Ben and I thought we smelled gas in our house right before he was going to take Sydney to a soccer game. I called housing maintenance to come check it out, and they told me that I would have to call the fire department first so they could test it. I called the law enforcement desk and they sent the troops. They ambulance arrived first, and the EMT said that he could really smell it when we opened the door and had me and the babies come out. The other EMT was a friend of mine from church so the kids were pretty happy. Security Forces and the fire department were close behind. They didn't find a leak anywhere. They said this was happening a lot in our neighborhood and figure that it is something to do with the construction. They are actually tearing houses down not far from here. We were the fourth on our street in two weeks to call and not have a leak. Weird.
My sweet neighbor from across the street had baked chocolate cupcakes that day and brought them out for all of us. She said she had eaten six and didn't want to eat all of them. She had called them out just three days earlier and also didn't have a leak. They kids were in heaven.
We also bought a new van. Both Ben and I were feeling uneasy about driving our old van to Utah and back this summer so we decided we'd better follow that prompting and trade up. We now have a 2009 Toyota Sienna. It is slate colored, which is just a fancier way of saying dark, bluish gray. It has power doors, which the kids love, and I just want to hug it all the time. Can't wait to show it off!Sydney turned six on April 23 and had a party on April 24. Pictured are Princess Tansy, Princess Sydney, Princess TalieAnn Tijerina, Princess Maddisyn Woodruff, and Princess Abi Cook. Kaija Nielsen also came to help out, which was awesome. Sydney really wanted to invite her, but I didn't think a 12-year-old would enjoy being just another guest at this party.
Sydney wanted a dinosaur cake. This stegosaurus was falling apart before the party even started. Sydney said it was okay and that I did a good job. What a great girl. I think it's funny that her stegosaurus lunchbox is in the background.
And Sydney had her last soccer game yesterday. We almost missed it because I totally forgot about it until 3:51 and the game was at 4:00! After five minutes of complete madness, we were out the door and Sydney ran in just in time. She has done so well. Her coach told me she was one of the most improved players she had ever seen. She jumps right back up when she gets knocked down and isn't afraid to take on other players even though they are all bigger than she is. Parents from other teams were even commenting on how good she was. She is already looking forward to outdoor soccer in the fall.
Ben is currently at Nellis AFB in Las Vegas and due back Tuesday night. He has only been gone six days, but we have really missed him. He is getting to do some fun things like mountain biking and hiking that he hasn't gotten to do here, so he is having a lot of fun. Just not TOO much fun, if you know what I mean.
