update of wildlife post below

so after some googling (yes to google is a verb people) Garrett has figured our skunk, missing bunny, screeching sounds are the works of a grey fox. I would name him Sam but that is my niece's name so please make suggestions. Apparently these foxes eat bunnies (bye bye bunny living under my porch) and smell like skunks. At least we have a few mysteries solved. Maybe the black widows are plastic and when you smash it just looks like guts.

Family History Presented to President Barack Obama by Church President Thomas S. Monson - LDS Newsroom

Family History Presented to President Barack Obama by Church President Thomas S. Monson - LDS Newsroom

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its a zoo

So apparently living in suburbia doesn't mean no wildlife interaction. In the year we have been here, we have dealt with foxes leaving fleas for us, skunks leaving their odor, cute bunnies, black widows IN THE HOUSE, a raccoon(?) waking us up b/c its stuck in our backyard, and bats. Yes bats.

Most recently (as in the past 48 hrs) its been the bat, the black widows and the animal that we think is a raccoon. I was leaving to see a friend Monday night and this thing 'wooshed' right past me. It literally brushed my arm and I screamed which was useless b/c I currently have lost my voice. At first I thought it was a giant black butterfly but as it flew away I realized it was a bat. We have been hearing this screeching the past few weeks late into the night so maybe this lovely colony of bats is what we are hearing. I was just on the phone w/ my grandma and I can't remember what she said exactly but it made me think that they are LIVING IN OUR ATTIC. I just called Garrett and let him know that he has a chore when he gets home: getting a flashlight and looking in the attic for said bats. We are pretty sure they are living across the street b/c that is where we think the noise is coming from but if they are in our attic I don't even want to know how much that's going to cost to take care of.

On to the black widows. We have seen one every now or then but only in the past few months. Monday night Garrett went out to the garage and found 6, yes six black widows on the back patio that basically is the thorough fare from the kitchen door to the garage door (a regular door, not the actually drive your car through door. So after killing those (w/ a fly swatter by the way that he was actually going to put back under the kitchen sink w/o wiping the dead spiders off) I was informed that they just stay outside. Well last night we discovered that is false b/c we found one in the corner of the family room. Yes they do come inside and yes they can kill little kids. So at this point I can't sleep b/c any sort of anything that makes you think is touching you must be a black widow. Finally I settle down and decide I am going to go to Home Depot to get some stuff to bomb the house.

After settling down for the night, we hear this screeching sound and panting underneath our bedroom window that is on the side of the house. The animal is trying to get out and is running up to the side gate and slamming into it. Garrett in all his wisdom :-) gets his gun out (its in safe up above where even I can't reach) and heads to the back of the house. I think he kind of hoped it was a coyote and somehow would have the excuse to shoot at it. Luckily for the animal it didn't appear on the back porch so we went back to our room and discovered it finally figuring out how to climb over the fence. I should take pictures of the claw marks to share but have decided I don't want to go over there since that area needs to be cleared of all the weeds and seeing the spider problem I am done w/ outside adventures for now. Garrett got a look at it, but since our street is poorly lit, we guess it was a raccoon.

At any rate, who knew San Diego could be such an adventure w/ the outdoor life? I will have to let you all know what happens when Garrett looks up in the attic.

I wish our bunny comes back.

Catch up

So much has happened since I last wrote so we just go week by week...

Mariah and clan moved here so we were busy for a few days helping them unpack. Until they have a second car, we mostly head up there. They have an awesome house w/ an awesome backyard. The following week comprised of Garrett at his two jobs (one paid, one unpaid) followed by the Shill clan coming down here to visit for the fourth of July weekend. We went to Teddy and Jaymie's house for their neighborhood association celebration. It was so so much fun! I hope it turns into an annual thing...of course until they buy a house and move from the area. William and his friend Nick stayed at our house and my parents stayed at my Aunt Cathy's house. The Shill clan headed home Sunday (?) though I can't remember. The following week was nothing exciting though we switched from a bundle pkg w/ Time Warner Cable over to AT&T and Directv. AT&T has a deal called Lifeline which basically gives low income families cheaper phone service. We end up saving about 15 dollars a month or so. Our phone is about 8 dollars a month but it is only local phone, no bells or whistles, so if you call you may get a busy signal. Only downside is I can't "screen" calls anymore. :-) Mariah and I and the kids headed out on the evening of the 8th to Livermore to see William before he left on his mission. He is serving a full-time mission now for the LDS Church. After some time at the mission training center in Provo UT, he will be heading to the Texas Ft Worth mission. Its two years long and snail mail will be the only communication for two years, but I know it will be a great experience. My parents both say the house is pretty quiet w/o him around. They are officially empty nesters!!

Mariah and I came home on the morning of the 13th and I came home to getting my tv fixed. It was pixelating a ton, but luckily the satellite guy that came out this past Saturday was totally awesome! When we switched to AT&T we quickly realized that in order to have internet in the family room, we had to have a phone line in there. Of course the only useable phone jack was in our bedroom which basically has meant only using Garrett's laptop since it has a wireless card (or whatever its called). It would have cost about 130 dollars for AT&T to come out and put a jack in the front room. Oh and if we wanted to use the OnDemand features w/ the satellite, we had to either get this 80 connection kit or have a phone line in the family room. Luckily for us, the installer was totally amazing and after I asked about how to get the OnDemand thing and he realizing we needed a phone jack in the front room for us, he put one that actually has a splitter so we can plug the dvr into one and the modem into the other! So now we have the ugly modem out of our bedroom and a phone line jack to hook up the DVR!! It definitely made my day!! Oh and when we switched over our phone service the AT&T gave us an extra 100 dollars cash back! I am hoping that covers a few months of our phone/cable bill.

Last Friday, Garrett interviewed for an fall externship w/ a domestic violence clinic down at the family courthouse. He was offered the job right on the spot and the woman said that she saw he was a certified paralegal and it made him stand out from all of the other applicants. Looking back, I think having not gone to law school right after undergrad has been a blessing in disguise. Not only are we in a better place in our lives (older and wiser LOL) Garrett's work as a paralegal has gotten doors opened we dont' think would happen otherwise. The plan is for him to apply to the prosecutor's office externship for the Spring semester. He has already met two DA's when he went to lunch w/ an attorney from work. The best part of the Prosecutors' externship is that it is paid! I think this is available for the Spring semester, but maybe its not until the Summer. Who knows. At any rate, doing some pro-bono work w/ this downtown clinic will help towards getting a Pro Bono Honors when he graduates. He seems to really be enjoying what he is doing. I can tell b/c one, he gets up on time, two he irons his shirts, and three when I ask him how work is, it seems like he is excited w/ what he is doing. I am glad he has found something he enjoys doing and will pay the bills someday and maybe a vacation here or there.

His school is offering medical insurance now. He automatically has it b/c it is included in his student loans, but the girls and I will sign up under his just over the phone. It is w/ Kaiser and Wells Fargo. I don't know how the WF is involved, but whatever. It ends up being about 120 a month for me, but there is a zero deductible, $20 visits and $10 prescriptions. The crazy thing is that being admitted into the hospital is 500 hundred dollars. Now that isn't for each day, that is for the entire time you are there. The only thing we have had is a PPO w/ large deductibles for the same price and that didn't have prescrip. coverage, had $30 co-pays and 80/20 after the 1K deductible is hit. Of course figuring out how to pay for it is another thing.

Reagan and Maddie have a love/hate relationship. They argued all morning but now, at 240pm, they are playing nicely. Maddie reads during quiet time and Rea takes naps.

I at the moment have lost my voice due to ???? I have the cough and headache along w/ the soundless sexy frog voice.

Oh dear, erase the girls playing nicely b/c now they are yelling at each other....though it may be them "roleplaying" mom v daughter.

Ok well the laptop is getting hot from being used at the kitchen table so I better go. Hopefully my computer will have a wireless card soon! I will then be able to put some pics up.

real quick

so i was reading one of my magazines and saw an ad about using your visa signature card online and getting a free movie ticket thru fandango.com of course there is no such thing as a free lunch so i had to check it out. longer story short, if you have a signature visa (it says signature on it and usually has a higher credit limit) you can click here and follow the directions to get your free ticket (buy one get one free). mariah and i are going to see the proposal tomorrow for 10 dollars total! you can use this fandango.com deal once a month per visa card thru the end of september. i am way excited. also, if you go to visa.com/signature they have a ton of other stuff that you can get. my rule for all of you is don't get on unless you already have something planned and are looking for a discount. that's how they suck you in. remember: do you love it, do you need it, or would you die if you could never do it?

:-)