A Camping We Will Go....

We've had good moments this week and bad moments. I guess that means it was a "normal" week, huh?

First the bad.

In the span of two days, we found out that Brad's parents cannot (or will not?) help him with the cost of school. This bites. We were really assuming they would. Not that we want handouts or anything, but these are the people that bought us a computer and had it shipped to our door without any prior knowledge from us. Or the people that tried to buy us a refrigerator online until we found out about it and told them, politely, no thanks. We'll buy our own. The people that show up with four new tires shoved in their backseat for my vehicle. Don't get me wrong, it is definitely nice for them to do that kind of stuff, but it just gets weird sometimes. So maybe now you can see why we were a little surprised. Although I guess I need to remember that the price of a refrigerator does not really compare to the price of a graduate degree.

Next, we found out that Brad is not getting a raise this year. Remember, he works for the City's parks & rec department. The city budget is in a "crisis," so no city employees are getting raises this year. Not policemen, firemen, and especially not the guy who cuts all the grass on the fields (that would be my hubby.) An interesting sidenote to this is that the city put in a Splash Pad this summer. A water park of sorts. It cost a fortune. And it wasn't quite the hit that it was expected to be. Granted, it opened later than expected and we had alot of bad weather around its opening, but still it was a sort of disappointment. The city heads are saying next summer will be better since they will have a whole summer to work with. And hopefully better weather.

My husband feels like the city would have been better served to forego the splash pad and give raises to their employees! Of course, the city has told them that if the budget gets straightened out, etc. that they may receive raises yet. I'm not holding my breath. According to my husband, there are several thousand dollars "missing" and the city accountant has already left his job. Not sure if he was fired, pressured to leave, or what exactly. But it seems like it could get very interesting over the next year or so.

But maybe Brad will miss all that.

Now for the good.

First, Brad has a job interview tomorrow. Yeah! He is so excited. Trying not to get his hopes up but it's hard not to. He would be sales manager over guys traveling and selling landscape stuff. (Forgive me, but that's about as technical as I can get). We do have questions about the position, but he's almost sure it would be more money and no weekend work. I will keep you guys posted on how it goes.

Next, we're going camping this weekend. Yeah! We've waited months and months for this little weekend getaway, and I can't believe it is FINALLY here. My parents, my sister, her husband, and their two girls, and the four of us are going camping. This is a yearly tradition with my family. We usually find a state park and rent cabins. This year we changed it up a little bit and have rented campers at a campground near the water. I am so looking forward to it. Just sitting around, grilling, talking, eating, and doing nothing special. No cell phones, no computer, no TV. Ahhhh, heaven.

Well, I will be back next week as soon as I can. I will have to tell you about the interview. Just pray that this is THE JOB that will allow us to pay for Brad's classes and fulfill God's will. That is surely our prayer!

Love you guys!