blah, blah, blah

I was expecting a letter from Kade today.  I have gotten a hand written one from him every week since he went in the MTC except for the weeks we were in Oregon, and then I told him not to.  I guess I need to learn to not expect it since he will be going to California on the 27th and will be busy sharing the Gospel.  BUT, I was hoping.

This week I have been missing Destinee and Kade more.  I don't know why.  I ate mushrooms and thought of Destinee.  I heard Kade say something, but it wasn't him.  I sometimes feel sad, just because, and then I realize that half of my kids are not accessible by phone or texting.  I have to remind myself that this is where I want them, and that I could not have had better kids.  Where else would I want them? 

And so........I look forward to tomorrow, for Church, for spiritual renewal.

The beautiful Oregon Coast

Every once in awhile we just have to get away.  One of our favorite places is the Oregon coast.  This year it was just Kiana and Ty that were able to go with us, since Destinee and Kade are on missions.  We usually like to follow the Columbia River and this time was no exception.  along the Columbia River we stopped at a rest area.  From it you could see an Island, Memaloose, Island of the Dead.  the Indian Peoples of the Columbia River placed their dead in cedar vaults on this Island.

Our next stop was Fort Stevens, where we visited the remains of the shipwreck, the Peter Iredale. It was  an English sailing ship that ran aground during a storm in 1906.

The 800 Club

Today I stopped by the UPS store to drop off a package for Kade.  He has been sick, and also needed a few things like more athletic socks, his Spanish dictionary, and more cough medicine.  I only paid 3 dollars for two packages totaling more than 8 lbs.  Pretty good.  If I had kept them under 4 lbs, it would have been free, but we kind of threw in some treats.

The gentleman at the store and I were chatting, and I mentioned that I had a daughter in the Guatemala MTC also (too bad a package there isn't cheap).  He said, "Oh, you are a member of the 800 club."  I was like, what????  He then proceeded to tell me that, copying the Christian 700 club, LDS parents that have 2 children serving are in the 800 club.  Get it?  We pay 800 dollars a month--lol.  Well, every penny is worth it!  And a lot of parents mention that in the end it is cheaper than having them home.  I don't know about that, but we do have less people in the house.  We will see if the bills go down.

One thing that I am struggling with is learning how to cook for 4, soon to be 3.  I make way too much food.  Kade ate a lot I guess.  And he never gained weight!

Another thing that has changed is that we got a dog.  I wasn't sure we wanted one, but apparently the majority of the "we" did.  He is a cutie, and he is fun, but puppies are a lot of work!