Containers And Roosters And Getaways, Oh My!

Container days are always kind of fun.  For me, anyway.  I always give a grocery list to Danny's mom of non perishables that we can't buy here and she will buy them, box them up, and get them to the distribution center.  It's so handy that the center where the containers go out of is right in Bluffton!  But then in between giving her the list and when the container actually gets here can be a good two months or longer.  So when it finally comes, it's like Christmas!  It holds mostly hospital supplies, but our precious boxes are tucked away in the middle of medical equipment and such.  I have never helped out with unloading until this last one.  And even then, I didn't unload.  I just stood there with a clipboard making checkmarks on a list as things came off the container.  And even then, there was another girl with the same list on a clipboard and I totally got distracted and confused and miscounted a whole bunch of stuff and she didn't.  I may be fired.

But I enjoyed seeing how it all goes down.  And so I snapped a few pictures for you.  The truck is backed up to the unloading dock and a group of men start hauling stuff off, stopping by the checklist people to see where it goes.

Some things take a little more effort than others to get to their designated spot.

Some boxes are loaded on gators to be dispersed around the hospital campus, whether to missionary houses or to the red door.  The red door is a magical, free-for-all pantry that gets restocked any time a container comes.  That's where I was headed to with my cute little passenger here:)

Once we get our boxes delivered to our house, the fun begins!  The grownups drool over the snacks that we've been out of for so long while the kids turn into little tornados opening up what we have deemed "the grandma box".  Since grandma is right in town and able to personally drop off our groceries, she also packs an extra box or two filled with goodies for the kids.  They are always giddy and jumping up and down like crazy until that box gets opened!

The following weekend we had a fun little experience!  Our cook had been telling us that she wanted to buy and cook a live chicken from the market for us.  Usually she just buys chicken legs in bulk quantity, but all the workers were trying to convince us that "country chickens" were better because they had more nutrients.  They're also about three times the cost of the chicken legs.  But we said go ahead, we'll try it once.

Well, for me it was fun to watch her butcher.  Not everyone in our household agreed.  It was a little different method that what I always saw my dad do with the turkeys, but fun nonetheless.  And as far as the meal, well, I think I'll pass on the extra nutrients next time in order to have meat I can actually chew.  It was so tough!  And yes, I realize that's a rooster which is probably most of the reason why.  But it was fun for her to do it and fun for us to try it once.

And then we had a getaway.  WoooooHooooooo!!!!!!!  We left the kids with Brandon and Katelyn for the night and headed to a little resort a couple hours from here.  It was relaxing and peaceful and right on the ocean which made for some great views.  After we checked in, we headed to the pool and on the way found the gym!  It gave us a good chuckle:)

We enjoyed supper at the restaurant that was at the hotel.

And we found a spot that had tons of hermit crabs, so the next morning we took some home to the kids.

So pretty and relaxing!

And so romantic with just the two of us.

Just kidding!!  Tanner doesn't believe in bottles so he came along.

The hotel looked like the Forbidden City!  That's our room right there with the towels hanging off the railing.

In the morning we woke up, stepped out on our balcony and saw a bunch of fishing boats!  In this particular instance, one man worked the net from the boat while the other looked to be keeping it untangled in the water.  Occasionally he would climb back into the boat to bail water back into the ocean:)

We went home then and showed the kids their new pets.  There were seven crabs!  They were pretty excited and we built a little habitat and all seven were affectionately named.

And by the next morning they were all dead.

Oops.

It was so good to getaway for a little bit, even if it was just 24 hours.  We so appreciate B and K for helping us make that happen!

Other than that, we just keep plugging away one day at a time.  It's starting to get really hot out.  We still have some days (like today actually) where it rains or is cloudy and we have some relief from the heat.  But in general, fans are being turned up higher and shower temperatures are being turned down lower.  We are going through ice faster than we were a month ago!  We are trying to cement some dates for our furlough this summer.  We are looking at early to mid July through August.  Some days that seems so far away still but other days I can't believe it's already time to make those plans!  I must have restaurants on my mind because the other night I dreamed I went to McDonald's!  However, McDonald's will have to wait just a little bit longer.

I hear Tanner.  He just woke up.  Unlike McDonald's he will not wait.  Farewell, friends.