Long-time Friends

We spent the weekend enjoying a visit by one of my oldest friends, Carissa, and her family. It was so nice to spend time with them and see their sweet family. Carissa's oldest son, Alexander, is almost 4, so he and Garrett got along wonderfully. They spent the weekend running up and down the stairs, laughing at each other's antics!

We took them to the aquarium along with our friends Bill and Melanie and their daughter Maggie. I even got to drive Bill, Mel, and Maggie in my new car with my 3rd row seat. (Told you I didn't need more kids to use it!) The fish never fail to enchant...I only got one picture of the kids actually looking at me, because they were so enthralled by the fish!

We had a great time, and the kids have slept REALLY well since they left yesterday. (One bonus of company...exhaustion causes naps!!)
It also appears that my days as soccer mom could possibly continue. Garrett has gotten pretty good at soccer, and even scored 4 or 5 goals at his game on Saturday. (One is debatable, because he and the other girl both kicked it and then promptly fell on top of each other. Is that an assist? Or a foul?) So, we'll see if his interest continues or if he wants to try something else. What has the least amount of practices, games, and extra time spent? Umm....Foosball, anyone?

So Long, Evil Car

Apparently admitting to the Internet that we were looking for a new car helped speed up the process. Right after my last post, Dave and I saw a commercial for a local car dealership that was having a huge weekend sale on Hyundais. We had already done a lot of research and knew that they were very highly rated, so we decided "just to go look". (Ha, ha, ha!) We mostly just wanted to see what the Santa Fes and Tucsons looked like, because we had no idea of their size.

Well, anyone who has ever bought a car from anyone besides their husband's uncle (not me!), knows that there is no such thing as "just looking" at a car dealership. Before we could even look around, we filled out a bunch of stuff and they were checking our credit, etc, etc. So, you can guess what happened...we found a car we loved and decided to see what they'd offer us. Well, initially the offer was a full $10,000 over the price we had seen advertised. Choke! Gasp! Eventually, when they realized we weren't stupid enough to agree to that, they offered us a different SUV that was actually a better one. After a few hours of "let me ask my manager" and "here's what we can offer" and "no, we said we couldn't pay that much!", we finally came up with a workable deal. They seemed mystified that Dave and I wouldn't take the deal right away, but actually wanted to go home and THINK ABOUT IT! Oh, the horror!!!

To make a long story short, after some more research, we realized we really were getting a really good deal, so we went back to the dealership yesterday and purchased our new car, a 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe. I am so excited to drive a car that doesn't have to be beaten into starting, and the kids love all the room. Plus, there's a third row that folds down, so we can take friends along if we want to. (Don't even suggest having more children --not funny!) So, without further ado, here it is:

Don't you love it?

Sunny Days Are Here Again...Sort Of

Although the official first day of spring was weeks ago, New Mexico has decided to take its time making up its mind. Overall, we have had nice weather, but every week or so, it decides to see if winter would be a better idea. Last week, parts of New Mexico received 9 inches of snow! And then earlier this week, the highs were in the high 70s. Yesterday, however, the high was about 54! Today, thankfully, we're back to beautiful springtime sun, so I took the kiddos out to the zoo....

Which was unfortunately the idea of approximately one third of the teachers in Albuquerque, because there were busloads and busloads of school kids there too! Oh well, we had fun anyway.

(We're trying to grow out Paige's bangs, hence the slicked-back ponytail look)

There's not much else happening here this last week. We have adjusted to life with one dog, and haven't heard yet whether Abby has found a new home. We have spent an ungodly amount of time researching new cars on the Internet, in anticipation of buying a new car this summer. Excuse me, did I say 'this summer' ? Oh, really, it will be buying a new car this summer or whenever we get really tired of what we're driving now! My current car, a '98 Cavalier, has served us well for 9 years, but I think it has sensed that its replacement is in sight. For months, it has not started when you turn the key- you must bang on the steering wheel to get it to start. Let me just say, that's really embarrassing when someone in the parking lot notices you banging the steering wheel, sweating, and cursing at your car. We've taken it to the mechanic, but surprise, surprise, the car behaved beautifully for him.

We were willing to live with the banging steering wheel issue for awhile longer, but now it has taken to mysterious electrical surges. Sometimes while driving, the door locks suddenly click, or the radio cuts out for a moment. I'm half afraid that the car is plotting a hostile takeover and will someday lock us in entirely. If this blog suddenly falls silent, call for help -I may be trapped in my car at Wal-Mart, slowly starving to death while the car laughs maniacally at me....

But seriously, we are thinking of speeding up the process a bit. Dave's uncle has a car lot, so he's on the lookout for something nice for us. I'll keep you posted with pictures of whatever we end up with (something SUV-ish, most likely...no minivans for Dave!)

Other than the evil car, there's not much to report. Garrett started getting an allowance recently, and he finally figured out if he SAVED the money, he could buy something better. So last weekend, his trip to Target with his $25 resulted in this purchase...

Don't worry....the arrows are just foam. But watch out Robin Hood! He's actually a pretty good shot, which made Daddy very proud. Just warn the neighborhood cats to stay off our walls....

Melodramas of all Sorts

Ever had one of those weeks where you feel like you have lived somewhere besides your own home? That's been the last week and a half for the Bryson family! I was in a melodrama at our church and we performed it last weekend. That meant that I attended 5 rehearsals last week, followed by 3 performances of the play. We raised a lot of money for the youth mission trip, so it was worth the time invested, but boy am I glad it's over!! The day after the melodrama, our church began a revival week, so we have attended 5 services since Sunday. Home, where exactly is that? Is that this big building with all the people, or that place where we go just to get in bed before we come back here?? In reality, the revival was wonderful, and we were very glad to attend. The speaker challenged us all to stand strong in the face of our culture, which is trying to water down our values and drive God out of our country. He definitely convicted me that I must be more bold in sharing God's love with the people around me!!
So, after the public melodrama, we engaged in our own private melodrama at home. We have had 2 dogs for the past 6 years, Sadie and Abby. Sadie is about 6 months older that Abby, and much bigger. But for some reason, in the last year, Abby has been trying to "dominate" Sadie. It started pretty innocently, with Abby just putting her paws on Sadie's neck and standing up over her. Then it progressed to Abby occasionally nipping at Sadie's neck while she did that. A few times she even snarled and growled at Sadie. We have had many discussions about her behavior and done some research into behavior techniques. We tried implementing a few, although we were probably much lazier about the whole thing than we should have been. It only happened occasionally, so we didn't worry much about it. However, while Dave and I were at the dress rehearsal for the melodrama, Abby bit Sadie's ear and under her eye enough to draw quite a bit of blood. Our babysitter called us home to help with the situation. After much discussion and many tears (all mine!) we made the decision to take Abby to the Humane Society to see if they could find her a new home. We know we had many options, including finding professional help or trying to find Abby a home ourselves. In the end, this seemed like the best way. A veterinarian friend of ours said behavioral modification might work but would take a lot of time and effort. I wasn't willing to take the risk that Abby might bite Garrett or Paige next. So, we're praying that Abby will find a nice home where she can be the only dog! Luckily, the kids have hardly noticed, and Sadie seems much more relaxed and less fearful. We pray we made the right decision, though it was very difficult. All in all, this last week has been "melodramatic" in many ways!

The Promised Grin

In spite of my continued denial that Garrett is old enough to lose teeth, it finally happened. Yesterday, he lost his very first tooth! Dave and I weren't aware that it was loose enough to come out, because Garrett did not ever play with it. We just assumed he would be wiggling it if it was really, really loose. But, it must have been ready, because it literally just fell out. He was bouncing on a jumper ball we have, and suddenly he stopped and said "Dad! I just lost my tooth!" Dave said "No, buddy, it's just loose." Garrett leaned down, picked it up off the floor, and said "Nope! Here it is! It just flew out of my mouth!"

He was VERY excited about losing this tooth, and even more excited to see what the "Tooth Fairy" would leave. We've been checking into the going rate for the Tooth Fairy, and let's just say that inflation has definitely gotten to her! Sheesh! But, the "Tooth Fairy" decided that Garrett's first tooth was worth $5, but she reminded him that other teeth he will lose won't be worth nearly as much!

As soon as I realized his tooth was loose, I had intended to go get some pictures made of him and Paige so I could have one last round with nice, pretty smiles. From now on, it will be gaps and big teeth for awhile.... But, as promised, here is the very first "gap-toothed smile!" (Don't mind the dirty face that goes with it! :)