HOUGH HAPPENINS: August 2018

This link is to Jake's first real letter home. It was manna to my soul to receive it!!

What better way to spend a day in the summer than serving at the local Food Bank. This was a first time for anyone from our family to be there. Karcyn, Cooper and I went with the youth for their mutual activity during the day. It was a blast and I can't wait to get our family there. Cooper wasn't feeling good and I credit him with pushing through and serving anyway, when he just wanted to lay down and be miserable.

Jared and I finally got a world map where we can show were the Hough siblings/grandkids and my parents have all served or are currently serving missions. The Houghs are represented by the red magnetic pegs and the Lees are blue.

We moved the picture of the San Diego Temple up to our game room and put the map there.

Karcyn has been wanting to cook for a long time. At the pool on Friday, the 3rd, she asked what dinner was and if she could make it. I hesitated because I couldn't get out of the pool (our friends were there with us) but told her what it was and to follow the recipe. And when we got home...by golly, she had dinner made and it was excellent!!

On Aug. 4th, I had a Houston Regional Dance Planning Meeting at 6pm. I can't go to Houston alone, so I asked Jared if he would come with me and we'd make it a date. So we left at 4pm, got to the chapel with about 10 minutes to spare. The two high councilmen over the Stake YM/YW were there which was nice, so I wasn't so alone at a meeting I've never attended. The two of them flanked me and I appreciated their efforts to magnify their calling on a Saturday night. Afterwards, around 8pm, Jared and I headed to a ramen house in downtown Houston for dinner. It was delicious!

Calvin had a lose tooth and went to Cooper to see about having him pull it out with string. :) Teeth are a little bit slick, though.

Karcyn doing some more cooking. We turned her desire into a personal progress project. She planned a week's worth of meals and went shopping for all the ingredients and cooked them all by herself. She's a natural!

And just like that, we're picking up school schedules again! It's going to be a big year for everyone. I will have four kids in four schools--JJ will be in first grade in elementary--all by himself and he'll never be in a school with a sibling ever again. Calvin will be a 5th grader in intermediate school, and Karcyn will be starting her first year of middle school (7th grade) at a brand new school!

Cooper is starting his sophomore year, but it's his first year without Jake. Though, Jake had to go through three years of high school without a sibling, so he should be fine. But still, it'll be different for sure. Ugh...especially because we lost our teenage driver and we'd have to take him to seminary again for three months. Hopefully, I'll be able to find him a ride to school. Fingers crossed!

A fun picture of Jake with his district full of sisters! I love how he's standing off to the side with his hands completely locked in front of him. Haha!!

Calvin with Alex's dog, Apollo--who Alex says he sometimes calls "pollo" as in po-yo--chicken in Spanish. Because he's a big chicken.

JJ and Alex and Pollo.

A district selfie with Squire Testver--another MTC instructor.

Cute pic.

Ahhh, finally someone Jake can put his arms around--legally. :)

A new friend that Jake hit it off with at the MTC.

Epic lego compound creations by JJ and Calvin!

Love the pool!

And the watch tower. :)

And the kitchen with a drawer with utensils.

And their means of transport.

Bowling with the four kids.

Hawaiian haystacks!!

Calvin captured this gross encounter. Our uneducated bet is the insect carrying the dead spider is a "tarantula hawk wasp" (Jake actually did a report on that in 3rd grade) and this is what they do. But we haven't confirmed it. We've never seen anything like it before, either.

Three years ago, Jared's dad gave us his old Subaru Baja. Jared and the boys flew out to Utah to pick it up and drove it back out to Texas. Jake turned 16 about 5 months later and it was a god-send. It's had a few issues we've had to deal with here and there. But in February, it started over-heating. The mechanic told me that it needed about $3,000 worth of repairs to fix it and the car isn't even worth that much. But we really needed it to last five more months to get Jake off on his mission. We'd at least have a few more months beyond that to figure out what to do, if anything, before Cooper starts to drive. The mechanic that gave me the approximate repair cost said they did try and tinker with whatever it was to get it to cool down a little bit. But he isn't the head guy and he'd have his boss call me later that week with a more accurate assessment. I drove away and just prayed that somehow this car would last through Jake. Well, that boss never called and the overheating issue was resolved and out of sight, out of mind, I forgot about the baja issues because I don't drive it. The next thing we know, a week before Jake leaves on his mission, it was starting to act up again. But we somehow made it work and then Jake was gone. Talk about a miracle!! That's when Jared said we should look at replacing it. And I'm looking at him saying "with what money?" That car was free. We owed nothing on it. Jared had found a Mazda 5 (which is like a small version of a mini van--it has sliding doors and seats six people--which is perfect for us to use because with Jake gone, we all fit!). Normally, $15,000-$13,000, Jared found one in Dallas that was only $6900. With 57,000 miles on it. Jared would be driving that vehicle and Cooper would drive the Civic to school (to give it a break on miles...in four years it's got more miles on it than the suburban does because of all of Jared's commuting). I agreed that this specific vehicle made sense--size wise and by price. Plus, the dealer agreed to give us $2,000 for the baja trade in. The only problem...we were buying a house for Karole--her money for the down payment (and monthly payments)--our name and credit scores to purchase it. It's crazy the things that can happen to your credit when a spouse dies. So we couldn't open a new line of credit while in the middle of getting a new, second home. Jared talked to Karole and she agreed to lend us the money so we could buy it outright and then pay her back when we could. We help her buy a house, she helps us buy a car. :) It works. I'd much rather pay her than a bank. So on JJ's 7th birthday, Jared and Calvin got in the baja to drive up to Dallas to make the trade.

Except they didn't even make it out of Bryan College Station before it started to really smoke!

So I had to go rescue them and pick them up while waiting for a tow truck. And then Jared had to decide what our next step was. He called the guy at the dealership to tell him what happened and they were still willing to offer us $1500 for the trade in. Good grief. We had to get that car up there!! That's the only way we would get any money from it. So with a little thinking and calling around, Jared decided to tow it up there with our suburban. But that meant he needed his mom to drive up with them and help drive one of the cars back to College Station because I had a stake youth service project that Cooper, Karcyn and I had to be at that afternoon/evening. Fortunately, Karole agreed (what a terrible way to spend a Saturday) and they were off just around 12pm.

Meanwhile, the stake youth did some physical labor/service for members around the stake. My group was assigned to go to a member's home, but as we drove there, it started POURING rain and literally got rained out of that opportunity. So we drove to the other spot where everyone was to converge when they finished. Laying sod in the MEGA backyard of a young sister battling brain cancer. It was a big, dirty job. But the youth rocked it and even though it took 30+ people an hour or longer, it would have been an overwhelming and monumental task for just one or two people to do. It felt good to help in a big way. After that, we headed to Adamson Lagoon, for a much needed swim in the pool and a pizza party. I told Karcyn I'd have her GF pizza at home, she could just eat the chips and fruit and cheese that they had there.

We got home around 9:30 or 10pm from the activity and we BEAT Jared and the crew back at home. They didn't get in from Dallas until 11pm. It took them 12 hours to drive to Dallas and back (about 7 hours of traveling) and trade in a car and drop off the trailer at Uhaul and grab dinner and come home. Oi. I felt terrible about that. Especially because Karole was teaching RS the next day at church and because that's how JJ spent his 7th birthday. But I was grateful we had a functioning vehicle that would be easier for Jared to sit in (because it's raised up and doesn't have super bucket seats like the Civic--three years of commuting 2 hours every day in that car did a number on Jared's hips.)

One of Jake's German companions is from Thailand or thereabouts. He felt bad for him because he hadn't received one letter or package in the mail and asked if we could send him something. So I threw together a package with goodies and pens and post its. And Cooper decided to crochet him a hat in the colors of the German flag. This was the letter Cooper wrote (as he practiced his own German language).

The brand new middle school locker room!!! Karcyn found the locker with her name on it.

Another young women project (requiring 10 hours or more) Karcyn did this summer was planning and executing a birthday party for JJ. JJ had approached me a couple weeks prior saying he really wanted a friend birthday party. My head about exploded. I was in the middle of helping my mother-in-law get a new house, we had to deal with a dying car and how to replace it, I was getting and sending packages to Jake each week in the MTC because I knew I couldn't do that when he was in Hungary, I was in the thick of a new calling and I need more time than that to plan something!! Karcyn must have seen the shock and horror on my face or something because she stepped right in and said, "I can plan JJ a party." And a project was born. She sat down with him, found out what he wanted, they made plans, they got a guest list, she created invitations, delivered the invitations with JJ, she came up with games and activities and a cake. She designed posters, she went shopping with me for the supplies. She made the lego cake toppers, she made a cocoa krispie volcano for the cake. She did everything. It was actually wonderful for me to not have to deal with that--which probably sounds terrible coming from a mother. But I think this was an important thing for Karcyn to do and to share with JJ.

The party was on Thursday, August 16th--this is Karcyn creating a lava flow from the volcano.

The finished cake design. It was a Jurassic World theme.

JJ told me he wasn't feeling so good a couple hours before his party started. On a whim, I decided to take his picture in front of the birthday cake before his friends arrived.

One of her games.

The table set for the first craft activity--fossils in amber. (pictures modge-podged on a glass stone colored to look like amber from the first Jurassic Park movie).

The goodie bags--dinosaur popcorn snack mix.

One of the take home activities--dino toys in an "egg" (frozen water in a balloon). They were to take them home and crack the egg open outside (especially when it's so hot) and get the dino out. Unfortunately, we should have done this the night before because they didn't freeze up in time. That was kind of sad. But my kids had fun smashing them outside afterwards.

The guests!

We opened gifts first.

Fifteen minutes into his party and JJ wasn't looking so hot. So I had him go up to his room. Near the top of the stairs he threw up. *sigh* Fortunately, the other kids were outside getting ready for the next game. Since everyone was here, I thought it would be ridiculous to have all the parents come pick up their kids early. Karcyn worked hard on the party, she could still give it for them. I hollered at Cooper and had him go out and help supervise because I had to clean up JJ and make sure he didn't go near the other kids. Only an hour and a half to go!!! It was crazy. The kids ended up turning on the water hose outside which, while it felt good, was NOT in the plans. There were several soaked kids. Fortunately, JJ didn't throw up again, but I had to keep him in his room. After I got the mess on the top stairs cleaned up, I asked Cooper to stand guard at JJ's door. There was a bucket, if JJ needed it. And I took all his toys into his room. But he was NOT happy with me. He was kicking and screaming. I had to just walk away. My heart was breaking for him, but there was no other way. As I helped Karcyn transition the group into another activity, I caught a glimpse of JJ on the stairs, poking his head around the corner. I had to carry him back to his room because he wouldn't go. Said it wasn't fair. And truly it wasn't. Ironically, we played a couple more games, had cake (without singing Happy Birthday to JJ) and watched a dino show while waiting for parents to come and not once did anyone ask where JJ was. Hahaha! I don't know if I should be sad no one noticed he was missing or if I should be grateful that I didn't have to try and explain to anyone where he was. I was so relieved when everyone left, none the wiser, around 3:15. JJ did throw up a couple more times, but it was strange because those rounds were several hours apart. Seriously, the worst way to spend your friend birthday party. But at least he had some cool gifts and toys!

JJ helping me shred the Dr. Pepper pork.

On Saturday, August 18th, Jared and I headed to Waco with Karole to meet up with Kevin and Chris and their kids. We were celebrating Karole's birthday (which was on the 17th). We walked around the Magnolia Store and then learned there was a Dr. Pepper museum nearby and were able to catch a ride on a cart, so we jumped on that.

Karole LOVES Dr. Pepper. In fact, if your establishment doesn't carry Dr. Pepper, she won't go there.

As a museum, it was okay at best. We've been to the Coca-Cola museum in Atlanta and this one comes nowhere close. I felt it was a waste of $20 to be honest. But at the gift store, you can get a Dr. Pepper float. So that's what we did. Except ours didn't really taste like a float. We finally realized ours were shakes. And o.my.gosh they were AMAZING!!! Seriously out of this world. Who knew???

We went to Longhorn Steakhouse for dinner. Karole got her Happy Birthday Sundae on the house and we think she had a good time.

Will (Jake's friend from school) came over to say hi and to bring some stuff to Cooper that he left at his dad's the month before. So we offered him some ice cream and he accepted. :)

On Sunday, we needed to sing Happy Birthday to JJ and let him have the last piece of his dinosaur cake. (I was horrified when I saw how see-through thin my hair has gotten. :o)

Such a cutie-patootie.

This is on our bulletin board in the hall at church. So fun to see my boy there.

And then I realized that I have three more boys in pictures also on the bulletin board! Cooper and Calvin doing the stick pull at the Pioneer Day activity and JJ (in white) running in the background of the other picture. :)

Monday, August 20th--the first day of school. Super hot! But I love that these kids are walking home from the bus again. The first week was awesome--Cooper got up all on his own and was ready for seminary (anyone who knows him knows this is absolutely miraculous--Jake commented he should have left two years ago! :). Everyone ministered the first day of school to someone, Calvin saved a seat for Karcyn on the bus (like we asked him to) and stood up to 8th grade bullies who were trying to intimidate him into giving it up and JJ got lots of good behavior points at school.

It was a warm week!

I found this in the game room where Karcyn is sleeping while Karole is living with us. I cracked up when I read her "thoughts on workouts" on the bottom half.

I saw a friend of mine from stake wearing this tie at a fireside from a distance. I went up to him to verify that it was covered in the letter H. He said yes. I told him I had to have that tie! He got it as a gift from a friend at Hillsdale College in Michigan. The next day, I did a search to find a cool tie like that and I did!! It was $50 before shipping and tax, but dude it has Hs on it. I wanted it for Jake. He's a Hough serving in Hungary. It would work for many reasons!! And that's what I did. I decided to wrap it up and make it his Christmas gift that he could open when he called home on Christmas Day. I would send it to him in his last package at the MTC so I wouldn't have to send it overseas.

Cooper got a rude awakening the first day of Honors English. Apparently there was a summer reading assignment. Except his teacher didn't tell him. And he didn't have the advantage of being around anyone over the summer also in honors English. It was a little stressful. Jared even wrote his teacher an email letting her know we had no communication from the school about this assignment and was not notified by the teacher last year and didn't feel he should start the year out in a deficit. We never heard back from her. Moving forward, Coop chose to spend that whole first week plowing through this book. Thankfully, he's a fast reader. To his credit, he did not complain, he just read it. (Who is this kid??) Personally, I wouldn't have read it out of spite. He had some papers to write from it, too and he tried. But didn't do so hot. But I'm happy with the effort he made.

We tried to find a recliner to replace the one that broke. But to no avail. There's nothing out there we liked. Or could afford. Or that matched. So we're now a one recliner living room. Kind of lame since we planned the set up of the room around two recliners.

While we were at the Magnolia Store, I picked up a metal sign that says: gather. It was made by none other than the metal artist Jimmy Don who Joanna Gaines uses in her show Fixer Upper.

JJ wanted to help cook so I gave him some zucchini to dice.

This picture is my favorite Texas landscape--that's JJ peeing in the foreground at our fishing spot at Woodlake.

Capturing some nice storm clouds.

And some equally beautiful pictures of the after-the-storm sunset.

On August 30th, I went to help my friend Donna juice some vegetables for her. While I was there, I spotted this gross dude. I believe she said this was a dancing orb spider.

She threw a stick in the web and we watched it move to it. Gross, gross, gross. There are a few of these big guys around their property. They live out in the country.

This dino is a Wrayadon. Jake drew it. It has a striking resemblance to a Calvin Wray smirk. We decided to frame it and hang it in Calvin's room.

Jared's job has some occasional raffles and drawings for certain activities. Jared just happened to win four tickets to the first A&M home game, as well as a parking pass, and tickets to the Maroon Village--which we were completely unfamiliar with. But as we got on campus, we learned that those passes provided us with a complimentary dinner courtesy of Grub Burger with lots of extras, sides, shakes, and drinks. And the best thing...an icy, cool cloth for our faces!

Man...it was crowded. And this game wasn't even a big rival.

Those weren't just any tickets either. Row 6!!!!

But holy cow...it was the loooooonnnggest first half. Two hours!!!! And then the band. That was worth waiting for!

Friday, August 31st, Jared and I drove to Branson, Missouri for a weekend getaway. Earlier in the year, we got a call from BlueGreen Vacations saying that for $150 we could stay for 3 days, 2 nights in a hotel in Branson, and if we listened to their presentation, we'd get a $50 gift card to Bass Pro and a cruise for two. Hmm, so really only $100? I rolled my eyes when Jared was asking me about it, but sure, why not? We could use a couple's getaway and Karole was here to hold down the fort for us on a long weekend out of school. We actually got a hotel room on our own for Friday night before moving to their hotel for Sat. and Sun. It's a 10 hour drive to Branson and wanted one more night there. We had to stop at Buc-ees in Madisonville. My first time ever!

Look at those amazing bathrooms!

It was a lovely drive up there. We listened to family and marriage books on tape to screen them for our kids when they get married. We liked the first one we listened to.

This is the Titanic Museum. I thought that was cool.

We actually had purchased tickets to a show at 8pm that night. We were cutting it close. So we went through the Taco Bell drive thru to get a quick bite to eat. The lady asked us if we wanted any sauces. We said no, we were good. The lady gives us our bag and says, "I wasn't sure what you wanted so I gave you a little bit of everything." This is what we found. Good grief! A little bit??

Our show was the Amazing Acrobats of Shanghai. I was super excited. It was actually a BOGO deal. Even better.

Just look at the pictures. We were assigned the front row. These shots don't do the show justice, but it was so fun and truly...amazing!! ;)

Juggling with three hats at once--sometimes more.

This girl is so impressive. The unicycle alone is incredible. But then...she started throwing things balanced from her foot (like bowls and cups and spoons and sometimes several at once) and catching them in other bowls on her head!!! What the?! I can't even do that when I'm standing on solid ground. Not moving. Check it out!

She did a cup. Now it's a spoon.

Which landed IN the cup!

Then it was swinging from the ropes. So graceful and beautiful. Looks like fun actually.

This kid will blow your mind. He had me on the edge of my seat. He balanced on those pipes the entire time. While juggling and climbing in and out of a hoop.

And he kept adding to it.

Chinese Yo-Yos. This looked like so much fun. I bought a yo-yo and maybe my kids can figure it out.

Foot juggling...seriously?? This is our unicycle girl again.

Now a table!

CRAZY!!!!

Noticed she turned the table around on her foot!

Plate balancing. Those plates were spinning the entire time.

This young boy stacked chairs on top of each other and balanced on them and did tricks at the top. He *was* tethered to a rope that would catch him if he fell once he got to a certain point. Thank goodness.