A Rat, A Break-in, and Two Old Men

So, even though my weekend was mostly taken up by the reading of the Harry Potter book (Yes, I broke down and purchased it on Friday), I did manage to have a few exciting events happen while Lance was out of town.

The Rat. We decided to buy Sofi a Remy rat at Disneyland. Remy is the main character in the new Disney film Ratatouille. With Sofi, you never know what she is going to do with stuffed animals. Usually, she destroys them and tears out their insides. For some reason it was different with Remy. First, I caught her in this position in the hallway with her new friend.

Then, I caught her doing the following a few minutes later. Luckily, I already had my camera.

Who would have ever thought she would love this rat so much?

The Break-in. Naturally, I locked all of the windows and doors as soon as I got home from work on Friday - including the door between the kitchen and the garage. A woman who was going to be alone all night needed to take precautions. Deciding I better put on Sofi's flea repellent before I went to bed, (why, I don't know) I ventured into the garage to find it in one of our unpacked boxes. Sofi followed me and the kitchen door closed behind me. I discovered only seconds later that it was locked and I couldn't get back into my house. 10:00 p.m. at night, no shoes, no keys, and Lance thousands of miles away with our only other key. Luckily, my good friend Becky lives down the road so I roused her and her husband out of bed. An hour later, my trim around the door was removed, but Martin (Becky's husband) had successfully broken into my house. The good news is it took great effort for him to do it so I know our locks hold up well! I slept better all weekend knowing this.

Two Old Men. I spent most of Saturday with my good friend and adopted mom, Margaret. We went to the Carlsbad Outlet Mall to do a little shopping. While there, we decided to have a bite to eat at Ruby's Dinner at one of their outside tables. While we were eating, we noticed that two men walking by our table and grinning. They were definitely past their prime of life. Finally, one of them asked if they could join us for lunch. I am sure they were hitting on Margaret...at least I hope so! Anyway, we politely refused and they asked a few more times before they finally left. Hmmm....Can't say I have ever been hit on by an elderly gentleman. Needless to say, I am VERY glad Lance is home again, safe and sound.

Peer Pressure and Media Influence

Okay, as I have stated before, we are not a Harry Potter-crazed family. I have only read two of the books (One and Six). Lance isn't at all intersted in reading the books but loves to see the movies in the theater. I prefer to rent them because it is cheaper and I figure I can wait to see them. So, can someone explain why I all of the sudden can not wait to purchase the last HP book and read it non-stop until I finish it???? Is it because I shouldn't miss out on what the media claims to be the "end of an era"? Is it because almost every youth at church has already read it or almost finished? Maybe because my boss is reading it before she starts work in the a.m. and for a solid hour during her lunch break? Or maybe because I am re-reading the Beverly Lewis' Abram's Daughters Series for the third time and I need something new for my imagination to grasp onto? Or maybe, just maybe, I am a true Harry Potter fan and am just trying to squelch the secret desire to get lost in J.K. Rowling's make-believe world?

I think I will break down and go purchase it from Costco on the way home from work sometime this week. I am not even concerned what happens to Harry. I figure good will overcome evil and if he dies, he did a great thing for the greater good. If he lives, ah, well that will be alright as well. (Now I am probably creating enemies from all of the Harry lovers out there.)

My biggest and only concern is that Hermoine and Ron end up together. They better or I will forever be mad at J.K. Rowling!!!! (Not to mention will kick myself for purchasing a hardcover book when I could have waited a little while and get it much cheaper in paperback.)

Kristi and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Morning

I knew from the moment that I woke up to Sofi's whines coming from my side of the bed at 5:30 a.m., it was going to be a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad morning. I will try to give a condensed list of the reasons why my morning soured quite quickly.

• Since Lance worked until 4 a.m. last night, I had to take Sofi for a walk. (You all know that mornings and I are not friends to begin with.)
  
• Sofi dug up and ate something very rancid on our walk around the neighborhood. See below for why this was very, very bad.
• I couldn't find my pants in all of our luggage today so I had to wear one of my winter skirts.
• I couldn't get the hot water to work in the shower and had to wake up the not so chipper Lance to show me how to work the complicated shower knob.
• As I was showering, a strange man with a mower walked by our curtain-less bathroom bay window and saw me completely naked.
• Just as I was about to put my towel on, mower man walks by again, most likely seeing me in my full naked splendor once again.
• Lance decided to let Sofi out to play in the backyard unbeknownst of the dangerous weed whipper the gardener was using.
  
• As our doggie treats are buried in the garage under some boxes, I had to use part of my lunch (string cheese) to lure Sofi into the house away from the weed whipper.
• Just as I was about to leave the house for work (10 minutes late), Sofi threw up all over our freshly cleaned carpet. I am sure whatever she ate on the walk didn't agree with her or the string cheese she inhaled earlier.
• As I was attempting to call my boss on the way to work, to inform her of my impending tardiness, I realized that my cell phone was dead.
• I arrived 20 minutes late to work without a lunch.

The thought going though my head as I drove.

This must be what it is like to be a mother of a toddler. Awww...splendid.

Hopefully, like the little boy, Alexander, my day will improve as it goes on.

We've Moved!

After being on our feet constantly since early this morning, I thought I would take a short break to update everyone. We have officially moved into our new home. The move went fairly well. The only downside is it took the electric company until 5 p.m. to turn on our electricity at our new house. (Thus, all of our refrigerated and frozen food is still at the old house.) The movers were very efficient - and very forward. They flat out asked Lance if he would buy them pizza for lunch. Oh well...I suppose they worked hard and deserved it.

My goal is to unpack as much of the kitchen tonight before I have to head back to work tomorrow. It's good to be home.

Cherish the Thought

Our niece, Arianna, along with her parents, little brother and Uncle Chris will be coming to visit next weekend. Since Arianna's 5th birthday was at the end of June, we decided to send her a certificate for an all day pass to Disneyland and California Adventure Park, along with some Carebear stickers I bought at the store. I spent a few minutes making an "official" certificate on our computer at home before guiltily dropping it into the mail quite a few days late.

Ari opened up her card after breakfast yesterday and was very excited about this simple gift. My sister-in-law told me that Ari couldn't wait to share her new stickers with her friends. She also couldn't stop talking about the "four" rides she was going to go on at Disneyland.

We received this picture by email and couldn't resist. We had to post it. Isn't it cute? Remember a time when you were excited to receive somethings as simple as a few sheets of stickers for your birthday and couldn't wait to share? This image warms our hearts and reminds us what the true spirit of generosity is and about the simple pleasures in life.

Celebrate Life

Grandpa is the 2nd from the left. This was taken Christmas 2005.

Besides finding a nice home to live in, we have a few things to celebrate this week. First and foremost, Grandpa Richardson (Lance's grandpa) was finally taken off life support yesterday and he is breathing on his own. Grandpa was in a major car accident and has been in critical condition for almost two weeks. He is miraculously able to talk. Miracle of miracles. ICUs and Life Support are both things that cause my heart to sink in remembrance of my mom's last few weeks. I was relieved to see him pull through. We both love Grandpa for his upbeat attitude and his smiling face. We continue to pray for his recovery.

David goofing around on Christmas with Alex and his wife Vicki.

Also, my big brother David celebrated his 48th birthday yesterday. I have been missing him a lot lately (as he lives on the other side of the country) so I just wanted to post a mini-tribute to him. David has always been a good brother to me and my brothers. We especially love his incessant teasing, odd quirks, his guitar playing and the fun songs that he sings and his ability to mimic our voices in the stories he tells of our youth. Happy Birthday Davie!

Sneak Preview

Though I don't claim to be a huge Harry Potter fan, I was very excited to be able to see a sneak preview to the newest Harry Potter movie "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix." Lance's law firm rented out a theater and let all employees and their immediate families watch the movie two days before the release for a mere $3.00 a ticket.

It is neat to see these actors grow up as their characters do. I especially liked the character of Luna Lovegood. She reminded me of Ivory - a sweet and unique 14 year old in Minnesota. There were some really good messages in this movie. My favorite was that we all have good and evil in us (a.k.a. the natural man). What is important is the side of us we choose to act upon.

I am also pleased to annouce that there appears to be a subtle romance between Ms. Grangier and Mr. Weasley. Truly the only reason I want to read the last book is to see them end up together. Oh yeah - and I want to know if Harry does overcome evil and whether or not he lives. Major message of the movie - There is always hope. I really believe that. There is always hope.

And so it begins....

Well, we found a place to lease about a mile from where we live now. We absolutely love the home and we were excited to learn of the lease-to-own option the owner is offering. If all goes well, we move on July 18th. The great news is it has a BACKYARD and four bedrooms PLUS a driveway. Yes, some people do have driveways and yards bigger than a patio here in Southern California. I plan on taking pictures when we go to meet the leasing agent on Thursday. Oh yeah....did I mentioned we will be able to stay in the same ward and my Creative Memories consultant lives three doors down?

So, our move is in about two weeks and, as you can imagine, our days have turned into a flurry of moving-related activities. I still plan on posting pictures soon of our vacation. But, that may have to wait until after our move. I hope Move #6 will go smoothly, and more importantly, it will be the last one for awhile.