Sat. 1st--I spent six hours doing online training for the census. Let's just say I took a LOT of notes. Unfortunately, I was taking 2-3x longer to get through the training materials than they projected it should take. But I didn't know what I needed to know or what I was going to be quizzed on so I took a lot of notes. And they were only going to pay up to 21 hours. But that included some conference calls, too. I was cutting it close on the hours spent on the training modules.
Thurs.6th--I had worked my fanny off the previous three days to get my census training done because they wanted us to get out in the field as soon as possible. My motivation, however, was a little different. I had found out the week before that my best friend from Oregon, Stephanie Morgan, was going to be in the Ft. Hood, Texas area visiting her brother and sister-in-law and that is SUPER close by--less than 2 hours away. By Texas standards that's just down the road! So we made plans for her to come and visit for the day. She arrived at my place around 11am. She got a tour of the house, saw the kids, we talked for a bit, and then we went to get some lunch at Torchy's. ;) Of all the taco places in town (Fuego's, Taco Casa, Mad Taco, etc.) Torchy's is our family favorite. She liked the Brush Fire taco a lot.
7th--Seems like I had NOTHING going on at all for so long and then, all of a sudden, I had a new part-time job, and back-to-back guests coming to visit all in the same week! We were also happy to host Jared's brother's family for the weekend. They needed to get away and we're glad they came here so we could enjoy their company. After they arrived, Kevin was still recovering from an all-nighter in the ER, so we took the kids to the pool and told him to rest.
Why do kids always feel the need to chicken fight in the pool?
8th--We decided to go bowling around noon as a group before Cooper had to work at Whataburger (from 4:30 to 10:30pm). Two lanes for sure with our crew.
Calvin loves babies. He kept close to Keith.
*This was also my first day in the field as an enumerator for the 2020 Census. I bowled until I had to head out at 2pm. I was super nervous. To be honest, I'm fine talking with people I don't know. But trying to input their answers in the electronic, only somewhat user-friendly survey on the iPhone and then having to navigate that system, had me a bit anxious. It would slow me down for sure. But I had to start somewhere. And in 106 degrees no less. Because of the confidentiality of the job, I joked with my family that I can't tell them what I do or I'd have to kill them. The next thing I knew, I heard JJ and Calvin telling the neighbor kids that I'm a federal government agent with a top-secret job and if I told them, I'd have to kill them. Haha. Calvin knew better. It took a little bit to convince JJ that wasn't entirely true. :)
*An adults-only dinner at Cooper's Pit Bar-B-Que to cater to us keto-eaters did not disappoint. The rest of the guests enjoyed some cobbler, too.
*Nate and Emma were going to head out earlier than Kevin and Chris. We wanted to make sure we at least fed them before they made the six-hour drive home. So they stayed for lunch and then took off. Before Kevin and Chris left, though, they made sure to stay for the quick birthday celebration for JJ and of course for cake.
*Jake enjoying a fun lunch out with Grandma and Grandpa Lee. They were driving through the Provo area on their way to visit my Dad's siblings in Idaho and wanted to take Jake out to lunch, but unfortunately, they couldn't make their schedules work. So they caught him on their way back through.
Sun. 9th--The expanded Hough family branch for church. We had about the same amount of people at church in our game room that Kevin has in his branch back in Snyder. :) Sadly, the picture I took of the other half of the crew didn't turn out. Jake and Cole called in by Zoom from Provo. Connor was spending time with his girlfriend. We had a really informative conversation about the Hough family history that Kevin was able to share with us from his searchings these past couple of decades. Each family had some of their favorite stories to share. Our kids related the experience they had in finding Loraine Kelley the previous summer and visiting her gravesite. Kevin had a branch meeting of his own to attend before we were finished, but it was a really great time to be gathered together and discussing the importance of family history together.
We got JJ a new bed comforter and sheet set--The Mandolorian and baby Yoda. It's a big deal at our house.
The cousins got him a new nerf dart gun with an electronic target he can practice with. Perfect for covid! ;) He loved it!
Korbin brought a whole container's worth of Beyblades and an extra stadium and gave those to JJ so he could build up his collection. It was SO sweet and generous of Korbin. JJ loved it so much!
*Karcyn and Olivia seeking some girly solitude on the trampoline.
Time to bey battle.
*Karcyn and Ayzlynn getting their hair French braided.
And Calvin, too!
Long enough to braid!
Sisters--in law!
The Texas Hough women.
Karcyn and Kobe.
The Hough cousins (under 18 years): Korbin, JJ, Calvin, Olivia, Ayzlynn, Karcyn, Cooper, Garrett.
The Hough parents (over 18 :): Chris, Kevin, Jared, Jenn.
As we were walking the cousins out to the car, JJ stopped Korbin and threw his arms around him. No words were spoken. None were needed.
It was super sweet!!! Till we meet again!
Mon. 10th--The new bedding. I took the picture to send to Jake. He was a little bit jealous. :)
The comforter is reversible. This was the underside of it.
The underside of the Beyblades. The tips on which they spin is very important.
JJ sporting two of his newest Beyblades. Did you know these have been around since 1999?? And there are several different types of blades that do different things. Some have stamina, some have endurance, and some have something else, but with one strength also comes a weakness and there's never a perfect one, you just have to decide which strength you want when battling another. It's a lot more complicated than just "tops, that spin."
JJ buckling up some of his other beys.
Sat. 15th--Calvin restocking the bathrooms with toilet paper. :)
Mon. 17th--We really enjoyed being able to spend some time with Karole on her actual birthday. I wasn't super impressed with the little restaurant we went to (we went there specifically for a keto-friendly dish and they were out so Jared and I didn't eat), but Karole liked what she ordered.
Tues. 18th--The first day of school, Covid-19 style. This year I have five kids in five different places...Jake--a freshman at Brigham Young University, Cooper--senior at College Station high school, Karcyn--a freshman at A&M Consolidated high school, Calvin--7th grader at Wellborn middle school, and JJ--3rd grader at River Bend elementary.
Masks off!
Due to a boundary change last year, our family was rezoned to a different high school, but Cooper was able to be grandfathered in as a junior and remain where he was. So this year, we are now a "house divided." But having taught school and raised my own kids in a couple of different states, I can confidently say our family is VERY blessed to live in an incredible school district with amazing administrators, teachers, resources, and experiences. It'll be a bit of a wonky year for us--trying to keep everything straight between two different high schools, but we are not going to complain about our blessings. College Station Cougars vs. Consol's Tigers. :)
We really want to get this t-shirt for Cooper.
Wed. 19th--Jared was working at the urgent care and called to tell me that the first provider at the clinic tested positive for covid-19. Dr. Locke works on his shift and though they aren't always in the same part of the clinic, the day before she had gone to his office area and took off her mask around him. She was helping disinfect a room with bleach and realized she couldn't smell it. They sent her home at 8am. Everyone who works at the clinic has to be tested for covid, whether they are on that shift or not. Jared was exposed to her more than anyone and our fingers are crossed that he will be spared.
*JJ's new combined collection of Beyblades.
Tues. 11th--JJ's 9th birthday--true to JJ's form, he decided on rather short notice that he wanted another birthday party. And surprise, surprise, he wanted it to be a Beyblade theme. I figured, if nothing else, we could just have his buddies come over, eat pizza and have a Beyblade tournament or something. Super low key. So I made up an invitation on the computer the week before, had JJ walk them to his friends' houses, and on the day of, I had Cooper pick up some pizzas and we had fudge-sicles in the freezer for after. I don't know when it came to me, but I got the brilliant (for me) idea, to make little party favors by printing off a picture of a Beyblade and gluing it to the top of a plastic lid on those little round containers that you get condiments in. I had a bag of Reese's Pieces leftover from prom, so I filled the little bowls with those. And voila! I did a little Beyblade research too for a couple of games before the tournament while waiting for kids to show up. There were only three, but it was enough. They had a great time and enjoyed lots of pizza. I was proud of myself for a) not freaking out about trying to throw JJ a party and b) for executing a very laid back, but successful afternoon gathering for JJ and his neighborhood buddies.
*I'm very happy to report, I lost 10 pounds at my two-month mark doing the keto diet. I'm also very grateful to do it with Jared. I wouldn't have lasted doing it alone, so I'm giving up some major kudos to Jared for doing it alone the previous year for several months.
Wed. 12th--I made history. Saw my first LIVE armadillo as I wrapped up some census fieldwork later that evening. Two things I noticed. #1--these suckers are really fast. #2--they are really ugly.
*Hahahaha!!!
Fri. 14th--JJ used his gift card money from Aunt Kelly and Uncle Steve to buy himself yet another Beyblade stadium!
*Hahaha! Something I wish I was clever enough to do.
*Fortunately my kids know better than to act harrassed or to call us stupid.
And even got a complimentary birthday dessert.
But we couldn't wait to give her our special gift--two of the last cases of Diet Dr. Pepper Cream Soda that we got from the store the week before. Karole was beyond thrilled!! She told us earlier that day that she had gone to the store to get some Dr. Pepper and to her utter dismay, they were all sold out. #birthdaygiftwin #drpeppershortage
*Jake had an interview with the missionary training center as a Hungarian teacher. Unfortunately, he didn't get the job, but he's always grateful for the interview experience. He had a job working for a tile/grout cleaning company. He really liked it and the crew he worked with. Unfortunately, it was a very physical job that was taking a toll on him, and hoped to find employment that was less physically taxing.
*The little boys were playing four-square outside with the neighbor kids with JJ's new ball.
This picture cracks me up because it has our neighbor, Lane, throwing the ball and I captured it right at the moment the ball passed in front of JJ's face--reminding me of the Disney movie "Monsters, Inc." Anyone who's seen it will catch the reference. :)
Thurs. 20th--JJ enjoying some of his birthday cereal.
And looking very patriotic for school.
*I was having some cabinet issues and though we are FAR past our one-year warranty, I reached out to the builder anyway and they agreed to replace them. The workers had to take down the light rail (the small piece of wood below the cabinet to cover the under cabinet lights...which we don't have) and told me that most people love it without the light rail.
Once the light rail was down, I had to agree! It makes the under cabinet space seem so much more open. I love it.
Sun. 23rd--Sounds about right! ;)
*Couldn't help myself!
*I'm so impressed with his knowledge of the equipment and what it does.
*Jake and his roommate, Spencer, proud of their crock-pot dinner. Jake loves his apartment. He pays $40 more a month for it than his cousins who live in the apartment next door. But Jake says his apartment has not one, but TWO refrigerators, whereas the cousins only have one small model. Jake says it's worth it to have two refrigerators for six guys.
Wed. 26th--I love the painted sky in Texas. I got to see this one while out doing census fieldwork.
*Makes sense to me!!
*JJ and I enjoying an after-school swim together before Karcyn and Calvin got home from school.
*Even though I have no desire to home school or even monitor online school, these memes crack me up! Thank goodness for humor to get us through the pandemic!
*After being in the field for a total of 11 days, I received word that the census operation in College Station was complete. I had to turn in my gear and equipment the next day. While this was very surprising (we were gearing up for not having enough time to get everything done by the end of September and we didn't even make it to the end of August), I was not broken up about it. I learned from this experience that I would much rather interact with children at school while wearing masks all day than to do the census fieldwork for double the pay. This was actually a very eye-opening realization for me. Not what I expected.
*There was a snowcone truck driving around the neighborhood and our neighbor was kind enough to buy one for Calvin and JJ since it was super hot outside.
Sat. 29th--After having a cement slab in our backyard for four years, we finally got a shed in our backyard!
*A picture of our new gaming computer...which looks like a rocket that's going to take off. We don't do "gaming" here, but the processor or speed and graphics card are what Cooper needs to be able to produce and edit his own films and shorts for A/VP--should he have to do school at home for any reason.
*Hahaha!
*Calvin drew the picture on the left from the original on the right.
*A very reassuring truth in the midst of a pandemic where we are being tried and tested in many ways.
*JJ taking a picture during our family council meeting.
*This is very important. Texans take hurricane preparedness very seriously! Hahaha!
Tues. 25th--A hurricane was coming, and the green dot on the left side of the map indicates our relative location to the outer rim of the storm's influence. It was supposed to get closer than that, but we didn't even get a drop of rain. The storm shifted much further east.
*Cooper setting up some of his film equipment for a project in A/VP.
Thurs. 27th--A picture of our study and the itty bitty hard drive on the right before replacing it.
Fri. 28th--This is the artist's rendition of the new McAllen, Texas temple. It'll be about a six-hour drive south of here (which is crazy since we live in the southeast central part of Texas). McAllen is right near the Mexico border. We're excited to have another temple in this great state and to do the sacred work there.
Sun. 30th--Jake and one of his twin cousins, I'm going to guess Cole, because Connor had a girlfriend at the time and we didn't see much of him. :)
*Probably!!
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