Arizona Monsoon Madness

It has been a weird year for us weather wise in Arizona. I swear it didn't get hot until the end of June. Then it hasn't started getting humid until this week. We usually have monsoons before now. Tonight we started the lightning storms but there really isn't the winds that usually come with it. It has been a quiet summer, I am sure we should be thankful.

Jaron is off this summer, the first summer he hasn't attended summer school since he entered high school. He is a senior next year, only has a few classes he even needed to complete for graduation. He loves being home. Jay and I could do without the staying up until 2:00 a.m. but what can we say. He is finally acting like a teenager. No, he still hasn't cut his hair. Yes, he is currently 6'3" and still growing mind you. Sometime I wonder where this kid came from. If he didn't look so much like a Brenchley I would really wonder.

Jace is attending the Art Institute of Phoenix still. He started in January and as it is a year round program he had only 3 weeks off for summer. He just started back last week. The art classes he loves, the general ed - not so much! I am really impressed with the cartooning and animation he has created. I wish I could do that some how. Although, his episode of spending an hour trying to determine if his characters boobs were too big or lopsided was real entertaining.

Jay is off in Washington DC for some meeting with the Federal Director of transportation. I love Washington DC. I would have loved to go with him on this trip if it wasn't for the humidity and heat being so high there. I am decidedly delicate after all... hee hee hee. Jay loves to travel but hates to travel alone. Sometimes we ar so incompatible. I am content right now to hang out with the kids at home for the last summer of Jaron's school career.

Doggy Boo Boo!

Gandolff is getting older, as can be recognized by the gray on his muzzle. However, it has a few bright points. He doesn't have the problems with allergies he had when he was little. He also doesn't require walked as often as he used to as a puppy (much to the pleasure of my sons). It isn't as if he is old yet, more like middle aged at 7 years old.

However, he injured the top of his foot about a month ago. It started a little bump almost like he got bit by some bug. Then he started licking it..... and licking it.... and licking is somemore. After about a month where it wasn't going away and he kept bothering it, we took him to the vet. The vet takes one look at it and says "yup, he has irritated the bite so much he has given himself and infection." He explained that dogs will get bored and just randomly lick at a sore until it becomes an obsessive complusive behaivor. I have an Obessive Complusive dog!!!! ( I think I must attract the behaivor because sometimes I swear I have an obsessive complusive husband and kids too.) Anyway, the vets remedy.... antibiodics for the infection and cast the foot to make him not lick it. I just laughed. It probably shouldn't be funny but I could just see my dog running around with a cast on his foot.

I explained to the vet if they are just trying to keep him from licking the foot we would put him in a bootie. (Gandolff has booties for when we are on the boat... don't want his nails to cut up the upholstry.) Jace went out the car got the bootie and the vet was real impressed because Gandolff just walked around like it wasn't even on. He explained that dogs usually chew off a cast so it was a great idea.

Gandolff has been in his bootie for about 2 weeks now. He doesn't appear to mind it but it is really irritating to Jay. We are accustomed to the click of the dogs nails on the tile all day long. We aren't accustomed to click, click, click, woosh. Even when he is walking on the carpet we still hear the woosh. I don't think I have slept in the same two weeks without getting woke up when the dog walks around at night.

Joys of Arizona!

We haven't added in a long time as not much is going on in Arizona. However, we have recently found a few scorpions in our house! Jay being who he is really enjoys playing with them. He hasn't been stung..... yet!

Everything here is busy with Jay at the rail and Jaron is school. Jace and I are the only ones not to busy. Jace is looking for a full time job and I will be doing the same soon. My work is supposed to be completed at the end of this month, however, I have been extended every month since August. I found out in June that I would be laid off due to positions in Phoenix being eliminated. My last day was supposed to be in August but have been asked to extend ever since. I am just too nice sometimes because I really didn't want to go through another open enrollment. However, I agreed anyway. Open enrollment has begun! The joys of living in Arizona.

News, News, and More News!

So, since I haven't added anything in a few months does that mean no news is good news? Just food for thought of course..... Actually, a lot has happened since November. We have been busy with the Light Rail for Jay and Open Enrollment for me. It seems that December and January are always this way but this year was 10 times worse.

In December we sighted our first Scorpions since we have moved to AZ. Jace walked in his room and saw one crawling across the floor. We caught it, played with it, then they squished it. hee hee hee! That same week we saw one in the garage. We had people working on our trees around the yard so I think they got stirred up and found their way inside. I am sure the scorpions were always there, but we didn't notice. What we don't notice won't hurt us....

December also brought Christmas, of course. Jay and the boys got a salt water aquarium set up. It is actually for Jay but the boys enjoy working on it as much as Jay does. I am surpised at the amount of time they spend playing with it. We had one in Utah and really missed it when we moved here. Jay has done an amazing job with it. When it gets more of the set up done I will post a picture of it.

The end of December brought the opening of the valley Light Rail. Jay has been crazy busy, working 12 hour days, but it was worth it. The opening went off without a hitch. Normal service now has been good if you could stop all the idiot drivers from trying to turn in front of the train. There have been 11 intersection accidents since opening. Considering that the system her has 140+ intersections that really isn't bad. The good thing is the design of the train worked out perfectly and pushes the cars off the track instead of demolishing them.

In January Jay is still busy at work with all the events happening. He spends a lot of time at it while the boys and I just relax at home. Sometimes I think this is really the good life. I know the boys and I need to get over the wintertime blues and start expending energy but we haven't yet. It is a great life though.

February has so far been more relaxed. Jay is working a lot still but it is slowing down. Jay and I did see Air Force One land yesterday. We were on our way home from work and it flew right over us. We knew it was coming into town, they stop all air traffic and auto traffic around the airport for a few minutes. It was fun to see though, a much bigger plane than I thought it would be. Now we have seen the Space Shuttle and Air Force One in person. (We saw the space shuttle flew over our house in Utah years ago.)

Not much else is going on..... For Now!!!! Knock on wood!

Where has it gone?

I can't believe that we are already through half of November. Soon it will be Thanksgiving, Jace's birthday, and then December. Where has it gone? I know it feels like we are always busy but I can't say that we have done much. Jay is really pushing for the December light rail opening here in Phoenix which keeps him very busy. Being the boss isn't as easy as it looks! My work is in the middle of Medicare Open Enrollment so I spend all my days, some nights, and even weekends putting out fires. (Not literally at least.) I really didn't plan on a career managing 1200+ telephone lines and 4 call center vendors. But I do love to be busy.

Jace and Jaron are doing really good. Jace is dating off and on, no one special yet but that's ok. He is still so young. Jaron is growing like a weed. He is now over 6 foot and still going. I don't know what I am going to do with him. I can't even keep him in pants. Jace is a Huntsman in build, doesn't fit the Brenchley, or Harper side. But Jaron, now he is a Brenchley; very tall, very stocky. I just can't believe that my baby is so tall. This is the only picture I have on my laptop but I should get another. Jaron has cut his hair now. I couldn't resist though, we are on Jay's trains.

The Color White!

What is it with us and the color white? My first car ever was white... The first car Jay and I bought together was white... Technically we have only owned one car that wasn't white, but that was a fluke because the only thing I didn't like about the car was the color. We just have a thing for white.

Our Toyota Tundra was a lease, and the contract was up this month. We had a choice to refinance and keep it, or buy a new one. We decided in early October to buy a new one but there wasn't a single white Tundra Crew Cab in all of Arizona. We seriously looked at a silver one and even looked at GMC's instead but we wanted a White Tundra. My husband, being the amazing man that he is, found one in Las Vegas. Now, it is funny to me that we would go to this length but last weekend Jay flew to Las Vegas and bought a Tundra. Sunday he drove it home. It was so funny. Neither of us really wanted to deal with the whole process of buying a car right now but we had to. I still can't believe Jay was so resourceful, and tenacious to go all that way to get it. It really is funny, but I do love the truck. And being Jay of course, he negiotiated better than anyone I know to get it. Sometimes I really am lucky to have him.

Other than the truck we have all just been hanging on around here. I had a major melt down on my computer at work this last month. It has taken the last two weeks to try and get things up and running again. I still don't have Instand Messenger up yet. This is the busy ramp up for us at work so it was just the most perfect timing to lose my machine.

We got Jaron's school pictures back. I have to find a way to scan them to publish. I mentioned before that Jaron's hair was down to the middle of his shoulder blades. It was all one length and really long. It was also blond. We got the pictures back and two days later Jaron cut it all off. Jay calls him a Qtip. It is so thick that it stands up straight when it is this short. But the funny thing is it is also back to brown because he cut off all the color. Two weeks later I am still trying to get used to seeing him with it that short. It looks so different. At 6.0 foot and short hair he looks so grown up.

Jace is just Jace right now. His big thing is he wants to find a job. I think he is ready to settle down and just work for a while. We will see if he changes his mind again this time. hee hee hee

October..... BOOO!!!!!

I can't believe it is October already. I only wrote in my blog once last month. Where did the time go. I do like this time of year though. At work this is the beginning of our "SALES" period so I am extremely busy ramping up all the partners. At home we have been working on getting our new yard lights installed in the back. Of course, the pool got a clog in it and had to be repaired so the bad evens out with the new lights.

Yesterday Jay thought it would be funny to measure us all to see how tall we were.... I was glad to know I haven't shrunk yet. Without shoes on I am still 5'7" tall. It made me laugh. Of course, without shoes Jay is still 6'3" tall. At least there isn't a foot difference between us like my parents were. Jace left his shoes on and was 5'11". My guess is he would be 5'10". See Gregory, he takes after you! Now the kicker. Without shoes on Jaron is 5'11 1/2". I would say he is 6'. WOW..... Where did the time go, how did he catch up. And better yet- who decided it was ok for me to be so short!

Just call me shrimpy!!!!!