Sunday, August 3, 2014

Our Family: Week of 7/28-8/3

On Monday, Mike spent the day at the DMV.  He took the bus an hour to get there, waited at the DMV for 2, and then took the bus home again.

All for a 5-day moving permit.

We need to get the car fixed/emissions passed/registered in 5 days.

Or he has to go through that all over again.

While he was gone, we baby-sat for our friends.

Which always makes for a fun/exciting/stressful time.

***

On Tuesday we sold this couch:



When we moved in, the woman we are renting from "left" it for us.

At first, I thought that was super-nice.

It turns out, it is the world's worst couch.

And every time I sat on it, I grumbled at it.

So we sold it to a nice college student, who laid on it first, and deemed it comfortable enough to sleep on.

***

On Wednesday, this sweet boy popped in his first tooth!


You can't see it, but trust me... it's stinkin' adorable.

That evening, I gave up.

Mike had spent as much time as he could trying to find the problem to the car on Monday and Tuesday, and couldn't figure it out.

I wanted to be like the people of Alma and be cheerful through our trials, really, but it had been almost a month.

I was tired of walking to the store and being stuck in the house.

I had a baby who needed a well check.

Kids to bring to school at the end of August.

I wanted to start eating food that didn't need to fit in the bottom of a stroller.

That afternoon, Mike had done some more research, and thought it might be the flywheel.  Having repaired the flywheel on the Focus years ago, I knew how hard/expensive a repair that was, and our budget was almost gone.

That night I prayed really hard and read my scriptures and felt peace.

And it gave me the courage to try to be like the faithful people of Alma again.

***

On Thursday, Mike fixed the car!!!!

He got up early in the morning, looked at it, did some more internet research, and thought that he would try replacing the flywheel next.

We've done the flywheel thang for the Focus, and I knew it wasn't a cheap/easy repair.

We prayed (and I later found out that my sweet neighbor prayed) that he could find the problem...

... and that it wasn't the flywheel.

After work, he noticed that one of the sensors he had just replaced was un-plugged... the clip that held it in place had broken.  So some duct tape fixed that.

And the car.

He drove it for a l-o-n-g time.  And then went over to the other side of town to a 24-hour smog check place.  It passed emissions!

He came home and we all hopped in for a drive.


I have never, ever been so thankful to go on a car ride.

***

The past summers we have done countdowns... each day filled with an activity and fun.

I didn't do one this summer.  I cut myself some slack with a baby.

But, I realized August began and our summer had been kinda crummy and I really need an organized plan to be a fun mom.

So, I did a "Countdown to School" for August.

Today we went over to the library to get the kids' summer reading prizes (and to check out a gazillion new books, of course!).




It was soooo fun!

Nothing makes you appreciate a car more than not having one for a month.

***

On Saturday we cleaned the house and I got my lesson ready.

We made some soft caramel corn.



And headed over to the Outdoor Picture Show at Green Valley to watch Despicable Me outside in the grass.

Unfortunately, while we were getting gas, one of the kids began playing with the automatic seats (we've never had those before) and blew a fuse.

By the time we got it changed, the movie had already started.

So we had movie night at home instead.

***

On Sunday after church we made chocolate chip cookies.

Someone went ahead and snuck Sam one:


You wouldn't know it, but he was a fan.  ;)

Afterward, we bundled up the cookies that Sam didn't snag, and headed up to Mt. Charleston.

It was cloudy and foggy and rainy and oh-so-perfect.


We had fun walking around and exploring and enjoying the gorgeous weather.






Grace fell.


And Adam showed us the "ice cream trees."



Each one smells like butterscotch, strawberry, orange cream, or chocolate.

We walked around smelling them, and all I could think was what a fun and beautiful world Heavenly Father and the Savior created for us.

Those ice cream trees must have been fun to create.  ;)



And as we drove back home, all I could think of was how grateful I was for that car.

That Heavenly Father knows what is going to happen, and has a perfect plan for each of us.

I am so thankful for the prayers, the rides, the people who helped, and for Him.

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