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03/18/2007: "Of Bucks and Does"
listening to: Timberwolves at Lakers, ESPNreading: The Dispossesed by Ursula K. LeGuin
We seem to have been having very busy weekends lately. This weekend is no exception.
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Heather’s parents came up from Indiana yesterday to celebrate a belated Katelyn birthday. Everett helped me get the van from my father started long enough to move it, and we determined that it might have a totally dead battery. If we can get a new one, we might be in business to keep it running and start using it.
We spent some time going through memory lane. Heather brought out her book of pictures from her childhood, and we also went through the “life in pictures” that Heather had previously put together for Katelyn. She has changed in just a few short years from a baby to a little girl. Dylan has really changed a lot as well. His face has matured.
The family went shopping to get something for Katelyn. We went to Wal-Mart, and the grandparents bought her a new baby stroller and dollie. Dylan got a new football as well, and once this weather finally warms up a bit, he and I will be out practicing.
Texas Corral was fairly busy when we got there, but we were seated rather quickly. We all had a filling dinner. Katelyn really wanted the wait staff to come sing their Happy Birthday song and do their happy-clappy routine, but it seemed annoying enough when the wait staff came to do it twice in our section in a matter of mere minutes. We heard them whoop and holler and march their way over, and we could not help but wonder if they were coming our way!
After we got back, Everett and Dylan went to play some catch in the chilly evening air. I was in the basement taking care of a couple things, when I saw everyone make a beeline outside. It turns out that ten deer had crossed the railroad tracks and were in the neighboring field. We spent about ten minutes watching them all and taking pictures. 
Once we went inside for the evening, we had cake and ice cream so Katelyn could have a little party, despite the fact we were all still full from dinner. I had too many peanuts. They are addictive.
She went to bed, and we played a few games of Sequence. Dylan kicked our tails a couple times, and then it was time for Everett and Mattie to take off. I ran a quick errand to the drug store, made some spaghetti sauce, and headed to bed.
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So, why spaghetti sauce? Our Ecuador mission team hosted a fund-raising spaghetti dinner this afternoon after the morning service. Once the kids were dismissed for junior church, I changed clothes and went to help the rest of the team in preparation. It’s remarkable to see just how many people turn out to help with preparation and clean-up. It’s equally impressive to see how many people from the church to support the team.
After a busy morning of spaghetti, muffin sales, and church itself, we came home to collapse for a while. Our butts ache!
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We are counting down the days until soccer season starts. Practice begins after Spring Break for both of the kids.
I’m nervous to see how Katelyn will perform. She seems like she will be rough and tumble, but only time will tell how she takes instruction and performs on the field. I think we all want our kids to be superstars, but only the kids themselves will determine if they will be superstars.
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I took a look at the lawn yesterday while I was working on the van. We did not rake the lawn in the fall, so we still have a layer of leaves we have to address. The first mowing of the season will be a long long long one because I will have to bag all the leaves. I’m looking forward to getting out, though. I’ve lost some weight since the beginning of the year, so getting out to get some exercise will be icing on the cake.
I also went back to look at our bonfire pile. It’s huge and ready to go. Now it’s just a matter of scheduling a youth event at our house, and we can light up the neighborhood.
Can you tell I am looking forward to Spring? The overwhelming snow was fun while it lasted, but we are ready for the next season to get here.
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If I get lucky, I might be able to pick up a new computer for $25 in the next few weeks. The Load Control Center team at work will be getting new PC’s, and the plan is to sell the old ones. Load Control has the first right to buy the PC’s, but if any are left over, I really want to jump on one. The PC I personally use right now was built back in 2000. I built it cheap too, so it’s not really fast or powerful at all, especially not now. I struggle quite a bit nowadays if I try to multitask. Although I doubt the PC’s at work are powerhouses, they certainly have to be better than what I am using now. Even a 1 gigahertz processor with 128 megabytes of RAM would be a huge improvement. So, I am praying that there will be one left over for me. If not, perhaps there are other opportunities coming my way.