American Idol Part 2

Well, unfortunately, Miss Lexi Loo didn't make it this year, but they encouraged her to try again next year.

We're so proud of her for taking a dream and running with it. And, really glad she gets this experience to add to her book of memories...not everyone can say they tried out for American Idol!

American Idol

Miss Lexi Loo is in Salt Lake City today trying out for American Idol.

Yup - the REAL on TV American Idol show.

She had to try out today and we're anxiously awaiting to hear if she got picked up for the second step.

Apparently they only have 10 seconds to sing....then if they get chosen for step two they get a little more time...then from there they narrow it down to the people who actually go onstage...or something like that.

Unfortunately we didn't hear that she was doing this until just the night before she went...so we didn't have a chance to send out the information to family and friends to wish her luck..so if you get a chance...send lots of luck her way in whatever format you want!

We'll keep you updated on what happens!

Settling in

We spent much of this weekend unpacking more boxes. Our office is almost completely set up. We had soooo much storage space in our Oregon house that its been hard to find a place to store stuff here. We're having to invest in storage bins and things like that so that its not just hanging out on the floor in a pile.

I'm ready to have my house put together. Unfortunately, we still have to finish up the office, the spare bedroom and then tackle the garage. GAAAAAH!

Juggling Dirt

A favorite memory of mine I just rediscovered...filmed during a camping trip a few years ago...look how little Chortle is!


Original Video - More videos at TinyPic

Dark Knight - Rated PG-13

We went to see the new Batman movie last night - Dark Knight. It was 2.5 hours long...a looooong movie for a pregnant lady that had too much water at dinner. That being said...there had been so much hype about how great of a movie it was and how Heath Ledger was magnificent in it as the joker that Mr. C and I decided to have a night out and go watch it.

First, a commentary on SV movie theaters. Not as comfy and I'm used to and they have these bright neon orange guide lights on the stairs that made my eyes go crazy...I felt like I was going to fall the whole time I was trying to walk down them. I think John referred to me as a "clumsy pregnant lady." Hmph. I'm blaming the lights.

Regardless, the movie was good. Good action, good characters and I have to give props to Mr. Heath Ledger....as the joker he was magnificent. the best joker that I've seen in a batman movie...better than Tommy Lee Jones and I love Tommy Lee Jones. Its too bad that Mr. Ledger is now deceased and won't be around to glory in his performance.

The only part I didn't like was batman's voice. When Bruce Wayne turned into Batman his voice was suddenly this deep scratchy monstery voice...kind of like what you expect from a werewolf or something like that. I didn't like it. It also looked like he had a retainer in his mouth and was trying to talk around this weird mouthpiece.

Oh yeah and I didn't like that Two Face had such a minimal role at the end of the movie...even as long as it was it looked like they were just trying to get the movie to end.

Overall...from 1 to 5 stars I would give it a 4 ****. Recommended from the Larson peanut gallery - but don't drink too much before because it really does just keep going on forever.

Whats the status

I just got a message from those property management people...3 days late...

"Mrs. Larson, we just wanted to know what the status of the leaks in the house are..."

???????

The status?

???????

I'm unsure if they want to know if water is still dripping from them or if we somehow miraculously repaired it on our own or if the roof has now caved in because we put a hole in the bubble over the door?

I should call them back and tell them not to worry about it because I stapled cardboard to the ceiling to cover the hole...do you think that will get them moving any faster?

Commissary Shopping

I just had my first commissary shopping experience...this is the grocery store on the base that you can only use with military ID. So, after dropping John off at 7:30 I ran to the store only to find that its not supposed to open until 9AM, but they let disabled people in early.

I went shopping.

Here is my rational...I have to go on disability when this baby is born therefore I can consider myself as disabled while pregnant...right?

Anyhow...I looked around and really...didn't see very many "visibly" disabled persons running around with a shopping cart. So I thought I'd be safe...whats the worst they can do...sick the MPs on me.

Wouldn't that be hilarious? John has to bail me out for pretending to be disabled at the commissary?

I filled up that cart with SO MUCH GOOD FOOD! Which was desperately needed as we've been eating food as we unpack it...a can of black beans here...a package of top ramen there. Now I've got veggies and high fiber bread (yummmy!) and tillamook cheese cuz I'm an Oregon cheese snob and mmmmmmmm....I can' hardly wait until lunch.

Here is the other thing I learned about the commissary. They don't pay their baggers. They work for tips only. Who would have known...so because I left with about 12 bags of food and this poor little Korean woman carted everthing around for me and loaded it all in the car I tipped a $5...hoping that would be enough.

Her response, "Ohhhhhh thankyou. $5 dolla make everybody happy happy happy."

I guess I did good.

Dare I dream?

I was just noticing that over the past 3 weeks there hasn't been a single post that I've written about Cruella.

Not that there hasn't been any Cruella incidents, but none that I felt I needed to vent about or snarl about...

Dare I dream that just for a time my life will not be infiltrated by her poisonous influence?

Fingers crossed...fingers crossed.

Memory Tag

I had fun leaving a memory on my cousin's blog, so I thought I'd join in and play the game! Read the directions if you're interested!

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

Storm

Last night I experienced the most terrific storm of my life. I thought I'd seen rain before....not until last night did I see rain. POUNDING...pouring rain that just amazed me. Thunder cracking every 2 minutes and lighting that flashed the whole sky into daylight brightness. The storm lasted an hour or so and in the process we lost electricity 3 times...

There's nothing that gets you moving fast looking for candles and flashlights in unpacked boxes than losing electricity at 10PM.

On top of all that we discovered our new little rental house has two leaks in the roof. One, a big bubble right over the door and the other was leaking through the lighting fixture.

I called the property management emergency line...and if I haven't yet expressed my extreme dislike of this property management group let me just tell you they are the most unfriendly, unlikeable and unhelpful group I've ever worked with...and I've delt with all 3 employees and my opinion remains the same. So, anyhow...back to the story...called the emergency line and their solution...pop the bubble in the ceiling and don't turn on the lights in the kitchen...we'll see if we can get someone to the house tomorrow and the whole time it was like she couldn't believe I bothered her for this petty little thing...

Duh...I wasn't born yesterday...dripping water from a lighting fixture is a pretty good indication that you shouldn't turn the lights on.

What a suprise that we haven't heard from the prop. mgmt peeps yet...(dripping sarcasm there...)

We knocked on our neighbor, George's door and as he told us the owner of the house was his good friend he said he'd email them immediately as he'd asked George to keep an eye out and let him know when there was a problem with the house.

So, with the weather forcast pointing to thunderstorms all week long this should be an interesting time for us...who knows what else we'll find out about our new house!

There is no place like home....

One week after getting to Sierra Vista I turned around and had to fly back to Portland for work. I drove to Bend for 2 days, then drove to Medford for 2 days and then back to Portland to fly out by Friday evening. It was a whirlwind trip. I really didn't get to see anything or anybody except my in-laws. We had a nice little visit over the lunch hour.

It was strange being so excited to get back to Tucson and Sierra Vista. Having only been there a week I wondered if I would miss Portland so much that I just wouldn't be able to stand leaving again, but while there I realized a couple of things.

1. Home is where your hubby is... I missed Mr. C terribly that week. I really love having him around...even with all those corny jokes he tells and to only get a few minutes here and there on the phone was not satisfying at all. It makes me think that when (not if, but when) he has to deploy I will be a very very sad girl.

2. Its strange to knock on the door of your own house. I had to stop by to pick up mail from our Portland house...I knocked on the door and as strange as it may seem having only been gone from there a few weeks - it didn't really feel like my house anymore!!!

3. Traffic is my new nemesis. In one week I got used to Sierra Vista - 10 minutes to anywhere. I got to Beaverton and everything took me 10 minutes longer than expected. When I left my inlaws to get to the airport...it was just before 3pm. Hwy 26 was a nightmare as usual...but I made pretty good time taking some back road shortcuts and was on 405 by about 3:15. Where 405 turns into I-84...I didn't get about about 12 miles per hour the entire way to the airport. And let me tell you how stressed out I was. My plan left at 5:45 and I got to the rental car return at 4:50. YIKES...Portland airport on a Friday!!! I thought I'd miss my flight for sure because of the crowds of people....lets just say that someone was watching out for me. I have never seen it so uncrowded. I had my tickets, got through security AND was at my gate by 5:10. WOW.

So, after all that...as much as I love Portland I have a new home now. It feels nice to be back. :)

Tagged!

Here I am TRYING to go to bed when I think...well, I'll just check out a few other blogs since I've been in "no computer/internet land" for the last few days and BOOM...I got tagged and since I can't NOT do it I figured I better fill out the following little survey for la bella donna Jenny...

Four Places I've Lived:

1. Vale, Oregon

2. Lugano, Switzerland

3. Alexandria, Virginia

4. Sierra Vista, Arizona


Four Favorite Books (not in any specific order): (Oh this is tough for me...ONLY FOUR???...I'll just list four favorite-ish books from my life that have changed me forever...)

1. The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom

2. Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls

3. PollyAnna by Eleanor H. Porter

4. Any and all Louis L'Amour books


Four Favorite Movies

1. The Fugitive

2. Dodgeball

3. Beaches

4. Sneakers


Four Embarrassing Facts About Me

1. I got stopped at an airport security when my bra set off the metal detector

2. I drool when I sleep really deeply

3. I love New Kids on the Block

4. You can count on me to drop food during every meal right on my shirt. Especially if its red tomato sauce, anything that stains or is greasy.

Four Dreams of Mine
1. To finish a triathalon
2. To be an oceanographer
3. To travel the world
4. To write a novel...(a GOOD one.)

Four Pet Peeves
1. People who don't use their blinkers while driving
2. Snotty customer service people
3. Parents who let their kids feel entitled to do or say whatever they want even if its intrusive, wrong or just plain mean.
4. Hair left in a shower or tub. Ewwwwwwww!

I now get to "TAG" four people. They are:
1. My cousin Jen
2. My friend Tina Marie
3. My sister Emma
4. My love John the terrorgator

All moved in.

Well, we've done it. We're finally actually and truly established in Sierra Vista, AZ...with a house and an address and the whole works.

Our little house is a rental. Its in a cute little gated community that we thought was a 55+ community at first because of all the "older" folks that we saw there...but it turns out thats not right...there are a few younger couples that live in the development. Anyhow...the reason I mention that is there is a community pool and I LOVE the fact that NOBODY and I mean really - nobody gets in the pool except John and I...its like having our own little water play ground.

So, first about the house then about the weather...the house is cute...1500 SF/3bedroom/2bath. We got our household goods last Thursday so as you can imagine (since its only Monday) we're not quite fully settled. We did get the bulk of the living room, kitchen and master bedroom done over the weekend. Phew...what a lot of work! Address to come soon along with photos of the house...but give me a little more time to unpack!

The weather in SV is intense right now. Its monsoon season so we get a daily thunder and lighting storm. I love it...absolutely love it. It floods the streets and puddles on the porches and within 2 hours its all gone and its as if the rains never actually came!
An incredible red-sky sunset just before a storm

The storm!


Today, Mr. C started his course. It was intense morning...they all met at Denny's for breakfast...had a little chitchat and he spent the afternoon golfing with two new friends... I'm going to suggest that to my boss for our next meeting....either that or I need to join the Army.

Of course he starts tomorrow with 6AM PT...situps, pushups, running. Muwahahaha...and I shall be sleeping through it.

Unfortunately, I can rub it in too much. I ended up having to fly back to PDX this week. I'm in Bend, OR right now and then heading to Medford to train a couple of new hires for this program. Its going to be a LONG week for me. I'm at 20-weeks right now for this pregnancy. Half-way mark as of TODAY! Woohoo!

I feel good...pretty tired lately, but that may be more because of the sunshine, unpacking, travelling etc. more than the actual pregnancy thing. Who knows. All I know is my baby bump is expanding daily and getting more and more insistent about being noticed. I love it. :)

Ok...speaking of tired...at 11PM...I'm signing off.

Not so bad...

Ok...so we've been in Sierra Vista for about 5 days now and I am conceding that its not as bad as I anticipated.

Fear: I was dreading 100+ temperatures...
Reality: The higher elevation has made the top temperature so far no more than about 94 degrees...and there are daily rainshowers (thunder and lightning storms!) now that its monsoon season so by the evening its actually a pleasant 75-85 degrees.

Fear: No place to live...
Reality: It took us two days to find a house we both like. At 1500SF its smaller than our Florence house, but its going to work really well. We were approved last Thursday, but due to the long weekend won't sign a lease until Monday. Furniture is supposed to be delivered by Wednesday! Wooooohooo! Ya'll can expect an updated address soon. The best part...its a gated community with only about 30 houses and it has a community pool about a block away. :)

Fear: Nothing to do...
Reality: We've watched more TV in the last week than I have in the last 10 years so its not as though the city is "action packed" BUT, the 4th of July festival was a blast. The fireworks were amazing (the biggest display in all of Arizona). We've visited most of the city just to look around, but still have plenty to discover, we spent today in Bisbee just walking around looking at all the cool little shops and then ended up in Douglas (hole in the wall border town) and looked at Mexico, but did not enter...(John has to have permission from the army to enter Mexico.)

Monday starts our busy week....I go back to work and John starts his daily duties on post. It will be interesting to see what our routine turns into.

Fear: Armyness...
Reality: Armyness stinks. HA! I knew there was one thing that wouldn't go perfectly. We can't do what we need to do with getting registered on the family support and medical thing because of....well....I like to call it Armyness. A bunch of red tape that any corporation would cut off at the neck, but the military seems to thrive on...Oh well, I suppose I shall learn to live with it, deal with it, and eventually will probably love it. Right?

Travel Log

I think in my last post I got as far as getting to mom's house...it was a good final evening...we set off some fireworks that we bought in Idaho...

Did you know fireworks are virtually illegal in Arizona? All they have in the stores here are poppers. Ugh...I LOVE fireworks...I did hear that they do a spectacular show on the 4th as a city so I guess I have that to look forward to...Ok...small detour...back on subject...Fireworks....oh and thats Aaron doing the amazing jump through the sparks. Hysterical.

After leaving Mom's we went to Zion Canyon and stayed the night there. We took a trip up the canyon and snapped some incredible photos.



From Zion's we spent two days in Las Vegas....woohooo...Vegas baby. I was supposed to meet up with an old friend, but it never happened. I was pretty bummed....lines got crossed and communication never happened, but I did get to see an amazing Cirque du Soleil show...Ka. Go see it if you get the chance.

We didn't spend much time outside in Vegas...it was averaging about 110 degrees and neither John or I could hack it. We did sit and play the slot machines for about 20 minutes. I think we lost a total of $10. HA! Looks like we're not really high rollin' Vegas people.

**Vegas pics coming soon**

From Vegas we went to Sedona, AZ. It was BEAUTIFUL. I have always loved Sedona. It has doubled in size since the last time I was there. It kind of spoiled the pristine beauty that I remembered to see a sprawling city of 16,000 instead of the tiny town of 3-4,000 that I remembered...so many new houses and buildings...but it didn't change the beautiful scenery.


Is it just me or is my belly getting sooooo big?!

And finally....from Sedona we went all the way to Sierra Vista...arrived last night and I'm absolutely exhausted. E-x-h-a-u-s-t-e-d.

The hottest it got on the trip here was 117 degrees. That was just after Phoenix.
So far Sierra Vista has been a tolerable 90+. How am I ever going to survive this heat?

Family Photos

Before leaving Portland I asked Mr. C to make sure and arrange some time that his oldest could join us to get professional family photos done....the results are below. I think they turned out pretty good. One that isn't on here is a photo of Mr. C with his kids that I absolutely love.

I was really glad that we were able to get this done...we tried a few times before and schedules always seemed to get in the way. Our last one was with the two little kids, but missing the oldest.







Coming soon....the trip to Arizona update....