New Furry Friend (Part 1)

We've done something we've never before… a Shown Family first... we adopted a kitten! Our 4-H Cloverbud leader had some kittens she was trying to find home for. She told me her cat (the kitten mama) was a great hunter - including gophers. So we thought we'd take a chance and see if a cat can help us with our gopher problem. Wesley and I are both mildly allergic to cats so this fellow will be an outside "farm cat".

When we got back from our WI vacation I send 4-H leader Molly an email and asked her if she had any kittens left. She said she had one orange boy left. So that evening (June 5) we stopped by Walmart and picked up some kitten food and then went over to her house to pick him up. She said he was the most shy of the kittens and he proved it by hiding. Her daughter finally caught him and I carried him out to the van and placed him a box. He didn't appreciate that and clawed his way out despite Wesley keeping his feet on the box. Thankfully he didn't freak out, climb under the brake pedal, or pee in the van - which were all my concerns as we drove him home.

We followed the advice of a neighbor (and an internet article about farm cats) and put him in a dog crate with food, water, and a make shift litter box for a week so he could learn where home is. We played with him, cuddled him, and fed him generously. A week later we opened the door and let him out. He hasn't run away yet!

In fact, the shy kitten is no more. He comes when called and seems to really like our company. He is so great with the kids even letting Annabeth carry him around. I have always said I am not a cat person, but this little guy is so cute and has a good personality to boot. After the kids go to bed, Jerry and I usually go out for a swim. He loves to sit by Jerry and I, either on the deck or the table right by the pool.

I give him a bit of wet cat food each morning. He knows it's coming and waits by the door. When we can't find him we call "Kitty" and he usually comes yawning and stretching out of the irrigation tube that runs under our driveway.

We were stumped when it came to giving him a name. We got several good suggestions. The boys wanted to call him Stampey after a video game character but when we got him it just didn't seem to fit him. I suggested Morrissey which Jerry really liked but that didn't seem right either. My sister suggested Carlo because she has a cat named Monte or Tom because we already have a Jerry.

Jerry took him for some shots last Saturday. Knowing we'd have to put something down on the paperwork we decided Annabeth's name made the cut. She loves the new PBS kid's show Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. The main character is a little tiger named Daniel. From the first time she laid eyes on him she called him Daniel.

We called him "Kitty" for 3 weeks before we decided on a name so as a compromise we named him Daniel Kitty and the first time he brings me a dead gopher I will love him forever!

New AC

We have known since our first summer in this house that our AC unit wasn't long for this world. We had it repaired a couple times under the home warranty and then tuned up and repaired once on our dime. Every technician that has looked at it told us it had problems. Some parts were pieced together while other parts were missing (like the plenum). The wiring was weird and we had too many tons for our square footage which meant we were wasting a lot of money on our electric bill. So we decided to be proactive and get it replaced before it died on us in the middle of a hot AZ summer.

We got a few estimates and we learned things from each guy that came. In the end, we chose the company that seemed the most thorough and creative. This guy did a heat load calculation to figure out what size AC units we need. We had two 4 ton units - one on each side of the house. The heat load calculation showed we were in good shape as far as exposure to the sun, number of windows, etc. so he recommended dropping down to two 3 ton units or maybe even one 5 ton unit.

We were intrigued by the idea of only having one unit to maintain, but wondered how that would work with a larger house. The AC guy suggested using the one unit, but creating 3 or 4 zones in the house with separate wireless thermostats. That way each zone could be set with a programable thermostat and could run simultaneously or independently of each other. The unit would be variable speed which would increase efficiency as well.

We decided that was the best option for us. The only down side was the cost. We had planned to replace one unit this year and then save up to replace the other next year. Going down to one unit would cost less than two but we'd have to pay it all now, no saving up for an additional year. After some discussion and budget review we decided to just go for it. So we signed the paperwork and they put in the new unit May 1st.

The new unit is huge!

 It took a lot longer than I thought, two full days. The second day they were here well into the night. A lot of the work they had to do was on the kid's side of the house, specifically in Annabeth's room where the access door is so that meant she skipped nap for two days. She was a good sport about it and wasn't too fussy. We were without AC while they worked and, fortunately, we had mild enough temps that it wasn't too bad.

The new unit compared to one of the old units.

Technically, they still aren't done. There are a few loose ends they need to tie up (patch a few holes, run a few wires), but we'll be leaving on vacation in a few days and those things will just have to wait until we get back. It will be interesting to see how are utility bill changes in the next couple months. We're hoping to save a bit of energy and money!

Update 8/7/14: Our utility bills have definitely decreased! Our July utility bill this year was about $200 lower than the July bill last year. Should be about the same for the August bill too!

Underground Leak

4/28/14 Need to post

A Visit from Roz and Emily

4/21/14 Need to post

The Ladies

We had our first non-family visitors in the guest house. One of my old GBAMOM (twins club) friends came to stay for 10 days. Debbie brought three of her friends to hang out and relax.

My parents left and we got the house ready to go. The only last minute thing we had to do was get an additional twin mattress and bedding in the front bedroom. After a long search, I ended up finding a really cute bedding set at Bed, Bath, and Beyond. It was more than I originally wanted to pay, but I liked it so much it was worth it!

"The Ladies" had a good time relaxing by the pool. As you can see we joined them when we could. One of ladies (Sally) brought some super comfortable pool floats. I am going to have to get one! 

They squeezed in some restaurant meals and shopping too. As a thank you, they watched the kids one evening while Jerry and I went out to dinner. The kids had a great time! The only hitch was Annabeth didn't want to go to bed without Mom so she got to stay up and hang out until we got home. Thankfully, it wasn't too late - about 9pm.

I originally thought we'd just let the guests do their own thing, but they were such a fun group and included us in their activities. Jerry says it's almost as much fun to hang out with people who are on vacation as it is to go on vacation! 

The night before they left we had a little fiesta. Jerry grilled some carne asada from the Mexican meat market, I made some bean dip, and "The Ladies" brought dessert (a delicious Drumstick Torte). We sat out on the back patio and ate and chatted and had a great time. Then when it got dark we had a fire in the outdoor fireplace and played a few campfire games with the kids.

Mit and Boo Boo

Campfire Games

After the kids went to bed the adults sat around and chatted some more. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time!

We were sad to see them go and hope they'll come back and see us again!

Silly Speaks

Here are a couple items for the "Silly Speaks" file:

2/15/14
JD likes to join Annabeth in the bathtub. Tonight he was pouring cup after cup of water onto her little bath baby doll "trying to drown her". Before I could even tell him that wasn't a very nice thing to do Hayden straightened him out. "Uh, JD, that's called water boarding."

1/24/13
While doing school with JD today I asked him if he knew a letter. It was the letter I. He said no, he forgot which letter it was. I told him it was the letter I and that it says (short i sound). He replied, "Oh yeah! I (short i sound) like intimate." Um, yeah. I was thinking igloo or icky, but intimate works too.