Ming, Hsin-Yu, and CJ

Erin met Hsin-Yu the first day she went to school here in Tucson 3 years ago. She was such a sweet girl and she invited Erin to her birthday party at the Melting Pot like a week or two after meeting her. They have been friends ever since. They only lived 1 short block away so I quickly became friends with her mom, Ming. The twins became friends with the younger brother CJ.
Ming has been so sweet to our family. She has taught Erin how to make Asian food, invited us over many times for lunch or dinner and to swim. When Ming quit working full time, she and I started walking, riding bikes, and going to the gym together.
As going away gifts, Ming made the twins blankets with their favorite things and the big kids pillows to use in the car. Then her husband took our two families to an Asian restaurant for lunch last Saturday. We had Dim Sum which was like bite size popular Asian dishes. So we got to try lots of different Asian foods that we had never had before. Eric, Erin, and Zach did a great job trying all the food. Nathan would only eat the sweet rolls that were filled with a custard like cream. I think he ate 4 or 5 of those.
Ming has been a great friend. She's the type of person that you could ask any favor and she would never say no. She's one of the people I will miss most from Tucson.

Mary Poppins

Last night we finished off our Broadway season tickets. Erin, her friend, Hailey, and I enjoyed Mary Poppins. It was a fantastic show.

Now I'm excited to check out shows in Omaha. Lion King and Beauty and the Beast are two that I may try to get tickets to see.

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We Moved Out

We moved out of our house last week and are now living on base in the TLF. Mario flew in for the week to help with the movers and to give our house back to the landlord. I was so glad to have him back. It was a stressful week. The movers left Friday at 5 and Mario turned the house over to Larry at 7 that evening and then flew back to Omaha with Buzz at 6:45 Saturday morning. I cried for Buzz. He was so scared to be in that kennel that he hasn't used in 7 years. Mario called to tell me that he thinks Buzz is going deaf. That would explain why he doesn't always bark at the doorbell anymore. He is getting so old. How depressing, he had been part of our family for almost 12 years.

We are enjoying TLF and not having to clean other than the dishes. What a nice break. My kids think I stay home all day and watch tv while they are at school. I wish. I still try to volunteer at school and help out friends.

We leave for our vacation to Utah in about 10 days. I'm really excited to finally leave Tucson and be reunited with Mario. I feel bad when people just assume I'm sad about leaving. I couldn't be more excited! But I don't want I offend them by telling them 3 years in the desert is long enough for me. I don't know how people can live here their whole lives. Do they not know that there is so much better out there? But then again, many people think Mario and I are crazy for wanting to retire in Florida. To each his own, I guess.

Car Accidents and Finding a Place to Call Home

Being separated from Mario hasn't been easy.  It's been tough couple weeks starting with a small fender bender one rainy Saturday morning.  I had just left Home Depot and was sitting at a light waiting to cross an intersection.  I decided to turn left instead and so after checking to make sure the lane was clear, I proceeded to get into the left lane.  Apparently a young man decided to do the same thing at the same time, but he was going at least 40 mph and so he slammed into my rear driver's side wheel.  The insurance company is still trying to figure out liability.  But my van is 8 years old and got nothing more than a couple scratches.  So I am not having anything fixed.  His 17 year-old car had some smashed metal.  So he insisted on calling the insurance company.  

Fast forward 4 days and my landlord shows up 3 days early to show the house to potentials renters.  Even though I have a 3 car garage, he parked right behind my van.  Since my driveway is on a slope and my van sits up high in the garage, I didn't even see his little Toyota Prius and I backed right into it.  Two accidents in 4 days.  I was feeling like I should give up my license right there on the spot. Fortunately there was no damage to either vehicle and I can only laugh (and cry) about it now.  I also think back to my driving record and I have had only one other accident/insurance claim in the 22 years I have been driving.  I backed into Mario's truck about 7 years ago and dented my fender.  So I guess in 22 years, I don't have that bad of a track record.  But I am feeling a little bit stressed whenever I get behind the wheel these days.

Now fast forward 5 days, Mario tries to do a u-turn in his car and he hits the curb and shreds one of his brand new tires and puts some scratches on his wheels.   We are definitely not having good car luck.  But we are having house luck.  Mario has been house hunting for the last few days. We were starting to get discouraged because every house he looks at has several potential renters putting in applications.  With 4 kids and a dog, we probably don't rate high on the list of good renters.  But amazingly (probably helps that Mario took copies of our credit reports), we've had 3 offers and 2 in the ward we want.  So now we had to choose between the 2 houses.    We have been spoiled to our large house and cheap rent in Tucson.  So it hasn't been easy finding a replacement.  We finally decided on an older home, about 30 years-old.  It has a lot of character, it isn't the typical cookie-cutter home and it has a beautiful green lawn (something we have missed terribly since living in the desert.) Unfortunately, it doesn't have a walk-out basement, nor a 3 car garage.  But it does have lots of kids in the neighborhood and lots of beautiful shade trees.  I think we will love it.

I am really excited to be reunited with Mario.  We are counting down the days (with paper chains Nathan had us make in FHE) until he returns for a week to help pack us out.  We miss him so much.  But fortunately the Packards are taking very good care of him.  What a blessing to have the gospel and have people all around to welcome us each time we move.  We are so blessed.

Tailgate Struts

My van's tailgate struts went out this week. So after it came slamming down on my leg (I was using my leg to keep it up while I loaded the trunk) I decided I would try to fix it myself. I figured that I would just plead for sympathy from one of my neighbors if I wasn't successful and a husband could come over and help me complete the job. I went to the auto store, purchased the struts and installed them myself in 5 minutes. I was so impressed with myself. The bad news came when I went to shut the trunk after completing the job. I had pushed up too high on the trunk and it scraped against my handle of the garage door. So now I have a couple of tiny metal spots showing through on my van. That kind of hampered my excitement about doing something myself. Darn it.

"No, That's Ok"

That's Nathan's new favorite line when I ask him to do something like take a bath, eat lunch, set the table, clean his room, or anything else he doesn't want to do.

I bet you can guess my response next time he wants to invite a friend over or eat a cookie or other treat.


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Agua Caliente Park

Our favorite park in Tucson is Agua Caliente Park. When we first moved here, people would tell us that it reminded them of Hawaii. Although I wouldn't quite go that far in comparison, it is a nice little reprieve from the normal Arizona desert landscape.

Mario was about to sell a bag of charcoal at a yard sale a couple weeks ago. I quickly stopped him so we could have a bbq at the park for Family Home Evening before he left. Erin always wants to bbq there during the summer, but it is way too hot. So a spring bbq was perfect. When we got home, there was a surprise from Sister Park-a warm cherry pie. It was a farewell gift to Mario.