Mom's Little Helper

B has always been a great little helper and wants to be in the middle of the action. We were adding some small shrubs to the yard and due to all the rain, there were tons of worms! B loved it, she was so excited when she would find one and then was fascinated as she watched in crawl back into the dirt. Of course she wanted to catch a few and but them in a container with mud!


After the shrubs were planted and the rain came, we moved inside to start our Saturday chores. Believe it or not B loves "Saturday chores". She quickly changed her clothes to get rid of the mud - out she came in just the swimming suit bottoms. I tried to convince her that she needed the top on , but no luck....

Other than a fun weekend working on projects, working our PT jobs a bit and spending some time with family, there is not a lot new to share. M is out of the sling, is making good progress and is almost back to full action. The new position is keeping her busy and has required some late nights and a few overnight trips. It's really be a great change for all of us!

Buy or Wait?

Well, almost 3 years ago M and I decided to sell our home in Draper, buy an "investment" which turned out to be a small condo in West Valley (which B calls "the hood"). As some of you know, we bought it on the "cop next door" program for 50% of the appraised value and then spent some money fixing it up. Here we are 3 years later and we are trying to make the most of our investment. Trying to find a new home that is not 4 feet from the neighbors house, has a three car garage and some room to move around a little (at least a 3 bed, 2.5 bath) is time consuming and frustrating.....the prices are HIGH! Then, every time I look at the newspaper or Internet there is an article about the housing market and how home sales are slowing and that prices are going to "soften"......trying to get the most out of the "investment", and finding something we like that is not $400+ is crazy.....any advise on buying now or holding out for the market to "soften"?

As for our place in the "hood", it has been a calm, quite place. However, Tuesday at about 4:30 am (just after our alarm went off) the power went off and then we heard two LOUD booms that shook the house! M took off for the door to check things out....we couldn't see anything and the power returned after just a few minutes. Well, long story short - the home on the corner was served a "no knock" warrant and they used a "flash bang" to enter and clear the house (hence the loud noises)....M did some checking and found out that the owner is into guns and drugs!, and that her office was called in to investigate. Holy cow, it's always a little more scary when it happens 150 yards from your place!

M's shoulder is doing well - but she has to remain in the sling until the first week of October. She goes to PT twice a week and then does a few small exercises (shoulder shrugs, etc) at home. The worst part is trying to sleep and night and finding some comfortable position to sleep in. We are all very anxious to have the arm in working order again!!!

Last of Summertime Fun

The close of summer is here and it really snuck up on us, as we have been extremely busy over the past two weeks. M had shoulder surgery to repair her torn rotator cuff on Wednesday the 22nd, took the rest of the week off. She began her new job assignment on the following Monday. She is currently working with the ATF (alcohol, tobacco & firearms) on the project safe neighborhood task force. It's been a real change and so far has been fantastic, M loves it. It has been great to see a renewed enthusiasm in her career. It requires a little more work and may require some nights, depending on her cases and when crime happens! Having her right arm tied down to her side has really been a difficult adjustment for her, and for Bay. M started physical therapy today and hopes to be back to using the arm soon. Although, the Doctor indicated that she can't participate in any "shooting" for another 3 weeks! So it's limited duty for now. M's summer school break was over before we knew it and she begins again today. The good news is she is down to her last four courses and her Masters degree will be complete!!!! I can hardly believe it.

We took a day to fish and spend time with M's family over the weekend. Bay loves to fish! Really, I think she just loves to cast and reel in her line, but nevertheless we had a great time.