Girls night out...with the POLICE!

So, last night found me alone on "date night". Well, I wasn't totally alone, as I had 3 children at home. Okay, 2 children and Holly. Okay, Holly, a teenager, and a sweet child. Anyway, Jeff had gone camping with his scout troop to a "high adventure" (translation: a bunch of big boys playing in the wilderness, rafting, hiking, boating, etc....just hope that their leaders confiscated the matches first). Kerry went to help out (you know, blind leading the blind...or maybe just an adult contributing to the delinquency of many minors?). SO, I called Teri for a girls' night out. We went to Olive Garden, and sat in the bar while we waited for our table. If you haven't had one, I recommend the strawberry daiquiri (virgin, of course). Teri's favorite is the wild berry daiquiri. Then we had two bowls of salad! MMMMMMMM! We were only able to eat half of our entrees, but that was okay, because the salad and breadsticks were so great! We also got our favorite desserts to go (as we knew that we would want them today, but had NO room in the tummies for them last night. Then, we decided to go to a movie. Only problem was, not movies at the right times. (we are getting too old to stay awake in a movie that doesn't even begin until 10:40) No problem. Our Linen & Things is going out of business. We decided to go check it out. (This is a little off topic, but has anyone ever felt 300 count sheets? I found some that were on a killer deal sale. They feel so great, I can hardly wait to try them!) After we finished our shopping, we walked out to the car to put away our great finds. We found a mom with her daughter and two recent high school grads in the parking lot near our car. Apparently, two men in a white car hit the side of my car, and then left. Lovely. So, we called the police to make a report. The only thing that really made me do that was that they pointed out the cameras in the parking lot, and thought that maybe the police could figure out who had done it. Anyway, we are standing around in the parking lot waiting (forever, but shouldn't that be expected?) and the mom and daughter decide that they need to leave. Mom leaves her name and phone numbers and starts to leave. Just then, a white car with the two men (one "kind of a big guy with a blue striped shirt" just like the story we got) pulls up next to my car. Okay, here's my prejudice coming out. If you don't want to hear it, quit reading now. The girls had all said that they were Mexican, and possible drunk. Hmmm. Then the car shows up. Both Teri and I decided to stay back just a bit (the thought of knives, Mexican, and liquor just wasn't all that exciting to either of us). Then, the mom (who hadn't left yet) called dispatch to say that they had returned, and we needed police now. Dispatch assured her that he was around the corner. Turns out that the driver was "blacking out" and "needed food". So, they left the scene, went for food, and then returned. They were both apologizing profusely. I really do believe the story. The man is obviously Hispanic, but was whiter than Kerry's legs in winter. And, the good news is, he really does indeed have insurance. My mood, previously nearing swearing in public in front of a young girl, changed greatly upon their return. Turns out that they are more "South American" than "south-of-the-border", if that makes any sense. (I already confessed to being prejudice...) When all was said and done, I turned to Teri and said,"When I said we needed a girls' night out, this isn't what I had in mind." The cop said, "What?! This is an adventure! Everyone needs a little excitement!" Yeah, whatever! BTW, if you ever decide to "hit-and-run" in Idaho, you should probably know that you will get an automatic 6 months in prison, regardless of damage. The cop told the young man it was a good thing he came back!
As a side note, my black tie chocolate cheesecake was a yummy breakfast today! :d

Uncle Sam wants Jeff!

Yesterday, Jeff and I met Kerry at the Army National Guards Recruiting Office. It is official. Jeff is now a member of the Idaho National Guard. He will go to Salt Lake City (I know...it's in Utah, not Idaho...) on Monday afternoon. There he will be treated to a stay at the Radisson Inn (according to the recruiter, it's a 4 star hotel...whatever!). On Tuesday, he will have his physical. Then, on the way home, they will stop in Pocatello for their uniforms. I have always loved a man in uniform, but this isn't what a mom ever has in mind. The recruiter did point out that it's my fault Jeff joined. Afterall, I taught him to have a love of his country, be respectful, and serve others. He's only doing what he's been taught.

The rub of it all is that Jeff scored excellently on his exam. He was told that because of that, he can pick any job he wants. So, he picked a safe one, right? WRONG. He picked "combat engineer". They are the guys that build bridges for our troops to go across, then they blow them up so no one else can use them. Did I also mention that they disarm land mines? He will have his monthly drills until next summer when he will report for 14 weeks of boot camp and training. He will be in Missouri for boot camp, and they told us that we can go out for graduation and pick him up then. Might be kind of fun!

Then, he will go back to his monthly drills for 6 months, and then they will put him on "inactive status" so that he can take two years for his mission. The good thing is that Sgt. Wood said that he will be able to go to college before he is deployed. I don't like that word "deployed", by the way.

Sad as this might make me, I must say that I'm very proud of him. He's incredibly unselfish to do this, especially knowing that he could end up dying for his country (believe me, he knows...I used that on him, hoping to change his mind...or at least try to get him to be a paralegal or something!)

Have I mentioned that I hate cleaning?

So, I have all of this new "free" time now that school is out for what is left of summer. BUT, I wasn't able to see the carpet in my bedroom...I knew there was carpet in there, but hadn't seen it for all of the books, clothes, shoes, etc. that had been scattered on the floor. Cleaned the bedroom last week (making sure to "warn" Kerry before he came home from work, lest he should stumble in there and have a heart attack....heart attacks are not accidental, and therefore not covered under our largest insurance policy...I wonder if I had taken "before and after" pictures if the insurance company would have seen that as an accident?). Then, the guest room (which is right across the hall from the now clean master bedroom) began looking even worse in comparison to my room. So, I have been cleaning the guest room for most of the day. I am currently taking a break, because I simply can't stand any more. There really is only about 1/2 hour worth of work left, however. Guess I'd best get it done. Maybe I should have invited my CDO daughter over...it would have made her crazy and she would have helped me finish it! (BTW, CDO is "like OCD, only it's in alphabetical order, as it should be". Must be one of Kerry's kids? LOL! ...or should that be LLO?)

I just love "A"s!

It is official. I checked my grades and I got a 97% on the test I thought I didn't do so well on. That makes my final grade a 94.8%! That means I still have my 4.0. The only problem is that beginning next semester (which begins in just 4 more weeks) they are changing the grading scale. From now on, an "A" is 93% and above. If you have 90-92%, it's only an "A-". Bummer. Now I have to worry about more than just getting a 90%. Heather says that if I can just get an "A-", the pressure will be off! Then there won't be any more chance of a 4.0, so I don't have to worry and fret so.... That makes a great theory, but I don't know how it will actually work. I think that I will worry and fret even more, because I won't want my GPA to slip any further into the toilet.... Graduation is scheduled for May 12th, by the way. Mark your calendars! We are going to P-A-R-T-Y!!!! Only 2 semesters left until graduation (Jeff will also graduate from High School, and Heath will graduate from Middle School...big time partying going on at the Hansen house!)

School's out for Summer!!!

Wish that I was talented enough to figure out how to put Alice Cooper's "School's out for summer" song on my blog. You will all just have to hum it in your heads! :D I took my last final today, and then I went with 24 of my closest friends to Olive Garden to celebrate our freedom! It may be a little premature, however, since we don't know what our final grades are yet! So far, I have done pretty good this semester, but I'm afraid that I may not have done as well on my final final today... I have an A going into today's test (a 94.3 %...), so as long as I didn't totally screw up today's test, then I should still have my 4.0! (Can I just say that it is really hard keeping up with the bar that my kids have set?) On a good note, today one of the girls in my class asked me how old I was (after I made a comment about being sooooo old). I told her that I would be 45 in October, and she didn't believe me! She said, "Gosh! You don't act that old!" I've decided that the comment can be taken a couple of different ways. I've decided to go with the way that isn't insulting! LOL

4th of July

Once again, the 4th found us down in Idaho Falls at the annual parade. Jeff and Holly marched with Cedar Badge. Heath was planning on it, but he came down something, and was feeling pretty yucky. After the parade, we got Heath home, and found his temp was a mild 103.2. Not a very exciting way to spend the 4th. We took him to the urgent care where his rapid strep test came back negative. BUT, since his tonsils were nearly touching each other, and the fever was a tad out of control, and he had a nasty red throat that was also sore....the PA decided to treat him as though it was a positive test. Last night, Kerry and the "kids" went down to the greenbelt (the beautiful green path around the Snake River in Idaho Falls) to watch the annual fireworks display put on by Melaleuca. (It is rumored that Frank Vandersloot, CEO of Melaleuca, spends upwards of $1 million dollars every year to put on this show. It is about 1/2 hour long, and orchestrated to music that you can find on a local radio station) Heath and I stayed home, since that fever was still out of control, and he didn't feel so hot anyway. Okay, that's not true. He felt pretty hot. His temp was 103.8 at about 8PM. It was down to 100 at 10:30, so I gave him Tylenol (I had already given him Motrin at 8). This morning, I fully expected that he'd be feeling better, but his temp was 104. It has dropped down to 100 again...but won't go lower. We will see what we have tomorrow, and go from there.
So, while Heath and I didn't get to see the fireworks display, it was still a great day. It is still just amazing to realize that we live in a country where I can take my child to the doctor when he is sick, with no more worry other than wondering what Urgent Care will be open on the holiday. It's great that my family can walk the green belt in perfect safety. We still have pride enough in our country that we can have a parade that moves us to tears at times when we see a representation of the men and women who put their lives on the line for us each day to keep our freedoms. And, although I don't usually agree with them, it is wonderful that people who don't like our way of living can complain without fear of jail or worse. We are very blessed.