busy week

Well, it has been quite a week. First of all, let me say how cool it is to have our friend Sherri around. She has been able to hang out with us/Brad, Traci and Joel a couple of times this week, and it has been great to have her here. Dave has also been able to eat with us, too, which has been fun. He actually came and ate the same night that Josh and Becky did, so while it was a full table, it was very fun to just eat and relax with good friends. The kids really love it, too, as they have more people with whom to interact, to play, to impress with their bow-staff skills and what not. I know that this wasn't the original intent of how to achieve a six-plex, but I am thinking that what is occurring here as people move in is kind of what we had in mind. It is very nice.

On Wednesday, we had the last Kids Club of the year. I got to go for the second time since we have been back from Colombia, and I have to say that it was very fun. Of course we simply played water games, so not much couldn't be fun about it. It was a nice little way to cool off from the 100 degree heat that we have been experiencing periodically here. It has been way too hot. Anyhow, the kids all had lots of fun, getting soaked, trying to soak others, and playing the games that Janine got together for them all (the games were a big hit). There were a ton of kids there (I think in the neighborhood of 65) so it was nice that Josh and Boyd and I could go as extra hands to help out. At the end of it all we had a massive water fight, with balloons and buckets and a hose. It was quite a fun time. Thanks to Traci for watching the boys and giving me the chance to go.

We really haven't had a night of nothing going on this week. Between dinners with friends and Kids Club and last night's wedding reception, it has been a busy week. So, yeah, we did go to a reception last night. It was for one of my co-workers with whom I have become friends. It was in a beautiful part of the subs of SLC, and a beautiful day, so it was really nice for their wedding. It was fun to see some co-workers there with combed hair and washed faces and fancy clothes on, as we usually are dirty and grungy from spending time in the dirt or woods hiking around and getting all stinky. Except for me, as I am still working in a clean room environment. It was fun, though, and nice to meet the spouses of some of my buddies from work, and of course I was proud to show of my family, and of course the kids were a big hit. It was fun, but we stayed out too late and the kids had some trouble getting to bed (fussy, fussy). We could have expected as much by keeping them out past their respective bedtimes, but these things will happen once in a while. It was hilarious to watch the kids dancing, too. Shirley seemed to really want to tear it up on the dance floor, but felt a little out of her element with not knowing anyone there. Andres just needed a dance partner, any dance partner, to get out and shake his rump. Juan didn't need anyone, and often looked like he learned how to dance from hippies at a bluegrass show. They were all so cute, dressed up, enjoying the tunes, and smiling away. It was fun.

So now I can look forward to having a weekend off, with little plans, and hopefully time to relax. It will be pretty stinking hot, so hopefully what we do will not involve too much of being outside in the heat. After such an active week I am looking forward to just kicking back a little bit, for sure. We'll see what we end up doing today, though. I know that at some point it will involve walking Pakak, though.

On a bummer of a note, we found out that Shirley has tuberculosis. We had her tested (for a second time) the other day and she had a reaction to the testing. She was diagnosed yesterday and had a chest x-ray. They are pretty sure it is dormant, but she will most likely be on anti-biotics for six months to rid her body of the TB. That's a long time, and we feel bad that she will having to be on medication for so long. She is not the best at taking medicine/pills/etc., so hopefully she will become accustomed to this process and it will become like nothing to her. Poor kid.

I started watching "An Inconvenient Truth" the other day, and while I agree with much of what Al Gore presents within the film, I can't help but to think of how boring he is. I really can't watch it later in the evening because his delivery stinks. Or maybe I can watch it later in the evening if I am having trouble sleeping. He is truly not exciting. But aside from that, how can we ignore our impact on the earth's atmosphere? The information is startling, to say the least. I am not sure that I am as frightened as he is or as some people are of how quickly this is all proceeding, but I cannot help but to think of our seeming indifference to pollution (at least until we can see it in our skies). When I drive to work in the morning it is rare to see people sharing rides. When I come home from work I am amazed at how many vehicles are on the roads, and how many of those are large trucks/suvs that contain only one passenger. I wonder about more sustainable energy, why there isn't more a pursuit for such things. And then I wonder how we can be concerned about such things when they are presented, but then our days are spent without even a second thought to any of it at all. There have to be many little ways in which we can help, in which we can do something to consume less energy, to pollute less. In so many ways I am ready to secede from society's norms; to break away from the things that we do every day to continue to move the wheel that in my mind I fight against with so much vigor. But how does that look? Does that really offer a solution? How can we live with less of an impact? I am never really sure, but I am always looking, thinking, desiring to be a better caretaker of God's earth. But Al Gore is boring.

Anyhow, hopefully it won't be too hot this weekend. We really could use some rain. Hope all is well out there.