A local store (I.M. Home - kinda like an Ikea) is having a "retirement sale". Now, I really don't know what that is, but I do know that means things are for sale for way cheap, and that's all that really matters in the end.

For the last year and a half we have been using the most graciously donated old antique table that Dad used to cut up deer innards on 30-40 years ago (and we've been eating off of it, eh? Sanitary). The original legs were long lost and we've been using those metal frame legs to support it. I went to every hardware store I could find in the area (Lowe's, Home Depot, etc) yet could only find wooden legs that matched for a coffee table (about 8-12ish inches long - slightly short for a kitchen table). After all this time, and seeing a supposed "huge sale", we decided it was time to try to find a new kitchen table.

Apparently a "Retirement Sale" means the owner is retiring and all his money is tied up in the furniture and such, so he wants to liquidate everything before he goes and passes his business on to his son...with...no merchandise....for some reason. But his son's loss was our gain as we were able to haggle our way into getting over half off the asking price for a nice table and 4 chairs.

And, per request, here is our rocking new (and slightly tall - but will come in handy in keeping toddlers from grabbing things on the table one day) table:

One of the chairs:

Here's the show the slight height difference, next to the old antique:

For old time's sake, a close-up of the carvings on the side of the old table (and those sexy legs!):

And one more angle of the old table versus the new one

Think we made a good choice?

Spring is here!

So, the past week or so- our lives have been a bit crazy. Jon had his last INTEX project and is officially done with his capstone project for his undergrad! He and his group members pulled a lot of late nights and all-nighters. I'm not the best for explaining all they had to do- but, they were programing on a server for a fake company that sells tickets for events like plays, movies, concerts.. etc... Then on Saturday morning they presented to their professors and also a few KPMG reps. YAHOO! It's over!! Then last day of class for him is on Tuesday and then come the rest of his finals. (this picture is of the building that Jon "lives" in. However, it's not very recent because they are building on to it on the side where the Y flag is.. so there is a big ugly hole there w/ a mostly finished smaller building that's attached to it... if you can imagine that.)



For me- this month is the craziest for me. We have about 40 units opening up and 40 couples moving in... all in about 5 days. It is going to be crazy! My boss (the owner) took off for his kid's spring break down to St. George- so he will be gone for most of this week. It's okay though- the only thing he left for me to do is March's financial statements. Maybe I should have gone into accounting...? :-)

Other than that.. Arkansas is coming soon!!! We leave May 14th and will drive across Wyoming, Nebraska, parts of Iowa and through Missouri. We are really excited!

Timely Kia

Now that the weather is finally starting to change (Keep your fingers crossed! We woke up to 5 inches of snow on the cars Sunday), we think our little Kia is even more so realizing its time on the earth is growing short. It's lived about as long as Kia's are expected to live (not as long as other cars, but hey, Kia's cost half as much as other cars), but has held up well for us. If you break too hard, it pops out of gear and you have to put it in neutral, then back in gear. After a few seconds it kicks and goes back into drive. That's probably not a good thing.

Anywho, ever since Crystal first purchased the car used in February of 2002, it's had a chink in the windshield that is conveniently hidden behind the rear-view mirror (hence the reason they didn't notice the chink until after they purchased it). Well, after our most recent freeze we were returning our free redbox dvd (basically our weekly FHE - thanks mom!) tonight, we discovered that that tiny little chink, after atleast 6 years of exposure to the harsh elements, has finally given up the ghost and blossomed into a beautiful butterfly. And by butterfly I mean an atleast 2 foot long (if you measure each line) crack over the top part of our windshield. This is the second windshield this winter has claimed over us. Curse you cold weather!!!

Coldness: 2 Criddles: 0

Seeing as more of the life of the Kia eeks out everyday, and because it shouldn't be cold anymore (PRAY!), I think we probably will just live with the crack. As long as the weather stays warm the crack shouldn't get any bigger until we finally lay the Kia down to rest.

Don't think that we're complaining about that fine little car. Crystal and company (anyone else who has been blessed by the Sophia) have received so much more from the Kia than they paid for it. Here are some of it's highlights:

• Touched both oceans...literally....okay not quite literally (atleast been to beaches on both American coasts)
  
• Survived a drive through Nebraska...seriously...have you ever driven through Nebraska?? Got Corn???
• Drove Crystal to all college tests, also through a snowbank on her way to one of them
• Driven by Crystal's dad to Massachusetts to visit Eleanor each weekend for a year, with occasional visits to Connecticut
• Drove Crystal to cross-country track meets, early morning seminary, and BYU
• Was amazingly able to store all of Crystal's luggage and possessions when she returned to BYU for her Sophomore year
• Runs on $20 of gas filled up once every two weeks (and we're rocking the $3.19 a gallon for the cheap gas) - take that SUV owners!
• With the help of chains, survived the Tahoe mountains during a snowy winter - take that SUV owners!

In gratitude for all the good times and memories it has given us- and it's approaching demise, we have decided to donate the Kia to charity (also it would not be worthwhile to sell it to some other poor college student and it would just cost them more than its worth to use). Basically we're gonna donate it mid May to someone who can sell the parts off (the sum of the parts is greater than the whole or however that phrase goes).

Lastly, just because this has been such a long, boring post, here's a picture of a Kia like ours...with some random person from the internet in it. Now just imagine it plum colored...and peeling some paint...and sounding funny...and smelling funny (I'm sorry neighbors when I have to run it outside in the mornings to warm it up and make the complex smell like freeon - otherwise the transmission doesn't work)....and sometimes when I turn on the heater the car turns off...or sometimes when the radio does that...and when I can't turn the radio volume down....and when a cd suddenly goes crazy and starts randomly fast forwarding for no reason (I've just stopped trying to use cds)....and where you can't push the "tune up" or "next song" button, only "down" and "previous track"...and with a "check engine light" that has been on so long the bulb burned out (the repair people said nothing was wrong - then why was the light on? Even after resetting it)....and with a driver door that doesn't shut when its cold....and with locks where the mechanical inside parts freeze shut so you can't unlock it in the cold....and with a moody heater that only turns on when it's hot(yes I have frequently driven to work in the morning with all the windows down in the freezing because otherwise the window fogs up too much).......y'all get the picture. Speaking of which, here's that one I promised - we'll have others of our actual car soon: