What we've been up to

So, I haven't written in a while, but a lot has been going on. For instance, Jill has had her first experience with leaves. The photo above documents her second experience. Neither time she played with the leaves. We were pretty surprised. We thought she would play with them. Nope. She just sits in them. Hmm. She does surprise us every now and then. :) Regardless, she looks pretty cute in them.

She has gotten very into sticking her tongue out. I'm not sure why, but one day last week she just started doing it and she's been continuing doing it since then. I think it's awfully cute. Here she is with Lilly. We got to spend time with the Hoslers last week and had a lot of fun, babysitting while their parents were out doing various things and then enjoying dinner with them later. Yay for friends!

Speaking of friends, we've also been able to do things with the Arellano/Flores family. Here is Luis holding Jill. We've started trying to teach them English. They're doing great! English sure is a hard language to learn as a second language. I honestly think there are more exceptions to rules than there are rules.

It's really interesting (frustrating) to me how English spelling has stayed the same for so many years even though the pronunciation has changed so much. On the other hand, it is nice (convenient) that spelling has stayed the same. It makes it so I can read things written in the 1600s without the problems I have when asked to read The Canterbury Tales in its original.

Once again, I state that I think English should have switched to a phonetic alphabet long ago. I think it's probably too late now—way too expensive at this point. But sigh. We could have at least kept up modernizing our spelling and language like Spanish and French. Then we wouldn't be in this mess we are today. I mean, really, come on. "Ghoti?!" Sigh. Fish. Goodness.

Speaking of fish . . . Jeff turned 27! His parents took the family out to dinner, and Jeff got to pick the restaurant, so we were able to enjoy a tasty Thai meal at Ban Thai. That's the same one Jeff and I tried out a few months ago. Kyle chose O'Charleys for his birthday, and Kevin chose Longhorn Steakhouse.

Back to Ban Thai: Jeff got the same thing again—Duck Szechuan. I wanted to get the same thing again, but I accidentally got it with sticky/white rice and a brown sauce instead of fried rice. It was still good, but not what I wanted. I like the fried rice better. I'll have to remember that next time. :)

Jeff and I at the restaurant

Kevin wanted to branch out and try sushi for the first time. He hasn't been as lucky as Jeff and I were to live near our sister-in-law Amy (who is Japanese American), so he has never had her sushi before. (No worries. I'm still not a fish fan. She was cool enough to make cucumber sushi as well.) ;) So, he decided to try his luck with a tuna roll. Haha. Classic. He should have just gone with tuna. He did not like seaweed. Go figure. That's one of my favorite parts. He did like the tuna though, so he just unwrapped his rolls. The sushi came with green stuff (that I've been told was wasabi), soy sauce, and then a pile of pink shavings of something. We assumed it was more tuna. Until Kevin ate some. It was not. Does anyone know what that was? I am not totally experienced with sushi.

Jeff and Jill on his birthday

It was very nice of Kevin to come home for Jeff's birthday. But, poor guy, to his dismay, Jill didn't seem to remember him. She cried both times that he held her. I think it was hard on him to see how much Jill loved her Uncle Kyle. She'll remember him when she gets older. I guess Uncle Kevin should just come to visit more often . . . :) Otherwise Jill just might break his heart!!

I had to include it. Santiago is ridiculously cute!!

Other events of the week have been that . . . JEFF GOT A JOB!!  He had a second and third interview last week. Then they called him on Thursday to say he was their man and to come in on Friday. He ate lunch with them on Friday and received their offer and other information. We've looked it over, prayed about it, and thought about it, and he's going to call them tomorrow to accept the offer. The start date is November 16. Best birthday present ever, eh? :)

We're so excited! Our 6 month taste of unemployment has been an interesting journey of hope, faith, and discouragement. We have been so blessed by the generosity of Jeff's parents in providing us with food, love, and a home. It has been wonderful for me to spend time getting to know Laurie better, and Jeff has really enjoyed the hours of playing ping pong with Kyle (and other activities too, of course).