Sat. 1st--After a delicious breakfast of bacon and eggs and fresh fruit, Karole and I said goodbye to Stillwater and headed back to Snyder.
I can't forget about Uncle Mike! Retired Police Officer. Gardener and Cook extraordinaire.
I wanted to take a picture of the big garden and the corner lot. Such a pretty area of the countryside.
Karole and I made it back to Snyder by Saturday afternoon. It was Jake and Trina's 2nd wedding anniversary and Jared's first day working at the Urgent Care (Walk-In Clinic) from 10am to 6pm. He was still working at Kevin's office, Monday through Friday, too.
Karole and I decided to a watch a movie together that night. I walked over to her house and as I approached her door, I stopped dead in my tracks. There was a HUGE tarantula on the window frame by her door. No WAY was I going to try and walk past it. Ugh. It gives me the chills just thinking about it. Spiders should not be able to grow that big. I took a picture and went around to Karole's front door. When she looked at me puzzled, I knew she was wondering why I was using the front door and not the door under the carport. I flashed her the picture I took and her eyes about popped out of her head. Apparently, tarantulas are harmless. But I couldn't get it off the side of her house. So I sprayed it with some chemical and the hard part of my heart. Karole was most grateful.
Mon. 3rd--I had to chuckle when I saw JJ walking behind Korbin in the backyard...following him as Korbin pushed the lawn mower. Haha. He was waiting for Korbin so they could play.
*Our friend Jessica Jazexhiu, (on the right, in the black) who moved away from Snyder the summer before, came back into town to visit her daughter who was at school in San Angelo. A few of us from the branch gathered together at the pavilion in the park to say hello and visit.
*We hosted a BBQ at our house with John and Ciara Harmon and their three kids. It was great to finally get our families and husbands together.
We decided at the last minute to go to the carnival at the park around 9am. We had to pay full price though and couldn't get a wrist bracelet. So not the best decision where money is concerned. I wasn't real happy about that and the kids had to choose a few of the rides to do. Karcyn did the SuperMan.
And a smaller train coaster.
She and JJ also did the big Ferris Wheel. I watched them go around and around and the looking up part gave me vertigo. I was extremely off balance after that. Eck. Calvin went on a few rides before he felt like he was going to be sick, again. That happened last year. He's a lightweight when it comes to rides.
Tues. 4th--Jared went fishing early, then we worked on demolishing the shed so we could take it to the dump and make way for the new shed...finally!
*I sold the car topper for $150. Some lady from Abilene drove all the way over to get it. I helped her get it on her van. I was so bummed though because I couldn't find the key that I had kept the last 12-14 years until right before she came.
*Found this gem with Cooper and Jake in the filing cabinet while looking for the car topper key that I had JUST HAD a few days prior. Ugh...that was one of the selling points. But the lady took the topper anyway because I had looked online and a new one was only $7.
*Gross shed demo day. I swear, we only buy houses with nasty, rusted dilapidated metal sheds. Or no shed. The kids were a big help!
Progress!
*We went to the cousins for a few hours to play some outdoor games.
*At 9:30pm, Cooper went to go do air-soft with some friends and Calvin went with him. The rest of us watched the fireworks show at the park from our driveway.
*Jared trying to comfort Rolo and keep him settled with all the fireworks going off above our house.
Thurs. 6th--Ahhhh. I sure love the feeling of a nice, clean, organized space. This is JJ's side of the room.
This is the bowling ball parking lot.
Calvin's side and both their dressers. I wonder how long it will stay this way?
Fri. 7th--We needed to take the bricks and other yard debris to the dump. I'd never been before, but Jared arranged it so we could borrow Kevin's truck. The boys and I loaded it up and drove very carefully to the landfill. Then we backed up to where the growing pile was and we started tossing everything out. The boys especially loved that part. To see if they could throw the bricks farther than they had before.
There was another truck with a trailer full of yard debris not far from us. It may sound weird, but I was grateful to not be alone at the dump. We finished up before he did. Want to know what my boys did? They walked over and started unloading his trailer and throwing the debris in the pile. The man was so grateful. It warmed my heart. He said he wished he had a couple of cold Cokes to give them. Calvin said, "Nah, we're just serving. Thank you, though." The man was genuinely touched and told the boys that he knows not every teenage boy would have come to help him. They restored his faith in the goodness of the growing generation. I'm proud of them, too.
Mon. 10th--Our dear friends, the Hatalas, from College Station, travel to Flagstaff in the summers to see family and sometimes they drive to Utah, as well. Because we're a good half-day's drive from CS, they have stayed at our house over night as a launching off point on the way there and we've been their last stop on their way back home. We love having them, to catch up and visit with them. But our kids all get along really well. It's like having cousins come stay with us.
Posey especially loves Rolo. I've decided to purchase her a pet pillow (a Rolo shaped pillow) for Christmas so she'll always have a version of Rolo to snuggle with.
Tues. 11th--Getting kind of concerned that I keep finding these tarantulas all over the place!!!
*I had to take Karole to Lubbock for a follow-up cardiology appointment. We also went to Sams and HEB while we were there. Of course. Later that night, though, Cooper drove Calvin up for the Sport Shot (Theory vs. Skill) tournament at Whitewood Lanes. And Calvin won the youth division! By 3 pins!!! That's $60 more in his scholarship fund.
Wed. 12th--Shed installation day!! Those poor guys. It was so hot!
*It was also Janie Romine's birthday. She is our widowed, next door neighbor. She said her friend, Wanda Rushing, who lived in our house before we bought it, used to always make Janie a coconut cream pie for her birthday. I missed my opportunity the first summer we lived in the house, but the kids and I gave it a shot this year. Not bad for my first time--with a random recipe off the internet. Janie said, "Yum!! Very good. You did well. Many thanks!!!"
Thurs. 13th--Time for sleep study number four the family. Jake, Cooper, Karcyn, now me. I wake up frequently as I am drifting into REM and I start choking and gasping for air. Pretty sure I'm choking on my spit. It's awful. I bolt upright because I can't breathe and start gasping and choking for air. Takes me several minutes to get it under control. Jared has also reported that my snoring is increasing. And let's face it, I'm tired, allllll the time. That's old news, though. My PCP, Vanessa, said that she thought a sleep study would be a good place to start.
It didn't take long for them to connect the probes, etc. on my head and chest. But man, I did NOT sleep well at all. I kept waking up or trying to force myself to sleep so they could get an accurate picture of what they needed to see. The tech had said that if they don't get enough info, they'll just send me home. Not cool. So I felt a lot of pressure to "perform."
They woke me up at 5am. Said they got what they needed and sent me on my way. But then I had a 90 minute drive home.
Sun. 16th--Our tri-panionship of elders. Elder Castle (on his way out), Elder Robison (a stud!), and Elder Fitzgerald (also cool).
They were looking for any opportunities to serve the Snyder area, so I petitioned the locals through FaceBook:
These are my friends. They are full-time missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, living on their own dime, away from their families and friends. They have postponed all college, sports, entertainment, dating, and employment opportunities for TWO years so that they can serve others in Texas. They are the missionaries currently assigned to the Snyder/Ira/Hermleigh area and while they do have some service commitments lined up in the community already, they are eager to help serve individuals and families the way the Savior did when He was on the earth--no strings attached!
Obviously, for their safety and for the safety of others, there are certain things they are not allowed to do. They can't do anything illegal. :) They can't drive anyone to different locations. They can't babysit. And they don't have any money to give (they're living off of very little themselves). However, there are many things they CAN DO!
Where are my teacher friends?! Do you need help hauling or moving boxes, bins, furniture, desks, chairs, supplies, or getting things out of your attic or storage? Do you need help cleaning, putting stuff on walls, making copies, stapling packets, cutting out laminated items, organizing books, filing, tearing out worksheets, etc.?
Here are some more ways the missionaries can help:
*Setting things up and taking things down for events or holidays
*Moving help (homes, offices, attics, sheds, classrooms, furniture, etc.)
*Yardwork and storm clean up
*Painting
*Washing cars, trucks, or trailers
*Trash removal, sweeping, washing windows, etc.
*Changing lightbulbs/cleaning fan blades
*Helping with geneaology
*Changing a tire
And the list goes on. If you're not sure they can help with your specific need, just ask. They'll tell you if they can't and will try to secure the help you need. This offer isn't just for people who know me on social media, because that's not very many. Haha! So please share this post. This isn't a limited time offer, either. Spread the word and keep them in mind. Maybe it's the mama bear in me--my two oldest sons are former missionaries and I know how discouraging it can be when you have this burning desire to serve others and can't find the opportunities to do so. Please let them help you. It's a win-win!
Mon. 17th--Jared and I left the heat and the kids and headed to the mountains of Ruidoso, New Mexico. He was doing an online CME. I joined him so I could catch up on blogging without daily distractions at my house. I could stay (and have stayed) home without leaving the house for two days because there were things that need doing. Just being at the house is a distraction for me. Then add in the dog. And kids...Getting away would be a good tactic to catch up.
I said good-bye to JJ and wishws him well at Young Men's Camp in Cloudcroft, NM--his first ever at the end of the week. (Calvin refused to get his picture taken). Jared and I planned to pick them up on Saturday, but their leader, Alec Haws, decided to go up with the boys. So we'd just drive home by ourselves and hopefully beat them there.
*We stopped for gas a few hours later at a station that was pretty well established and very busy considering we weren't in or near a large city. As we walked toward the entrance to use the restroom, Jared was ahead of me and a man approached him from the side. He asked Jared if he had any money. Jared said no. Not a lie. We don't ever carry cash. The man had moved on by the time I got to the sidewalk and I hurried into the the station to the use the women's bathroom. For those next few minutes, I couldn't stop thinking about that man asking for money. We may not have cash to give him, but if it's food he really needs, I could buy him some before we left.
As soon as I finished washing up, I left the bathroom and started looking for the man. He wasn't in the store area, so I went outside and started walking back toward our car, where I had seen him last. Not there. I hurried back to the front doors, scanning the area and the gas pumps and he wasn't there either. Dang. Did I miss my shot? Just when I was about to give up, I caught a glimpse of him just beyond the double doors. I quickly walked up to him, said hello and asked if he was hungry. He said yes. I asked if I could buy him lunch, he said yes. So we went inside and walked over to the hotdog warmer. I got him a paper bowl and two buns and I put the two biggest, juiciest hot dogs on the buns that I could find. I asked him if he wanted any condiments. He put on ketchup and mustard and put a pile of onions on the side. I said he needed some chips to go with those hot dogs, so we searched for his favorite kind. Then I took him to the cooler so he could pick out something cold to drink. We made some small talk while we walked. He was very grateful and I told him I was happy to help him get a meal. All the while, I could feel the eyes of other customers and the employees on us as we gathered the things he wanted. I wished they would look away. I wasn't doing it to be seen of men. Kind of unavoidable though under the circumstances.
After he made his selections and we made our way back to the check-out counter, I grabbed a bag of cookies for him to have as a treat. I looked at the clerk, smiled, and said, "Could we get a bag for my friend to carry his lunch items?" She was very happy to oblige and another employee behind her quietly told me, "Thank you." It was really no biggie. But it did require intentional actions on my part. The man and I walked out of the store together--the man went ofdne way and I went the other. My heart was full though. One of Heavenly Father's children needed help. Maybe he hangs out there often. I don't know. And it doesn't matter. I do know that when Jared and I were headed into the convenience store, I noticed the man ask several people for money. No one gave him any. We didn't either. Not because we didn't want to help, but because we had none. However, I'm really grateful that I listened to the Spirit and found something I could do--buy him lunch. Would that solve all of his problems? Surely not. But it filled his immediate need and filled his belly. And I'm honored that I was the person who was able to help him at that moment.
*It was only 5 hours or so to Ruidoso from Snyder. Now I see why so many people are drawn to this tourist town. It's a hop-skip-and-a-jump away by Texas standards. We arrived right as a storm rolled through (it is monsoon season!) and sat on the porch just listening to the rumble and cracks of thunder all around us while basking in the amazingly cool 85 degrees!
We loved the quaint and comfortable 3 Bears Cabin nestled up on a hill, complete with a hot tub, gas grill, and deer! It's so quiet and peaceful.
LOVE the shower curtain!! Haha!
*We found a sushi place downtown and gave it a try for dinner. I had a teriyaki bowl and it was bland at best. Not the best food for value. Such a disappointment.
Part of the Sierra Blanca mountains.
A fun little diner.
Deer, deer, and more deer!!
Our little cabin in the woods.
Deer in front of our suburban.
They were definitely not skittish. Very used to people.
Tues. 18th--French toast, bacon, and hot chocolate for breakfast at the cabin. We both worked online til 1pm. Then we drove into midtown Ruidoso for some shopping.
Back at the cabin we had an ice cream snack and watched some TV. Jared grilled brats for dinner. He watched a movie and I did some more work. And then, we had a relaxing soak in the hot tub under the stars.
Wed. 19th--A couple of months ago, Cogdell Hospital offered Jared the opportunity to begin working full-time at the walk-in clinic. He loves this field of medicine (and is good at it!) so he accepted. He started on July 1st and works two weekends a month now. With this schedule change and crazy transition with his foot still at the Internal Medicine clinic, we hadn't had a chance to get to the temple yet in July. So that's what we did. We drove SIX hours roundtrip to attend the Albuquerque New Mexico Temple.
As proxies, we sealed couples together for time and all eternity, never to be lost or separated from their families. It was a wonderful experience and I was pleasantly surprised to realize the interior layout of this temple is similar to the Houston Temple, so I could actually find my way around. :) I'm really grateful for a husband who is willing to spend half a day driving to attend a temple we've never been to. Afterwards, we grabbed lunch and did a few other shopping errands while in the big city, then headed back to the cabin. It was a beautiful drive.
Thurs. 20th--Alec Haws, the young men advisor in our branch, was kind enough to text us pictures of the boys on the drive up to Young Men's camp. It was about 5 1/2 to 6 hours. So they slept, of course. ;)
This was the same location where Girls Camp was when I was camp cook in 2022.
JJ rocking the climbing wall.
Peek-a-boo! I see you!
Korbin trying his hand at knife/ax throwing.
Meanwhile in Ruidoso about an hour away, Jared and I decided to have an adventure of our own: a trek through the mountains by horseback! We were in group with another couple and their two young sons. Jared was matched with a beautiful multi-colored horse named Gumby. I got to ride Ocho.
After some brief horse-steering instructions, we all headed out, one horse and rider after another. Maggie and Caesar were our wranglers. Maggie led the way while Jared and Gumby brought up the rear. Caesar rode along beside us up and down the line to make sure everything was going smoothly.
We rode up Dude Mesa (appropriately named) on some steep and narrow trails to the summit of about 7,100 feet and back down again. Took about an hour and the horses did great.
At the end of the ride, Jared announced he had the government horse. Gumby just moseyed along quite a distance behind the rest of us. At one point Gumby stopped and side-eyed Jared. Haha!! Caesar had to get behind Jared's horse a couple of times to urge him along.
Caesar was kind enough to take a couple of pictures with the both of us.
Gumby eventually caught up to us if they fell behind. He just liked to move at his own speed.
This is Caesar and his horse illustrating "Mountain Dew."
*Calvin, a member of the Stake Youth Planning Council, who helped organize and plan YM camp, got a chance to give the climbing wall a try.
Fri. 21st--Last night and a special dinner out at one of the "premier" steak houses in Ruidoso. The food there fell pretty flat as well. I don't know what it was. It's not like we're food critics. But the two places we ate out at left us feeling like we wasted our money. I know it's the "off" season, but still... Jared ordered the pork ribs and they actually came out to the table partially raw. (!!) Fortunately, they replaced them for free. But how does that even happen?
Sat. 22nd--We headed home to Snyder and our boys did, too. What was REALLY cool, was that our kids met up with Kyle, Ryan, and Evan Cooper--the boys of my dear friend, Melodee, who passed away last December. We were all in the College Station 3rd ward together and had play dates and went to company dinners together. We hadn't seen them since they moved to Hobbs, NM. Even though they're in another state, we are all in the Lubbock Stake, but even then, opportunities to see each other are few and far between. I loved that they got this picture together before leaving camp! This would make Mel smile.
Tues. 25th--This is no joke.
*Calvin was offered an opportunity to work with Alec Haws from our branch on a side job he had received setting up security cameras at a new storage unit in town. He worked for several days and for several hours at a time as Alec's extra pair of hands. Calvin enjoyed it and we enjoyed him having something constructive to do and to have a little spending money.
Thurs. 27th--These pictures are from 2016 when Jared, Jake, and Cooper flew to Utah from College Station to get the Subaru Baja that Doc was giving to us and then drove back. They were traveling on Grandma and Grandpa Hough's anniversary. I thought it was super sweet that they made them an anniversary shout out from Four Corners.
Getting a cheap lunch and eating it in the parking lot.
*The week prior, while we were in Ruidoso, Calvin was at the courts one day practicing with his buddies. He decided to walk home with his friend, Nethan, and on their way, they saw this dog hiding in the bushes. He has no fear and walked up to the dog to say hi and pet her. As they walked away, the dog followed. At the corner of Midland and 44th, Calvin noticed the dog was still with him so he took his water bottle and poured water in the cap for her to take a drink. And he had a leftover jerky stick, so he gave her some pieces of that, too.
Apparently an older lady stopped and saw Calvin tending to it and stopped to see if they were okay. She even offered Calvin and the dog a ride back to our house.
Calvin secured the dog in the garage because we were not home and Grandma Hough was babysitting. To his credit, Calvin called to ask us if he could give her some of Rolo's food and asked if he should call the animal shelter. We said yes to both and told him to leave the dog in the garage. We didn't know how she would do with Rolo and we didn't want fleas and stuff in our house.
On the 27th, Calvin wanted to go visit the dog at the shelter. I advised against it because a) he was already attached and b) it's hard to walk away when you see and smell those shelter conditions. The dog was still there and the lady permitted us to see it. So we visited. And we left. Without a dog, much to Calvin's disappointment.
*Sports Night with the youth and Snyder Missionaries. This was an idea the Elders had for trying to provide fun and easy opportunities to invite friends where the missionaries would be. And it worked! We had several of our kids's friends come. On this day, we did corn hole (those are permanent structures at the park, we just provide the bags), and 4 Square Volleyball as well as jumbo Jenga. We had a great time gathering together.
Cooper and Jared playing corn hole.
4 Square Volleyball
Sat. 29th--There was a Primary Day Camp in Lubbock at 10am so we meet at 8:15 in Snyder and headed north. It was well planned and the children had fun. We got back around 2:30pm. And then we left a few hours later due west another 90 miles to Seminole so Calvin could attend a dance and Karcyn could visit her dear friend, Ashley Pace. We ran some errands at Home Depot and Walmart in Hobbs about 25 miles west of Seminole while we waited for the kids to be done. Needless to say, it was a very loooonnnnngg day of travel for me. But worth it of course.
Calvin and his buddy, James Engan from the Hobbs 1st ward, who he met at Young Men's camp.
Karcyn and Ashley.
*Haha!!
Mon. 31st--This was my LAST day of "freedom." My last day of summer. I would be going back to school on Tues. August 1st at the junior high to cover 8th grade science for my niece, Emma, while she is on the last part of her maternity leave. Fortunately, Jared managed to get it off so we had plans to work in cleaning/organizing the sunroom and the shed since the shed was now up and ready to go. We worked hard in the heat up until about 1pm. We were just sitting down to rest and grab a bite to eat when we got a text from Karole indicating she was having some chest pain. That was a free ticket to the ER. Even though it's Jared's mom who needed help, he needed to not spend hours and hours at the ER. He needed a mental health break from work and the hospital. So I grabbed my bag and some water and said I'd take her in. We sat in the ER together from 1:20pm to 7:30pm until they decided to keep Karole overnight for observation as she just had a triple bypass in May. Not exactly how I expected to spend my last day of summer vacation, but it was the right thing to do and I was glad to help Karole and Jared both.
And Cooper up ahead. 
Jake pushing through to the end. 
He was a strong contender. 
Cooper...
Tues. 22nd--JJ helping Jared put line on his fishing poles. 
Thurs. 24th--The day before, Jake reached out to tell me that Trina was having contractions. I just knew that baby was going to come before I get there. I'm headed for St. George on Sat. 9/2 after our temple baptism trip with the youth. But I still had a week to go. And lots still to teach and wrap up and get ready to turn over to Emma (Ms. Stevenson), my niece, when she returned from her maternity leave. 
Sat. 26th--For my birthday gift, Kevin and Chris gave me the choice of a dinner out or a new outfit. Since I was trying to lose weight for our trip to Aruba, I chose the new outfit, but wanted to wait until right before my trip. The youth needed to be in Lubbock for an activity/dance, so Chris and I went shopping before we went back to help chaperone the dance. We went out to dinner, too. It was a lovely evening. Much needed. You'd think that living 3 minutes away would give us more opportunities to spend time together, but now that we're not doing camp together, and with the majority of her adult children and their kids here, we just don't have the time. 
Calvin is such a CHAD as the kids would say. I still cannot believe he asked his own mom to dance at a church dance. 
As I was walking around outside, I came across this BEAUTIFUL view and had to take a picture of it. It's now my lock screen and wallpaper. 
Sisters Hough hanging out at the dance. 
Cousins--Azylynn and Olivia and Calvin. 
Sun. 27th--It only took 17 months after moving in, but we finally got some pictures on our walls!
*More documentation of the cystic acne on Calvin's shoulders. We're in the process of going through the steps with our family doctor to eliminate options that don't work. 
Mon. 28th--I came home from school and walked in my bedroom to see that the ceiling fan (still spinning) was literally hanging by a thread! Of course, it was after 5pm and we couldn't call anyone. But we did call our neighbor, Mr. Sosa. He is a handyman who can do all sorts of things. He lives across the street from Karole and we are grateful to have him on speed dial. He and his brother came and fixed it for us. 
