The oven effect

So it is the time of year for a phenomenon I call "The Oven Effect", the first time I experienced it the thought came to mind of when you open up the oven to take out the food and that blast of hot air comes out and stings your face and the name has just stuck. As soon as it hits you you realize you should have stood farther back but it is already too late. That is what happened today as I walked out of Target with Savannah at about 11:30 am. As soon as I stepped out the door it hit me in the face, only there's no pulling back, no waiting for a second for the hot air to go away, all you can do is march forward, walking as fast as possible to the car and the A/C. How people lived here before A/C I'll never know. My feelings toward A/C are probably the equivalent of the comfortable and contended feelings that the image of a warm fireplace and a nice hot cup of chocolate invokes in people in colder climates. To me comfort and contentment are sitting under my ceiling fan with a cup filled with a cold beverage and ice with the thermostat set at 78. So anyways the heat is officially here.

My work has done something wonderful, for a trial period they are allowing middle management (that's me) to work a four day, ten hours a day schedule. IF it goes well then it will become permanent. I am excited, this weekend was my second three day weekend and since I was usually working 9 sometimes ten hours a day anyway I'm used to the hours. It is bliss. So last night I looked at Kira and told her that today I wanted one on one time with the kids. She heartily agreed and this morning I took Savannah shoe shopping, we had a great time going through Target and she was so cute picking out the shoes and walking up and down the isle showing them off. Hunter and I went to the book store, I may have mentioned this previously but my amazing boy has learned how to read through a combination of PBS kids, a reading website Kira found, a little bit of help from us, and basically practicing and practicing he has pretty much taught himself. I marvel at how smart he is, he will be starting kindergarten in September. Anyways, he loved picking out books and reading them and after about ten books I let him pick one. Then we went to Lowes and picked up some paint for my next project and headed home.

The kids had a great time and I just really enjoyed it. My next class starts tomorrow so my time is going to be scarce again for the next few weeks which was part of the reason for the extra time today. It will be interesting managing my time over the next couple of years while I go through this program.

Just a couple of pictures of hunter I snapped with my phone during our recent trip up to Utah. It was great seeing Brandon and his new wife Rachel and being able to spend time with Kyle and Kim and their kids. Thanks for taking the time out to see us you guys. It was great!