wake up early and get ready for the wedding. We went to the sealing and got in the temple without any problems. It was such a wonderful sealing. There have been only a few sealings I have attended where the spirit was really strong almost confirming to everyone present that this is the right match! This sealing had this feeling the entire time we were there. It was a pleasure and honor to be a part of it. After it was all said and done, we waited around for a while and took a picture with everyone per request from Aaron's family. We then went to the University of Utah. I had to turn in a hard copy of my last paper and Kelvin had some things that had to get done that day also. There was so much construction everywhere, it took us almost 20 minutes to find somewhere to park! We decided to split up and get things done faster. When we met back up we had just enough time to stop off at our apartment, grab the present and head on out again. We made it to the lunchin late, but the bride and groom were later than us, so we didn't feel that bad. The food was great and it was fun to talk with Aaron's family and Adrian's family. After the lunchin we went over the waltz they were going to do that night and then decided to go to my parents house for a little bit. It was 4:30pm by then and we talked with my mom and then when my dad came home we all went to MiRanchito for dinner. We went straight from dinner to the recpetion at 7:30 for the last hour. We saw them dance, which was perfect, and saw some old friends. When the reception was done, we took Aaron to get their car he was hiding and dropped him back off. We then decided it was time to go home, about 9:30pm. It was 10pm when we arrived and we went straight to bed.
Tuesday I got really sick. There was a cousin party planned for that night for Kelvin's family and I sent him without me because I was so miserable and stayed in bed all day! He came home at 10:30pm.
Wednesday I finally got some laundry done and we did a little cleaning. Kelvin's mom and sisters came over for lunch and Lisa got to see our place for the first time. It was really nice to have them over. That night we went to get our Temple Recommend interviews by the stake and then went home and changed for Chilean night at Martas. We had Chilean food, desserts, and music. It was fun and everyone was there again. We got home a little late again.
Thursday I applied for jobs, we took care of a bunch of errands and Kelvin went to clean the church. I was still sick and not feeling up to going. It didn't take them long though because one couple went ahead of everyone and cleaned most of it by themselves. When he got back we went to our friends new apartment and talked with them until late again.
Friday we took our time getting ready and then went to say goodbye to Maritza and Lisa at Marta's at about 11am. We ended up satying a while and taking them to the airport and then went right to a doctors appointment for me afterwards because I was still feeling sick. Come to find out that I have not been eating enough Protein! Amazing what will happen when you are deficient in something so crucial. I don't eat meat a lot and usually choose water over milk, don't eat much peanut butter either or eggs. This diet of mine has obviously changed and I feel a lot better. We got home about 5:30pm and ate dinner. We had plans for some friends to come over at 8 and we didn't feel like we could break the date! Our friend that had come over the last weekend invited them over thinking we would want to get to know them better. Little did he know, we already knew who they were and had plans to invite them over when things settled down. We did have a good time, but didn't get to bed until 11:30pm.
Saturday I had a Primary activity from 11-1pm, Kelvin was donating blood and doing some other errands during this time. When he came to pick me up we grabbed some food and met our good friend Shae at the park for a picnic. We hung out with here until 3:30 when she said it was time to go because I was falling asleep. We came home and rested for a couple hours and then went to an Elders Quroum BBQ. It was from 6-8 but we stayed until 8:30 to help clean up and such. When we got home we collapsed! We were both so tired and drained. Kelivn watched a movie while I took a bath and went ot bed early.
Sunday we got up early and went to the temple dedication. When we got home I had a little time to change and then I headed off to a Presidency meeting. It started at noon and I got home at 3:30. We stayed home the rest of the day without visitors!!!!!
I'm tired after writing all of that. We survived though and are here to tell the tale. Kelvin wished he would have had a little more time to relax before school started, but that's life sometimes unfortunatly. He will have a little time this week since school isn't too bad the first week back.
Wager Wheeling Weekend
Every year my family goes to Richfield and does a four wheeling trip. This year Kelvin and I were actually able to join them, having had things in previous years preventing us from going. A couple days after we got back from Texas we packed up and left for a fun weekend! My parents got us all dutch ovens for Christmas last year and we all brought them on the trip to learn how to cook dutch oven style. I learned a lot and I think everyone else did to. My whole family was able to come and we had some great talks, laughs, and rides.
On our way!
It rained on Friday most of the day. Luckily we brought some warm gear. Our tent didn't leak at all thank goodness!
Our main camping site. Basically where we ate and did everything.
We brought our game and funny thing was that Dave had just made one very similar to ours and brought it, only they used larger PVC pipe and tennis balls where we use golf balls.
When it rained, the water would pool on top of the awning, and if you happen to walk under at the right moment, you got soaked. Poor Braden had this happen to him and was not a happy camper. It also happened to Summer. We kept a close eye on it after that.
Ready to go Four Wheeling!!
Chillin' while it was raining
What's camping without a guitar?
Of course, a game of keep away is just the ticket for boys!
Along with some target practice.
And we were all impressed by their skills.
Needless to say though, we were exhausted by the time we got home. I hadn't had time to do our laundry, clean the apt we hadn't lived in for 3 months, or rest. Since we have been home, it's been go, go, go for two weeks straight! We haven't had a break in a long time.
On our way!
It rained on Friday most of the day. Luckily we brought some warm gear. Our tent didn't leak at all thank goodness!
Our main camping site. Basically where we ate and did everything.
We brought our game and funny thing was that Dave had just made one very similar to ours and brought it, only they used larger PVC pipe and tennis balls where we use golf balls.
When it rained, the water would pool on top of the awning, and if you happen to walk under at the right moment, you got soaked. Poor Braden had this happen to him and was not a happy camper. It also happened to Summer. We kept a close eye on it after that.
Ready to go Four Wheeling!!
Chillin' while it was raining
What's camping without a guitar?
Of course, a game of keep away is just the ticket for boys!
Along with some target practice.
And we were all impressed by their skills.
Needless to say though, we were exhausted by the time we got home. I hadn't had time to do our laundry, clean the apt we hadn't lived in for 3 months, or rest. Since we have been home, it's been go, go, go for two weeks straight! We haven't had a break in a long time.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
We Made It!
We made it to Utah safe and sound!! After a 3 hour delay on Friday from car troubles, it is so nice to have made it here in one piece and with our car still in tact. (We aren't sure exactly how much longer our car will last. It's kind of on it's last leg.)
When we walked into our apartment we couldn't stop smiling and looking at all the stuff we had! After living on the bare, bare essentials it was so nice to come back to a couch, a kitchen stocked with spices and other food, a kitchen table, movies, our bed, the closets, all our clothes, etc. I could go on and on but I won't bore you with all the things we were suddenly VERY grateful for. We stopped at my parents house and saw them on our way into town and got a new microwave from Dave and Paula. They had three and were anxious to get rid of them so we graciously took it off their hands. It is awesome and goes very well with our apartment!
Sunday was a great day. It is such a good feeling to be wanted in your ward and noticed instead of being treated like visitors all the time. Everyone was excited to see us back and we really enjoyed being there. Primary was especially fun. I have missed it so much. That night we had Aaron and Adrian and Nick and Halley over for dinner, games and a movie. Aaron and Adrian are getting married on Monday so it was the last time we will get to see them before their wedding day. And Nick and Halley really missed us while we were gone.
Monday we went to my parents house and went through a bunch of my stuff. We threw away a lot and put other stuff away for a possible garage sale I'm trying to talk my family into having. It was fun to go through old things of mine that I haven't seen for years. We still have a little more to go through and will probably do that toady. We also had set some money aside for a new desk during the summer. We are in need of one and went shopping after all the cleaning. We ended up finding one we both really like and with the help of my little brother, he and Kelvin got it all put together and it looks SO GOOD!! I will post pictures later. We got it for a pretty good price too I think. After the completion of the desk, we went to see G.I. JOE. Matt also stayed the night which he hasn't done for a while.
I will post more later, but for now there are other things to be done.
When we walked into our apartment we couldn't stop smiling and looking at all the stuff we had! After living on the bare, bare essentials it was so nice to come back to a couch, a kitchen stocked with spices and other food, a kitchen table, movies, our bed, the closets, all our clothes, etc. I could go on and on but I won't bore you with all the things we were suddenly VERY grateful for. We stopped at my parents house and saw them on our way into town and got a new microwave from Dave and Paula. They had three and were anxious to get rid of them so we graciously took it off their hands. It is awesome and goes very well with our apartment!
Sunday was a great day. It is such a good feeling to be wanted in your ward and noticed instead of being treated like visitors all the time. Everyone was excited to see us back and we really enjoyed being there. Primary was especially fun. I have missed it so much. That night we had Aaron and Adrian and Nick and Halley over for dinner, games and a movie. Aaron and Adrian are getting married on Monday so it was the last time we will get to see them before their wedding day. And Nick and Halley really missed us while we were gone.
Monday we went to my parents house and went through a bunch of my stuff. We threw away a lot and put other stuff away for a possible garage sale I'm trying to talk my family into having. It was fun to go through old things of mine that I haven't seen for years. We still have a little more to go through and will probably do that toady. We also had set some money aside for a new desk during the summer. We are in need of one and went shopping after all the cleaning. We ended up finding one we both really like and with the help of my little brother, he and Kelvin got it all put together and it looks SO GOOD!! I will post pictures later. We got it for a pretty good price too I think. After the completion of the desk, we went to see G.I. JOE. Matt also stayed the night which he hasn't done for a while.
I will post more later, but for now there are other things to be done.
Monday, August 3, 2009
The Week in a Nutshell
We have been pretty busy this last week and I haven't had a chance to do a post for everyone until now. So here is the week in a nutshell!
The Graduate!!
Tuesday was a pretty momentous day for me. I sent in my final paper for my final class!!!! I have now finally finished my bachelors degree!!!! For those who do not know, it has been a struggle for me to finish. There seemed to always be something that delayed my graduation again and again. I have worked so hard and fought for so long to finally be done and now I can say that I am! It's an incredible feeling and I appreciate it so much more because of my struggle to get here. Sometimes it's strange to think it took this long, considering I have really good grades and am motivated. But alas, it is done and I don't have to worry about it anymore (except of course when I go back to get my nursing degree). Now the hard part of finding a job is setting in.
The Visitors
Kelvin's friend from High School is moving to Houston with her husband and baby, and they made a stop to see us on Wednesday since we were on the way. We met them at his parents house since our place was out of their way. We got pizza and chatted for about an hour until they had to get on the road again. It was fun to meet them and we had a good time.
The Dump
As if the week couldn't get any better, we moved from the dump of a place we were living in in Arlington on Friday! Both of us were elated at the thought of going to his parents house for our last week and feeling like we could get clean again. Never again will we live in a place like that. We didn't realize just how bad it was until we were all moved in for the summer. Maritza told us we were too nice to have just put up with the apartment. She is probably right. We had problems with that place from the beginning. A couple weeks before we were leaving, the ceiling in the bathroom started to leak. I called and placed a message for emergency maintenance. About an hour later, the ceiling was drooping down and looked like it was going to cave in. I made another emergency call and got through to the office. When they heard my panic they sent someone right over. He came in, looked at the ceiling and started laughing! He literally laughed at me. He said it was only a condensation leak. After poking some holes in the ceiling he told me to let it drain for a day or two and then it would be fine. It was still leaking when we left!
The Rained out Rangers
Friday night after the move, we went to the Texas Rangers game. We got free tickets from Lockheed Martin in the all you can eat section. It was a lot of fun. The bottom of the 7th inning though it started to rain and kept raining. The sky was black and as it increased in intensity, the players went into the dugouts and the field was covered up with a big plastic sheet. Luckily we were under the only roof in the stadium so we were able to stay seated while everyone else had to duck for cover. It was still raining hard after an hour so we decided to leave since they couldn't finish the game anyway. The field had puddles! Some smart alecks decided it would be funny to run onto the field. When they did, the crowd was cheering them on as they tried to get away from the police. They did get caught and arrested though.
Our first rangers game!
One of the 2 home runs that were hit by the Rangers.
This was the sky as the clouds rolled in and got really dark!
If you look closely, you can see that the bleachers have water filling up at the bottom.
It was a sheet of water coming down. The picture doesn't do it justice, but you can see that the seats are empty and the people have huddled to cover. You can even see the roof that was over us.
The Day at Athens
Kelvin's Aunt and Uncle own 100 acres in Athens that we go visit every time we come to Texas. Everyone came except Brandon who had to work. Besides the crazy rain we drove through to get there, it was really nice. Last time we went, which was a couple months ago, they had a donkey and a cow. Now they have 3 cows, a horse and colt, and a donkey. That doesn't include the 2 dogs. I got brave and petted the horse and colt, but refused to touch the cow.
Kelvin loves to climb trees so when he got a little bored, he decided to join the little boys and climb a tree. This tree basically had two trunks, one going up and the other went sideways. When he was climbing down, the branch he was holding onto broke and he fell about 5 feet and his back landed directly on the tree trunk that went sideways! I saw the whole thing happen and was stunned for a second, then ran to him and saw him get up. He was more mad about falling than he was hurting. But it scared me to death and I broke down in tears right there. It was the scariest thing I have ever seen as I thought he had broken his back or worse and it haunted my thoughts. After I burst into tears, he had to hold me and calm me down for a while. He said he didn't get hurt, but after a closer examination, he had scrapes all over! His arm was scratched the worst but he did get scratched on his back too. One calf was scratched and starting to bruise and the other calf was bruised. We think that because he landed on his back and kind of rolled off the trunk, it protected his head because he didn't hit it. I have said many prayers since then thanking Heavenly Father for protecting him because he could and probably should have gotten hurt much worse then he did. After I calmed down I went into the house and washed my face. His mom had some quick thinking and got some Neosporin and started putting it all over his arm. When I lifted up his shirt we found that scrape and put some on there too. It was good thinking because it helped his injuries heal a lot faster. His foot started hurting yesterday and his calves still hurt as well as his arm, but his back doesn't hurt at all.
Isabella rode her first four wheeler this trip and she really enjoyed herself despite her face in this picture. She also LOVED the dogs and animals. It was so fun to watch her interact with them.
Clouds started to roll in and it did rain when we left, but if you look at the trees you will see they are a little fuzzy. That is the humidity. It was so humid it was visible!!!!! Obviously it's cooler to see in person, but this little picture captures it pretty well.
More of the ranch and humidity. Isn't it beautiful? They get to live on this land. Behind the trees on the left and up a little ways is a pond, and then behind the pond is a forest where there are hills and some four wheeler paths. It's quite a place.
It was a busy week and we did lots of stuff! But we leave on Friday to go back to Utah so the more stuff we can get in and do with his family the better. It will be a little while before we get to see them again. We are excited to get back to all our stuff and our apartment is waiting for us. Also it will be good to be in our ward again.
The Graduate!!
Tuesday was a pretty momentous day for me. I sent in my final paper for my final class!!!! I have now finally finished my bachelors degree!!!! For those who do not know, it has been a struggle for me to finish. There seemed to always be something that delayed my graduation again and again. I have worked so hard and fought for so long to finally be done and now I can say that I am! It's an incredible feeling and I appreciate it so much more because of my struggle to get here. Sometimes it's strange to think it took this long, considering I have really good grades and am motivated. But alas, it is done and I don't have to worry about it anymore (except of course when I go back to get my nursing degree). Now the hard part of finding a job is setting in.
The Visitors
Kelvin's friend from High School is moving to Houston with her husband and baby, and they made a stop to see us on Wednesday since we were on the way. We met them at his parents house since our place was out of their way. We got pizza and chatted for about an hour until they had to get on the road again. It was fun to meet them and we had a good time.
The Dump
As if the week couldn't get any better, we moved from the dump of a place we were living in in Arlington on Friday! Both of us were elated at the thought of going to his parents house for our last week and feeling like we could get clean again. Never again will we live in a place like that. We didn't realize just how bad it was until we were all moved in for the summer. Maritza told us we were too nice to have just put up with the apartment. She is probably right. We had problems with that place from the beginning. A couple weeks before we were leaving, the ceiling in the bathroom started to leak. I called and placed a message for emergency maintenance. About an hour later, the ceiling was drooping down and looked like it was going to cave in. I made another emergency call and got through to the office. When they heard my panic they sent someone right over. He came in, looked at the ceiling and started laughing! He literally laughed at me. He said it was only a condensation leak. After poking some holes in the ceiling he told me to let it drain for a day or two and then it would be fine. It was still leaking when we left!
The Rained out Rangers
Friday night after the move, we went to the Texas Rangers game. We got free tickets from Lockheed Martin in the all you can eat section. It was a lot of fun. The bottom of the 7th inning though it started to rain and kept raining. The sky was black and as it increased in intensity, the players went into the dugouts and the field was covered up with a big plastic sheet. Luckily we were under the only roof in the stadium so we were able to stay seated while everyone else had to duck for cover. It was still raining hard after an hour so we decided to leave since they couldn't finish the game anyway. The field had puddles! Some smart alecks decided it would be funny to run onto the field. When they did, the crowd was cheering them on as they tried to get away from the police. They did get caught and arrested though.
Our first rangers game!
One of the 2 home runs that were hit by the Rangers.
This was the sky as the clouds rolled in and got really dark!
If you look closely, you can see that the bleachers have water filling up at the bottom.
It was a sheet of water coming down. The picture doesn't do it justice, but you can see that the seats are empty and the people have huddled to cover. You can even see the roof that was over us.
The Day at Athens
Kelvin's Aunt and Uncle own 100 acres in Athens that we go visit every time we come to Texas. Everyone came except Brandon who had to work. Besides the crazy rain we drove through to get there, it was really nice. Last time we went, which was a couple months ago, they had a donkey and a cow. Now they have 3 cows, a horse and colt, and a donkey. That doesn't include the 2 dogs. I got brave and petted the horse and colt, but refused to touch the cow.
Kelvin loves to climb trees so when he got a little bored, he decided to join the little boys and climb a tree. This tree basically had two trunks, one going up and the other went sideways. When he was climbing down, the branch he was holding onto broke and he fell about 5 feet and his back landed directly on the tree trunk that went sideways! I saw the whole thing happen and was stunned for a second, then ran to him and saw him get up. He was more mad about falling than he was hurting. But it scared me to death and I broke down in tears right there. It was the scariest thing I have ever seen as I thought he had broken his back or worse and it haunted my thoughts. After I burst into tears, he had to hold me and calm me down for a while. He said he didn't get hurt, but after a closer examination, he had scrapes all over! His arm was scratched the worst but he did get scratched on his back too. One calf was scratched and starting to bruise and the other calf was bruised. We think that because he landed on his back and kind of rolled off the trunk, it protected his head because he didn't hit it. I have said many prayers since then thanking Heavenly Father for protecting him because he could and probably should have gotten hurt much worse then he did. After I calmed down I went into the house and washed my face. His mom had some quick thinking and got some Neosporin and started putting it all over his arm. When I lifted up his shirt we found that scrape and put some on there too. It was good thinking because it helped his injuries heal a lot faster. His foot started hurting yesterday and his calves still hurt as well as his arm, but his back doesn't hurt at all.
Isabella rode her first four wheeler this trip and she really enjoyed herself despite her face in this picture. She also LOVED the dogs and animals. It was so fun to watch her interact with them.
Clouds started to roll in and it did rain when we left, but if you look at the trees you will see they are a little fuzzy. That is the humidity. It was so humid it was visible!!!!! Obviously it's cooler to see in person, but this little picture captures it pretty well.
More of the ranch and humidity. Isn't it beautiful? They get to live on this land. Behind the trees on the left and up a little ways is a pond, and then behind the pond is a forest where there are hills and some four wheeler paths. It's quite a place.
It was a busy week and we did lots of stuff! But we leave on Friday to go back to Utah so the more stuff we can get in and do with his family the better. It will be a little while before we get to see them again. We are excited to get back to all our stuff and our apartment is waiting for us. Also it will be good to be in our ward again.
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