Yay!

Yay for Jon!
We needed to take the van through emissions and renew our registration this month but encountered a glitch because of the presence of a glowing check engine light. We went to AutoZone and got a computer reading done and found out that it could be one or more of three "probable causes": opened or short circuit condition, poor electrical connection, or failed EGR valve. It used to be that someone could buy an owner's manual and a few tools for their car and with a little know how and elbow grease conceivably fix/replace a number of different problems with their vehicle. Now it seems the list of things that can be done to a car by the average joe is dwindling because newer vehicles are becoming more complex with electronic/computer workings under the hood. Anyway, I was immediately consigned to the fact that we would have to make an appointment for our van with the car doctor and dole out some serious coinage. Fortunately, Jon played with a guy in a band once who also happens to be a great mechanic and owns a shop, (so if you need a mechanic and live in the Phoenix area we can highly recommend Bella) he's honest but there is still the usual costs for parts and labor. Jon said he would call and set up a time to take it in later in the week but that he wanted to take a look under the hood and just see if there was something obvious that he could fix. I made a pessimistic/sarcastic remark about how "I'm sure it'll be that easy". Sure enough, Jon looked around under the hood and found a connection that had come out so he plugged it back in. Easy as that. The light didn't go off right away so we weren't sure at first if that had been the problem but within a few days of driving it around the light went off and didn't come back on. Yahoo! No costly car repairs this time :) And, yay for 2 year registration so we don't have to bother with emissions next year!

Yay for swimming pools and rain in the summertime!
The girls and I have finally gotten over our colds so we resumed our daily swims last week. Last Tuesday we went swimming in the evening with Jon and had dinner by the pool (so fun), we swam again Wednesday morning and evening, and Thursday and Friday mornings. On Friday I had a visit teaching appointment at 10:30 so we had to hurry to swim and then get ready to go but it was the nicest cloudy morning and just as we were supposed to be getting out of the pool it started raining lightly. We all thought swimming in the pool while rain drops plopped all around us was pretty magical so we stayed in for a few minutes (don't worry, there were no signs of lightening or thunder). Yesterday the big pool was looking sadly green and was closed for cleaning so we went to the other smaller pool (so nice to have that alternative) and the water was perfect! We missed this morning's swim because we had to take my parents to the airport (they like to drive up here and take flights out of Phoenix because it's usually cheaper than from Tucson and that way they can squeeze in a visit with the grandkids)- we live so close to the airport it's no trouble to give them a ride but we didn't get back until around ten in the morning and by that time the sun has already been up around five hours and is way too hot/strong for my fair skinned babies and self. We're definitely thinking dinner by the pool again tonight :)

Sophie's first cupcake!
I made cupcakes for one of Jon's families that he hometeaches because they had a birthday this past weekend- as you can see, Sophie was very pleased that there were extras. By the way, this is Sophie's usual attire while eating: just a diaper. It makes it much easier to stick her in the sink and hose her down when she's done :)

Yay for Sophie!
Last Monday Sophie had her 9 month check up and she did awesome. She's a tad bit beneath the average for weight and a little above average for height but nothing to be concerned about- maybe she'll be thin and tall like her Thwaits aunts :). She's also been completely weened this week- yay for me finally having my body back! I think the combination of swimming and more filling formula have helped her get into a better sleeping routine as well, this past week was awesome for getting both girls to nap together after lunch and then getting them both to sleep by 8:30-9 and then totally sleeping through the night. Hooray! I'm feeling very blessed and increasing in energy :)

Finally, Yay for warranties!
Our Wii has been frustrating the boys lately because it has been choosing not to play the games that they have to put in as disks (I've been perfectly content because I could still play my Dr. Mario that we downloaded from the internet). We tried using a lens cleaning kit multiple times with no success, so we (and when I say we I mean Jon) made the call to the Wii Nintendo guys and they said it is still under warranty so to send it to them and they would be happy to pay the postage and fix it for free. Yahoo! Except now I'm missing out too because with the system gone I can't play Dr. Mario (I guess I could play it on the DS but it's not quite the same). Oh well, I guess I'll be doing more Sudokus the next couple of weeks when I need a fun waste of time- or there is always Facebook :)